Comments on: Grandmothers http://manolofood.com/grandmothers/ Manolo Loves the Food! Fri, 16 Dec 2011 07:53:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Twistie http://manolofood.com/grandmothers/comment-page-1/#comment-55268 Twistie Tue, 03 Jun 2008 21:59:05 +0000 http://manolofood.com/grandmothers/#comment-55268 I never met my maternal grandmother, nor know what she cooked. She died when my mother was still a little girl. My paternal grandmother was a wonderful woman and a lousy cook. She grew up in a small mining town where they held a contest every year to see who could make a Cornish pastie that wouldn't break when tossed down a short mine shaft. The family scuttlebut was that Granny won every year because hers bounced! At her table I was subjected to hideous, loathesome desecrations of what were once perfectly good meats, vegetables, and potatoes. Everything was boiled, roasted, or fried until reduced to either mush or the elemental carbon from which it sprang. But there are two things she did in her kitchen that made up for shoe leather masquerading as roast beef and sludge of green beans: her preserves and fruit cobblers were miraculous. I've never had a jar of jelly as good as the ones that came from her kitchen. I would kill to be able to make such fabulous cobbler. She's been gone for the better part of twenty years, and I still dream of her berry cobblers. God help me, though, if I ever attempt to eat anything bearing the slightest resemblance to anything else she cooked! Maybe I'll stick with food that would have been recognized by Mr. Twiste's maternal grandmother...the one who died in the bombing of Nagasaki. It may not be my background, but I love Japanese food. I miss Mr. Twistie's mother's home made sushi. Mmmm...sushi. Oh, and Glinda, I'm coming over to your house for spaetzle! What? I've got some German background, too, you know! I never met my maternal grandmother, nor know what she cooked. She died when my mother was still a little girl.

My paternal grandmother was a wonderful woman and a lousy cook. She grew up in a small mining town where they held a contest every year to see who could make a Cornish pastie that wouldn’t break when tossed down a short mine shaft. The family scuttlebut was that Granny won every year because hers bounced!

At her table I was subjected to hideous, loathesome desecrations of what were once perfectly good meats, vegetables, and potatoes. Everything was boiled, roasted, or fried until reduced to either mush or the elemental carbon from which it sprang.

But there are two things she did in her kitchen that made up for shoe leather masquerading as roast beef and sludge of green beans: her preserves and fruit cobblers were miraculous. I’ve never had a jar of jelly as good as the ones that came from her kitchen. I would kill to be able to make such fabulous cobbler. She’s been gone for the better part of twenty years, and I still dream of her berry cobblers.

God help me, though, if I ever attempt to eat anything bearing the slightest resemblance to anything else she cooked!

Maybe I’ll stick with food that would have been recognized by Mr. Twiste’s maternal grandmother…the one who died in the bombing of Nagasaki. It may not be my background, but I love Japanese food. I miss Mr. Twistie’s mother’s home made sushi. Mmmm…sushi.

Oh, and Glinda, I’m coming over to your house for spaetzle! What? I’ve got some German background, too, you know!

]]> By: Glinda http://manolofood.com/grandmothers/comment-page-1/#comment-55230 Glinda Fri, 30 May 2008 19:47:36 +0000 http://manolofood.com/grandmothers/#comment-55230 I'm finding that the older I'm getting, the more I'm craving the stuff my fresh-off-the-boat German grandmother used to make. Homemade apple strudel to die for, spaetzle, dumpfknodle (I think that's how it is spelled), warm potato salad, and all sorts of other German goodies bring back fond memories of a grandma whose cooking meant love. I’m finding that the older I’m getting, the more I’m craving the stuff my fresh-off-the-boat German grandmother used to make.

Homemade apple strudel to die for, spaetzle, dumpfknodle (I think that’s how it is spelled), warm potato salad, and all sorts of other German goodies bring back fond memories of a grandma whose cooking meant love.

]]> By: JaneC http://manolofood.com/grandmothers/comment-page-1/#comment-55179 JaneC Wed, 28 May 2008 04:52:11 +0000 http://manolofood.com/grandmothers/#comment-55179 I had never considered matching my food habits to that of my grandparents either, but then, my paternal grandparents were too poor and had too many children to be at all adventurous, and my maternal grandmother's heyday was the 1950s and 1960s; she made some rather hideous things involving canned vegetables and/or Jello that I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. Not exactly the ideal of unprocessed food. Our only "family" recipe is for meatballs rolled in rice and cooked in tomato sauce, but nothing about the recipe is particularly unique to our family. I had never considered matching my food habits to that of my grandparents either, but then, my paternal grandparents were too poor and had too many children to be at all adventurous, and my maternal grandmother’s heyday was the 1950s and 1960s; she made some rather hideous things involving canned vegetables and/or Jello that I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. Not exactly the ideal of unprocessed food.
Our only “family” recipe is for meatballs rolled in rice and cooked in tomato sauce, but nothing about the recipe is particularly unique to our family.

]]> By: Phyllis http://manolofood.com/grandmothers/comment-page-1/#comment-55174 Phyllis Wed, 28 May 2008 00:02:58 +0000 http://manolofood.com/grandmothers/#comment-55174 In one silver service my mother gave me, I have 16 teaspoons. For years I thought they were just overkill, until I volunteered to serve coffee and tea to my neighbors when we had condo association meetings in our unit. I thanked her every time I used them. In one silver service my mother gave me, I have 16 teaspoons. For years I thought they were just overkill, until I volunteered to serve coffee and tea to my neighbors when we had condo association meetings in our unit.

I thanked her every time I used them.

]]> By: CW Guy http://manolofood.com/grandmothers/comment-page-1/#comment-55167 CW Guy Tue, 27 May 2008 18:47:38 +0000 http://manolofood.com/grandmothers/#comment-55167 Ahh, very interesting concept. I have never considered matching up my eating habits to that of my grandparents. I wonder what they would say if we discussed it? I do try to eat healthy and avoid the blatantly bad stuff...but i'm certainly not without my certain indulgances. CW Guy <a href="http://www.classicwines.com/accessories/gift-sets" rel="nofollow">Wine Gifts</a> Ahh, very interesting concept. I have never considered matching up my eating habits to that of my grandparents. I wonder what they would say if we discussed it? I do try to eat healthy and avoid the blatantly bad stuff…but i’m certainly not without my certain indulgances.

CW Guy
Wine Gifts

]]> By: Casey http://manolofood.com/grandmothers/comment-page-1/#comment-55124 Casey Sun, 25 May 2008 17:11:54 +0000 http://manolofood.com/grandmothers/#comment-55124 Thank-you so much, Mr. Henry. Come on over and I'll bake you my grandmother's chocolate cake. Thank-you so much, Mr. Henry. Come on over and I’ll bake you my grandmother’s chocolate cake.

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