Margaret Cullison
Since retiring from work in California public schools, Margaret Cullison has written personal essays and articles about cooking, animals, and water gardens. She currently reviews self-published books and has begun a novel based on her fraternal grandfather's experiences during the Civil War.
After nine years living in southern Oregon, Margaret recently returned to northern California to be closer to family. She can be reached at margaretcullison at yahoo.com.
(Editor's Note: Margi is sporting her SeniorWomenWeb cap)
My Mother’s Cookbook Frosted Cakes: Seven-Minute Frosting, 1234 Cake, Pound Cake Torte and Carrot Cake
Margaret Cullison writes: I suffered from cake envy after attending a friend’s birthday party when I was six or seven years old. She had an April birthday, and her cake that year looked like a lamb with white frosting and coconut curled fur. The cake completely enchanted me. I knew my friend’s mother hadn’t made the cake herself. We always had homemade birthday cakes at home, but that didn’t impress me nearly as much as the magic of Sandy’s lamb cake. more »
My Mother's Cookbook, Winter Soups: Tomato, Cheese, Potato and Bretonne Bean
Margaret Cullison writes: My mother used few shortcuts when preparing food because she preferred the "real thing" to convenience foods that became more readily available in the mid-1940s. The popularity of canned soups was well established by that time. Quick dishes that relied for flavor on canned mushroom soup or dehydrated onion soup were much in favor after World War II but not by Mom. She may have fixed condensed tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches on a busy day for us kids. But I doubt she ever served such a meal to Dad, her champion and companion in their adventures in good eating.
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My Mother's Cookbook — Winter Salads: Jell-o, Salads of the Era, and Pickled Beets
Margaret Cullison writes: The winter salad creations of my childhood memory seem quaint, if not downright silly. For instance, the Candlestick Salad, dating back to the 1920s, probably elicited a few adult comments unfit for younger ears to hear. The salad consisted of a canned pineapple ring resting on a bed of lettuce, with half of a banana placed, cut side down, upright in the ring's center. The tapered banana top received a decorative finishing touch of miracle whip and a maraschino cherry, meant to resemble the candle's melting wax and flame. more »
My Mother's Cookbook; Recipes from Younger Friends: Cindy’s Cookies, Gaby’s Butter Cookies with Jam, California Cheesecake, and Cynthia’s Lemon Bars
Margaret Cullison writes: The bond of womanhood serves us well throughout our lives. My mother valued the companionship of friends her own age, but she also liked learning about the tastes, interests, and ideas of younger women. This worked to her advantage as she grew older and faced the hard reality that the long-time friends of her generation were leaving this earth in far too rapid succession. The friendships she cultivated with younger women helped to soften those repeated losses. more »