Mt. Oly Welcomes Guest Goddess Susan Elizabeth Phillips!
Feb 6th 2008
Guest GoddessGuest Goddesses
The Goddesses from Mt. Oly welcome the truly talented, gracious, and absolutely adorable Susan Elizabeth Phillips! A New York Times best-selling author, Susan is with us for TWO entire days so join us in giving her a big, warm Mr. Oly welcome!
CHILDHOOD FOOD MEMORIES
There are foods we love, foods we hate, and, most interesting to me, foods that have become indelibly linked in our memory bank with the events and people of our childhood.
For example, my maternal grandmother was very old when I was born, and I only have two pure memories of her. In one, she’s standing over her farmhouse stove stirring a pot of oatmeal, which was creamy and salty, like nothing I’ve tasted since. In my other, she’s studying a box of chocolates trying to make up her mind which to choose.
My paternal grandmother had a distant relationship with my mother. Either she wasn’t welcome in Mother’s kitchen or she didn’t like to cook because I don’t have a single food memory of her.
In my earliest food memory, I’m four years old, sitting in my friend’s kitchen eating a bowl of tomato soup with something exotic floating on top─oyster crackers. My father loved pickled pigs’ feet, and every time I see a bottle of those disgusting things, I have warm memories of the two of us side by side munching on them.
When I think of our family camping trips, I remember the kerosene-laced scent of bacon and eggs cooked on our old Coleman stove, and a wave of nostalgia comes over me. A slice of gelatinous lemon meringue pie brings back the memory of my mother’s pie, which she baked as a special treat for my father. It oozed all over the plate and is, to this day, the best lemon meringue pie I’ve ever tasted.
My childhood Thanksgivings are forever linked in my mind, not with turkey and stuffing, but with the precious glass of Mogen David wine my cousin Kathleen and I were permitted to drink. As for my little sister… How could I forget the night my parents forced her to eat “just one bite” of liver, and she threw up all over the table. Yeah, Sis!
What’s the first food you remember? Are there any foods you associate with beloved or not-so-beloved family members? Were there any food ceremonies that were part of your childhood? (My father carved the meat at the table every night. I can still hear the swish of his carving knife against the steel.) Now it’s your turn.
160 Comments »
160 Responses to “Mt. Oly Welcomes Guest Goddess Susan Elizabeth Phillips!”
Karen Hawkins on 07 Feb 2008 at 12:03 am #
Welcome, Susan! I’m a HUGE fan and have been jumping for joy that you’re visiting us!
My favorite food memory is of my mother cooking pancakes for dinner. Sometimes, if we were really, really good, she’d have breakfast at night and we all LOVED it. I remember the smell of her pancakes, and the maple syrup, but especially i remember the laughter as we talked and joked over the dinner table. Makes me want to go home right now, just thinking about it!
Another memory I have is of my grandmother’s house. She used to make the BEST butterscotch pie and to this day, whenever I smell butterscotch, I think of her and smile.
Ah, great memories!!! I think I need to make some phone calls and reach out and touch a few people!
evlqn on 07 Feb 2008 at 1:19 am #
My paternal grandmother always made fried chicken ansd potatoes for dinner and I got to est some of the “cracklin’s” from the pan before she made the gravy. We always had peach and cherry pies for dessert.
My mom makes the best coleslaw in the world. Whenever there is something happening at her church they call to see if she will make the coleslaw.
My sister makes the most outrageously good apple and red cabbage soup. One of the local sandwich shops asked her if she would give them the recipe.
evlqn on 07 Feb 2008 at 1:23 am #
These are some of my best memories about food,but if you asked my sons what they remembered the most, they would say turkey tacos.
One Thanksgiving my husband bought a turkey so big it barely fit in our oven. He had invited several friends for dinner, only problem was they were ALL pie-eyed at the time and no one remembered.
So here I am with more bird then I know what to do with. We had sandwiches, pot pies,turkey hash, turkey salad. Finally I had run out of ides for that blasted fowl, since we all like chicken tacos I decided to try them with,you guessed it - the bird!!
That night I threw the rest of it away. The next Thanksgiving we had ham.
Audrey on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:10 am #
My grandmother’s homemade soup and homemade rye bread. Still my favorite meal to this day, except it’s never as good as hers was.
I think I remember disasters more than the successes. The garlic toast that went up in flames, the pesto sauce in which my sister thought a garlic clove was the entire bulb……
Judy F on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:58 am #
Hi susan.
My grandmother would have pickled pigs feet every new years Eve for good luck. I also associate sauerkraut with her and my grandfather.
My dad while growing up would let us help him make goetta, I don’t know how much of a help we were since we took samples the whole time. LOL
I always associate French Toast with a gradeschool friend Ginny. Her mom would make it every time I spent the night. I couldn’t tell her I hated French Toast. LOL
My sister makes the best Skyline dip. We have come to expect it at every get together and are very vocal when she wants to try something new.
PJ on 07 Feb 2008 at 7:04 am #
Welcome, Susan! It’s so wonderful to have you here on Mt. Oly!
You’ve touched on some of my fondest memories. My first food memory is breakfast at my grandparents’ farm, probably when I was 2 or 3. I lived with my grandparents while my dad was in law school and my mom was working full-time to pay for said school. Grandpa and my (then single) uncle would get up at 4:30, have a bowl of cereal and head out to do early chores. By the time they returned at 7:00, Grandma would have the kitchen saturated with the delicious smells of bacon, ham, pancakes, biscuits, sometimes fried chicken, sometimes steak, fresh eggs, fruit, hot maple syrup straight from the vats at a relative’s farm, melted, freshly churned butter and smooth as silk honey. Grandpa would always give me extra honey on my biscuit and my uncle would let me snitch pieces of bacon from his plate. They have all been dead for many years now but those memories never fail to make me feel warm, safe and much loved.
PJ on 07 Feb 2008 at 7:14 am #
Other wonderful food memories…
My mom’s lemon meringue pie. Soooo good! Also, her chicken and dumplings. Mmmmmm, melt in your mouth.
My younger brother’s pancakes. He took over pancake making duties when he was about 11 and still makes the best pancakes in the family, especially with blueberries. I’m not sure what all he puts in the batter but they’re the best pancakes I’ve ever had.
My paternal grandma’s fudge. The. best. ever!
My husband’s chili. He made it from scratch, with dried beans, and always to taste, never used a recipe. Fabulous!
A recent memory is my niece’s buttermilk biscuits. She’s a biscuit magician. I defy anyone to eat just one!
PJ on 07 Feb 2008 at 7:15 am #
Judy F, what is Skyline dip? I haven’t heard of that one before.
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 8:03 am #
Okay, Okay…I get it. Someone figured out that today is day two of Lent and I am, yet again, dieting. Come on! Hit me with your best shot.
cail on 07 Feb 2008 at 8:08 am #
LOL Ellen!! Welcome Susan!
I have tons of good food memories. Weekend pancakes that my dad made while we were growing up, my paternal grandmothers cookies and egg custards, trident chewing gum reminds me of my maternal grandma (who i’m going to visit today in FL woo!), my paternal grandpa makes oatmeal for breakfast whenever we visit, my little brother went through a fried rice phase when he was in middle school, my lovely DH’s meatloaf is a comfort food, matzoh brie that my mother makes when i’m sick, and matzoh ball soup that my father would make when i felt ill (he even brought a batch to college when i had the flu!)…
amazing a lot of food I make has some of the best memories, usually because I make it for good friends and family for special (or just ordinary) occasions.
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 8:09 am #
Ooopsie. Forgot to graciously welcome the wonderful S.E.P. Dieting makes me cranky.
I think of you whenever I am washing my car. I remember your story of locking your husband in the trunk. Too funny. Any woman who can get away with that is forever welcome on Mt. Oly.
Keri Ford on 07 Feb 2008 at 8:15 am #
My grandma made the best gravy from left over grease and all use grandkids would get a slice of white bread and smoother it with the gavy. One piece of bread was a meal by the time we coated them!
My mom does the best fried chicken and deer steak. I can NEVER get the breading to stay on, but she magically does and we do it the same way!!??
Chicken&Dumplings and I think of my MIL, she makes them from scratch and they’re sooo good.
Devil’s egg from a different grandma. She’s the only place in my entire family (including the dh’s) that you can find devil’s egg during the holiday!
Like Audrey…disasters. I once caught the oven on fire while baking sweet potatoes. One of my foil’s busted a hole and it doesn’t take long for all that butter to escape and drip on the burner at the bottom!
Gannon on 07 Feb 2008 at 8:16 am #
Welcome, to Mt. Oly, Susan!!! What a thrill to have you here!
Food memories…how wonderful! My grandmother made fabulous fried peach pies (tarts)! None of us have tried to duplicate them, but I may have to just give it a whirl. She also made amazing chocolate cream pie, pecan pie, chicken pot pie, fried chicken, cornbread dressing, etc. Can you tell we are real foodies in my family?!
My mom makes a fantastic fresh apple cake. The recipe was passed down from my great grandmother. Aren’t those the best kind?
Susan, it’s funny you mentioned liver. My whole family loves fried chicken livers. I’ve never liked them, not as a kid and not now. Although I never threw up when I tried them.
My dh loves them, too, but he has to get someone else in my family to make them. As much as I love him, I refuse to cook those. Yuck!
I make a mean coconut cream pie and peach cobbler, too!
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 8:23 am #
My Nanny would make us a vat (there were nine of us) of rice pudding at the beginning of every school year. It was fantastic. Every time I see a box of Carolina Rice I smile.
Unfortunately, she also made a vat of pee soup…ham bone and all. I never developed a taste for pea soup, which is strange because I love peas. So when my Dad forced me to eat it, I did a perfect Linda Blair right at the table. Needless to say, this encouraged quite of few of my siblings to join in.
I can’t watch “The Exorcist” without remembering dinner that night.
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 8:24 am #
I would love some of these recipes! We should make space on the Forum.
PJ on 07 Feb 2008 at 8:46 am #
Y’all are bringing back so many more great food memories. My dad made the best meatloaf with a to-die-for sauce (his mom’s recipe). My mom made fabulous hard toffee (think Heath Bars) with a chocolate-pecan topping. It’s a Christmas tradition but no matter how hard I try I have yet been able to duplicate it. Man, I miss that candy. My dh made sinfully good deviled eggs and black eyed peas. I can come pretty close on the deviled eggs.
Gannon, my paternal grandma made a fabulous apple cake. It’s been years since I’ve had one of those. Unfortunately, nobody saved her recipes when she died. Grrrrrrrrr
My dh made the best creamy scrambled eggs with cream, Velveeta cheese and garlic. I can still smell them cooking over an open fire pit along with the bacon and sausage. Mmmmmm.
Kim on 07 Feb 2008 at 8:47 am #
Susan–Welcome to Mt Oly!!! I am of course the lovely (obsessed) fan who meet you at last year’s RWA and promptly bowed to you *insert VERY red face here* Yes, I adore you and your books!
My mom was a single mom raising 3 kids on a factory workers paycheck. As a kid I never realized a lot of the stuff we ate was because my mom didn’t have money, they were just the foods we ate. Blueberry dumplings, tomato gravy, cold soup (which is just fruit with tore up bread, sugar and milk) and hamburger gravy. Even now (I’m 36!) when I get sick or feel down I call up my mom and ask her to make me dumplings or tomato gravy:D Yup, I’m spoiled. LOL.
Meatloaf will forever remind me of my husband. I was 16 and decided to make him (at the time he was my boyfriend) a meatloaf dinner. I did a big ole loaf with all the fixings. OMG! What a mess. The meatloaf was tasteless and the gravy was thicker than the mashed potatoes. I’ve since learned how to make great meatloaf, thank goodness!
Kim on 07 Feb 2008 at 8:48 am #
Ellen–great idea! I’ll start a thread over in Off Mt. Oly.
Everybody–head over and share some of your best loved recipes!
PJ on 07 Feb 2008 at 8:48 am #
OMG! Ellen, I am LMAO at your “Unfortunately, she also made a vat of pee soup…ham bone and all. ” “Pee” soup would be unfortunate indeed.
Patty L. on 07 Feb 2008 at 8:59 am #
Hi Susan. I am a huge fan. I love all your books and couldn’t pick a favorite for all the money in the world. I can’t wait for your next book. Hurry up, please. LOL
As for favorite food memories, I can remember my paternal grandfather sneaking me chocolate covered cherries when I was only two (he died when I was three). I was the only one of the grandchildren that would eat them and to this day I think of him everytime I eat them.
I remember my paternal grandmother making fried cabbage and I still love it. She also made chow chow from scratch and then canned it, I could eat a jar of it. Wow, I miss them.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 9:00 am #
Yes! I looove Food, My Favourite is probably my mums Chilli. she makes the best Spicy food, so hot it could strip paint but not bitter. My grandma…. Raw Steak. She once served a steak that was dark pink on the outside.
My Mums Friend had us over for dinner once a week at least when i was Young. She lived in the states for a few years and has a Cherry pie recipe to kill for.
Hello Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I do enjoy your books, i’ll never forget Harley Davidson, i think he’s my favourite contempary hero.
elsiehogarth on 07 Feb 2008 at 9:08 am #
Welcome Susan! Oh yeah, what a wonderful visitor to grace the halls of goddess land.
My paternal Gradparents, every summer, use to round up all their grandkids-the least 5, the most 10- and take us off our parents hands and take us to their home and on Sundays to their beach house. The aroma that would wake us up very early, in the morning, was the smell of my Grandmother Dada (actually name Jeanne) baking ginger and molasses cookies. I would run down the stairs because I always wanted to help, to just take in the smells from the kitchen and to stick my finger in the bowl. During that time too, I also loved the smell of lavendar because due to my Grandfather being English he always used the Old English lavendar soaps. To this day, they are my first memories of smell and I truly treasure them.
Freedom Writer on 07 Feb 2008 at 9:17 am #
My Nana made a great macaroni salad, that was a must at most family get togethers. She also made theses cup cakes covered with frosting and peanuts that were fabulous. She also made the best bacon and eggs for Sunday Brunch.
My mom is also a good cook. She makes great chop suey, chocolate chip cookies and her pie crusts are marvelous.
As for me, I make a killer potato salad according to my eldest, and everybody raves at my meatballs.
My mother-in-law couldn’t cook, but she had a wonderful recipe for Sesame Potatoes, that is until she tried to nuke it instead of bake it.
And finally I had a great aunt who loved the turkey butt at Thanksgiving, which does explain a few things about her.
Karen Rose on 07 Feb 2008 at 9:24 am #
Welcome, Susan! We’re so glad to have you here!
For me, it’s my MaMaw Rose’s fried chicken - she knew I loved it and would always make it for me when I was a little girl. I also remember the smell of my mom’s brown bread baking in our little apartment when I’d come home from school. Mom went through a wheat germ phase in the 70’s…
My parents would take me out for ice cream whenever something special happened. One night I’d gotten a good grade on my report card and even though it was raining, my dad took me to Pappy Parkers for their ice cream with the all-you-could-eat toppin’s bar. We came out to find out car hubcap-deep in water - it was Hurricane Agnes and the whole area flooded. Looking back, I now realize that my dad must have known the bad weather was coming and didn’t want to disappoint me, so he took me out anyway. That’s a very nice memory!
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 9:58 am #
Ooh I just thought, since you all seem to love Fried Chicken What is it?? Ive had Baked, BBQed, Grilled, KFC, Boiled and various forms of asian chicken.
ANd Chicken Pizza.
Freshechelle on 07 Feb 2008 at 10:00 am #
So fab to have you here, Susan. I’m a huge fan and though I haven’t met you, like Kim, I’d probably bow. I visit Chicago almost monthly and certain sights give me the good vibes I get from your books. Can’t wait till your next one - no pressure.
Now to food: orange cake from a mix with canned, orange icing. Mom made it every birthday but I was so compliant then, I never complained even though I didn’t like it. Now I crave it and of course, it’s not on the market. However, Cheryl & Co. makes an orange cookie that takes me back. Fortunately, I don’t live near a Cheryl & Co. shop so I might live to see my 50s.
I also didn’t eat a lot of the meals my family ate so I was allowed to get away with eating junk food mostly when we were on vacation. I’ll spare you the details of upending my “meals” in charming little Cape Cod inns or in the popcorn bucket during the intermission of Gone with the Wind… good times, good times.
RachelG on 07 Feb 2008 at 10:02 am #
Welcome SEP!
Your father and my father sound a lot a like. I used to watch him eat pickled pigs feet and get really grossed out. I remember wondering why, out of all the other tasty parts of a pig to choose from, he was eating its feet. Honestly, who eats feet? Other than my dad, SEP’s dad, and … SEP.
My dad also had to have meat at every meal. We always had dinner at 5:30 every night, and my mother is from Texas so we had gravy on everything. When I was in my teens, we finally got my dad used to the idea of pizza for dinner. But only if it was loaded with meat.
Interestingly enough, my mother makes lemon meringue pies every holiday. I don’t particularly care of meringue, but my husband and son live for those pies.
Rachel Gibson
SnikWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 10:03 am #
Welcome Susan!!! and LOL Ellen!!! Not even 10am and I’m already read to PMP.
Its funny that this is today’s topic. This morning, I was packing my daughter’s lunch. I had gotten a jar of “Goober Grape” at the store, because I wanted to share with her, the same thing my mom had given me for lunch growing up. So I make her a sandwich and on a whim make one for myself. I bit into it (cause who doesn’t love PB&J for breakfast?) and am instantly on a trip down memory lane. I made the mistake of saying this out loud ,however, and my daughter freaks and wants to know who is going to take care of her while I am on memory lane. hehehe kids are great.
Other memory foods for me are Baked Beans. but not from the store, the way my dad used to make them. brown sugar, bacon, bbq sauce and garlic and baked in the oven for hours and hours. Doesn’t sound super good, but trust me when I say I would eat these over almost anything now.
Tara on 07 Feb 2008 at 10:21 am #
Welcome Susan and thank you for such a wonderful subject that brings back so many warm memories.
By the time I was born, I only had one grandmother left and she was quite old and didn’t do much cooking and my parents divorced when I was 5, so all my childhood food memories are of my father.
When I was 5 or 6, he had a sales job that kept him on the road all week and home on the weekends, so he would make huge batches of cookies, full of raisins, choc chips, coconut, peanuts, etc. so that he could be sure that while he was gone during the week, us kids would be eating something that was good for us.
The pigs feet, reminded me of one of my father’s vices: stinky cheese. He would bring some home every now and then to have with crackers and beer before dinner. I would love it when he’d let me have a bite and wash it down with a swallow of his beer. It’s still a favorite and features prominently at most family get-togethers.
Oops, outta room…
Karen Rose on 07 Feb 2008 at 10:28 am #
My father used to sit in front of the TV and watch Cronkite while he ate sardines on saltine crackers. Oh, the sodium! Oh, the stink! Remember the “key” you’d have to use to roll back the sardine can lid? He used to let me do that part.
Ellen, had to laugh at the Linda Blair and “pee” soup. I was wondering if that was a deliberate typo or not, ha!
Susan, once, my mom made me eat liver. I did the same thing your sister did. Mom never made me eat liver again.
Who eats liver, anyway? I mean, really? You all who do, really just SAY you do to gross the rest of us out, right?
Kasey on 07 Feb 2008 at 10:30 am #
My grandpa would buy Mogen David for every holiday. He would get out these little shot glasses shaped like wine glasses each year and fill them up for us cousins when we were little. Whenever I have Mogen David I always think of holidays at my grandparents’ house and my grandpa sneaking us a second shot of wine when our parents weren’t looking.
My grandma made the best sugar cookies. I loved them and she knew it so she usually had some around when I was little because I was at her house a lot. I remember making them with her and she used to make the design on the top with a meat tenderizer that left a diamond pattern (When I was little I had no idea it was used to tenderize meat. I thought it was a special cookie smashing tool). I loved squishing the cookies with that thing as a kid and that is still how I make my sugar cookies to this day.
Tara on 07 Feb 2008 at 10:33 am #
Also when I was 5, my father and I had a big showdown over brussels sprouts. I refused to eat them, he insisted I try them. I took 2 spankings and sat at the table and glared at those 2 nasty little green things for several hours after everyone else was done before he finally caved, or I guess we came to an agreement. The “2 bite rule” was in place after that. I had to try at least 2 bites of anything before I could decide I disliked it. I still think he took advantage of that though. Every 6 months or so, he’d come home with a new recipe for liver, and I’d have to choke down 2 bites of it before I could tell him I still hated it.
I do have one ‘kinda’ food memory of my grandmother. I always think of her and smile whenever anyone mentions red snapper. But that’s not because of the way she cooked it, but because of an old dirty joke that she always messed up the punchline to. That tired old joke still gets a bigger laugh in my family if you remember to tell it wrong.
claudia dain on 07 Feb 2008 at 10:34 am #
My maternal grandmother made the most incredible Swedish pancakes in a decades old iron frying pan. The first pancake never came out right, always too thin and brittle. Why is that? It was always the throw away pancake, but then came the good ones. One at a time, she’d pour in the batter and in just a few minutes the pancake would be ready. One to a plate, smeared with lingonberry jam, rolled up, and eaten exactly like a crepe. I still miss those pancakes! My sister got the iron frying pan. I hope she’s making good use of it!
Welcome Susan! I have great memories of bacon and eggs over the Coleman stove, the scent of pine in the air, but washing up the dishes in the spigot at the campsite kind of tarnishes the memory. LOL
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 10:35 am #
Cookies, Cookies, Cookies, My mum once made chocolate milk powder, Oat flake and Bran cookies… they ARE the most horrific thing to give a hungry kid who doesnt like Bran or Oats. (what was she thinking)
Oh, Oh, and eating Mashed potato that my grandma had turned blue (or pink) with food dye. Or Milo sandwiches, Or Devonshire tea, or My Aunt using a straw too suck the marrowbone out of a roast. ANd maybe Sitting at Hungry Jacks (Burger King) with my cousins mixing up bad cocktails of Coke and 2 kinds of Fanta with a splash of Sprite just to see what it would taste like. And eating a choc muffin with my cat on my shoulder trying to eat it too. Oh Fond memories… like living in a motel and getting to use the old Commercial kitchen from when they served food and Going out for a walk at 6am so i can have Bacon. …. I should probably Shut up now.
Julia London on 07 Feb 2008 at 10:38 am #
I have never eaten pig feet and I can promise everyone here I never will
Welcome, Susan! We are thrilled to have you at Goddess blogs.
My food memories are maaaaany. But one that pops to mind is that my mom kept moon pies in a cabinet below counter level so we could help ourselves. Every afternoon, a moon pie and a coke. HA. She denies it now and tries to convince us we ate fruit, but I know my moon pie memories.
A food ritual memory — when I was very young, the whole family sang the blessing at dinner every night. Its a little ditty, but something we kids very much embraced it as our own and insisted on it every night. We still do it sometimes just to annoy our spouses and children.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 10:39 am #
Lingonberry Jam Rocks, or as it has on my Ikea jar “Lingonsylt”. I love that stuff though my family thinks im nuts for eating it with ham, without ham, on toast, on bread, ect…
MaryR on 07 Feb 2008 at 10:53 am #
My grandpa used to walk around our annual New Year’s Fondue Gathering with a tray. He’d walk up to you and say, “Want some roast beef?” We all knew he had beef tongue on his tray and just wanted to trick up into eating it so he could say, “Wasn’t that good? It’s not roast beef — IT’S BEEF TONGUE!”
He thought he was sooooo funny. By the twentieth year, it had palled, but he was still pretty cute walking around with his tray, so we humored him.
RachelG on 07 Feb 2008 at 11:02 am #
Mogen David fans. What is the difference between Mogen David and MD 20 20? I assume they are different–right?
rachelg
Suzanne Enoch on 07 Feb 2008 at 11:10 am #
It’s cooking “accidents” that always remind me of my grandmother. Bless her heart, she just couldn’t cook. Anytime I see rock-hard biscuits or hear about some wacky food combo (once she got confused and smothered a Christmas turkey with pineapples), I think of Grandma Rose.
claudia dain on 07 Feb 2008 at 11:18 am #
Malady, who on earth wouldn’t KILL for lingonberry jam? It’s amazing, incredible stuff. I’m sure it would taste great on steak, never mind ham! Well, as we say in my family, “More for me!”
Karen Hawkins on 07 Feb 2008 at 11:24 am #
I’m gettin’ hungry!!!
KariE on 07 Feb 2008 at 11:54 am #
I second that!!!
Susan Elizabeth Phillips on 07 Feb 2008 at 12:25 pm #
Loving hearing all your food memories and thanks for the warm welcome. (I did not LOCK my husband in the car trunk. I CLOSED him in the car trunk. Big difference!) I”m also kind of kicking myself for doing food memories right now while I, too, am trying to get off a few stubborn pounds. I Tivoed Oprah yesterday and listened to Dr. Oz last night talk about longevity. As a result, I had my steel cut oatmeal this morning, which I love, but which doesn’t hold me for very long. Anybody else have this issue with oatmeal. I’m already hungry!
Holli A. on 07 Feb 2008 at 12:29 pm #
Since my parents couldn’t/wouldn’t cook, I grew up on TV dinners (the Swanson kind with the foil on top that you had to put in the oven), Kraft Mac & Cheese, hot dogs, PB&J, and the only thing my mother could make, Tuna Noodle Casserole (with the crumbled potato chips on top). My favorite food memories were trips to Parky’s Hot Dogs in Berwyn, IL, whenever we visited my Great Aunt Minnie. I also loved trips to McDonald’s - there were a lot fewer restaurants when I was a kid. The food experience that got me into the most trouble as a kid was when I would take the entire box of Lucky Charms and empty them on a cookie sheet, the proceed to eat all of the marshmallows and put all the cereal bax in the box. I wonder if my mother ever called me a “cereal killer”. (ha ha)
Needless to say, I can’t really cook either, but fortunately for me I have a great Italian hubbie who taught me a few key dishes, which I make once & a while (I wouldn’t want to subject him to my cooking very often).
Karen Hawkins on 07 Feb 2008 at 12:39 pm #
Susan, I eat oatmeal every morning around 7:30 am and I’m ALWAYS starving by 10 am. So I eat a light yogurt and that gets me to lunch. Outmeal doesn’t last, but it tastes yummy — love the Maple and Brown Sugar flavor!
RachelG on 07 Feb 2008 at 12:40 pm #
Holli A,
You are a lucky dog. I dreamed of Swanson dinners growing up. We never got to eat anthing that was out of a box. Once my mother made mac and cheese. Only she made it from scratch and it sucked.
rg
KariE on 07 Feb 2008 at 12:46 pm #
>>>Anybody else have this issue with oatmeal. I’m already hungry!
ME ME!!!
I have a bowl every morning and it never fails, I am hungry by 11.
WELCOME!!
Food Memory-
Anything to do with strawberries I think this awesome stawberry fight my childhood friend and I had. It was great. We were coved from head to toe in red dots where we got pelted by the strawberries. The next year, our mothers did NOT plant strawberries in the garden.
Acron Squash- At almost every family dinner grandma would make squash. I loved it!! It took me 10 years to make it on my own. Good stuff.
Home Made Nachos- My dad would come home from work and grab a plate, cover it with tortilla chips then cover those with shredded chesse. He would then microwave it and then eat it. I never figured out the good part of it. Bleck!!
Kim on 07 Feb 2008 at 12:53 pm #
For all you oatmeal lovers out there, while oatmeal is really good for your heart its horrible nutrition wise! Its nothing but carbs especially after you add in the milk, even skim. To be honest, a bowl of oatmeal is about the equivelent to 4-5 slices of wheat toast. Carbs fill you up right now but don’t last, they burn up too fast. And there is next to no protein. Your best bet is to have a small bowl of oatmeal and include some eggs or other protein food. Maybe even a protein shake. Also, including a little bit of fat will help make you feel fuller longer. I guess you could even have your oatmeal for breakfast and then a mid-morning snack of some sliced cheese.
Kim, who knows way too much about food and carbs!
Kim on 07 Feb 2008 at 12:56 pm #
Kari–one year me and my bf had an air freshener fight! LOL. Oh but how we stunk. I don’t think my mom bought glade air fresheners ever again.
Speaking of tv dinners (we also had a lot of those and pot pies) does anyone rememeber the Banquet Pot Pies that were mac & cheese or spaghetti? Man, I loved those.
Poor RachelG! Your mac & cheese post reminds me of the MacDonald’s scene from Eddie Murphy Raw. LOL.
SnikyWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 12:56 pm #
Thinking on this today has 1. Made me very hungry. and 2. Has brought back a lot of cool memories!
Yellow Squash with Bacon - KariE and I were roomies (pre Lawn Debacle) and she made some squash. I snubbed my nose and said squash is icky, but the way she made it with the bacon and the wonderfullness…I love love love yellow squash now. I also remember her setting down a plate of the squash and one of my cats digging in LOL she was very upset.
Fried Bologna and Poor Man’s Desert- We were kinda poor growing up and my mom is NOT a cook. She is trying now because my foodie habits are rubbing off on her, but when we were growing up her specialty were fried bologna sandwiches. The more burned the better. Poor man’s desert is still one of my favorites. Its just toast, buttered and then sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar…but it makes me remember life with both my parents.
KariE on 07 Feb 2008 at 1:08 pm #
Kim, you just popped my health bubble!! And here I thougth I was eating good with the oatmeal instead of the Honey Nut Cheerios. ( I agree with KarenH-Maple and brown sugar is the best!! I no loger get the variety since I can get it all in one flavor!)
Does anyone remember those single serve french fries? The came in a small box that you nuked then you pealed the top back sprinkled with salt and ate the heck out of them? Ohhh were they good.
Sniky- Lets not talk about the cat. Stanley? Wasn’t that his name? He was a freak of nature.
Julia London on 07 Feb 2008 at 1:20 pm #
Susan, I have to eat a vegetarian protein patty with it or I pass out. HOWEVER, Kashi now has oatmeal with protein in it — something like 10 grams — and that holds me.
Rachel G, I don’t know if there is a difference between Mogen David and MadDog 20/20, but I know that during a blizzard one year, my family was stuck with nothing but some cards and poker chips and a bottle of MadDog, and to this day, we still cannot talk about That Night without tempers and hurt feelings.
Karen Hawkins on 07 Feb 2008 at 1:32 pm #
JuliaL, MadDog 20/20 was the staple of my College Years Fun Festivities. That and malt liguor. i can’t imagine a whole group of grownups drinking it — voluntarily, too!
MMM, pot pies. That makes me think about college, too, and all the times I used to eat pot pies when the dorm was so cold and it’d warm me (and my tummy) right up! I never could afford the school’s meal plan, so it was me and my toaster oven for a few years. Yummmm!
RachelG on 07 Feb 2008 at 1:35 pm #
Kim
My mom was just like Eddie Murphy’s mom. If we wanted McDonalds, she’d “make” McDonalds burgers. Yeah, like McDonalds is always putting big onions and green peppers in their hamburgers.
Julia,
MadDog makes people crazy. Not that I know this from experience or anything.
rachelg
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 1:38 pm #
Vege Patti? I like those (i think) but steaks better. And I see That a cat would eat your food as a complement as cats always know if thiers something good to be eaten. My Maverick has the exact same taste in food as me, Mushu (his brother) is a complete foooooool he likes asian sauteed veges and thats about it, and Water, that cat drinks more than any creature ive ever seen. Oh and catfood, though Mushu doesnt like the fishy one.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 1:39 pm #
Hmmm, Well named is it.
SnikyWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 1:40 pm #
LOL yes Kari. It was Stanleigh…she was a girl…but still a freak.
Mad Dog 20/20 is Satan’s Nectar. I cannot and will not divulge the activities that followed my one and only experience with the stuff. There are some things that just shouldn’t be remembered LOL
Gannon on 07 Feb 2008 at 1:51 pm #
LOL, on the oatmeal. I had steel cut oats the other morning and was starving in a couple of hours! It is better for you than other carbs (more fiber). I’ve heard of people adding protein powder (vanilla flavor) to kick it up a little. Maybe I’ll try it….
Julia, moon pies bring back childhood memories for me, too. My mom loves them. My kids just had their first this summer when we moved to NC. You can’t live in the South and not have a moon pie. Sacrilege!
Keri Ford on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:01 pm #
Eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on wheat if you want to stay full!!! I eat a sandwich at 6:30 every morning and am good to go with just gum in my mouth after that until about 10:30-11:00.
Like Kim said, you GOT TO HAVE PROTEIN! It’s the key to loose weight!
Keri Ford on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:02 pm #
Gannon, that is soo true. Moonpies are a staple in the south! I always (and still do sometimes!) went for the banana flavor.
Karen Hawkins on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:05 pm #
I eat the high protein, high fiber oatmeal. It’s called Weight Loss oatmeal and it has 6 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber. AND tastes great, as I said. Pretty good stuff!
It’s interesting to see how Maddog has affected so many people. It’s a wonder it hasn’t yet been banned.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:07 pm #
what is a Moon pie? should i find some? are they good?
Drat. I’m hungry again.
RiN on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:15 pm #
Susan, you need protein! I’ve been working to get more protein in my morning diet so that I don’t get the mid-morning shakes. I eat some cottage cheese or some lowfat yogurt and this helps a lot.
Robin
Tempest Knight on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:19 pm #
Every time I eat “arroz con dulce” it reminds me of grandma.
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:26 pm #
Susan…”Lock him in”, “shut him in”…All I know, is a hubby in the trunk is always good for a laugh.
To all my Gees, the sad truth is, my “pee soup” was a Freudian typo. However I accept that few will believe that with my reputation.
OMG Sniky…you just reminded me. When my Mom would work the evening shift as a nurse, my Dad would cook. What a treat that was. Fried bologna sandwiches were his specialty. After “puttin on a good char” he would put the bologna in a brown paper bag and shake it. He sang the “Fried Bologna Song” while doing so.
We also had “sweet wonder” dessert which was toasted Wonder bread with cinnamon and brown sugar. I wonder if there is a “poor folk” cookbook out there.
Or…
Um Sniky…you aren’t my long lost sister, are you? If so, sorry about the pea soup incident.
Susan Elizabeth Phillips on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:27 pm #
Laughed over Rachel G’s comments about homemade mac and cheese. I never let my kids eat the Kraft ones. Only my homemade variety. The trick was never to let them taste the Kraft ones so they didn’t know what they were missing! I think I have another take on oatmeal. (Or Dr. Oz has brainwashed me!) The steel cut variety is high in fiber and really, really good carbs. With milk, there’s protein. I do think a glob of peanut butter or a scrambled egg white would make it last longer, and I’m glad I’m not the only one with this problem. I love the idea of a mid morning yogurt. We’re a semi-vegetarian family, so I’m always focusing on good carbs. My weakness would be the carbs in Heath Bars, Three Musketeers, Milky Ways, cookies, Ice Cream. You get the idea. Horrible sweet tooth. Then, after all that sweet, you’ve got to have something salty, right?
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:30 pm #
Karen and Julia…I am amazed that there is an alcoholic beverage with the potency of Maddog that I have never heard of before. Hook up my IV and let’s have a taste! If it makes sane people crazy, I wonder what it will do to me. Mmmwaaaahaaaha
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:33 pm #
Susan…The secret is to chase the Milky Way with a bag of Fritos. Trust me.
SnikyWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:37 pm #
LMAO Ellen, I will forgive you for the soup in exchange for the music and lyrics for the fried bologna sandwich song…my mom skipped that step!! !! I say we get the “Po’man” recipes together!
RiN - I met with a personal trainer a while back and he told me to eat cottage cheese and yogurt for breakfast too, but he told me to mix them in the same bowl. It sounded disgusting to me, but I tried it, half a cup of strawberry low-fat yogurt, half a cup of low-fat small curd cottage cheese and not only is it surprisingly tasty, it does take care of the hunger for the morning.
Karen Hawkins on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:37 pm #
;…chase it with a bag of Fritos’ . . . . BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA . . . HAHA . . . HA . . . Actually, that sounds pretty good. I can give up sweet stuff better than salty. THAT hurt.
Ellen, my dad used to make us fried bologna sandwiches, too! I loooooved them.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:38 pm #
What is a Moon Pie???? please tell me. Please. Please. Please. Please.
And I got both forms of Mac and I like My Mummy’s Better. but that may be that i only got Kraft mac after i turned 13 and my mum had a secret ingredient : A whole Jar of Cheese Spread (cheap brand) per Pot as well as all the cream ect. a Pot would last me and her 3-4 meals.
MMMmmm I am really Hungry.
KariE on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:42 pm #
>>Okay, Okay…I get it. Someone figured out that today is day two of Lent and I am, yet again, dieting. Come on! Hit me with your best shot.
>>Susan…The secret is to chase the Milky Way with a bag of Fritos. Trust me.
Ellen-How’s that diet working out for ya??
>>What is a Moon Pie???? please tell me. Please. Please. Please. Please.
Malady-I’m sorry that I can’t help you. I hear Moon Pie and think of a cow under the moon and the pies it makes.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:45 pm #
Eeww. KariE thats gross. and its Cow Over the moon, or so i am told. Space Shuttle!!!
SnikyWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:45 pm #
Ellen - since we have established that we very well could be long lost sisters, let me assure you that Mad Dog can make sane people do crazy things, but what it does to those of us who are already slightly off center should not be discussed. Choose another drink, I beg of you!!
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:46 pm #
Atlantis…. Blast off!!! sorry, news on the TV.
KariE on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:49 pm #
I just saw that. I ran outside to see but it’s too cloudy
SnikyWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:49 pm #
Malady - Moonpies are large shortbread soft cookies on either side of a marshmallow center. This delicious cookie sandwich is then smothered in chocolate or butterscotch. I recommend warmed with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream to find a real diabetic coma.
Tara on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:51 pm #
I had to go look at all my various containers of oatmeal to check out the protein and fiber. For a 1/2 cup, the steel cut oats have 8g protein and 8g fiber. Rolled oats and quick oats both have 5g protein and 4g fiber. 1 cup of 2% milk adds another 8g protein.
Sure oatmeal is mostly carbs, but they’re complex carbs, so they should release into your system more slowly. I usually try to eat some yogurt or string cheese around 10am, but on the mornings I eat oatmeal, about twice a week, I often forget and slide through until lunchtime, no problem. I do hate plain oatmeal tho’, so I usually add some (1/4 cup or so?) raisins, craisins or blueberries and about the same amount of walnuts, which up the protein and fiber, and a sprinkle of cinnamon, which helps regulate blood sugar and probably cuts down on the mid-morning cravings.
I also like the PB and jelly toast sandwich for breakfast, but I’m usually ready for something else a little sooner than I am with the oatmeal.
SnikyWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:51 pm #
Ok i’ve decided…the discussion today has done for my diet what the Economic Stimulus Package is going to do for the economy…
Kim on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:51 pm #
RachelG–I’m totally rolling that you and I both can quote RAW. LOL
Susan–Sorry, milk is a carb, no protein there.
Karen–I use that high protein oatmeal too. I believe its Quaker brand, isn’t it? The banana bread flavor is really good and it doesn’t even need any Splenda.
A moon pie is sorta like a smore. Its a marshmallow smashed between two graham cookies and covered in chocolate. I believe there is also banana flavored ones too. We have them here in Indiana. They’re really good microwaved just a bit.
Anyone seen The Green Mile when Wild Bill shoves a whole one in his mouth and then spits it out on the guard? ROFL!
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:52 pm #
I want ONE!!!! Maybe if i wish really hard one will apear on my keyboard.
Reminds me of Fluff marshmallow spread and Milo Sandwiches.
Kim on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:53 pm #
Anyone eat FlufferNutter sandwiches? Yummmm, peanut butter and marshmallow fluff on squishy white bread.
SnikyWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:54 pm #
Anyone else have fluffernutters as a kid? I know the words to THAT song!!
SnikyWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:54 pm #
LOL Kim!! Get outta my head!!
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:57 pm #
My primeminister just Announced that in Future thier wont be any more tax cuts and that the government surplus with be invested in the Reserve Bank. I dont mind as i dont pay tax, but the Rise in interests rates is still a worry. Odd that Money is much the same the world over.
Kim on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:58 pm #
Sniky–LOL! GMTA, right?
SnikyWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:00 pm #
Very true Malady…and the sad part? You don’t have moon-pies to help you ease your pain. Let me know the address and you’ll have one in a jiff!
SnikyWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:01 pm #
Kim - LOL that they do!!! Nice to be in such good company
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:01 pm #
It just hit 7 am and I am Hungry, Oh Sniky I wish. I really well and truly Wish.
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:02 pm #
MILK is a protein, carbohydrate and fat with vitamins, minerals and water. You can reduce the amount of fat (e.g.: 1% or skim) but it will always have protein and carbs (lactose).
(Remember Rule Number One: Never argue nutrition with a fat chick! Now pass the chocolate covered Fritos!)
SnikyWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:03 pm #
LMAO PMP ROFL Ellen! You just ain’t right!!!
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:05 pm #
Hey, did any of you like Lime Coke? I loved it and it dissapeared 2 years ago, one of those “here try this for 6months” things.
So funny most of my news are about your elections. and Whale hunting and Hail damage in sydney.
Oil went Up!!!! ARGGGH.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:06 pm #
Ellen. I am Shocked. well not really.
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:10 pm #
LMAO Sniky, Malady and Kim. Taxes vs. Moonpies. What a No Brainer that is.
Fried Bologna Song: Dedicated to my sister Sniky…who just saved me from a cavity search in jail after a long night of Maddog 20/20. It goes like this;
Igalee, Bigalee, Zigalee Zam
Rotten eggs and stinkin’ ham
We are rough
We are tough
We eat Bologna
And that’s enough!
Kim on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:16 pm #
True on the milk, Ellen, I just divide my food up the way my diabetes educator showed me. You always counted milk as a carb. Sorry!
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:18 pm #
That is a very FINE song, I suggest that you record and release ono the charts.
RachelG on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:22 pm #
Kim,
I just watched RAW while putting up my x-mas tree.
Maddog truly is Satan’s Nectar. Get thee behind me Satan.
I am a horrible sugar-holic. I went on the Sweet Tart diet once and gained ten pounds. So, I avoid all carbs.
rachel gibson
Suzanne Enoch on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:22 pm #
OMG, moon pies. And I remember the good ole days when I could eat ding-dongs with carefree abandon. Ah, youth. *g*
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:28 pm #
Ding-Dongs??
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:29 pm #
I have a Lingonberry and Bacon sandwich here!!!! mmmm Bliss is in eating comfort food.
SnikyWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:33 pm #
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….(that is the silent laughter during which time I was only vibrating swiftly followed by Kari’s infamous scream laugh in an attempt to catch my breath) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…………….HAHAHAHAHAHA….(tinkle, tinkle PMP) ROFL
:)
The song will live on, of that much i assure you.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:34 pm #
Bwa ha Ha HA, bow before my superior breakfast.
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:40 pm #
OMG…Rachel might be tripping on Mad Dog and raw veggies…she is putting up her Christmas Tree! Quick…give her a moon pie.
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:43 pm #
Malady: A Ding Dong is one of the seven food groups in the USA. It is a chocolate cake with a fluffy white cream center, surrounded by chocolate candy shell.
Okay, you owe me one. What the heck is a Lingonberry?
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:44 pm #
Well, My Mum found An Easter Tree, looks like a little chrissy tree but with pastel yellow bows and paper mache eggs. So Rachels not that Alone.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:49 pm #
lingonberry or cowberry, also called foxberry, mountain cranberry, red whortleberry, lowbush cranberry, and partridgeberry. there are two kinds one for europe and one for N. America. Frost hardy looks like a cranberry plant but with white flowers. Lingonberry is the Swedish name. And as it is a staple food there…. plus it wards off scurvy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingonberry
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:51 pm #
Arr, shiver timbers and we’ll b’ need’n a new MizzenMast. Wot wi’ the scurvy free pirate goddess here. Arrrrr.
Ann in IL on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:51 pm #
My Mom was in the hospital with a ruptured appendix when I was 18. She told me how to make Tuna Casserole for supper. Unfortunately, I grabbed the red pepper instead of the paprika. My Dad called it Flaming Tuna. I’ve never lived it down.
My maternal Grandma made the world’s best sugar cookies. I was one week old when my brothers tried to feed me one. Mom heard me choking and rescued me before the boys put an end to their first sister.
Dad sliced eggplant and coated it with egg and cracker crumbs and told us it was tenderloins. We were in heaven.
MD 20/20 is some bad stuff. I’m surprised it’s still on the market.
Ellen, LOL. The bologna song is priceless. Is there a tune it’s sung to?
Ann in IL on 07 Feb 2008 at 3:59 pm #
Pardon my poor manners……….. Welcome Susan!!!!!! Love your books. When is the next one coming out? Any secrets you would like to share? Goddesses never carry tales, ya know.
SnikyWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:01 pm #
LMAO Scurvy? I can’t remember the last time I was worried about scurvy before now! How bout this Malady…I will send over the Ho-hos, moonpies and nutty buddies, YOU send me the scurvy fighting berries!
RachelG on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:03 pm #
NO! I put the x-mas tree up at x-mas. It’s long since been taken down. Sheesh. I’m not THAT crazy And if I ever did drink MadDog, it was a long time ago. Oh, the pain. The hangover. The unexplained mud in my hair.
rachel gibson
SnikyWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:05 pm #
Rachel! - You had mud too??? Mad Dog is bad bad bad.
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:05 pm #
No tune, we would yell it out like a pack of crazed cheerleaders.
I wonder if Susan minds the turns this Blog has taken. We’ve covered everything from Fritos for breakfast to world economics.
To make amends, I promise to read “Natural Born Charmer.” Not so much because I feel the need to make up for the Fried Bologna Song, but just because of the tag on her website.
“A gorgeous football star.
A lonely Colorado highway.
A woman dressed up as a beaver.
Life’s funny that way.”
Okay, all “beaver” jokes aside, (I mean it!) this is something I have to read!
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:07 pm #
Sniky…It could be worse…You could be a beaver with mud in your pelt.
KariE on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:07 pm #
LMAO!!!!! You post that, Ellen, and expect no “beaver” jokes?
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:08 pm #
That sounded “wrong.” sorry
KariE on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:08 pm #
I think you just did what thousands in advertising couldn’t do.
Ann in IL on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:08 pm #
Ellen, You’ll love NATURAL BORN CHARMER. It’s right up your alley in terms of humor.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:09 pm #
But I bought mine from Ikea. which i believe is GLOBAL. so the essence of the trade is nullified.
Did you know that we dont have any Reeses PB cups or twinkies in this country. ANd i have a stash of Big red I bought as its only available evry few years. So my question to you is, what is a Clark Bar?
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:11 pm #
I was talking about the berries
SnikyWhite on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:12 pm #
Ummm my darling sister Ellen, can we kindly not refer to beaver pelts and me in the same sentence? My mind can’t take it and I think we may frighten the Guest Goddess LOL
Mia Rose on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:18 pm #
HI S.E.P.! So nice to meet you!
And laughing through all of the blogs so far, I’m starving! Even though I just ate my ‘lean cuisine’ lunch. Yum.
Am the only one who is completely lost on what the heck Maddog 20/20 is??? I’m SO lost.
Anyways, re: the blog… the grandma seemed to have the whole ‘cooking’ gene skip over her, so the only memory I have from her and the kitchen is the variety packs of mini cereal boxes whenever I came to visit.
My Great,Great Grandmother though, was a whiz in the kitchen. I distinctly remember her handmade tortillas and homegrown tomatoes that made wonderful sauces. Her house has the best memories… She was Spanish, lived to be 102… and her hair was past her butt and was rolled into a bun everyday. My middle name is Rose after her and our birthdays were 2 days apart.
So she’ll replace my grandma for all food related memories, and I’m sure my grandma’s glad to hear it.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:20 pm #
Beaver, sounds Yummy. just kidding! As for Frightening the Guest Goddess SEP it may be too late.
I know i’d be scared if i wasnt a part of it. Beaver, Beaver, Brown with Paddle tail and like to chew trees? I believe they use Mud to hold thier Dams together, so that they Hold water.
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:21 pm #
After a night of pounding down the Mad Dog 20/20, Ellen wonders if the Beaver costume was a good idea.
“Whadda ya lookin’ at, Johnny?!” she said, wiping the front of her costume. Have nnnt ya seen a beaver before?”
“Arrh, Milady. Not a one that shrivels me Mizzenmast like a good case a scurvy. Wot be that in yer pelt? Moonpie or mud?
Ann in IL on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:25 pm #
LOL…..Ellen, you’re a gift to us all
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:30 pm #
Mud it’d be, Arr. For I’s liv’n down und’rrrr whar thar b’ No Moonpie. Me ship b’ full o’ lingonberry so No scurvied Mizzenmasts slip past me.
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:30 pm #
Well heck, gees! I would have thought the talk of the “asian sauteed veggie eating cats would have scared her away long before my beaver chat. Besides, visit her website. You’ll see where it came from.
http://www.susanephillips.com
And Susan, I promise to be on my best behavior for the rest of today. Since I was little, I always acted up when company came around. My bad.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:33 pm #
Why dont we ask her to join in? being Bad is sometimes Good.
Aye. We b’ list’n ta dis one, Arr.
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:34 pm #
Malady…you live down under? My sister is in Melbourne. I came down there during your bicentennial…did you see me? I was the one driving on the wrong side of the road. (Not to mention my fascination with the backwards flush of a toilet.)
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:39 pm #
I believe we just experienced a cosmic circle of some sort.
Our favorite food, right through to the flush of a toilet.
Grooo veeee
KariE on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:49 pm #
Speaking of food, has anyone checked out the recipes on her website? I’m in some serious trouble!! They look goooooooood!
Wind Lake Bed & Breakfast Baked Oatmeal-This has everything you could want for breakfast:eggs, milk, oat meal, applesauce.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:52 pm #
Very, Groo vee as you put it. And I was a bit young to ‘member your esteemable Driving skills.
But not too worry the Cosmos is in Balance as The Clockwise/Anticlockwise Conundrum keeps Eternity in motion.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:01 pm #
Ellen, KariE when is the American, Talk like a Pirate Day, I want to visit. Plus I’ll be able to buy all that food I shouldnt Eat. mmmm Choco-liscious
cail on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:04 pm #
you guys were busy today!!! i eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast. i have ‘weight control’ cinnamon. i’m hungry by 10 no matter what i eat so, it works nicely. a glass of milk at 10 helps.
i’m off to FL for the weekend. have a great time you guys!
Nicole Jordan on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:05 pm #
Welcome Susan!! We’re thrilled to have you. And y’all are making me hungry and laugh too much at the same time.
KariE on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:07 pm #
Cail-Florida welcomes you with open arms!
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:09 pm #
Ahh Florida. A Holiday is Fortunate at this most welcome time of year.
Judy F on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:13 pm #
http://www.skylinechili.com/recipes.php
Skyline is a local favorite. This is to die for…
We used to have swanson dinners too.
My dad was big on having the same thing on certain nights. It got the point growing up that I couldn’t stand certain foods after having them week after week. My dad is a much better cook then my mom. Does anyone remember Chief boyrdee pizza? We used to eat the dough.
Susan I am the same way with oatmeal. I get hungry again around ten. Usually have one of those 100 cal snack packs or the like.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:17 pm #
()__()
/ oo \
\ U /
()SEP()
/\ /\
\/__\/
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:17 pm #
Bother
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:19 pm #
()__()
/ oo \
\ U /
()SEP()
/\ /\
\/__\/
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:19 pm #
Dang! it wont work. you all get the gist of it though.
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:24 pm #
Is that a beaver hugging Susan?
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:31 pm #
Yup
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:34 pm #
Its a Beaver
()__()
/ OO \
\ UU /
()SEP()
/\—/\____
\/__\/\____\
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:35 pm #
()__()
/ OO \
\ UU /
()SEP()
/\—–/\____
\/__\/\____\
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 5:46 pm #
Close enough.
And if you all havent picked up on it yet I dont believe in dieting or any of that … stuff. Ah the joys of being young.
Malady on 07 Feb 2008 at 6:16 pm #
Good night sweet ladies, And thankyou SEP, i hope we werent too scary but, rather amusing and refreshing.
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 6:26 pm #
Admit it Malady…the beaver art was a bit scary. LOL Good Night Lil’ Sheila.
ladydawgfan, the hungry on 07 Feb 2008 at 6:29 pm #
I think I have gained several pounds just from reading this thread!!! Good grief!!!
First things first: Welcome to Mt Oly, SEP. I love your books!
Second, I have to echo the kudos for Lingonberries. We have had them on the smorgasbord ever since I could remember, but they are getting harder and harder to find, especially here in Vermont.
Third, Mogen David makes wonderful Glogg. My mother prefers it to Manishevitz (sp). Unfortunately we can’t get it in Vermont either.
Those 100 cal snack packs have saved my bacon on more than one occasion when I have had cravings. They are portion, calorie, and best of all in my case, fat controlled, so they are save to have in the house. Best of all, they don’t taste “diet,” so I don’t feel like I am depriving myself of something I really want.
ladydawgfan, the hungry on 07 Feb 2008 at 6:46 pm #
BTW, back when I could still eat dairy products, I would drive over to my sister-in-laws for a bowl of her homemade mac and cheese. Absolutely AMAZING!!! That woman could cook any of the professionals on the Food Channel under the table!!! The worst part is that when I asked her for her recipe, she told me that she doesn’t have one, she cooks from memory and “just adds what feels right!” Like THAT helps!!!
On the other hand, I make a pineapple cake that the people I work with DEMAND I make for any occasion that comes up, including the occasional pot luck. I also learned how to make a mean pot of Red Beans and Rice when I was in Mississippi from a lady who learned at the feet of her grandmother. I’ll post both recipes on the forum for those interested.
Still chuckling over Ellen’s “pee soup!!” Gotta love those Freudian slips!!!
Ellen on 07 Feb 2008 at 6:57 pm #
Can’t wait to check out your recipes! I LOVE pineapple cake
Susan Elizabeth Phillips on 07 Feb 2008 at 7:29 pm #
Oh, Jeeze! I should NEVER have offered to blog here, at least not about food. I just get hungrier and hungrier. Maybe my giggles will burn a few extra calories. (I was WAY too polite to mention the pee soup!)
Answer to your questions… NATURAL BORN CHARMER comes out in paperback on May 1. If you’d like an email reminder, sign up for my “newsletter” (but then come right back here.) I put “newsletter” in quotes because, in a good year, I send outmaybe two, so you don’t have to worry about me spamming you. And yes, the heroine is dressed in a beaver suit when she meets Dean Robillard, the hero of NBC. My husband gave me the idea–but then you knew that, didn’t you?
My new book will be finished this summer. Probably out early 2009. I’m a SLOW-W-W writer.
See you all tomorrow morning when we talk about food and romance. I’m off to find a bottle of wine
Susan Elizabeth Phillips on 07 Feb 2008 at 7:29 pm #
P.S. I love the beaver drawing!
evlqn on 07 Feb 2008 at 7:46 pm #
I love oatmeal but rarely eat anything but toasted 5 seed bread for breakfast. When we need a quick meal and nothing looks or sounds good we have a bowl of Nature Valley Cinnamon cereal and yogurt instead of milk. It is soooo good and filling. However, I am a firm believer in chocolate. Hershey Kisses has a New York Cheesecake flavor right now.
I don’t diet because it usually involves medication of some sort and I am a rotten pill taker. I eat healthy,mostly, with some really spectacular falls from grace.
Oh, and Susan welcome to the party.
Sabrina Jeffries on 07 Feb 2008 at 9:23 pm #
Woowoo, SEP, we’re so thrilled to have you! Believe it or not, I spent the day out with Rexanne Becnel (she’s visiting me from New Orleans). We BOTH love your books!
As for food memories, my earliest one, sadly enough, is of insisting that Mom let me make a mayo sandwich with a thick layer of mayo that she said I would hate. She was right. To this day, I can’t stand mayo.
Good food memories include the big pretzels my dad used to make every Christmas Eve. They were yummy!
bnickle on 07 Feb 2008 at 10:37 pm #
My mom was born in Texas, down along the border near Brownsville, and she made food that was so regional and unique. No one up here has heard of the stuff she used to make: fried cornbread patties, fried apple pies, slow simmered pinto beans, handmade tamales…..the list goes on. That’s all comfort food to me, and to this day, I’ll only eat her potato salad, no other. Funny how those things stay with you and make you feel safe and warm.
Santa on 08 Feb 2008 at 12:26 am #
My favorite food memory is when my family got together to make tomato sauce in our garage. Yes, our garage. Every August we’d trek up to Germantown, NY and pick our own tomatoes for the sauce. After breakfast, the adults would start, bent at the waist, up and down the rows of tomato plants picking off the best sun warmed tomatoes.
Once home, my aunt was in charge of laying all the tomatoes out on tables and making sure they didn’t rot. Huge cauldrons would be filled with cut up tomatoes and set to boil on the gas stove in the downstairs kitchen. The tomatoes would then be pressed by an industrial sized hand cranked food mill, with the seeds and pulp miraculously going in one pot and the skins going into another. The sauce would be poured into canning jars with a huge leaf of basil tucked in the middle, placed in cloth lined pots and set to boil before storage. It was the best sauce you’ve ever tasted.
We stopped making it the year we motorized the food mill.
catslady on 08 Feb 2008 at 5:01 pm #
I have lots of food memories. Mostly foods my grandmother made - she came from Sicily and when she came here they worked a farm so everything was homemade. I remember helping to make grape jelly from their own grapes and of course the canned tomatoes. And her pizza was to die for. Of course only homemade bread with real butter - we all fought over getting the heel. The one food I regret not eating was cannoli (sp). Back then the thought of rigotta cheese in dessert sounded weird to me - I love them now.
Shoshana on 08 Feb 2008 at 11:26 pm #
We have this bitter melon vegetable called ampalaya. I cannot see one without thinking of my childhood cook. She makes it taste so yummy with eggs or with ground meat.
I can’t look at green beans without thinking of all my siblings and I taking turn spitting it out through out window so our mother would think we ate it.