2005-06-08

thought for food

I have been thinking about food a lot lately - and not how you are thinking!

I was thinking about how I associate different foods with different people in my life. For instance, my scary exBF and I always used to make buffalo chicken wings from scratch. Now, since I cannot stomach him, I never make them anymore.
So I thought I would share with y'all some of my food associations, k?

Maternal gramma- I was very lucky to have FANTASTIC grandparents, and Gram was no exception. She was a working gal her whole life, but still found the time to make the most delicious cinnamon rolls on the planet. Most people in my family would associate them with her, but mostly, to me, Gram was all about coffee. She even had a tap installed in her kitchen sink which would give boiling water on command so she could make instant. When we stayed in her house for her memorial service, we made Yuban coffee in her maker. It sure tasted like Gram.
Paternal Grandma - Gramma Fishy came from a classy home, but my grandpa was a nut who took her from a beautiful home to living in a trailer - not a mobile home, a camper trailer. Eventually, she moved into a crappy little house. Grandpa lived in his own crappy house on the same property. Very odd situation, but Gramma was awesome! Obviously Grandpa was scrooge incarnate, and when it came to food he was as bad as ever. I remember when he would take us to the grocery he would give us each a quarter to buy candy. He would then show us the net weight of each candy bar to show us which was the best deal. It turns out 3 Musketeers was the best back then, and usually I would buy that to make him proud. I never did like them.
Anyway, we would ALWAYS have ice cream. I remember Gramma would slice the neopolitan ice cream so it looked like CandyLand. We would also have tin roof sundae ice cream. Somehow my child-brain remembers Grandpa said one of our relatives INVENTED tin roof sundae. I'm sure that is not true.
Most of all, the food I associate with Gramma is open faced toasted cheese sandwiches. She would slice the Velveeta pretty thick and place it on dry white bread. Then she would put it into the new-fangled toaster oven until the top started to turn black. Sometimes when I am feeling nostalgic, I make it just that way.
My Mom - she makes lots of things well, and is known for her pies. They are fabulous!! She is also great at pot roast in a way I can never replicate. She even would make doll birthday cakes for us as children with a naked doll jammed down in the center and then frosted to make a *dress*. But Mom is all about the split pea soup. Whenever we have ham, she takes the bone and any scraps, and waves her wand, and ALACZAM! there is the most terrific, thick, rich soup EVER. Thanks, Mom!
Aunt K. - During one summer when she was gracious enough to take me in, Aunt K. introduced me to linguine with white clam sauce and taco salad. Neither of which can I make as well as she can, but I keep trying!
Father - Father is a fisherman and a hunter so we always had protein around. Mostly it was salmon and cod. One time, though, he made swiss steak with elk. He thought we wouldn't notice, but it really tasted like ass. I wonder now if it had freezer burn, because the way I remember the flavor was not unlike that. Father also was a big ice cream guy, but with him it was always with cheap Hersheys chocolate sauce.
Dad - (step) He is a trip. Every night for years he would have *graveyard* stew - white bread torn into a bowl, doused with milk and sprinkled with sugar. Gross! These days he is all about the oyster stew at Xmas. It is basically warm milk with melted butter and whole oysters. He loves it - alone. Now that I am writing this, I realize how crazy he is culinarily. One of his favorites, and the thing that says "Dad" to me is lima beans. Just looking at them makes me want to hurl.
(Is this boring for everyone except me? Maybe . . . I actually have a fairly exciting day to talk about, but this topic was on my mind)
Older sis - We have not spent that much time together as adults, so I don't have a lot of reference, but one time when she came home she made caesar salad dressing that was astonishingly good.
Baby sis - Baby sis is just beginning to make her mark in the kitchen, but has mastered the insanely good *Hot Dish*. If I remember correctly it is tater tots layered with ground beef, cheese and something else. I am certain she will come home with some cool Scottish dishes she can share.
Which leads me to my final thought . . .
How neat would it be to share family recipes here at Dland? Any interest? I am always looking for different, easy recipes - especially desserts. Feel free to share. If I can figure a way to get my comments working, maybe they can reside there.
Is everyone sufficiently bored now??
sorry

happy to be stuck with you - Sunday, Jan. 01, 2006
the error of complacency - Friday, Aug. 26, 2005
CAN IT - Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2005
Still breathing . . . - Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2005
the big move - Thursday, Jul. 28, 2005