when I was a kid
Hi all
I finally got on to my own blog. The love and hate with computers. Anyway, here is this week's column. I thought of so many things I could have said, but it is only a little column. Most people in my little town like the recipes better, I think.
One thing I was thinking about was how we remember so differently, ie my sister and I (or is it me?) I do know she always wanted a horse. If I had known how much, I would have put my loud mouth to work.
Next week? See you
When I was a kid......
It doesn’t take much to for me to get to remembering what was, and reminisce when I was a kid. What got me thinking about a whole lot a things was the book I told you
about last week: hallelujah! the welcome table. A lifetime of memories with recipes, by Maya Angelou. With every recipe, she has a little chapter about her life.
As I read, I was reminded of times from my childhood. Even though she is older (and wiser), and we differ in every way from finances to race, I was hooked. As I read, I say my youth before me and my own memories took over.
I saw my bigger-than-life dad sitting at the dinner table, (there were no TV trays-heck there was no TV) pointing at my sister, Donna, and me, with one of his "When I was a kid," examples. It could have been anything from he having to walk miles to school in knee-high snow, to his nickel a week allowance for slave labor.
My sister and I would just roll our eyes. Little did we know we would be using the same words several decade later to our own kids.
I take it back about not having a TV. We did get one when I was fourteen, just going into high school. We were the only ones in the neighborhood to have one. All the neighborhood kids would come over, hoping it wasn’t "too snowy" and we could see a picture. The only television station was WGN out of Chicago. On a good night we got a fair picture.
It was black and white. Our first color was a piece of colored plastic that was placed in front of the screen.
But most of the time the center of our entertainment was the big Philco radio and phonograph console. On Saturday nights our favorite program was Gunsmoke. William Conrad was Matt Dillon.
On Saturday mornings the phonograph would be playing our favorite 78 records while we cleaned the house. Johnnie Ray with his "Little White Cloud That Cried" was my favorite until my dad allowed us to listen to Elvis.
We played a lot of hop-scotch and jump-roping. We liked to jump double-Dutch with two ropes.
We did not walk miles to school in knee-deep snow. But we did walk four blocks to grade school. We even came home for lunch.
Memories are not always good. I prefer to remember the good times and let the bad ones fade. And make new ones every day.
I wonder what my grandkids will say to their kids. Maybe something like, "When I was a kid cars had wheels and there were no space ships to take us to Mars on vacation."
By that time I will be a just a memory. A good one, I hope.
But while I’m still here, I will still be cooking on my old gas stove. With this trip down memory lane, I’ll have to choose something from my mom’s Lithuanian Cookbook. It’s tattered and has notes and hints written in my mother’s hand- and stained from being perched on the counter-top. Just like a cookbook should look that is full of wonderful memories.
One thing there was not years ago was prepared foods. Cooking was done from scratch. I like the convenience of prepared ingredient. Some of them are better than Grandma used to make. Sometimes, though, you just have to get back to your roots, and do it from scratch.
Real potato pancakes are not made with mashed or shredded potatoes, or from a box. My memory does not fail me when I think of how good my mom’s potato pancakes tasted.
Potato Pancakes from Popular Lithuanian Recipes
you will need:
a hot frying pan with bacon grease or oil
Do you have a cast iron pan?
7-8 potatoes, peeled and grated (older ones are better)
2 eggs, well beaten
2 T flour
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls into hot fat, fry each side until brown and crisp at the edges.
Serve with sour cream and/or applesauce.
Enjoy!
I finally got on to my own blog. The love and hate with computers. Anyway, here is this week's column. I thought of so many things I could have said, but it is only a little column. Most people in my little town like the recipes better, I think.
One thing I was thinking about was how we remember so differently, ie my sister and I (or is it me?) I do know she always wanted a horse. If I had known how much, I would have put my loud mouth to work.
Next week? See you
When I was a kid......
It doesn’t take much to for me to get to remembering what was, and reminisce when I was a kid. What got me thinking about a whole lot a things was the book I told you
about last week: hallelujah! the welcome table. A lifetime of memories with recipes, by Maya Angelou. With every recipe, she has a little chapter about her life.
As I read, I was reminded of times from my childhood. Even though she is older (and wiser), and we differ in every way from finances to race, I was hooked. As I read, I say my youth before me and my own memories took over.
I saw my bigger-than-life dad sitting at the dinner table, (there were no TV trays-heck there was no TV) pointing at my sister, Donna, and me, with one of his "When I was a kid," examples. It could have been anything from he having to walk miles to school in knee-high snow, to his nickel a week allowance for slave labor.
My sister and I would just roll our eyes. Little did we know we would be using the same words several decade later to our own kids.
I take it back about not having a TV. We did get one when I was fourteen, just going into high school. We were the only ones in the neighborhood to have one. All the neighborhood kids would come over, hoping it wasn’t "too snowy" and we could see a picture. The only television station was WGN out of Chicago. On a good night we got a fair picture.
It was black and white. Our first color was a piece of colored plastic that was placed in front of the screen.
But most of the time the center of our entertainment was the big Philco radio and phonograph console. On Saturday nights our favorite program was Gunsmoke. William Conrad was Matt Dillon.
On Saturday mornings the phonograph would be playing our favorite 78 records while we cleaned the house. Johnnie Ray with his "Little White Cloud That Cried" was my favorite until my dad allowed us to listen to Elvis.
We played a lot of hop-scotch and jump-roping. We liked to jump double-Dutch with two ropes.
We did not walk miles to school in knee-deep snow. But we did walk four blocks to grade school. We even came home for lunch.
Memories are not always good. I prefer to remember the good times and let the bad ones fade. And make new ones every day.
I wonder what my grandkids will say to their kids. Maybe something like, "When I was a kid cars had wheels and there were no space ships to take us to Mars on vacation."
By that time I will be a just a memory. A good one, I hope.
But while I’m still here, I will still be cooking on my old gas stove. With this trip down memory lane, I’ll have to choose something from my mom’s Lithuanian Cookbook. It’s tattered and has notes and hints written in my mother’s hand- and stained from being perched on the counter-top. Just like a cookbook should look that is full of wonderful memories.
One thing there was not years ago was prepared foods. Cooking was done from scratch. I like the convenience of prepared ingredient. Some of them are better than Grandma used to make. Sometimes, though, you just have to get back to your roots, and do it from scratch.
Real potato pancakes are not made with mashed or shredded potatoes, or from a box. My memory does not fail me when I think of how good my mom’s potato pancakes tasted.
Potato Pancakes from Popular Lithuanian Recipes
you will need:
a hot frying pan with bacon grease or oil
Do you have a cast iron pan?
7-8 potatoes, peeled and grated (older ones are better)
2 eggs, well beaten
2 T flour
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls into hot fat, fry each side until brown and crisp at the edges.
Serve with sour cream and/or applesauce.
Enjoy!
posted by Shirley | 9:40 PM
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