I don't remember everything that happened the summer when I decided that it was time for me to visit my family back in Kingston, NY. I didn't even have a car or an extra dime to my name. My friend Leah decided that she wanted to make a road trip and most of all, she wanted to meet my family. My friendship with Leah sure was a unique one, to say the least and my Aunt Anita was probably the first to realize this. Her favorite day of each month was the 19th because this was the number of Jimmy Ballantine, her favorite obsession on the Columbus Chill.
Leah and I met at JC Penney at Westland Mall. She worked in the salon as a receptionist and I was the Levi's specialist in Young Men's. I could fold a pair of jeans like nobody else. Usually my department was so well recovered that customers were afraid to touch the piles of jeans. I would make them wait for me to get their size from the stockroom so I didn't have to mess up my displays. In my spare time, I called my friend Heather from what was called Mature Men's where they had Dockers and Tommy Bahama shirts. Heather was best friends with Allison, who was a floater and ended up in random departments where people called out sick. Allison always called to tell me which department she was in when she got there. One day, she called and said, "I'm not going to tell you where I am, but here is my extension, call me right back to find out." I called and she answered, "LAAAAAAAAAAAAAMPS, this is Allison!" I laughed hysterically, barely able to stay standing. I didn't even know we had a Lamp Department at Penney's and turns out it was in the basement.
My friend Leah did make the long trek from Ohio to NY, all the way through Pennsylvania. I don't even remember driving. I think she insisted that she would drive the whole way. Leah drove me everywhere I needed to go- work, grocery, home, movie theater, etc. I remember she kept her keys in her purse, but not much else fit in her purse because she had about 73 key chains on her key ring. I don't know if she just grabbed a key chain wherever she went or not- I wonder if she picked one up in New York that summer.
When we finally arrived in Kingston, we went directly to my Aunt Anita's, at Dancin' Tables on Albany Avenue. There, I knew she would be waiting for us with my Grandma, as I had called early in the morning to let her know we were on our way. Leah and I were only in town for a couple of days and it was easy to let everyone know that I would be at the "shop" there at my Aunt Anita's and they could all drop by to see me. We had a barbecue that night and Aunt Anita entertained me and my friend Leah until wee hours of the morning. We laughed at Aunt Anita's "I said to my friend" jokes and Leah just thought my aunt was the coolest. She in turn, tried to make my aunt laugh with very little success.
The next day, for some reason, we ended up at McDonald's. We had gone there because we were starving and could not wait to head out to the grocery, come back home and cook. It was a moment of desperate starvation and apparently, we were not the only ones in need of food fast. The place was crowded and every one of the four registers was open. There was a line at each register. Leah and I stood in one line at the first register while Aunt Anita and my cousins stood in line at the last register. This left two lines in between us. Once Leah and I decided what we wanted, we kept watching my aunt get closer to ordering than we were. Leah suddenly grabbed my arm, pushed me aside and yelled at the top of her lungs, across the crowd of people, "HEY ANITA!!! SUPERSIZE IT!!!" Aunt Anita yelled back, "What?!" and Leah repeated even louder, "SUPERSIZE IT ANITA, DON"T FORGET TO SUPERSIZE IT!!!" This was when Supersize was a newly invented term and not everyone knew what that meant yet. Everyone in the restaurant turned to look at us, anxious to see who was supersizing their meal so enthusiastically.
There is not a time when I'm going through a drive-thru or eating at a fast food restaurant where this story doesn't cross my mind... the time I was totally embarrassed in the middle of McDonald's.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Side Salad and Mom
So many foods immediately remind me of my childhood and my Mom. I have kept track of each of those memories in a journal that has become one of my prize possessions. Each memory of my mother's dinners, described quickly in my journal, has one common denominator: the side salad.
Mom taught me to eat square meals because that is what she cooked. At the time, I probably wished that I had the mother that would order out for pizza, go through the fast food drive-thru, or cook things like Velveeta Shells & Cheese. That was not my mother at all. I am not claiming deprivation. She did treat us to things like McDonald's when it was appropriate (and probably when she had the extra cash). We did order Chinese take-out on special occasions too. She cooked most nights, though, and she always cooked a well-balanced meal. It was rare if we didn't eat dinner together as a family and it was not unlike us to invite one of our friends from the neighborhood. I remember our dining room table in the Hurley, NY kitchen the most, set into a breakfast nook overlooking the backyard through the yellow curtained windows. Somehow, we all fit around the table and it was conveniently located right off the kitchen so Mom could go back and forth to retrieve more food.
We had the formal dining room, which was definitely a room Mom was proud of. She kept her beautiful china and serving ware there, but we rarely used the room unless we had a special guest or it was a holiday. Instead, we liked our cozy little breakfast nook for everyday dinners. Dinner always consisted of meat, starch and vegetable. Whether it was meatloaf, potato and vegetable or Salisbury steak, rice and vegetable it always came together in the meat, starch, and vegetable combination. Mom used frozen vegetables and not canned. This is a practice that I still follow, as the preservatives in the canned variety have always left a bad taste in my mouth and then there is the matter of the soft, mushy texture.
No matter the menu at Mom's, there was always the salad with dinner. Early on, she decided that it was appropriate to teach us that we should eat our fresh vegetables and greens with each meal. We looked forward to the salad portion of dinner. Although it probably filled us up a bit and helped conserve the main course, it was not inexpensive to provide fresh produce with every meal, for a family of six, I'm sure. If this was her goal, I'm sure she would have found other ways to fill us up- more economical ways- more potatoes, more rice, etc. Sometimes the salads were intricate and inclusive of so many wonderful ingredients. Mom was not afraid to experiment and she would purchase a fruit or vegetable that we have never tried just for fun. I remember her buying me a star fruit once just so I could taste it. We enjoyed it when we got home from the grocery, but I don't think either of us have ever had another one.
Usually the salad consisted of very simple ingredients like iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. She would put the big bowl of salad in the center of the table and we would serve ourselves into the smaller, Corningware dinner bowls. Mom kept a box of croutons in the pantry and she would reach in for a few sometimes. She would offer them to all of us, but usually she was the one who wanted them most. I think if we allowed, she would have been much more creative with the salads. I have seen her load up a salad plate at a salad bar and she is the one putting things like chick peas, sunflower seeds, croutons and bacon bits on top. We had a couple of choices of dressing and my sister, Penny, requested her dressings by color. She would say, "orange" for French dressing, "white" for ranch, etc. Dad would always have a piece of bread or two with some butter. This was actually sandwich bread with Country Crock spread, but seemed to do the trick. As I got older, I copied him and I would also reach for a piece of bread and ask him to pass the butter. This was especially important if we were having spaghetti or lasagna.
Sometimes when my friends would come for dinner, they would comment that they didn't like the salad or that this was new to them. My father would tell them, just like he had told us, that they would have to eat their salad before they could be served dinner. One time, my friend accidentally put too much salad dressing in theirs and it looked more like soup. My Dad told him that he had to eat it because "we will not be wasting any food at our dinner table tonight." I felt bad for my friend, but I knew that this was a normal practice for our family. We did not waste food in any way that I could remember.
My brother, sisters and I quickly grew to enjoy the salads Mom served. Recently, I started remembering this tradition again and have started to serve a basic side salad alongside the meals I cook at home. I try to make them all a little different, but they are all very simple. I am not sure I would be serving these nutritious salads now had Mom not formed this habit for me when I was a child. I thank her for that and I hope to enjoy a salad with her soon.
Mom taught me to eat square meals because that is what she cooked. At the time, I probably wished that I had the mother that would order out for pizza, go through the fast food drive-thru, or cook things like Velveeta Shells & Cheese. That was not my mother at all. I am not claiming deprivation. She did treat us to things like McDonald's when it was appropriate (and probably when she had the extra cash). We did order Chinese take-out on special occasions too. She cooked most nights, though, and she always cooked a well-balanced meal. It was rare if we didn't eat dinner together as a family and it was not unlike us to invite one of our friends from the neighborhood. I remember our dining room table in the Hurley, NY kitchen the most, set into a breakfast nook overlooking the backyard through the yellow curtained windows. Somehow, we all fit around the table and it was conveniently located right off the kitchen so Mom could go back and forth to retrieve more food.
We had the formal dining room, which was definitely a room Mom was proud of. She kept her beautiful china and serving ware there, but we rarely used the room unless we had a special guest or it was a holiday. Instead, we liked our cozy little breakfast nook for everyday dinners. Dinner always consisted of meat, starch and vegetable. Whether it was meatloaf, potato and vegetable or Salisbury steak, rice and vegetable it always came together in the meat, starch, and vegetable combination. Mom used frozen vegetables and not canned. This is a practice that I still follow, as the preservatives in the canned variety have always left a bad taste in my mouth and then there is the matter of the soft, mushy texture.
No matter the menu at Mom's, there was always the salad with dinner. Early on, she decided that it was appropriate to teach us that we should eat our fresh vegetables and greens with each meal. We looked forward to the salad portion of dinner. Although it probably filled us up a bit and helped conserve the main course, it was not inexpensive to provide fresh produce with every meal, for a family of six, I'm sure. If this was her goal, I'm sure she would have found other ways to fill us up- more economical ways- more potatoes, more rice, etc. Sometimes the salads were intricate and inclusive of so many wonderful ingredients. Mom was not afraid to experiment and she would purchase a fruit or vegetable that we have never tried just for fun. I remember her buying me a star fruit once just so I could taste it. We enjoyed it when we got home from the grocery, but I don't think either of us have ever had another one.
Usually the salad consisted of very simple ingredients like iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. She would put the big bowl of salad in the center of the table and we would serve ourselves into the smaller, Corningware dinner bowls. Mom kept a box of croutons in the pantry and she would reach in for a few sometimes. She would offer them to all of us, but usually she was the one who wanted them most. I think if we allowed, she would have been much more creative with the salads. I have seen her load up a salad plate at a salad bar and she is the one putting things like chick peas, sunflower seeds, croutons and bacon bits on top. We had a couple of choices of dressing and my sister, Penny, requested her dressings by color. She would say, "orange" for French dressing, "white" for ranch, etc. Dad would always have a piece of bread or two with some butter. This was actually sandwich bread with Country Crock spread, but seemed to do the trick. As I got older, I copied him and I would also reach for a piece of bread and ask him to pass the butter. This was especially important if we were having spaghetti or lasagna.
Sometimes when my friends would come for dinner, they would comment that they didn't like the salad or that this was new to them. My father would tell them, just like he had told us, that they would have to eat their salad before they could be served dinner. One time, my friend accidentally put too much salad dressing in theirs and it looked more like soup. My Dad told him that he had to eat it because "we will not be wasting any food at our dinner table tonight." I felt bad for my friend, but I knew that this was a normal practice for our family. We did not waste food in any way that I could remember.
My brother, sisters and I quickly grew to enjoy the salads Mom served. Recently, I started remembering this tradition again and have started to serve a basic side salad alongside the meals I cook at home. I try to make them all a little different, but they are all very simple. I am not sure I would be serving these nutritious salads now had Mom not formed this habit for me when I was a child. I thank her for that and I hope to enjoy a salad with her soon.
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