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At the turn of the century, there was no such thing as a 'health nut.' There were just mothers who cared about their children. My mother was ahead of her time with nutrition. She would make bread pudding just to get milk into her growing children's bones. She always put raisins and apples, sometimes orange slices in the pudding, just to get extra vitamins. They were the best puddings. They were crispy on top, but creamy in the center.

Mom was a seasonal cook. When she was growing up there was no refrigeration, so she was accustomed to cooking with the season. In summer she would put up preserves, even make her own catsup! In winter we had hearty food. Sunday was for big pieces of meat, such as leg of lamb, which is traditional in English and Irish families. On Monday, the leftovers were made into meat pies or a cottage pie. Mom made a great pie crust, both for sweet pies and savory pies. She used lard which went out of fashion long ago. I switched to shortening which makes a flaky crust. That's the one my children use, as well. Summer at the beach was paradise. She would save pennies all year so her five children could go to the shore for the whole summer. She called our summers away a cheap doctor bill. In those days the rivers were clean so we'd go crabbing on the Manasquan River. We'd get blue shedders which are blue claw crabs. Sometimes we ate the crabs plain, but when we got a lot, she would make crab cakes. They were the best crab cakes because she put in big chunks. That is the secret to good crab cakes. I would help her mix the ingredients, but she never let anyone mix in the crab meat. She did that herself, so our eager children's hands wouldn't shred the crab. Her fingers would arch, as delicate as spider legs. When the ocean was at low tide, we'd gather clams straight from the sand bar. Mom would get excited and rush to the store. She'd buy 15 cents worth of soup greens tied in a string, and a small piece of salt pork to make clam chowder. She made New England style because it had milk and cream for those growing bones. I have adapted the recipe, though, to make it more artery friendly. When the fishing boat came in, the fishermen would blow the horn and the women would run to get fresh fish. We had a lot of flounder, blue fish, and striped bass in the summer. Mom made it special by baking it with mint from her garden. My mother made a molasses cake that was outstanding. I have tried to reproduce it, but can't. She used lard, and I don't think it was homogenized in those days. And her ingredients were measured in coffee cups. I have tried to reproduce this, but haven't succeeded. Nothing tastes the same or as good as my mother's.

ABOUT MARY: In a family of good cooks, Mary is the star baker. She shared her secrets with her three daughters, but all three vow that no one bakes like Mary.

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