Dear Future Owner,
If you are in possession of the family cookbook and are reading this letter attached that has been passed down from Marina, this means that you are currently the proud owner of this family archive. This book is a very valuable piece to our family as it holds cherish-able recipes from the Soviet Union, cultural recipes, and many modern/American recipes. Our family is bounded by love and compassion. We have hosted many gatherings and parties where food has been the main component of sharing our time together. Whether that has been a Jewish celebration, Friday night dinner, or an American holiday, we have set the table with various dishes and amazing meals. This brings us together to celebrate and bond over a good feast. I hope that these recipes are passed down onto future generations and we can continue to recreate them. It’s important that we preserve this book for years to come and keep it in our family lineage.
In addition to this letter that you are reading, there is an attached interview with myself and Marina where we further discuss this cookbook and how it had been created. I consider this audio to serve as a deeper dive into what this book means to us and how we want to honor Grandma Tamara’s legacy through it.
Grandma Tamara was an avid cook and the main hostess for our family events. As you walked into her house, you were not only met with a strong aroma, but also greeted with a big plate of food she had been preparing prior to your arrival. This cookbook was designed and written by her. In her spare time, she would sit and write out each recipe she had created. Over time, she had accumulated multiple recipes that ranged in all food categories. This means that you can find cake recipes, how to make котлеты (Chicken Cutlets), паршировиная перец (Stuffed peppers), and so much more. As you flip the pages in the book there are all sorts of measurements, designs, and you can closely see as the handwriting gets looser over time. These recipes show how much love was poured into this book.
Marina received this book from Grandma a couple years ago, before she passed. Now she displays this book in her home and occasionally uses the recipes to recreate Grandma’s beloved dishes. We spent time together having made different soups: борщ (borsch), бульон (bulyon) and meat dishes: голубцы (cooked cabbage with meat inside), Жаркое (Stewed beef and potatoes). She started writing in this book back in Moldova. At this time, Jews were being persecuted and had to leave due to the oppressive environment. In America, she was introduced to new produce and a variety of dishes. She added new recipes like french fries and burgers. At this point there are over 100 recipes that have been documented and we are astounded by the dedication and time that had been put to writing these recipes down.
When Marina received this book, she recalled Grandma telling her to hold onto it and have it as a prized possession. She trusted her to keep this book safe and that when it was time she would pass it along to someone else in the family who enjoyed cooking. Marina mentioned how this honors Grandma’s legacy and how her love was poured into the making of it. Having heard this story and the history of the book, really impacted me and brought me a lot of emotions. I had valued my time with my Grandma in the kitchen, learning from her, and taking her advice. Till this day, I follow her steps and make traditional cuisine for my parents. The interview also opened my eyes to the impact this book will have on future generations and how the culture won’t be broken. By keeping Jewish holidays, making Russian cuisine, and coming together as a family, we would fulfill the purpose of this book and what Grandma wanted. This is what I want you to take away from this book and to value it just as much as we do. You should learn the importance of our family heritage and where we have come from. This cookbook will take you back from the start where the pages are tinted and the recipes are condensed, up until the end where the writing is small and the recipes are more Americanized. We are taken on a journey through this book and will get the full history of it as we look over the pages.
Our plan now is to make a digital copy of this book, so that more family members could get a glimpse into Grandma Tamara’s recipes and recreate it. Marina has held onto this book now from two years ago and she wants to continue to inspire the future generations and hope that they can take after our Grandma. The interview shows Marina’s account of Grandma’s story as she retells the significance of this cookbook in her perspective. This cookbook was an outlet and form of writing that inspired Grandma and made her happy. She prided herself on making this book and having others utilize it. We continue to love this book just as much as she did. It was a source of happiness for her and now it is a remarkable family archive that will be kept with us forever.
With love,
Sarah Inkateshta 10/2023