Memoir Mondays, Chapter 2
One of my strongest sensory memories is coming home to the smell of Spaghetti and Meatballs, especially on Wednesdays, when we came home from Hebrew school. My mother made her own sauce and let it simmer on the stove for a long time, cooking the meatballs in the sauce. A big pile of spaghetti, a mound of sauce, a big meatball or two, with a dollop of ricotta cheese on top.
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My dad was the Breakfast King. When we were young, his specialty was Eggs McBrodsky– an English muffin or a bagel, piled high with scrambled eggs, a slice of cheese and a piece of breakfast meat. It was a process. Dad was a stickler in the kitchen–cleaning up as he went, making the sandwiches assembly-line style and turning them out efficiently so that everyone had a nice, hot McBrodsky. These days, he might make them on very special request. His other specialty was lox and eggs, a dish I tend to gravitate towards as an adult when I see it on restaurant menus. I generally don’t enjoy lox but fold it into some scrambled eggs and onions, cook it up, and it becomes a nice, salty bite!
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My mom’s favorite holidays are the food ones–Passover and Thanksgiving. Jewish comfort food figures prominently here. The ultimate comfort food is slow-cooked brisket, served with kasha varniskes–bow tie pasta with bulghur wheat in a mushroom gravy, which mom usually made for Rosh HaShana. Heaven on a plate, for sure, especially when made by mom. I’ve had restaurant versions and while they might be good, they just don’t compare to mom’s! Thanksgiving featured some of the best stuffing you’ll ever eat–chunks of bread, celery, mushrooms, walnuts packed into a casserole and cooked until the top is crispy. Of course, I prefer the stuffing that gets cooked inside the bird but with three vegetarian sisters, it didn’t always happen. And let’s not forget the chicken soup. Every Jewish mother worth her salt has a good chicken soup recipe. I’ve had soups that are flat, flavorless and season-less and then there’s mom’s– full, meaty, the soul-healing brother infused with the smell of dill and hearty vegetables. Again, nothing compares. Try as I might, I can’t quite my chicken soup to impart the same flavor and feel. One of these days, I’ll stop trying to make her chicken soup and make it my own… one of these days.
Bonnie K wrote:
This is too much for me Nancy. I am on a diet but no calories to read and enjoy in my head. I didn’t grow up with your mom, mine can’t cook, not really.
After Hebrew school we ate but no feast. Oh well, my mom loved to learn with books.
B
Posted on 02-Jun-08 at 3:14 am | Permalink
Kevin wrote:
Isn’t it interesting how much of our memories can be attached to our taste buds? It shows the power of embedded memories — that they can be activated suddenly by a smell or taste from our childhood.
Kevin
Posted on 02-Jun-08 at 4:08 am | Permalink
debrennersmith wrote:
It is no wonder that so many of us struggle with weight! So many of our memories are surrounded with food. As I read, I thought, My dad… My mom… My grandma… My grandpa… I could have written paragraphs and pages. Not only did you describe wonderful memories of your experiences with your own family and food, you trigger memories I didn’t remember with my own. Thank you. http://www.debrennersmith.com
Posted on 02-Jun-08 at 7:59 am | Permalink
Liza Lee Miller wrote:
I think my daughter will look back on spaghetti and meatballs as a comfort food — she loves it. In fact, I think I’ll make it tonight — as a treat for her.
Thanks!
Posted on 02-Jun-08 at 12:16 pm | Permalink
Stacie wrote:
Hi, Nancy–
I love that Wednesday really was spaghetti day for you (just like a commercial from when I was a kid: “Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti Day.”)!
And are all dads the king of eggs? “Daddy’s eggs” were a weekend favorite in my house, too. I love the sound of lox and eggs. I’ve never had that … oh wait! My grandfather used to make salmon and eggs (he didn’t use lox, but still …)!
Thanks for the nudge down my own memory lane!
–Stacie
Posted on 02-Jun-08 at 10:33 pm | Permalink
Jonathan wrote:
Kasha is usually made from buckwheat, not bulgur.
Posted on 03-Jun-08 at 4:28 am | Permalink
Nancy Cavillones wrote:
@Jonathan: I stand corrected. I always confuse the two; bulgur and buckwheat. Thanks.
@Stacie: Glad I could provide a nudge!
@Liza: Your daughter was probably very, very happy that night!
@Deb: On the contrary. I think so many of struggle with weight because we’ve moved away from that good homecooking and filled our daily diets full of processed crap, abnormal portion sizes and a lack of activity. I didn’t have a weight problem as a kid with those foods, because we were always in the backyard playing or riding our bikes around the neighborhood, and my mother made most of our food from scratch, which allowed her to control the amount of fat and sodium that went into it.
@Kevin: To this day, when I smell my mother’s perfume on the street, I always pause!
@Bonnie: I think I’m going to have to ban the word “diet” from my blog.
Posted on 03-Jun-08 at 5:44 am | Permalink