I always say that food directly ties us to memories of our past. It’s like music that way. You hear that old song on the radio and it takes you back to a time or even a certain day or moment in your life and you get that warm Deja vu feeling. For me, food memories are very strong. My family often communed around food. Getting together for holidays where you anticipated the fabulous stuffing, mashed potatoes smothered in gravy , and great desserts made with love. My mom used to make homemade spaghetti sauce on Sunday mornings and let it simmer all day. To this day spaghetti and meat sauce is one of my favorite comfort foods. When I make jello, which for some reason doesn’t happen often, it reminds me of my grandmother who used to make jello for me every time I would come over to their house. I ate a lot of jello as I was there all of the time! She would call me in advance and ask what flavor and what fruit addition I wanted. She loved to make me grape jello with marshmallows. Sounds weird, but it was good. She had a pantry full of jello boxes. My grandfather made great milk gravy. He would toil over the stove slowly and meticulously stirring it on low heat until it was thick and perfect. He also loved to BBQ
steaks and hot dogs. We ate a lot of BBQ hot dogs by the pool each summer. Today hot dogs are my guilty pleasure and remind me of my pop pa. Almost every weekend or so we would go to my grandparents and we’d make Mexican food. Homemade shredded beef tacos, rice, beans, salsa, etc. I ate a lot of Mexican food growing up and I haven’t slowed down. I make many authentic dishes now and they are always family favorites. My dad made great chipped beef and gravy over toast. This was a throwback from his military days in the Marines. He made it gourmet style and man was it decadent and good! He is actually a fabulous cook – very gourmet. My entire childhood is full of memories of loved ones gathering together around good food.
I sometimes worry that I might not have made enough food memories for my girls. Of course I cook a lot and they love my cooking, but I make so many different things and I am always experimenting. They do have their favorites. Maybe that’s what they will remember when I’m gone, that mom had no fear in the kitchen as long as she was making something that she knew her family would love.
The Dizzy Gourmet 