As a child, as I have said in the past, we didn't have much growing up and what we did have was simple. My parents did the best they could with what they had and as children, we didn't know we were poor. Often meals were a creative concoction of what they had they could work into a serviceable meal for seven. To this day many of my eating habits from those days have not died.
Saturdays were for simple meals. Beloved Father cooked little through the week and Sainted Mother had most of those duties. Let's just say she was 'fair to middlin' and let it go at that. She did her best and she loved us. I guess until you get older you don't have a valid basis of comparison. On the weekends Beloved Father had the supper duty. Saturdays were often goulash (which none of us can to this day duplicate, a sad thing indeed), hamburgers or sloppy joes. My normal afternoon lunch would usually consist of hot dogs, a habit I can't break to this day.
Unfortunately for me, the vaunted wiener has changed over the years. Many are just mushy and it has made me a very finicky hot dog eater. And wow have they soared in price. One brand was 6.49 for a twelve ounce package. That's nearly $8 per pound. Some steaks don't cost that much per pound. Come on guys, these are hot dogs! They are supposed to be cheap and simple. I'll take a simple firm dog over any of those spiced-up foot long mush pockets any day. I guess until it comes to the day I can't afford them any longer. And that may not be long down the road at the rate they're going.
Sunday was Beloved Father's masterpiece. He would sing to records in the kitchen overcooking some meats but generally giving us a dinner we couldn't wait for the rest of the week. For a guy who had no sense of smell he sure could season things. I'm not sure how he managed that. And then there was frozen salad, a treat to be had as often as possible.
A grand thanks to The Mustache for that treat at Christmas. It's been years. For the uninitiated, don't try it at home, it's not what you think.
Ramblings of a 60 Year Old Man - My thoughts on just about anything, in no particular order; Robert Thomas - author.
Oh come on - you take 8oz cream cheese and blend it with the juice from a large can of fruit cocktail. Once it's smooth, add in the fruit itself. Then freeze. the worst problem is finding a container that won't beak when you try to remve the frozen desert. You just can't find those metal ice cube trays with the removable handle which held slots for cubes.
ReplyDeleteWe also didn't know we were poor because everyone else we knew was poor also. We fit right in!
ReplyDeleteHe DID say, "for the uninitiated" ya know!
ReplyDeleteI am surprised you left out chili as a Saturday night meal. Sundays in the winter often were oatmeal with raisins cooked in a double-boiler for the evening meal.
Robert T's all-time favorite meal had to have been Sainted Mother's "Southern Dinner"(!)
Just kidding!
And spaghetti on Sunday was an absolute no-no.
Ahh...memories.
I always liked when we had dinner while watching Disney - particularly when we had candian bacon with anything! Yum! Alas, it's not on the recommended low sodium diet other than an occasional totally ignore the diet!
ReplyDeleteAlas! Since I went on blood pressure medicine 2-or-so years ago, I have had exactly one hot dog.
ReplyDeleteThey are best on the grill, but I also would make them super plump when I boiled them by barely covering them with water in the pan, putting a lid on, and then letting it heat up for about 10 minutes. They would expand to nearly twice the normal size, before collapsing back to normal when they were removed from the pan. Made me think I was getting more for my money.