18 July 2014

Family Recipe Friday: Spaghetti Sauce

Five Fredricks Brothers and Sisters, July 2014
L-R:  John, Richard, Lola, Jeannie, Audrey
Children of Otto August Fredricks and Daisy Ellen Graf

Every family has that one person they go to for answers to their family history questions.  My go to person is Aunt Lola.  Lola Mae Fredrick Brown is 94 years young and her memory is incredible.

Aunt Lola was the first person I thought of when I wanted some family pictures identified.  The Fredrick's Family Reunion was held July 12th in Brethren, Michigan. My parents, Kirk and I drove to the area the day before and one of the things I wanted to do was visit Aunt Lola.

We arrived at Aunt Lola's and my mom and I sat next to her and I pulled out my pictures.  I had made copies of about 50 pictures I needed names for.  I was a little afraid of overwhelming her and made sure she knew if she got tired she did not have to go through them all.  We could stop at any time.  I worried for nothing.  She was able to identify 42 of the 50!  I could barely write fast enough to keep up with her. She named people one after another.  Even though she didn't know the names of eight pictures, she knew about them.  She would tell me they were teachers at Brethren, or they were Mennonites, or she knew where it was taken.  I was amazed and very thankful.

The other thing I went to Aunt Lola for was her Spaghetti Sauce recipe.  For years, she and later, her daughter, Faith, would bring a roaster full of spaghetti to the family reunion.  I was sure there was some special ingredient in it.  I wanted the recipe.  Faith told me there really wasn't a recipe, as many favorite family recipes go, but she explained how she makes it.

The next day at the reunion, Faith hands my mom the recipe.  She wrote it out for us.  Here is that recipe:

Fry one pound hamburger.  Season with Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder.
Add onion and celery.  Amount at your preference.
Add 1 can small tomato paste and 1 large can tomato sauce.
Simmer about 1 hour.  Put in roaster, bake at 325 for 1-2 hours.  Add tomato juice to keep it moist.

I don't see any secret ingredient and I can only guess it tastes so good because it is made with love. Plus, I am thinking the roasting may add to the flavor.

Aunt Lola is not only my go to person for identifying old pictures, she is my go to person for Spaghetti Sauce.


3 comments:

  1. Good job B!! I so enjoy reading your blogs.

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  2. I am anonymous Lori Kimball LOL :)

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  3. Brittni, Yes I am so thankful for still having Aunt Lola in my life.

    Lori aka Anonymous! Thanks, I enjoy writing them and sharing what I know with the family. Thanks for reading it.

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