Beginning Traditions

     They say that everyone is three generations away from being forgotten.  I would like to make sure that that does not happen by building traditions that will hopefully last long after we're gone.  I never met my Grandmother but as her story goes, she was a Russian peasant who was married at 14 and had her first child at 15.  Shortly after the birth of their first child, Monya's husband was shot.  Monya pulled the bullet out with her teeth and wrapped his wounds with her petty coat.  They decided that they were not safe in Russia so Monya's husband went to America to start a new life for the young couple.  When the time was right, my Grandmother walked from Russia to Belgium with her infant son at night to board a boat to America.  How people even found each other in America is beyond my comprehension, but they did reunite and eventually had three more children.  Her husband had a bad heart, and to help support the family, my Grandmother opened a Russian tea house in Princeton.  Shortly after, her husband died, and she later married her egg delivery man (my Grandfather) with whom she had a daughter (my mother).
     All that said, I have often wished that I had even one of Monya's recipes as I have been told that she was a very generous, charming women who was also an amazing cook and baker.
     About 5 years ago I decided that I did not want to be one of those forgotten generations and that our family traditions should be documented.  It took me two years to complete it.  Anyone who knows me will tell you that it is very difficult for me to sit still.   So to sit at a computer and type recipes and quirky family happenings over the past many holidays is not easy for me.  Each recipe was put into plastic pages.   I made an index by holiday and put all the pages in a binder for easy use in the kitchen.

     On December 21, 2009, I put the last pages into 4 copies of our Traditions Cookbook and wrapped them with Christmas paper, ready ahead of time (which never happens) for Christmas present opening by my three daughters (and me).  On December 22 I was rushed to the hospital with a stroke.  I remember laying in the hospital bed thinking that I was so glad that I wrote this book, so it will be ok for me to go.  But God had other plans.  I did not die, (or I would not be sharing this with you right now).  I had no residual effects from the stroke, and now I can keep adding to our book and building more family traditions with my grandchildren and more generations to come.

Here is one of the recipes that  I would like to share with all of you that I have been making for my last forty one New Year's Eves:

Chocolate Fondue 

6 oz. Unsweetened Chocolate

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup light cream

1/2 cup buttter

1/8 tsp salt

Fruit for dipping: bananas, apples pears, mandarin orangers, peaches, blueberries, strawberries

You can also use pound cake or marshmallows

Melt all ingredients together in a pot, stirring to prevent sticking.  Transfer to a fondue pot to keep warm.  Give each person their own fork or skewer for stabbing the fruit and dipping into the warm chocolate.

P.S.  Don't forget to leave a comment on our first post for your chance to win an awesome gift basket from us!