Because I walked a mile home after work in the blistering sun, because tonight we’re having bratwurst, salad and sauerkraut (again), because I’m so tired I want to hire someone to take my evening bath for me and because I don’t know if I can maintain a full paragraph with full sentences at this point, I will post for you my favorite childhood/pre-adulthood food memories, and I welcome (no, beg) you to comment on them and add a few of your own.
1. Fried bean and meat burritos from an ice cream parlor in Cloudcroft, N.M., which has long gone…
2. The chicken teriyaki and pineapple mini-muffins at Sea World in San Diego.
3. Raisin bran muffins (when bran was still considered a non-mainstream ‘hippie’ food item) and The Jogger smoothie from the Good Earth in La Jolla, Calif.
4. My best friend Karen’s mom’s ham croquettes.
5. Cinnamon toast eaten while sitting in the bathtub after school, reading Vogue (I was about 12 years old then).
6. Venison fondue after dad’s trips to Marfa to go hunting.
7. Peanut butter frozen yogurt from Heidi’s in Los Angeles.
8. Steak soup from the Iron Tender in El Paso (the building is now a strip club, alas).
9. Late-night/early-morning quesadillas dipped in ranch dressing at Village Inn after a night clubbing in Juarez, Mexico (no more Juarez, not now, no way!)
10. Rice-stuffed grape leaves at a small restaurant in the shopping mall in Alamogordo, N.M.
11. Taco Bell tostadas morning, noon and night for about 2 years of my childhood.
12. My maternal grandmother’s scrambled eggs with coarse ground pepper. The ultimate creamy goodness!
13. And her fabulous molded Jello salad with cherries, celery and walnuts with a dollop of sour cream served at holidays.
14. My aunt’s creamed onions and sweet potato casserole.
15. Dad’s crepes Suzette.
16. Hockaday (the boarding school I went to) corn bread muffins.
17. Baskin Robbins chocolate mint ice cream.
18. Dunkin Donuts French Crullers and Boston Cremes.
19. Peanut patties from 7-11.
20. And biscuits and gravy from The Western Bar in Cloudcroft.
DUNKIN DONUTS FRENCH CRULLERS AND BOSTON CREME DONUTS AND A FRESH CUP OF COFFEE . . . unfortunately there is a dunkin donuts just right around the corner from our house. Can’t comment on a lot because I am somewhat half of a vegetarian, I only eat fish and chicken and turkey. But chicken teriyaki o yes, any time, crepes, that even beats pfannkuchen. My childhood food memories are 1. my great-grannys griessbrei (hot) with sauerkirschen (from her own trees)
2. my dads reibekuchen with lots of onions
3. Moms Kohlrouladen and Petersilienkartoffeln
4. with my first boyfriend at a creamery, eating Schwedeneisbecher: that is vanilla icecream, applesauce, eggnog and whipcream (well, thats a teenage-food-memory)
5. Moms homemade Weihnachtsstollen
6. Chefsalat in Kilians Irish Pub in Munich (and a good guinness)
7. Tandoori chicken in Taj Mahal (Munich)
8. Ente (kross gebacken) mit Gemüse , im Restaurant Ming Dynastie (Berlin)
9. quesadillas and chicken fajitas with pico de gallo at Chili’s
Jana: That is totally making me ravenous, reading your fond food memories. And I think you finally hit my first pregnancy food craving. I’m obsessing over sauerkirschen. All by themselves! Just spoonfulls of it!