Week 10 - Food Memories
My mother was a reluctant cook; it wasn't anything she particularly enjoyed, but she diligently made home-cooked meals for us. Mom was a working mother; in the morning she would prepare breakfast as well as wash and hang a load of clothes while getting ready for work. Sometimes breakfast was cold cereal, but mostly it was a hot breakfast including pancakes, french toast, scrambled eggs, coffee cake, oatmeal, cream of wheat, or Ralston hot wheat cereal. When my dad's parents Papa and Old Mama went through Tucson, they would bring back a box of glazed donuts. It was a treat when Mom would heat the donuts in the oven and we would have hot donuts for breakfast. Unfortunately Mom didn't much like eggs so sometimes our scrambled eggs would have very dark edges.
My mom also took great care to see that we had balanced meals. Dinner was always served with vegetables and often our vegetables were fresh. On our family farm, the dairy cows were often fed produce seconds from the nearby produce packing plants. Dad would pick out the nicest looking items including carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and fresh melons.
My mom's best dish is Macaroni and Cheese. It's different than most recipes, not as gooey. It doesn't use eggs or american cheese. It uses good quality Longhorn cheese and ground mustard as a seasoning. She also made a mean roast beef which she would serve with mashed potatoes and a brown gravy. My mom never made milk gravy; the first time I ever had it was at Uncle Bill and Aunt Phyllis' house. Now when ever I see milk gravy, I think about Aunt Phyllis.
When I picture my sister Elaine cooking, I see Mexican food. The last 2 times I visited her in Phoenix, she would whip up quesadillas for us to snack on.
My sister Shirley loves to bake and she is an excellent baker. She started baking while still in grade school. One year at the 4-H fair, she won the cooking championship trophy. She had a large collection of cookbooks in her kitchen, and they are well used. When we were teenagers, one of her favorites was a cocoa chocolate cake. The last time Shirley came to visit me, she got out the family cook book and baked home made yeast rolls. She must have gotten the baking gene from my maternal grandfather.
Papa Reppel was a originally a baker, a trade he learned from his father. In his 20's he developed an allergy to the wheat and gave up the trade. His personal recipe book is still in the family. My cousin David went to culinary school. After the death of my grandfather, he inherited the cookbook. My mom's family published a family cook book; some of his original recipes were included in the family cook book.
Papa was born in France. Many foods that Americans take for granted Papa wouldn't eat. Like corn. Papa always said corn was for the animals. When I was in Switzerland, my cousin Aline Reppel didn't eat corn. It reminded me of Papa Reppel.
When I think about Papa Gates and food, I think about water melons; he loved them. He would put a melon in the refrigerator until it was ice cold. He would pull out his pocket knife, slice the melon in half and cut the heart into chucks that moved from the melon to his mouth with the help of the pocket knife. He would then give the rest of the melon to us grandkids to polish off.
My dad's mother, Old Mama earned a living working as a baker during the depression. I have heard stories about her lemon meringue pie from my mother. She was also know for her angel food and sponge cakes. When my folks got married, Old Mama made their wedding cake. The last time I remember Old Mama baking was when my Grandma Reppel died; she baked cakes to be served after the funeral.
When ever our family would have a big get together, it would be a pot luck. Everyone would bring one or two of their favorite dishes. Some of my favorite family memories are of these buffet meals we shared.
My favorite go-to recipe is a lasagna recipe I got from my mom. When I was married to Bruce, his mother Jean said she didn't like lasagna. But she liked MY lasagna. From then on when I made lasagna I would make 2 pans worth and take one to my in-laws. The recipe was included in our family cook book.
My husband Burt doesn't like lasagna, and the recipe makes way too much lasagna for just two people, so I make the sause and use it over spaghetti. One recipe makes 3 or 4 meals for Burt and I. We freeze the extra in a 2 serving size containers.
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