Martha Manning Morgan was my mother and I loved her dearly. She passed way on June 8th, 2013 at 69 years old. I think about her everyday and there is hole in my heart that will not be filled. In 1996  she gave myself and my brothers a cookbook of family recipes and her favorites. This past year I asked my oldest brother, Cason Swindle, if he had a clean copy of the cookbook and luckily he did.

This year intend to cook my way through the book. I will provide recipes, pictures and stories about the dishes and my family. I have two girls and a lovely wife and I want to preserve these stories and recipes for them as well as myself. I hope whomever reads this gets a sense of what an amazing women my mother was and what a special relationship she had with me and my whole family.

The page of the cookbook read as follows: 

                                                                                                                  AUGUST, 1996

TO MY CHILDREN:

The recipes included in this cookbook have been saved over a number of years. The selections were chosen with the potential future in mind. I know you don't do much entertaining now but in the years to come you may find your palate becoming more sophisticated and your entertain more lavish. I tried to include recipes for everyone's tastes. 

I will continue to add to the books as I find recipes. I think you will enjoy. 

Experiment, expand, enjoy!!

I love you all very much, 

Mom

So over this year I make it my mission to experiment, expand and enjoy my life in every way possible.