January at the Farm: A Year of Cooking Grandma Dorothy’s Recipes
By Kim Hayes
Happy New Year!
2026 A new chapter in my kitchen.
Tucked away in my recipe drawer is an orange recipe box filled with Grandma Dorothy’s handwriting. Inside are 30 recipes I inherited from her. Most are written in her cursive and hard to read on index cards. A few are newspaper clippings, carefully cut out and taped to recipe cards. Most don’t include a method. Measurements vary. A few ingredients raise questions – think Liver Pate.
So in January, I’m beginning a year of cooking Grandma Dorothy’s recipes, one by one, just as they were written. It’s a little like Julie & Julia, but more personal and rooted in family tradition.
If you read last month’s blog, you know Grandma Dorothy was the entertainer. A devoted Better Homes & Gardens follower, she cooked with her guests in mind. Her recipes reflect that. There are classic cakes, homemade dressings, party appetizers, and plenty of retro favorites. There are four different versions of coffee or spice cake, several salads, and yes, lots of Jell-O. Think green Jell-O salads and stuffed celery.
This year isn’t about perfection. It’s about curiosity, connection, and honoring the way recipes were once shared through memory and intuition, not on Pineterest.
January’s Recipes
To kick things off, I’ll be cooking three of Grandma Dorothy’s recipes this month:
Coffee Cake
Green Jell-O Salad
Ginger Snaps (Swedish)
I’ll be posting the results of each recipe along with photos, exactly as they turn out. Good, bad, or somewhere in between. I’ll experiment with methods, make notes, and share what works and what doesn’t.
I’m excited to step into her kitchen this way and bring these recipes back to life, one card at a time.
Alpha & Omega Farm is located in Princeton, Minnesota. The farm hosts regular pizza events featuring wood-fired pizzas made with locally sourced ingredients (pre-orders required), as well as special events throughout the season. To discuss hosting your next event at Alpha & Omega Farm, contact Kim at alphaomegapizzafarm@gmail.com or visit alphaomegafarm.co. And no, that’s not a typo—it’s .co, not .