I've been reading the few posts in answer to Mr. Wally's query and started to
think of the culinary history of my past. I think that because my mother was
a cook who would do things with dumplings that Dr. Frankenstein could only
dream of, I developed a life long interest in cooking and food, (much to the
dismay of my hips). Looking back over the years, I realize now that much of
her cooking repertoire was shaped by a limited budget that had to feed one
hungry husband and 5 growing kids. Many of her recipes were adaptations of
the cooking her mother did during the Depression.
One recipe in particular stands out: fried macaroni with egg. My mother would
cook up a batch of elbow macaroni until it was nice and tender. Meanwhile,
she would melt a wad of Crisco shortening in a huge cast iron skillet. When
the macaroni was barely able to stand on its own two feet, it was drained and
then thrown into the skillet and "sauteed." While this was going on, Mom
broke two or three eggs on top of the whole shebang and stirred it in all
together. It was dished on our plates and topped with a hearty dose of
ketchup.
Minutes later, the welcome cry of: "Get your butts in here for dinner if you
don't want to find out what's going to happen to you!" reverberated
throughout the house.
Although it is something that I have never attempted to re-create, I know
that my Mom and her sisters still enjoy this concoction to this day.
Other meals that stemmed from the Depression were: "gravy bread," which was
two slices of white bread with leftover gravy poured on top of it and mashed
potatoes with hamburger gravy.
Hot, filling and it went great with ketchup. And if you finished your plate,
you didn't get a whack on the head.
MG
np: Nintendo noises, damn this new hearing aid!!
PS: Colin, letter to you in the works.
