I love how the author writes about childhood and her adult life blending together. There is no bluffing for extravagance, just plain fond memory and the life in the 50s.
Things are actually different also hard at that time. Without her noting down the routine and life, there is no way tracing back how people thought of life and how food influences the ways of living.
Read this near the time of my grandmother's funeral. Fantastic book about grief, remembrance, food culture, family and what it means to pass culture on. Good writing on why certain things have to change (quality of ingredients change over time as agricultural practices change) and how certain things, like the spirit of hosting a family meal, can be passed on and kept alive. I especially enjoyed the author's description of her mother's character because you see she really understands her. She's talking about who she is, not a dreamy, unreal version of her mother.