Lynn Bodnar

Preparing for the holiday, I thought of the season’s warm traditions that bring a comfortable familiarity to me and my family.

My thoughts turned to my vintage gingerbread pan.  Rich in tradition - it’s from my great grandmother circa 1910.  I imagined its travels and the hands it’s passed through for over 100 years.

As my great grandmother mixed the ingredients, prepped the pan and baked the gingerbread, a certain essence of herself went into it.  Imprinted into the pan.  I can feel it.  Perhaps during war times she was thrilled just to have the 1/3 cup of sugar needed.  Other times may have brought easy gratitude, times of angst, uncertainty, and surely the love of family through it all. 

That same thread has been weaved through each subsequent owner of the pan, journeying through the generations.  I’m inspired by and celebrate the women in my family history who came through it all and baked their way through it all--their strength to carry on, to provide, to bring forth comfort and joy. 

Every year I also use the original handwritten recipe to enjoy this time-honored gingerbread tradition.  It’s ultimately about family - the love, the lives, the connection, the ribbon of DNA and the simple ingredients that all stream though this delicious act of honoring a family tradition.

Iwish you could have a big warm slice, slathered in butter as you read this.  But for now, I wish you connection to love and uplifting tradition that serves to warm your heart.  Taking on the strength of those before us and being reminded of our own.

At the end of the recipe my great grandmother writes, “350 oven, 30 minutes.  Never fails.”

And it never does.