In Honor of Our Little Mommy
This is my mother, Mary. She passed away in 2009 at the age of 87, about six months after this photo was taken.
Mom was born in 1922, the oldest of 5 children.
Look at that incredible, curly hair!
Mom’s sister Jinny was so jealous of her hair that, the story goes, Jinny poured honey all over it!
Mom graduated from college, got married and taught 3rd grade for a year.
I think this is her college yearbook picture.
And then she proceeded to have seven children and teach High School English and Drama for about 20 years. She was a 4’11” 105-lb force of nature.
Doesn’t she look like a high school English and Drama teacher?
Mom had so many amazing qualities: Incredible singing voice (into her 80s she didn’t have the little-old-lady voice at all!), amazing organizational abilities, was a loving friend, was a helpful and caring mother, fun grandmother and great-grandmother, and creative in everything that she did. She even learned how to water ski in her mid-40s! And she was frugal.
And Boy, Did She Have Great Taste!
And by that, I mean she could TASTE. Yes, she had great taste, too, but she could try something absolutely new to her, and she would tilt back her head, close her eyes, and pronounce, “Fennel. And thyme.” She could pick flavors out of anything.
So when she tried Ranch dressing for the first time, it was not really rocket science for her to figure out what was in it. And her frugality would not let her pay for pre-made dressing from the store! So here is mom’s recipe for ranch dressing, commonly called “Good Stuff” at our house, since my little brother remarked, “This is good stuff!”
Mom’s Good Stuff
You’ll Need:
- 1 cup of mayonnaise
- 1 cup of buttermilk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp onion salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried basil, crushed
- 1 1/2 tsp dried parsley, crushed
I like to use a shaker bottle, but you can just use a bowl and a wire whisk, too.
Put the mayonnaise in the shaker container, and then add all of the spices.
Make sure you crush the basil and parsley before adding.
Blend thoroughly with a spoon.
Measure 1 cup of buttermilk.
Add the buttermilk, a little at a time, and stir to get the big lumps blended in well.
Then put the wire into the jar, and shake!
Partially blending with a spoon gets rid of the biggest lumps. The shaking gets rid of the little ones!
Now you can enjoy ranch dressing goodness made fresh at home!
You can also substitute 2 cups of sour cream for the mayonnaise and buttermilk for a thicker dip.
Now, obey your mom and eat your vegetables!
love,
Lassen’s
Have you used vegenaise with this recipe? Can't wait to try it!
I haven't, but I'm sure that would work just as well! Good luck!
I love reading about grandma, you remind me of her in so many ways. I love you mother!
Thanks for your sweet comment! One of my regrets is that you didn't know her when she was in her prime. But her sweet, loving attitude stayed with her, always–even when she was so compromised! I love you too!