Ruth Anne Dew

Ruth Anne Dew  grew up in a small town in southern West Virginia surrounded by a large, extended family.  Although her mother, grandmothers, and aunts were fabulous cooks, Ruth Anne never seemed to be interested in learning even the basics.   She readily admits that she switched her major in college to home economics, not necessarily to learn how to cook, but so she could graduate sooner and marry her college sweetheart, George.  She even tells us how she almost failed her final home economics exam, in which she had to make mayonnaise from memory.

Ruth Anne’s husband tells us that she did not know how to cook a single thing when they were first married.   Family lore is full of her early failed attempts, about which she and George chuckle to this day.  She improved as she consulted (by long-distance telephone) with her grandmother, mother and aunts, eventually learning the finer points of southern home cooking.   Ruth Anne still doesn’t think of herself as a great cook, but her daughters and family friends beg to differ and rave about her cooking.  They drool as they talk about her fried macaroni and wax poetic over her cheesecake.  It’s now Ruth Anne’s daughter (who live here in Oregon and first told us about their mother) who call her for recipes and cooking advice.

Ruth Anne and George live in Roswell Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.  In addition to cooking, Ruth Anne enjoys reading mystery novels and watching the food network. They visit Portland 4 or 5 times a year to see their grandchildren and daughters, and it’s thanks to her daughters Lisa and Leigh Anne that Ruth Anne has become our M.O.M. this month.  Enjoy!