Butter, flour, sour cream and memories...

Here I am once again spending about 4 hours declaring my undying love and devotion by baking sour cream rolls for my DH.  I realized today that I've had that rolling pin for 60 years.  I can't even remember why I cut the handles off but I did.  I've had many other fancy wood and marble ones over the years but this old maple one is by far my favorite.

When DH comes home I'll get a huge hug with one arm while he is grabbing for a roll with the other.  I've blog often about this recipe of his mother's.  I've often been tempted to alter it a bit with cinnamon, cardamom, icing or nuts but that seems sacrilegious.  The only change I've made is that I use butter instead of shortening.

I had the kindest, sweetest, most loving mother-in-law in the world. I adored her and so did everyone who knew her..   Every single time I make sour cream rolls I feel her presence at my side.

She often took a bus from Glendive Montana to Spokane to visit us....a long grueling trip.  She came in the door, took off her coat, put on her apron and started the dough for sour cream rolls for her "Ronnie."  She was not known for being a particularly good cook but the sour cream rolls were her claim to fame and she learned to bake them from her mother... The next time my granddaughter is here we're going to bake them together....  I did this watercolor and recipe for her descendants. My own sour cream rolls never quite measured up in my husband's eyes, but once that Mary was gone, my sour cream rolls were looking better every year.....

My favorite story about Mary is: While taking communion one Sunday, Mary found the host dry and impossible to swallow. She wrapped it in a tissue, took it home and agonized what to do with the holy bread. Finally she put it in a tree for the birds. A shocked friend scolded her for being sacrilegious. This weighed heavily on Mary so she went to confess her sin. To her relief the priest's response was "Mary, you did good!"  Sometimes I like to remember the people who have so special in my life and she was definitely one.