“Mom， thanks for making barbecued meatballs and rice before I left，”saidBetsy with misty1 eyes. She hugged me goodbye while her dad finished loading2the car with packed boxes. My daughter was moving from our home in Florida toher apartment in Washington， D.C. to begin her new job. “I’m really going to missyour cooking，”she added.

“媽媽，謝謝你在我離開之前做了烤肉丸子和米飯?！必慅R淚眼朦朧地說。她和我擁抱道別，而她的父親正在往車里裝打包好的箱子。我女兒要從我們在佛羅里達的家搬到她在華盛頓特區(qū)的公寓以便開始她的新工作?！拔艺娴臅肽钅阕龅娘埐说??！彼a充道。

Betsy’s comment about home-cooked meals gave me an idea. I decided tomake special gifts for my three grown children， who were in various stages ofleaving home for college and careers.

貝齊關于家常菜的評論給了我一個想法。我決定為我的三個成年子女做一些特別的禮物，他們正處于離家去上大學和工作的不同階段。

After Betsy waved goodbye， I drove to the store and bought three yellow recipeboxes and decorated3 index4 cards. For several days I copied family recipes，including Betsy’s meatballs， the traditional bunny cake Lori requested each Easter，Steven’s special lasagna5， and the family’s favorite， fresh apple cake.

貝齊揮手告別后，我開車去了商店，買了三個黃色的菜譜盒和有裝飾的索引卡。幾天來，我抄寫了家庭菜譜，包括貝齊的肉丸、洛麗每年復活節(jié)請求制作的傳統(tǒng)兔子蛋糕、史蒂文的特色千層面，以及家人最喜歡的新鮮蘋果蛋糕。

I included precious recipes I had gathered from country neighborswhen our family spent summers on our farm in Missouri， knowing theywould rekindle6 fond memories. I chose Cousin Donna’s recipe for thebeets7 she pickled8， after she harvested them from her garden. I madenote that Pat’s instructions for making her outstanding homemade rollsincluded driving thirty miles for fresh yeast9.

我把我們一家人在密蘇里州的農(nóng)場度過夏天時從鄉(xiāng)下鄰居那里收集到的珍貴食譜收錄其中，我知道這些食譜會重燃美好的回憶。我選擇了唐娜表姐腌制甜菜的食譜，那些甜菜是她從自己的花園里收獲的。我注意到，帕特制作她出色的自制面包卷的說明，包括開車30 英里去買新鮮的酵母。

When the handwritten cards stood alphabetized10 in their boxes， I closed thelids and set them aside until I would be with my children again. When the timecame， I presented each one with the recipes and enjoyed their wide grins11 andshrieks12 of delight as they thumbed through the cards.

當手寫卡片被按字母順序放在盒子里時，我合上蓋子，把它們放在一邊，直到我將再次和孩子們相聚的時候。當那個時候到來，我把食譜發(fā)給每一個人，當他們翻閱卡片時，我享受著他們燦爛的笑容和喜悅的尖叫。

“I remember making this bread in my second grade class，”remarked Steven.

“我記得在二年級的時候做過這種面包?！笔返傥恼f。

“Oh， this is the best macaroni13 and cheese ever！”recalled Lori.

“哦，這是有史以來最棒的通心粉和奶酪！”洛麗回憶道。

“Look！ Here’s one for the homemade ice -cream we tasted on the farm each summer！ ”squealed Betsy.

“看！這是我們每年夏天在農(nóng)場品嘗的自制冰淇淋！”貝齊尖叫道。

Over the years the boxes of recipes continued to be popularresources in their kitchens， reminders of the food and love they wereserved during their childhoods. Now， with children of their own， theyexplained the stories behind the recipes to my nine grandchildren， andinspired them to become young cooks.

多年來，這些盒子里的食譜仍然是他們廚房里的熱門資源，是讓他們想起小時候吃過的食物和愛的回憶的事物。現(xiàn)在，他們有了自己的孩子，向我的九個孫子孫女解釋食譜背后的故事，并激勵他們成為年輕的廚師。

One day， a video arrived on my computer. I watched my animated14， elevenyear-old granddaughter， Amy， as she pretended to be Julia Child and showed howto make a pancake. When she finished， she held it up to the camera and imitated15the famous，“Bon appetite！

一天，我的電腦收到了一段視頻。我看著我活潑的11 歲孫女艾米假扮成朱莉婭·蔡爾德（美國知名的廚師、作家和電視節(jié)目主持人）演示如何做煎餅。當她完成后，她把它舉到鏡頭前，模仿這位名人說：“祝你好胃口！”

I think it’s time to give Amy her own small box filled with handwritten familyrecipes.

我想是時候給艾米一個裝滿手寫家庭菜譜的小盒子了。