Hello there! Welcome to our first topic. This is exciting huh? Well... Perhaps exciting is not quite the right word, but maybe it is just a little exciting? Yeah... I am at a loss for a better word.
Anyway.
You are here.
So the letter topic today is:
"Tell me about your parent's cooking. Can you recall your favorite meal? What made it your favorite?"
S and I will be filling these out too... But we are not going to post them first. (I can hear the gasping now. All the way over here.) We are evil. And we want to get as many letters up to Treasure as we can get. So... We are going to be hold outs of a sort. When we get a certain number of Letters posted up in the comments, then each one of us will share what we wrote. One at a time. If we get enough letters, then everyone can see what we both wrote. (And if you know S and I at all, you can see the gleeful dances we are doing in our overstuffed matching wing-back chairs. Yup. We are.)
Let the letters begin!
"Tell me about your parent's cooking. Can you recall your favorite meal? What made it your favorite?"
Letter to Treasure #001:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
8 comments:
Treasure's Great Grandpa could cook although I think he was more like me, being interested in eating. I do recall that there were samples cooked at various markets where he was cutting meat. As a very young kid I was allowed to have various samples of sausage, steak, hamburger, wieners, and what ever else happened to be available. In the days of closed meat cases the meat would age and not be as bright in color but tasted better than when it was first cut, ground, or displayed. This is when steaks, roasts, and other cuts would end up in the hamburger that everyone raved about. As time passed and prepackaged meat counters became the standard display rotating items happened less because the meat was packaged with heat shrink wrappings which reduced air curing. I can recall the first frozen boxes of hamburger meat from Australia causing quite a stir in the market. Shaking the ice from chickens that had been shipped from who knows where was a job that I sometimes got to do, but usually tired of very quickly. I can also recall Treasure's Great Grandpa skinning deer, elk, and bear during hunting seasons. That was interesting to see how the various parts ended up ready for the hunters cook in all their nicely wrapped packages stamped with the contents. Occasionally I assisted in the stamping.
Treasure's Great Grandma was a meat wrapper in the markets and checker in the stores. She was also the one that did most of the cooking when she was not working. She made hamburgers that puts today's gourmet burgers to shame. I also really liked the mincemeat pies. Treasure's Great Grandma also raised a beautiful garden and canned the peaches, pears, cucumbers, and tomatoes which filled the fruit room like a grocery store from floor to ceiling.
My sister really knew how to rotisserie steaks that Treasure's Great Grandpa would bring home. We could easily cut them with a fork. On one eventful day my sister made brownies for a friend that was a "first date". They turned out like concrete. She was not going to share them with the friend, so I felt it was my responsibility to do that. Needless to say, she was not thrilled with my performance. :) Treasure's Great Great Grandmother was raised to think meat was to be cooked until there was no moisture left in it. We referred to it as shoe leather and that may be where I acquired the habit of using ample amounts of ketchup on everything she cooked.
Hi little mister T,
I have a couple runners up for my favorite meal. Plate sized oatmeal cookies is definitely on the list. Grandma's lasagna was too. (The one in the big dish, not so much the small one. There was more to love that way.) Grandpa's frozen cool whip should be on the list too. Just because... Wow, frozen cool whip... In retrospect it tastes like ice cream in England. You'll never get anyone from there to agree with you, but it's exactly the same.
I'm pretty sure the number 1 slot will have to go to Grandma's tuna casserole. Like you're mom's favorite, it's something you'll probably won't see often but for people as old as we are, it was a staple. So the recipe as I remember it (and I've actually made it this way so I know it works).
1 can of tuna
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 box of macaroni and cheese
Open all boxes, cans and seasoning envelopes. Dump everything into oven safe container with a lid, add some water, mix it up, turn on oven, come back before it smokes. (Once you let the smoke out, it's never quite the same.)
Also, since it came up. No matter what your mother may tell you, you can cook eggs and cheese sandwiches in the microwave. You don't even have to use a plate! Though you do have to clean up after yourself as long as your using my microwave...
Love,
Baba
Dear Treasure;
We come from a long line of great family cooks. We have a Chef or two in our family tree that could whip up anything imaginable. Some of our family members can make a feast for 25 with little trouble and a lot of mess in the kitchen, like Aunt Bette and Aunt Toni. Dishes for days. But perhaps it is just that 25 people need a lot of plates and cups and silverware... Some of our family cook small and fast and you discover that there really was a great dinner hiding out in the refrigerator when you really thought there was *nothing to eat*. Your Nona is great at doing that. Some of our family can make meals that are like nothing else your friends will be having, but I promise you, they taste so much better than that plain old mac'n'cheese. Your Bumpa can do this, so can your Aunt Jody. And some of the family cooks love to read and try out the recipes in cookbooks. Your Yamma does this. She will find a recipe and then make the dish and it comes out wonderfully.
Everyone in our family seems to cook in some way. And everyone has dishes that they are really good at making. Which is why it is so difficult for me to pick just ONE that I love best. But... Since I am picking just one... I will have to say it is your Yamma's Tacos. I asked for them almost every year for my birthday dinner, so they might just win by default.
These tacos are not at all like Taco Stand tacos. And you can't find them in any old Mexican Restaurant... But lots of kids who grew up in the 1970's probably ate them and can tell you about them.
Here is what you will need:
--Corn tortillas. Fry them in canola oil, bending them in half with tongs and drain them on paper towels. (If your tortillas have any water on them they will splatter when you put them in the oil. Be careful. Also, make sure the oil is hot.)
--Ground beef. My Mom used the 80/20% most of the time. Cook it up until all brown in a large frying pan and spoon out the grease into a can. (Don't put the grease down the drain in your sink. It will stink and clog your drain, and then it will stink even more. Use the empty can from your black olives, let it harden overnight and then toss it into the trash can.)
--Canned tomatoes. Pick a can of diced tomatoes. Nothing fancy, the plain, non-seasoned ones are what you are looking for. (Use a can opener all around the top of the can, push the cut off top into the can gently and drain out the juice over the sink. Tomato juice stains, so go slow. Push the lid down to get out all the juice, your tomatoes will get a little smashed, that is fine. When you get some of the juice on your clothes use COLD WATER to clean it off. Do this right away or you will have tomato juice stains for good.) I have never figured out a good way to get the lid out of the can. Be creative. (Just know that if you use a piece of silverware, the can will cut into it and make it have an ugly mark in it that will catch on your mouth when you go to eat with it later on. Use something else.) Add a little salt and pepper to the tomatoes if you like.
--Canned black olives. The already sliced kind are easier and faster, but squeezing the olives until they break open is more fun. (It is also easier to eat half of the can this way. Be sure to save the other half for the tacos. Or buy two cans.) Also open the can 3/4 of the way and then drain over the sink. Carefully shake the can a little and then pour out the rest of the olive juice. (I do not know how to get out olive juice stains, but for some reason the olive juice never seems to spray out of the can the way the tomato juice does. Still, use caution when shaking, the can is not a martini shaker.)
--Iceberg lettuce. This is optional. Your Yamma loves it. Use a knife and cut along the side of the ball of lettuce. This will make strips of lettuce. Wrap the rest of the lettuce in a plastic bag and put in the fridge for later. (Just cut of the part that turns orangy-brown. The rest is fine.) I skip the lettuce.
--Canned Parmesan cheese. Not the real stuff you have to grate. The stuff from Kraft that comes in a can. (It is soy free, but still check since you never know. And yes, it is supposed to look like butter colored powder and taste like that.)
--Cheddar cheese. Any kind will do as long as it is not fancy or smoked. Mild, medium or sharp is fine. I think we used medium most when I was growing up. Grate it. (Grate more than you think you will need. Like the olives, somehow the cheese has a way of disappearing.)
--Sour cream. Yamma used to use IMO, which is imitation, but your Uncles and I got her to make the switch to sour cream when I was a teenager. (Be nice to your taste-buds and forgo the IMO. Trust me. The sour cream is way better, and I was technically still a kid so it counts.)
--La Victoria salsa suprema. This is a particular type of salsa. And I am afraid that without it, the true taste of Yamma's tacos will just not be the same. We used medium, mild or hot will work too. If you can't find this particular canned salsa, look for another, just make sure it is in the jar. Fresh salsa, while better is not going to be anything at all like what La Victoria Salsa Suprema is like. (Cross your fingers that they still make it, and look in the center isles at the grocery store for it. Near the nacho cheese and enchilada sauces.)
--White onion. Your Yamma would add some diced white onion to her tacos. I always skipped it. You decide how you want your tacos. (Just know if you are making this with someone you want to be close in proximity to afterward, skipping the onion is the wise thing to do. No, chewing gum does not really help. White onion smell lingers on long after the toothpaste smell is gone.)
To assemble;
Yamma used a baking dish to place all the tortilla shells into. (The kind that is used for casseroles and brownies.) She would then make them all at once and bring them to the table for all of us to fight over. This way, we all got to start eating at the same time. (I have always been more of a make two at a time sort of person, this way I just need my plate and can use my fork, or fingers to get the extra bits.)
Tortilla shells upright, in goes the hamburger meat (ground beef), then the cheddar cheese. Lettuce and onions if you want them. Sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese. (Sprinkle heavily.) Then spoon on the tomatoes, the salsa, and the olives. (At this point will need to press down the stuff in your taco shell to make room for the sour cream.) Then top with sour cream.
When you eat these, they will make a grand mess. You will have sour cream on your upper lip and your nose. You will have tomato juice dribbling down your fingers and onto your wrist. The olives will somehow manage to fall out onto your plate, and the table if you are not careful. And the salsa will ooze everywhere. And if you are eating them with the right person, they will laugh with you while sportin' their own sour cream mustache. And try to swipe the olives off your plate. And if you made them in that baking dish like your Yamma did, they will try to beat you to the last taco. And if you are lucky enough to have that sort of person to share these tacos with, then let them have the last one. It will be worth it. Besides, there are enough ingredients to make more still sitting on the counter. (And you are going to want help cleaning up and putting it all away.)
And THAT is why they are my favorite meal. Food is always better when you have the great memories of those you shared it with.
Enjoy.
Love,
Ama
My Mother was a great cook! Every meal was a "full family meal" where she always made sure we had all the food categories covered! ;-) It's hard to pick a "favorite", but I can share with you a family tradition that's been a favorite to all! If you haven't already guessed it, it's "roll 'um ups"! Mom would never let us call them crepes because she said that (French) crepes were the fancy dessert (Suzette)and ours were just the "French country pancake"! Her Mother made them, and probably her Mother before her! I started making them for your Mother when she was very little. We made a tradition of having these every Christmas morning, and as your Mom got older, she would help me. Her job was always to help butter and sprinkle the sugar on them while I did the cooking. Everyone else pretty much wandered in & out of the kitchen, getting them hot off the pan!
I was always the one in the family that "followed a recipe", but not with these.
So here goes:
about 4 cups flour
two eggs
about a tsp of baking powder
about a couple of tbsp of sugar (your Mother adds vanilla, but I don't)
about 4 cups milk - here's where I like to use whole milk; only time I do, and I think it makes a difference!
Mix everything up to the milk, then with one hand pouring the milk, and the other with the blinder, slowly add the milk, blending as you go. This takes practice. Just keep beating, getting all the dry ingredients is smooth & creamy. When all the lumps are out, and everything is smooth and creamy, continue to add milk until the consistency is that of paint. Then let it rest. While it's resting, get your frying pan ready. Choose one that is heavy enough to hold a good solid heat, flat enough for a good size pancake, at least 10 inches, with rounded sides that you can easily slip your spatula down in to. Your Mom will tell you that I always used a cast iron skillet, one that my Mom used. I liked the heaviness of it, and it sure was well seasoned! I use a stick of butter as it is easiest to swirl quickly around the pan, but if you want to be a bit more "healthy" you can use "whipped margarine" (but not oil!) and it would still keep the flavor. Medium high heat.
Now, go back to the bowl and "test" your batter. I use an individual measuring cup because I like the long handle to dip with, but whatever is handy, dip into the batter and pour, and "feel" how it pours. This is hard to describe, but you want it to be thick enough to just cover the bottom of your pan, but not so thick that it coats it to much. Take the bowl to the pan, and give it a try. Pour about 1/4 cup or so into the pan with one hand while you are holding the pan with your other hand and twirling it, so that the batter swirls over the entire bottom of the pan, coating every bit, but no more. If you have "excess", pour it back. Put the pan back on the fire. Once the cake is "dull", it's time to turn it over, slip the spatula under the cake, half way, and flip! Second side takes about 30 to 60 seconds, and it's done! Slip the spatula under half way and flip onto a plate. If the cake is to thick, to cooked, scrunched, etc....we used to say "the first one is for the dog" and toss! ;-) This is when you adjust the batter if you need to...and keep right on going! Make sure your "helper" is all set up with plates, sugar, the shared stick of butter and a knife to cut them in half! The first (good) one goes to the cook & his helper! I don't know how many this batch makes, but usually it made enough for my hungry bunch!
It's a tradition that I hope will go on and on...even if it's not the "fancy" or "healthy" breakfast choice...but one that filled with a lot of love, laughter and heritage. Bon appetite!
FROM GRAN TO T (part 1),
My Mother was a great cook! Every meal was a "full family meal" where she always made sure we had all the food categories covered! ;-) It's hard to pick a "favorite", but I can share with you a family tradition that's been a favorite to all! If you haven't already guessed it, it's "roll 'um ups"! Mom would never let us call them crepes because she said that (French) crepes were the fancy dessert (Suzette)and ours were just the "French country pancake"! Her Mother made them, and probably her Mother before her! I started making them for your Mother when she was very little. We made a tradition of having these every Christmas morning, and as your Mom got older, she would help me. Her job was always to help butter and sprinkle the sugar on them while I did the cooking. Everyone else pretty much wandered in & out of the kitchen, getting them hot off the pan!
I was always the one in the family that "followed a recipe", but not with these.
So here goes:
about 4 cups flour
two eggs
about a tsp of baking powder
about a couple of tbsp of sugar (your Mother adds vanilla, but I don't)
about 4 cups milk - here's where I like to use whole milk; only time I do, and I think it makes a difference!
From Gran, (part 2)
Mix everything up to the milk, then with one hand pouring the milk, and the other with the blinder, slowly add the milk, blending as you go. This takes practice. Just keep beating, getting all the dry ingredients is smooth & creamy. When all the lumps are out, and everything is smooth and creamy, continue to add milk until the consistency is that of paint. Then let it rest. While it's resting, get your frying pan ready. Choose one that is heavy enough to hold a good solid heat, flat enough for a good size pancake, at least 10 inches, with rounded sides that you can easily slip your spatula down in to. Your Mom will tell you that I always used a cast iron skillet, one that my Mom used. I liked the heaviness of it, and it sure was well seasoned! I use a stick of butter as it is easiest to swirl quickly around the pan, but if you want to be a bit more "healthy" you can use "whipped margarine" (but not oil!) and it would still keep the flavor. Medium high heat.
Now, go back to the bowl and "test" your batter. I use an individual measuring cup because I like the long handle to dip with, but whatever is handy, dip into the batter and pour, and "feel" how it pours. This is hard to describe, but you want it to be thick enough to just cover the bottom of your pan, but not so thick that it coats it to much. Take the bowl to the pan, and give it a try. Pour about 1/4 cup or so into the pan with one hand while you are holding the pan with your other hand and twirling it, so that the batter swirls over the entire bottom of the pan, coating every bit, but no more. If you have "excess", pour it back. Put the pan back on the fire. Once the cake is "dull", it's time to turn it over, slip the spatula under the cake, half way, and flip! Second side takes about 30 to 60 seconds, and it's done! Slip the spatula under half way and flip onto a plate. If the cake is to thick, to cooked, scrunched, etc....we used to say "the first one is for the dog" and toss! ;-) This is when you adjust the batter if you need to...and keep right on going! Make sure your "helper" is all set up with plates, sugar, the shared stick of butter and a knife to cut them in half! The first (good) one goes to the cook & his helper! I don't know how many this batch makes, but usually it made enough for my hungry bunch!
It's a tradition that I hope will go on and on...even if it's not the "fancy" or "healthy" breakfast choice...but one that filled with a lot of love, laughter and heritage. Bon appetite!
From Gran,(part 3)
Now, go back to the bowl and "test" your batter. I use an individual measuring cup because I like the long handle to dip with, but whatever is handy, dip into the batter and pour, and "feel" how it pours. This is hard to describe, but you want it to be thick enough to just cover the bottom of your pan, but not so thick that it coats it to much. Take the bowl to the pan, and give it a try. Pour about 1/4 cup or so into the pan with one hand while you are holding the pan with your other hand and twirling it, so that the batter swirls over the entire bottom of the pan, coating every bit, but no more. If you have "excess", pour it back. Put the pan back on the fire. Once the cake is "dull", it's time to turn it over, slip the spatula under the cake, half way, and flip! Second side takes about 30 to 60 seconds, and it's done! Slip the spatula under half way and flip onto a plate. If the cake is to thick, to cooked, scrunched, etc....we used to say "the first one is for the dog" and toss! ;-) This is when you adjust the batter if you need to...and keep right on going! Make sure your "helper" is all set up with plates, sugar, the shared stick of butter and a knife to cut them in half! The first (good) one goes to the cook & his helper! I don't know how many this batch makes, but usually it made enough for my hungry bunch!
It's a tradition that I hope will go on and on...even if it's not the "fancy" or "healthy" breakfast choice...but one that filled with a lot of love, laughter and heritage. Bon appetite!
Post a Comment