I Remember Mom

Every once in awhile I have a flashback of my Mom cooking in our kitchen. She was from the "old" school, everything was, pretty much, homemade. Whenever I would wake up in the morning I would have these fantastic smells of food cooking on our gas stove. Usually, eggs, bacon, fried potatoes, biscuits, coffee percolating, you know the old swoosh/clunk kind, and whatever my Mom could put together from old leftovers or newly baked goodies. My Mom's past gave her the ability to stretch, create and mold her cooking into such a pleasant experience it would make the trained chef's of today green with envy. But, of course didn't all of our Mom's? She came from an international background, with abundant options that were leveled by a time in our country that was left in a depression. So, I would eat some very interesting and taste bud expanding recipes. The only problem, they were always from memory, so nothing was written down. It was a pinch of this and a handful of that with a smidgen--well you get the point. So her recipes were taste tested and retested to get it just right. I have one here that I know that you will like, if not already experienced from your own "Mom".

Mom's Salmon Cakes

Ingredients:

1 lg cans Pink Salmon

2 Cans *Tuna, drained, back then it was packed in oil.

2 Eggs

1 Cup Bread crumbs

1 Tbsp. Finely chopped onion

1 Tbsp. Bacon drippings

2 Tbsp. Vegetable oil

Directions:

Empty salmon in bowl and remove bones and skin. Retain juice. Add tuna, eggs, bread crumbs, and onions. Mix together with your hand (what other way?). If there is too much liquid, add more bread crumbs. Shape into patties, about 4 inches round and 1 inch thick. Fry in bacon fat and vegetable oil. Heat oven to 275 degrees to store patties once they have been fried. Serve homemade tartar sauce (below), with our family traditional mashed potatoes and creamed peas. *When salmon is on sale, you can use 2 cans and omit 1 can of tuna.

Tartar Sauce

1 1/2 Cup Mayonnaise (BEST FOODS, of course)

2 Tblsp. Finely chopped onions

1/2 Cup Relish

3 Tblsp. Catsup

2 Tblsp. Wine Vinegar.

Mix all ingredients together until well blended. You could make the night before and store in refrigerator to mix flavors.