I wanted to make veggie and wild rice soup with the duck that was left from our anniversary dinner. I pulled out mom's old food chopper (because I probably didn't do the best job cooking the duck -- it was a bit tough and I was trying to think of an easy way to chop it up small) and was telling my son about how my mom used this handy kitchen tool all the time. I used think it was just her way of processing leftovers. We often had a "sandwich spread" of some kind after a roast, a chicken, a turkey, etc., but today I wondered if maybe she used it often because it was a good way to soften up those tough old birds (either as a result of poor cooking or the fact that they were literally old birds that had gone from egg producers to food on the table stage of life). Anyway, Kaman expressed surprise that the chopper belonged to my mom, and then as I was cleaning and putting it away, I found this in the bottom of the box.
Mom was always labeling and dating every gift she ever got. I used to think it was a strange practice when I was a kid, but one I grew to appreciate. Today, it was as if she joined our conversation. Not only was it my mom's meat chopper, she got it for Christmas in 1962 from my grandparents (dad's parents). I love that she tucked the gift card inside the box. Maybe I have seen it before, but it didn't strike me as familiar. Her handwriting though, that I knew. And that 56 year old meat chopper still works like a charm!
