Figs-Strawberries?

A couple of months ago, Michael and I purged our tiny house of a lot of unnecessary clutter. We got rid of boxes and boxes of stuff that we do not use and do not need. There is a real sense of triumph when you are able to cart off a good mountain of clutter. I instantly felt less encumbered.

One item that did not get carted off was this recipe box.

I do not know how old the box is, but it is metal and has been used enough that the paint is coming off some of the edges. Also the box was made in the United States so… obviously it is from a different era. Getting back to the point though, the box is full of hand written recipes cards, and ones clipped from newspapers or torn out of magazines. NOT A SINGLE CARD IS BLANK!

I love the box, and I am amazed at the amount of time someone put into collecting and writing out these various cards. I was shocked when I found it at a flea market. 

As my husband and the helpers at Goodwill can attest to, I am not a pack rat or a hoarder of things. I will happily throw away pictures (my father almost has a coronary at the mention of this) and give away gifts that I do not use (sorry family), but I could never part with something like this. This is a family's history. 

One of the cards has a recipe titled "Figs- Strawberries". This is obviously in a shorthand that only the writer and those close to her would get (I think it is also fairly obvious she has exceedingly different taste than me. I take my figs in a newton and no other way.)

In case you can not read it, the recipe calls for 2 cups of figs, 2 cups of sugar, and 4 boxes of wild strawberry jello.

Somewhere someone is talking about the weird fig jello recipe so-and-so used to make; much the way my parents talk about the corn cakes my grandmother used to make. They can't replicate them and other recipes are not the same and my grandmother is no longer around to ask. 

For me, these recipes are traditions that should be passed down. So while I will never make "Figs-Strawerries", I will keep this person's box, simply because to me it deserves the respect of not being at the flea market. 

I hope everybody has a great weekend, and now I think maybe I will make this just to see what it is.