The Original M – time to find out who she was
The Original M, Maria Anna C.
Born in the North Western Cape, South Africa, I often wonder if she ever imagined moving to or settling in Namibia.
Or whether she thought that she would be the Home Economics inspector for the country.
Childhood with the Original M
As a child I used to see her every Sunday after church.
She would kiss us hello. We would sit down and wait, politely trying to make conversation with the uncles while she, my mother and the aunts, finished preparing Sunday lunch.
She would always tell us to wash our hands, sit with our elbows down and eat all our food or we could not have dessert.
She had short, thick, black, curly hair and boy was she strict.
At least it felt this way as she was always telling us to stop running or be quiet hehe.
The Original M could bake and cook
Boy, could she bake.
I felt like the kid with the best cake prize in school when she made one for my birthday.
Light, chocolate icing with peppermint crisp flakes.
Tall and moist, a perfect rise.
Not even mentioning the smell of all that chocolate freshness.
Original M inspiration
When I first moved to the UK, she sent me a book with some of her recipes.
Hand written in her neat and proper way.
She also left me her cookbook just before she passed away with instructions to get this from my aunt.
Sadly, the recipe book has not yet made its way to me.
I really hope this happens soon so I can continue to carry on her legacy like she wanted me to.
The new, Original M
It was her recipes that helped me through the bleak, winter months in the UK when I first moved here.
Her recipes that I bake to show love to those around me.
Her recipes that eventually helped me process the break-up of my own marriage.
The Original M inspired
Maria Anna, Ouma Massie (gran), your recipes helped me turn my loss and bereavement into my first ever published baking book.
By adapting and adding to your recipes, I have started the creation of my own food love story, M’s Kitchen.
It made it possible for me to voice my own pain.
To find a logical, step-by-step way to deal with the stress of living far from home and the grief of losing loved ones like my father.
- A beginning – the ingredients;
- a middle – the process; and
- An end – the finished product.
As I bake and make in M’s Kitchen I hope to inspire others to bake and make themselves better.
An Original M inspiration to a better you via M’s Kitchen