Between 6:30 am and 7:15 am this  morning I lay in bed, wondering, as I never do, if I'd recall 
my mother's handwriting, or ever see it again.

At 10:30 am I went to check the mail, and found a notecard from my cousin. She sent me a page
of a letter my mom wrote, as it has a recipe for Artichoke Dip, which I will share with you.

My mother was a culinary legend in our family. My friends recall vividly the meals she made, 
my father-in-law had fond words for her apple pie. I made her apple pie but once, it converted
an apple-pie hater: he told me he had seconds. When she was taking lessons she introduced
Soupe d'Oignon (Onion Soup), Coquilles Saint-Jacques, and Chocolat Coeur a la Creme to us.

I share with you the Artichoke Dip recipe which is simple and takes less than a half-hour. 
My brother got the recipe binder with home favourites and recipes from her French Cooking 
classes. They stayed in United Arab Emirates. He was going to ship them back to his home in
 Japan but he died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism.


Here now the Recipe: 

HOT ARTICHOKE DIP

Ingredients:

1 - 14 oz can (400ml) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (the hearts, not the can)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (NOT Kraft, the block kind one grates)
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
dash lemon juice

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350F. 
Combine all ingredients in an oven-safe dish.  
Heat in oven for ten minutes.
Serve with crackers.

Enjoy.