This is the time of year we think about doing nice things for our mothers, but this story is about an enduring gift that a mother prepared for her family.
“Mama’s Menus and Memories at Malo‘o” started out as a collection of favorite recipes Tracy Orillo-Donovan gathered from her parents, other family members and friends who had touched their lives, but the book became so much more. It’s a self-published trove of elder wisdom; of warm glimpses of kids, parents, grandparents and extended family over the decades; and, mostly, of a mother’s love.
“I was crying, writing it,” said Orillo- Donovan, broadcast manager at the University of Hawaii. The main recipients were to be her children, daughter Jackie, 24, and son Joshua, 23. “I hope they cry as much as I’ve cried at certain times in this book,” she said. They were the first to receive the books, at Christmas.
She saved up about $3,000 to publish the book. Her husband, former University of Hawaii Athletic Director Jim Donovan, now athletic director at California State University at Fullerton, helped with the effort.
Additional family members and friends have received copies, either soft-cover or hard-bound.
How to make a family cookbook:
>> Compile recipes.
>> Write down memories, collect more by talking story with family.
>> Save cards, letters and notes.
>> Gather photos and label the backs. Have them all in one place and start writing your captions, Tracy Orillo-Donovan said.
>> Write your heart out — and use spellcheck.
>> Get price quotes from publishers that do custom work.
Before her mother, Barbara Jean Kilantang Orillo, died in 2015, Orillo- Donovan asked for her strongest memories of Jackie and Joshua. Those memories, along with related photographs, are in the book.
“For every picture, there were four or five that could be in its place,” Orillo- Donovan said. “Choosing photos was very difficult.”
A family friend who gave Orillo- Donovan a recipe years ago said she always made a note of how she got a new recipe, such as who had given it to her, and the circumstances. Orillo-Donovan has employed the practice ever since.
In the book, “a lot of the dishes … show the connections of the people who gave me the recipes, with a strong or funny story behind it,” she said. To further document family history, addresses of homes where they have lived are included.
An early, homemade version of the recipe book was held together by metal rings that eventually rusted and discolored the pages, so Orillo-Donovan worked on creating something more permanent, a coffee-table book that could easily be used in the kitchen and fit into a recipe holder.
As a former editor of the old UH magazine Malamalama, she had some background in publishing. She took classes at the Apple Store to learn layout techniques but decided she needed a graphic designer and found one in a friend’s sister.
The book was finished by Edition One Books in San Francisco at a cost of about $50 for the hard-bound and $25 for the soft-cover versions. Prices decrease as printing volume increases, she said.
Some local companies also offer custom publishing.
“You never know where life’s path will take you, or how long or short it will be,” Orillo-Donovan said, encouraging anyone considering this sort of project to spend time with family, go through pictures and ask questions.
Today’s society may focus primarily on the present, she said, but don’t lose sight of the past.
If your family elders are nearby, be grateful. “Take the time to talk story with your grandparents, your great-grandparents … never ever take that for granted, because one day when they’re gone, that recipe, or memory, or treasured time will be forever lost, and you can never get that back.”
Bootlegger Beans
Tracy Orillo-Donovan had to have this recipe, her late mother’s favorite potluck dish, in the book. Barbara Jean Kilantang Orillo, or “Dama,” as Tracy’s kids called her, got it from the “What’s Cooking at Waialua?” cookbook. Orillo-Donovan credits Sueko Souza with submitting the original recipe, which her mother quadrupled for potlucks.
- 3 strips bacon, cut into small pieces
- 1 small round onion, chopped
- 1 (15-ounce) can pork and beans
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar (or to taste)
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
Cook bacon until done. Add chopped onion and brown. Drain oil.
Add pork and beans, brown sugar, vinegar and ketchup. Stir well. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving (using 2 tablespoons brown sugar): 450 calories, 18 g total fat, 6 g saturated fat, 40 mg cholesterol, 1,450 mg sodium, 62 g carbohydrate, 12 g fiber, 19 g sugar, 16 g protein
