Memories Around the Table: Boiled Custard

Caroline Raby is a contributor to the new cookbook Memories Around the Table. She has a recipe in the book for boiled custard which is truly delicious. In the recipe, both her grandmother and great-grandmother are included. Below is a photo of her great-grandma, Lucy Doles.

1918 Photo of Lucy Doles Whitehead of Scotlant Neck, NC

One of our family favorites was my maternal great-grandmother's boiled custard. It was easy to make and immensely enjoyable.

My grandmother would make it when my sister and I were sick with sore throats or other childhood illnesses, and it was a traditional part of the Christmas trifle, known as "tipsy cake”, also including cake, roasted almonds, whipped cream, and spirits. (The children's portions always had orange juice.)

Boiled custard chilled was relished on hot summer days, and when warmed, enjoyed on cold, blustery ones. It was also enjoyed when shared with my parents’ friends and neighbors.

~ Caroline Raby

And here's the recipe for you to try.

Boiled Custard

Lila W. McDaniel
September 2, 1888 ~ January 8, 1978

3 eggs, well beaten
1 quart whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
3 large serving spoons of flour added to sugar
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pour milk into a deep stew pan. Set the pan in an iron frying pan containing boiling water (serving as a double boiler). Let the milk warm until small bubbles form along the sides. While the milk is heating, beat the eggs and slowly add the sugar/flour mix stirring until the mixture is thickened. Pour the egg mixture into the hot milk and constantly stir with a wooden spoon (essential—a metal spoon won't work) until the custard coats the spoon and drops off. Remove custard from the heat, add the vanilla and stir until mixed. Chill and then pour into a large pitcher, cover, and refrigerate. Serves 4-6. Can be poured over vanilla ice cream, strawberries, or cake.



Get a copy of Memories Around the Table today! It's available on Kindle and in print. Click here to read about how to place your order.

Everybody needs a place to share

People Need a Place to Share and Remember


I wanted to give people an opportunity. People need a place where memories are freely shared and abound.

When I started out with the making of my first memorial cookbook, Slices of Sunlight, I had an urgency to get the book out there. My four-year-old son Daniel had been gone just two years, and as a writer, it was important to me to have his name printed in a book. I knew other parents would welcome the opportunity to tell their son’s or daughter’s story about a food-related experience. Other parents, like me, had to deal with that empty chair at mealtimes—the space their child once occupied, back when life was not filled with sorrow. Why not give them a platform?

I sent out many email messages to bereaved parents’ groups. I told those in my Compassionate Friends chapter that I was putting together a book of favorite recipes and memories and gave them a short tutorial on how to write a food memory.

What was fascinating to me was the feedback I received, and not just the delicious recipes coupled with remembrances. People I had never met found out about the project and wrote to say things like, “Writing the recipe and memory was therapeutic for me.” “I loved having the time to recall. Thank you.” “I remembered and I cried; it brought back many good memories.”

My husband Carl is the one to thank for Memories Around the Table, my third and most recent book. He had not been in my life when the first two came out. I considered another book but wasn’t sure I wanted to dedicate the time or money, and I wasn’t certain that another memorial cookbook was needed.

“Let this one be a book with the recipes and memories of all loved ones, not just those of children,” he suggested. (I have a hunch it’s because he wanted to include a cake recipe he loves to make, known as Mom’s Cake, in the book.)

It was in Atlanta when I was invited to speak at a CURE weekend conference that I announced to a group of bereaved parents that I would do another cookbook. Once I told them about it, I knew I had to be committed to the project. I worked on getting the word out. I created a special email account where folks could send their recipes so I would have an in box dedicated to the “cookbook only” email messages. Which printer to use? Which cover? Should there be art inside? So many decisions.

When you compile a cookbook there are profound blessings along the way. First there are these priceless stories. I cried over many. The gratitude of those who submit recipes and memories are so dear. Then there is that action that many want to run from: editing. Editing to make the prose shine without taking away the essence of what the contributor supplied in the form of a memory and recipe—now that takes time.

The end result is a not just a mere book, but a legacy where love and the love of food live on. A tribute to those who once graced our tables, a reason for a contributor to take the time to write and say, "What a lovely little book. I was quite moved by the memories of loved ones and the way that the sharing of their recipes provided a way to share those memories and honor their lives. You did a very good job with this. I do thank you for doing all the work of putting this together and for including me. It is all so positive and healing."

Memories Around the Table is an invitation to all to come join us at the table, to remember and to continue to tell the stories that shape who we are.

You might want to bring a tissue.


Order your copy of Memories Around the Table (Daniel’s House Publications) by clicking this link.

~ Alice J. Wisler is a freelance writer and the author of five inspirational Southern novels, a grief and loss devotional (Getting Out of Bed in the Morning, a top seller on Kindle), and three independently-published cookbooks. She teaches grief-writing workshops across the country. Learn more at her website: http://www.alicewisler.com

(This article was first and originally posted at Julie Saffrin's blog)

Guest Blogger Rose Chandler Johnson!

Today I welcome Rose Chandler Johnson to my Patchwork Quilt blog. Rose's new book, God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea has just been released from Lighthouse of the Carolinas.

Rose, good to have you here! I have a few questions for you today. What inspired you to write your devotional?

Rose: I was writing every day in a spiral notebook. After a while I had written so much, I thought to myself, "Hey, I could turn these into devotions." So, that is what I did. I wrote one or two per week, every week for a year. After a year, I chose from them to compile the devotional. I transformed it into a journal because like yourself I’ve always journaled and I’ve experienced its benefits. I’ve used it with students as well. I think the journal component makes it more memorable and allows readers an opportunity to go deeper and apply their faith.

Alice: Who do you want to reach with your book? Which audience?

Rose: This devotional is uniquely appropriate for working mothers, but also for anyone who wants to put their Christianity into practice in their everyday moments.

Alice: What is your favorite kind of iced tea? Flavored? With sugar or without? Do you make iced tea?

Rose: Yes, I make tea every day at home. I drink at least two quarts of sweetened iced tea daily, and I use only a half cup of sugar in that. I like tea so much, I can’t really say I have a favorite. The brand I’m using at home the most is Luzianne. I prefer it with a slice of lemon.

Alice: Can you share an excerpt from your book with us here?

Rose: Yes, and thank you for asking.

A Life of Service

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" Matthew 16:25 (KJV).

Well I remember the time, some twenty or so years ago, when my little children revolved around me like the planets circle the sun. I felt like I was holding them all in place, but God was holding us all. He was ever present.

One especially exhausting day, as I was changing a diaper, and hurriedly juggling many tasks, I said aloud in exasperation, "I don’t have a life!" Without hesitation, in an instant, the Lord responded emphatically to my words. In my spirit, I heard, "No, you don’t have a life. Didn’t I tell you that whoever will save his life shall lose it, and whoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it?" These words came directly to me, personal and real—interjected into my train of thought by a voice of authority.

At that moment, I knew the Lord had spoken to me. I realized I was doing exactly what the Lord wanted me to do; I was taking care of the needs of my family. My service to them was not an obligation, but a holy calling, a vocation to serve the needs of those in my care. Jesus became a “servant to all” taking on the "form of a servant" in his earthly life. His service was love in action. His selfless love, for our redemption and God’s glory, is a model for all believers. It is with this same spirit of service that we can dedicate our lives to His service, and by so doing, we are strengthened to give of ourselves to others, in our families and beyond, as we go about our everyday lives.

Alice: Rose, where can we find you online?

Rose: Twitter: @rechanjo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rose.c.johnson
Blog: Write Moments with God; http://www.writemomentswithgod.blogspot.com

Thanks, Rose! Readers, be sure to get a copy of God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea: Experiencing God in the Midst of Everyday Moments! And leave a comment below to encourage Rose as she embarks on her newly-published journey.

Available from Amazon.

Available in print from your local bookstore, online, or from the publisher.

Sometimes . . .

. . . things don't go the way they were planned!

When Dan and Betty Bryl received their cookbooks, I imagined that they were excited to see their daughter's inclusion. But when they opened their copies, they looked at each other and said, "What happened?" Then they emailed me.

"Where's the recipe? We got the memory, but where's the recipe?"

Uh-oh . . . Had there been a recipe, too? My stomach sunk to my knees. Where?

Eventually we figured it out. The first email Dan sent had two attachments---one for the recipe and one for the memory--but the corrected email only held the memory because that was all they had needed to correct. I got the email message that said it was the final one and didn't feel that I needed to read the first two. I ran with the one that said it was the corrected version. It only held the memory atttachment and I thought that was all she wrote. I deleted the other two so as not to confuse myself and sent the corrected one to where I stored the material for Memories Around the Table. And that, my friends is why only the memory ended up in the cookbook.

These things happen.

Well, I knew there was a way to remedy this. Here it is! Below is the recipe that goes with the memory for Jell-O. Jessica, I sure hope your parents will love me again!


Seven-Layer Jell-O

Not an easy recipe but worth the effort!

1 small box of each: cherry, orange, lemon, and lime Jell-O
2 packages plain Knox gelatin
1 pint sour cream
2 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Dissolve each Jell-O package in 1 cup HOT water then add 1/2 cup cold water (keep each flavor separate).

Bring to BOIL in sauce pan the milk and sugar, stirring constantly. Dissolve 2 packages of Knox in 1/2 cup COLD water, then add to milk mixture. Cool slightly (off burner), then add sour cream and vanilla. Blend with electric mixer at low speed.

In 13 X 9 glass pan, pour in first layer of Jell-O. When this is set, pour 1 1/2 cups of milk mixture on top very slowly so as not to break layer. Continue process, making sure each layer is set. If you put in the refrigerator, it takes at least 45 minutes for first layer to become set.

TIP 1: Chill glass pan before pouring first layer. Each layer will go a bit faster because of the chill. You can speed up by putting in the reezer, but you have to be very careful not to FREEZE! You must watch and pull before ice crystals form. Then put in fridge to finish chill. Be very careful!

TIP 2: You can make all the Jell-O at once and leave at room temperature. The milk mixture should be kept in a pan of hot water so it won’t thicken, but make sure to cool some before pouring layer. Pour first layer to chill before making milk mixture, but be sure to cool some before pouring on set Jell-O layer.

TIP 3: Layer for the Holidays. We put cherry and lime as top two layers for Christmas, and orange for Halloween. You can try other flavors, but we have found that these were the most complementary to each other.

Need a copy of Memories Around the Table so that you can read the memory that goes with this recipe as well as dozens of other recipes and memories? Order from here.

Memories Around the Table: Order print or e-book today!

Memories Around the Table is selling like hotcakes! Here's what others are saying:

"Oh, Alice ... you warm my heart and make me cry. This month - 18 years since I've seen my oldest son alive, and yet these memories/recipes bring him right here with me! Thank you!" ~ Jan Lehman

"Alice J. Wisler has compiled a book of recipes and memories in a beautiful and heart-warming cookbook. If you've ever had my mother-in-law's lemon chess pie, here's your chance to get the recipe." ~ Angie Arndt

"Love, love, love it! Thanks so much for doing this project." ~ Karen Bowles

"On one of these recent rainy afternoons, I picked up your book, Memories Around the Table, and began reading the recipes and comments. What a lovely little book. I was quite moved by the memories of loved ones and the way that the sharing of their recipes provided a way to share those memories and honor their lives. You did a very good job with this. I do thank you for doing all the work of putting this together and for including me. It is all so positive and healing. Thanks again." ~ Diane Prosser

"How wonderful to find our daughter Paula's favorite eggplant parmigiana recipe and her cheesy popcorn recipe in your new cookbook. I like the ringed format, makes it easy to use in the kitchen. They will make wonderful gifts for many of our friends. Beautifully done, thanks for the memories around the table!" ~ Pam Bennett-Santoro

"Loved the book. Great cover, interesting recipes. Tried the Biscuits and Gravy, nice story, yummy breakfast." ~ Dan Bryl

"Your book is lovely with super recipes and great graphics and cover. Thanks for all the work." ~ Caroline Raby


Order a print copy by following the directions below (order via Paypal or check). Or order on Kindle.

Click here to order the e-book on Kindle.

Memories Around the Table

COSTS FOR PRINT ORDERS:
1 book: $14.99 plus $3.00 S/H for a total of $17.99
2 books, $29.98 plus $4.00 S/H for a total of $33.98
3 books, $44.97 plus $4.00 S/H for a total of $48.97
4 or more books, get free shipping!
Calculate each book at $14.99 and then pay via check or use the scroll down menu and pay via Pay Pal.

Via CHECK:
Send check to Alice Wisler at:
201 Monticello Avenue
Durham, NC 27707

OR

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Memories Around the Table

1 copy with S/H $17.99 USD 2 copies with S/H $33.98 USD 3 copies with S/H $48.97 USD 4 copies with FREE S/H $59.96 USD 5 copies with FREE shipping $74.95 USD 6 copies with FREE shipping $89.94 USD 7 copies with FREE shipping $104.93 USD 8 copies with FREE shipping $119.92 USD

Memories Around the Table! A NEW cookbook filled with memories

Excited to announce----a new cookbook!

Memories Around the Table is the third memorial cookbook published by Daniel's House Publications and compiled by bereaved mom, author, writing instructor and speaker, Alice J. Wisler.




Over 80 recipes, memories and poetry! The recipe for this cake---Mom's Cake---pictured above, is included in the book. Memories Around the Table: Treasured Recipes is unique in the sense that it's not just a cookbook, but rather, a compilation of the special memories of those we can no longer hold, those we once shared meals and laughter with. We remember our loved ones in many ways; food is one of those ways we cherish the stories about them.

Some of the memories associated with the recipes will make you laugh; others might cloud your eyes with tears.

Learn to make a bunch of delicious items including peanut butter fudge, chicken divan, chess pie and even Yorkshire pudding.

Order a copy of Memories Around the Table today from Daniel's House Publications. Each book is $14.99.


Here's how to order:

1 book: $14.99 plus $3.00 S/H for a total of $17.99
2 books, $29.98 plus $4.00 S/H for a total of $33.98
3 books, $44.97 plus $4.00 S/H for a total of $48.97
4 or more books, get free shipping!

Send a check to:
Daniel's House Publications
201 Monticello Avenue
Durham, NC 27707

OR

Pay with PAYPAL

Memories Around the Table

1 copy with S/H $17.99 USD 2 copies with S/H $33.98 USD 3 copies with S/H $48.97 USD 4 copies with FREE S/H $59.96 USD

Cooking with author Janet Thompson

I'm doing a series on authors, their books, and food. I had a few authors last year post about these topics, and am thinking since all my novels have recipes at the back, I should make this food-author theme continue here. Well, this is a patchwork quilt blog for a reason. There are a variety of things I write about here and I tend to let a few have their season and then (could it be due to being a little over 50?), I promptly forget what I'd planned to continue. So, having said all that, we'll see how it goes.

Today I have Janet Thompson as my guest. Welcome Janet! Janet's recent book is, Dear God, He’s Home by New Hope Publishers. In this book, Janet offers practical and emotional support for wives with "Stay-at-Home" husbands.

I found the subject line interesting as my husband has been at home unemployed for over a year. He just started a small business in the garage, so while I write upstairs in the office, he's downstairs in his "office". I grew up seeing my parents live and work in the same house for their entire missionary career in Japan, so am quite familiar with this aspect of having to "share space and work together" as well as "work apart in the same space".

Janet has personally experienced three different life seasons with her "stay-at-home man." At age 50, her husband’s layoff left him unemployed—-at home—-for 18 months. Another layoff years later brought him home again. Then after several years of successful work in a new field, physical disability led to retirement.

"Regardless of the reason for this season," Janet says, "wives of stay-at-home men experience similar difficulties, hardships, and blessings." Dear God, He’s Home is a collection of biblical and life-tested wisdom. Janet not only writes from her own experiences, but she also includes stories from other women and men who have been through similar situations. She leads the reader through guided journaling and prayer and presents Scripture application for encouragement. The book’s epilogue, an entry from Janet’s husband, offers his perspective.

Janet is founder and director of About His Work Ministries. She developed the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry at Saddleback Church and served as a lay minister for 12 years leading Saddleback’s Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry. Janet continues to share the blessings of mentoring by training and speaking in churches around the world. She is author of several books including The Team That Jesus Built: How to Develop, Equip, and Commission a Women’s Ministry Team, as well as two other titles in the Dear God series, and seven books in the Face-to-Face women’s Bible study series. Janet and her husband, Dave, have four married children and love being Grammie and Grampa to 11 beautiful grandchildren. "Refusing to grow old" and embracing their retirement years with great zeal, they make their home in Garden Valley, Idaho.

When asked about food, Janet says: "As for comfort foods, I eat super healthy raw organic so when I see organic fruit and vegetables I feel so loved by God that He created such wonderful food for us! Wild salmon is my most favorite food ever and I love spring and summer organic strawberries! Also when my hubby brings in the harvest from his vegetable garden and I look at all that fresh produce that he grew with love, well, that tops the comfort scale."

Thanks, for sharing with the readers here, Janet!


To order a copy of Dear God, He's Home, please click here.

View the YouTube video for Dear God, He's Home.

How to write a food memory

I see a little boy in a white chef's hat at the play stove concocting some imaginary meal for me . . .
When I dig out the chef's hat, it's yellowed from age. But the memory---now over seventeen years old---will never yellow, never fade. There are days it is as fresh as today's gardenia blooms.

Recalling our loved ones through food makes sense. Food and gatherings with food are a large part of our lives; everybody has some food-related memory to share.

Memories coupled with favorite recipes go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Spend some time writing your own memory of a loved one.

Some Tips

* Take your time. We rush through much of life; this is not the time to plough through. Instead, slow down.
* Find a secluded spot away from distraction.
* Use a comfortable pen and notebook.
* To help you remember, look at a photo of your loved one. Spend some time describing the photo. As you think about your loved one, let yourself remember.
* Write with your senses----sight, sound, smell, and touch.
* Tell your story in your own style.
* Play some music to enhance the experience.
* Close your eyes; recall.
* After you have written a few lines, dig a bit deeper. Ask yourself what is it that you want to convey.
* If sentences are hard to compose at first, just jot down words that come to mind.
* String the words into sentences.
* Read your memory aloud.
* Make any necessary changes.
* Read it aloud once again.
* You have created a food memory!

Two Examples

Billy loved meatloaf sandwiches. Just reading that line makes me want to read more. It's not every day that you hear about meatloaf sandwiches. In my first cookbook, Slices of Sunlight, this memory, coupled with the instructions for making meatloaf provided by his mother, brings a smile.

"Billy was much like his dad, Bill, in that he could eat the same thing every day for months at a time. After taking peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to school every day for two years, Billy discovered meatloaf sandwiches for his school lunches. Throughout grade 3, 4 and 5, I must have made hundreds of meatloaves! After cooking, I'd put them in the refrigerator to cool, then slice them. I froze the slices. By the time lunchtime at school rolled around, Billy had cold meatloaf sandwiches . . . every day for three years!" (page 14)

The following memory from Kara's mom, first recorded in Down the Cereal Aisle and also included in my newest cookbook, Memories Around the Table, due out next month.

"When my daughter Kara was old enough to no longer ride in the shopping cart at the supermarket, she and I devised a plan that would keep her close to me in the store. Unless I asked her to get an item for me, she was to always have one hand holding onto the side of the shopping cart. We continued using that system for several years until it was no longer needed.

When Kara was in college, she would take me grocery shopping whenever I came for a visit. I could always expect to find a sizeable list ready and waiting for Mom to “foot the bill”. I did not mind as it was just part of the fun of being with her and enjoying our time together.

More than once during these grocery expeditions, I would notice Kara walking beside me, unconsciously holding onto the shopping cart as she had done so many years before. Sometimes I would put my hand over hers and smile. Other times I just let it be a fond memory to file away and cherish in later years.

After Kara died, it was (and still is) very painful to see moms and daughters together, especially when I see a little blond-headed girl in a grocery store with her hand on the cart."

Now it's your turn!

Let writing a food memory bring you some sunshine.

Hope in a pen

Writing saved me.

It's true. After losing a young son to a cancer-related death, I found solace in my journal. That was sixteen years ago, and now I'm one of the biggest writing through grief advocates you've ever seen.

Over the years, and journals, I have found that the act of being authentic in grief brings healing for the soul.

I'm so excited about the value of putting pen to paper that I now teach workshops so that others can discover the beauty of this gift.

Writing to a Healthier YOU!, the grief and loss writing workshop in Norcross, GA this Saturday, will be a special one with two facilitators--one from Florida (Mary Jane Cronin) and one from North Carolina (Alice Wisler). It will be held from 9 AM to 4 PM at the Hampton Inn in Norcross.

Join us for a day of prompts, exercises, imagery, and helpful writing techniques that both Mary Jane and Alice have found beneficial for healing, health and hope.


Please feel free to let your friends and colleagues who could benefit from a day of hope know about this event.

Discover how healing and healthy writing can be for your grief journey.

For more information and to register, please click this link: Writing to a Healthier YOU!

A Toast to Cookbook Contributors!

I must tell you that those who have sent me recipes in memory of loved ones for my new cookbook, Memories Around the Table, hold many talents! I've decided to focus on a few of them throughout the upcoming months. Every so often I will post A Toast to Cookbook Contributors! so that readers can see what else these people have done who have helped to make this cookbook come to life.

Here is a haiku from Marie, whose recipe in memory of her mother is for cinnamon raisin bread.

buds burst open

birthing the blossoms

spring fever

~ Marie Toole

Memories Around the Table: Treasured Recipes coming soon!
Daniel's House Publications

We made it to What's Hot in Atlanta!

Writing to a Healthier YOU! is a writing workshop for all who want to discover how great it feels to write from the heart.  Mary Jane Cronin and I have been doing it for years since the death of our boys.  You can benefit by learning how to incorporate this healing tool that brings clarity and focus into your daily life!  Join us for this workshop near Atlanta on June 22.

To register, head over to the website page.

Cover proof for Memories Around the Table!

I was excited to open the cover proof from the printer for Memories Around the Table: Treasured Recipes! This cookbook is filled with recipes and memories, making it a special legacy of those we love and miss. I put out the request for recipes back in February and received many wonderful replies from many of you.



Within the pages are all the instructions for how to make these Hershey Kiss cookies (a.k.a. peanut butter cookies) pictured here, and other delicious treats, including chicken divan, eggplant parmigiana, stuffed peppers, cornbread dressing, gloried rice, lime pickles, toffee, and strawberry cheesecake. The beauty is that each recipe is sealed with a special memory of somebody's son or daughter, grandma or grandpa, father or mother, grandson or granddaughter. This book is truly one of a kind and is a testimony that love goes on. Forever.

Memories Around the Table will be ready to order in about two weeks, so stay tuned!