Memories of Food

As you all may have read in the past couple weeks of Blog entries, my parents and grandparents came to town recently. My mother brought with her some squash and tomatoes from her garden and we ate a really nice dinner at a really good restaurant. One thing my family definitely enjoys doing -- EATING. As it happens my mother and her mother are both really good cooks. Grandma claims grandpa taught her everything she knows since he was a cook in the army during WWII. It seems we spend a lot of time eating good food, talking about having eaten good food, or talking about where to find good food. Whenever we are going to visit my parents there always has to be a conversation before hand about which of our favorite dishes we will have. So after they came to visit it really got me thinking about all the memories I have of growing up and how many of them are associated with FOOD. So I thought I would list a few.

1. Mom's chicken and dumplings. Now keep in mind that we went for a "couple" underprivileged years eating pretty much nothing but chicken. But boy were mom's chicken and dumplings good. She would use the pressure cooker and I would peel all the chicken off the bones to be put in with the dumplings. I liked to do this because if I did I got to eat all the skin. MMMMMM.

2. Mom's fried chicken. See what I mean about chicken. LOL. One of the best things about the church picnics or Fourth of July at Grandpa Deglows lake house(fireworks being the other best thing about that day -- and Grandma and Grandpa Deglow sure new how to put on a show ), was Moms home made fried chicken.

3. Mom's PIZZA. Her pizza had and still does have the thickest tastiest crust of any pizza on earth. Eating her pizza is like eating a work of art. It is still a top request for birthdays and holiday visits. I can't remember too many birthdays when mom's pizza wasn't on the menu. . . except that year I wanted to go to OLGAs. AHh Olgas -- really good greek food in Chicago. . . but I digress.

4. Mom's pork chops. I love pork chops I love every last part of the pork chop right down to the greasy bone. Always need to have bone I love my mothers pork chops and mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes that still have small lumps in them full of butter, rich and creamy.

5. Dad's cereal. Ok that isn't what it is really called but I have loved it since the first time I can remember it and all I remember is mom made it "for Dad". I guess that meant we were not supposed to eat any or all of it -- or something like that. So, I have always called it "Dad's cereal". By the way mom if you are reading this -- I sure could use a batch. LOL.

6. Homemade Banana Ice Cream. Do they even have church Ice Cream socials anymore? I remember when it was a regular thing -- right up there with Church league men's softball. What a fun weekend. I absolutely loved mom's fresh made Banana ice cream. I have made some of my own since then but I don't think that it will ever be as good.

7. Macaroni and Cheese. Can there ever be enough Cheese in Macaroni and Cheese -- I think not. I'm not sure how much cheese mom put in hers but it was always so rich and creamy. MMM. It makes me hungry just thinking about it. After all Macaroni and Cheese is the universal food group. Macaroni and Cheese with . . . hot dogs . . . tuna. . . peas. . . hamburger. . .etc. . .

-- The next couple things are on the list but are not from mom.

8. Grandma and Grandpa Deglow's fudge. I have never been able to make fudge like their, and it was a staple of every Christmas at their house. We used to try and sneak pieces of it after mom said no more. Of course right up there with the fudge was the whole nuts that you had to use the nutcrackers to open. I can't remember having whole nuts like that anywhere but at their house at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we always had so much fun opening a few. Then, there was the ham. There was always a big ham on the kitchen counter. MMMM. Ham on dinner rolls as leftovers after opening gifts. There are so many more great memories about Christmas but this is a Blog about food so . . .

9. Grandma Hardcastles Biscuits and gravy. I think one time I ate about 20 biscuits with gravy. I am not sure I remember ever going to her house without having biscuits and gravy -- if I was there for breakfast. They are so, so good. I love biscuits and gravy.

10. And rounding of the top ten food memories of my childhood (and after)-- Grandma Hardcastles Fried Peach Pies. Oh My. I think we used to pay a guy who substituted for our paper route when we were gone -- with grandma's fried peach pies. They are sooooo good and soooo bad for you I'm sure. But I can't go there without leaving with a few. Of course now that I am a little older I try to get her to fix less of them as I would like to try and keep my girth from growing too much.

Well, it has taken me a couple days to piece together these top food memories. Of course there are many other food memories (like soup and sandwiches after church on Sunday night) and many many memories associated with these foods . With each food memory there are different holidays and events, different friends, pleasant days, and sad days. I am so glad that my mother taught us to cook and passed on a few of her recipes and secrets -- if not all of them. I am also thankful that my parents taught me to try different foods and I have experienced so many good (and bad -- blood pudding -- YUC!!!) things because of it.