Revisiting Childhood

When I was very young (4 or 5 I'm guessing), my dad often made breakfast for me on weekends (my brother was still too young for "grown up" food). Two items that I loved back then have been "haunting" me of late. On was poached eggs with butter and Lawry's salt, and the other was shredded wheat -- large size -- which dad would sprinkle with sugar, top with a pat of butter, and then pour over boiling water, which would melt the butter and soften the very stiff cereal. I wondered later if I really loved these, or if it was just because it was because my daddy was making it for me.

So yesterday, I made a couple of poached eggs, plopped them on a dab of butter, and sprinkled with Lawry's salt. It was wonderful -- though part of that is no doubt because of the sweetness of the memory. That said, nothing wrong with a good poached egg and melted butter.

I don't know that I'll revisit the shredded wheat, simply because I'd have to buy a whole box, whereas I always have eggs on hand.

However, it got me to thinking. Are there any foods you were served as a child that you really loved that you have either recreated as an adult or never even attempted? What was the memorable dish? Do you think you'd like it now?

Just feeling a bit nostalgic. My dad was a great one for trying anything new and exotic, but it amuses me that these two very strong memories are of something so gentle and homely. Food and memories -- powerful stuff.

We had a Universal gas range with a griddle in the middle. My mom would heat up the griddle and fry pieces of Oscar Meyer boloney on to the hot griddle. The boloney would sizzle and pop up in the middle. We called them boloney cups. She would toast some Silvercup white bread, add a some thin cut Velveeta cheese slices with some French's mustard, and make the best sandwich of my childhood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y91AYKOGn74



CSD

chicagostyledog wrote:We had a Universal gas range with a griddle in the middle. My mom would heat up the griddle and fry pieces of Oscar Meyer boloney on to the hot griddle. The boloney would sizzle and pop up in the middle. We called them boloney cups. She would toast some Silvercup white bread, add a some thin cut Velveeta cheese slices with some French's mustard, and make the best sandwich of my childhood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y91AYKOGn74
CSD

I had forgotten about frying baloney to make baloney cups. That came later in life than the breakfasts mentioned above, but it definitely came. There was something very appealing about watching the shape of the meat alter while it heated. Early lessons in culinary physics.

One of my earliest food memories is a bowl of Maypo (kind of like flavored cream of wheat). I loved the packaging and topped with butter and brown sugar, it was a warm welcome for chilly Minnesota winter mornings.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324188873147124948/

My other favorite was pickle and pimento loaf on white bread with yellow mustard. (Washed this down with a rare 7UP when I was home sick from school)

Wouldn't choose either of these now, but I sure loved them as a kid.

janeyb wrote:Wouldn't choose either of these now, but I sure loved them as a kid.

Indeed, our palates change.

I remember the name Maypo, but I didn't remember the package -- so thanks for the link. Lots of other fun memories on that page (and a few things I never saw before) -- graphic design has changed, too.

My little brother liked the pimiento loaf. I preferred the ham injected with flecks of cheese. These luncheon meats were mild and inoffensive, which is pretty much what young palates prefer -- and, in fact, was what these were designed for.

I have discovered in recent years that some things hold up over time (like a poached egg in butter), but others don't. (I ran across some Cheese Waffies a couple of years ago, which I loved as a kid, but really disliked when I revisited them.) Makes me wonder how I'd react to some other of my old favorites -- like the black olive sandwiches my mom made for me (mix a can of chopped black olives with mayo until it holds together, pile on white bread, enjoy).

Fun thinking about how our palates developed over time.

Mom’s pork noodles with sesame sauce - I have a vivid memory (possibly not 100% accurate) of eating these noodles by the kitchen window of our old house and watching the laundry swing on the clothesline. This is my favorite thing my mom made for us and I’ve made it for myself quite successfully.

First you make the pork sauce, or rou zhou in Mandarin. This is a Taiwanese comfort food that’s made by sauteeing ground pork and chopped shiitakes with chopped ginger, garlic and scallion – the Chinese trinity. Then add soy sauce, cooking liquor, and chicken broth to just cover the meat. Season with star anise, 5-spice powder, and sugar to taste. Throw in some fried tofu or boiled eggs, why not. Now you have a sauce that keeps for a few days and can be spooned over rice or noodles for a quick meal.

Next you boil your Chinese noodles with some bok choy. While that’s happening spoon off a little hot water and mix with sesame paste in the serving bowl until it’s nice and runny. Drop noodles in bowl, toss to coat with the sesame sauce, then spoon the rou zhou over the top with some scallions, chili paste, and sesame oil.

janeyb wrote:My other favorite was pickle and pimento loaf on white bread with yellow mustard.

My Mom loves pickle and pimento loaf. Every time I find one, it is discontinued the next time I inquire. The last such example was finding it at Usinger's a few years ago and not since. When I do, I will try to remember to alert you.

Regards,
Cathy2

eating while walking-- your mom's pork mien with sesame sounds delightful. I could probably recreate it from your recipe with a bit of putzing around, but it would be nice to shoot straight to the chase. I searched on rou zhou but google seemed to think that I had an accent and wanted lu zhou (!!) instead, and with fen instead of mien. Sigh.

Anyway, I'd love to try it. I just finally found an online source of a couple pounds of shrimp-flavoured Canton noodles! (My nearest Chinese market is in Montréal, which is 65 miles and one international border away) So I'm ready.
Tnx!

Geo

Geo wrote:eating while walking-- your mom's pork mien with sesame sounds delightful. I could probably recreate it from your recipe with a bit of putzing around, but it would be nice to shoot straight to the chase. I searched on rou zhou but google seemed to think that I had an accent and wanted lu zhou (!!) instead, and with fen instead of mien. Sigh.
Anyway, I'd love to try it. I just finally found an online source of a couple pounds of shrimp-flavoured Canton noodles! (My nearest Chinese market is in Montréal, which is 65 miles and one international border away) So I'm ready.
Tnx!
Geo

Hi Geo, by shrimp cantonese noodles do you mean these:

If so, they will work well with this recipe. I also like using the fresh lo mein or wonton noodles you can find in the refrigerated section of Asia Mart.

For the pork sauce, try searching for "lu rou" recipes as well. This one is pretty close to how I make it, although I sometimes get lazy about including all the spices: https://www.lifeofnoms.com/blog/2018/8/ ... mincedpork

Mix the sesame paste and hot water thoroughly at about 1 part paste to 2 parts water. It should be somewhat runny but cling to the noodles when tossed.

Happy noodling,

Tnx for that Eating While Walking! Looks like a variant on the red-cooked pork method, at least ingredient-wise.

Those are indeed my old fave brand of noodles, but I haven't been able to find them since I left Kansas City. My brother found some other brand, similar enough, but in bigger coils, at a market in Virginia. My nearest market is across the border an hour and a half away in Montréal. Thank god for Amazon!

Geo

Two of my favorites from childhood are:

A lemon pie, but made in a 9x13 glass baking dish, graham cracker crust, and mom would fold in the meringue in with the lemon filling. I'm sure it was from a box. She was too busy to mess with a browned meringue on top.

Second was cinnamon sugar toast in the oven. Yes, that is what we called it. Buttered bread, spread with cinnamon sugar mixed with canned milk, not sweetened, then put under the broiler till the butter melted, the spread was bubbling, and the edges of the bread would crisp up. Yum.

Xexo wrote:Second was cinnamon sugar toast in the oven. Yes, that is what we called it. Buttered bread, spread with cinnamon sugar mixed with canned milk, not sweetened, then put under the broiler till the butter melted, the spread was bubbling, and the edges of the bread would crisp up. Yum.

Wow, I had a deprived childhood. That sounds great.

Xexo wrote:Second was cinnamon sugar toast in the oven. Yes, that is what we called it. Buttered bread, spread with cinnamon sugar mixed with canned milk, not sweetened, then put under the broiler till the butter melted, the spread was bubbling, and the edges of the bread would crisp up. Yum.

The things you could do with sliced bread! Pizza toast was white bread, American cheese, and a slice of beefsteak tomato under the broiler, a sprinkle of dried oregano on special occasions

Growing up in the very Northern part of the UP, we had very little extra money. My Parents were then clever cooks. Soups were a staple usually using cheap soup bones (we loved the marrow, now it seems to be nouveau cuisine* and the prices upgraded - Shit), chicken pieces, etc.... One was "Friday Soup" as we did not eat meat on Friday (good Catholics). My Mom would make a navy bean, with the potato, carrot, celery, onion, garlic mix. It was excellent and my sisters would ask how she got it to taste so good without meat. I told her if you watched you would see that she would use a butter heavy roux.
A couple of others. When we had leftover mashed potatoes (not that much) she would mix them with her flour, etc... and make doughnuts fried in lard. Whoa, those were good. Another fav was she would fry some pork chops in the cast iron, take them out when done, then add cooked macaroni and a squirt of ketchup to the grease left in the pan. You could use a straw to eat those as they would not stay on a fork. Many others, but those always come to mind.
* We laugh about this in another light. Back then Chicken Wings were almost free. She would make those wings in a marinara sauce and we would have them with polenta. My sisters and I laugh today as these have both became nouveau cuisine over the past 20 years.