Baking and Breaking Bread with Nana

Blueberry pancakes. Chicken lasagna. Steak on the grill, green beans, foil potatoes. Peanut butter cookies. Pizza. Orzo salad, ham steak. Pumpkin bread. Corn muffins. Oatmeal cookies. American Chop Suey.

Arriving at camp just five days ago, I’ve made myself at home in the kitchen. Giving my folks a break from having to prepare meals while we’re here visiting, it’s been enjoyable to get up each morning and to plan the noontime meal and the daily desserts. Prepping meals at the kitchen island overlooking the beautiful lake and mountain is a delight. Another plus is using my Nana’s tiny oven which, conveniently, is set at eye level. I lost my Nana, my Mom’s mother, when I was just 11 years old, but she’s remained a part of my life, where there are stories about her and an interesting history of her various belongings, both at my home and here at my parents’ camp. For example, this old Frigid-aire stove of hers has been at our camp for over 30 years and it’s still going strong. How’s that for a company endorsement, huh?!

When the meal is prepped, Nana’s red and white-gray kitchen table and matching chairs proudly take center stage. What the kids would now call “retro”, the set looks brand new, stylish, “fresh”. We gather around the kitchen table, eating food baked in Nana’s oven, and we remember Nana. We take stock of all of our blessings, for the food we have before us and for family, those who have left us and those we are lucky to have breaking bread with us today.