In honor of your two years, I'll tackle the question, "What kind of cooking did your father do when you were growing up?"

As you know, my dad passed away very recently, and he was the chef in the family. Though he never had formal training, he was a cook in the Argentine army and owned a steakhouse for a little while in the mid-90s.

The man could cook anything, and he did -- two of my favorites were his spinach cannelloni with bechamel and his oysters Rockefeller.

He was famous at our temple for latkes during Channukah and the whole community knew about his homemade pizza. (It came up twice during the eulogies!) I finally got his pizza dough recipe, while he was still alive, and I was able to make it a couple of times with his 'supervision.' I'm going to work hard to master it and commit it to memory. You and Adam should expect an invitation soon for pizza night :-)

Love you and mazel tov on your first two years!

I'd love to try his pizza anytime. And his Oysters Rockefeller. For the pizza, I'm thinking we need to figure out a way to "borrow" Christian from Austin Food Journal's mobile pizza oven and take it for a spin!

xo

If you were given a dollar to buy treats when you were a kid, what would you buy?

A Mrs. Baird's fried pie, or a slurpee and bubble gum

Was dessert a special treat or a nightly ritual?

We almost never had dessert at home. But, many nights after dinner and shortly before bed my dad would peel an orange and we'd split the sections. It was always a challenge to see if he could keep the peel in one long piece, and then we'd (my sisters and I) would make a Cleopatra bracelet out of it (going up the arms like a snake)

What food do you throw out? Do you eat leftovers?

I throw out way too much. In the winter I often end up throwing out greens that we didn't get around to using. In the summer it's usually eggplants. We eat lots of leftovers, but Paul has a problem "seeing" things in the fridge, so sometimes we end up throwing out a bit of those, too. I like re-purposing something that was really good, and taking everything out of the fridge and pantry from time to time to see what we can make with what we already have. Last week I made a salad with leftover brown basmati rice, grilled tofu, fresh corn, peppers, black beans, lime, and cilantro.

What kind of cooking did your father do when you were growing up?

Not much. He did grill from time to time, but he was a little overly concerned about the chicken being underdone, so it was often overdone (and burned). He really liked grilling ribs. I don't know why he doesn't do it much anymore.

Who did the grocery shopping?

Mom. Sometimes I'd go along.

Did your family say grace before meals? What was said and by whom?

Almost never. On shabbat sometimes we'd remember to say the motzi.

Where did your family get meat from when you were a kid? If you don’t eat meat, why and what prompted that decision?

The supermarket. I stopped eating meat when I was a sophomore in high school. I was sick and tired of all the meat my family was eating, including fast food. I didn't go completely cold turkey (haha) immediately, but over a period of months I cut out almost all meat. My parents were really annoyed with me and mom wouldn't cook anything different, so I was completely on my own. Add to this that I grew up in a home where the only fresh veggies were carrots and iceberg lettuce, it was a challenge.

What was your first candy bar?

No idea. It was probably some kind of Hershey's bar or a Nestle Crunch. As an adult my favorite candy bars are (in order) Milky Way, Twix, and Kit Kat. I will not eat anything with peanuts or peanut butter or peanut-like flavor even though I have no allergies. Peanuts and chocolate together are an abomination. I have been called un-American for these views.

Did you ever steal a pack of gum?

No. I have never stolen anything. Once I walked out of a Walgreens still holding the lip gloss I'd been thinking about buying and I went back immediately and turned myself in.

Did you make your own beer or wine?

No. My great-grandmother in Galveston apparently had a grapevine and made her own wine. My mom remembers it.


Did you share food with your neighbors? Could you borrow a cup of sugar from them?

No. I can't think of a single time in my life that I've shared food or borrowed from a neighbor. It seems really weird to me, despite the many representations on 50s and 60s TV shows of such an occurrence.

What did your mom make you when you were sick?

Canned Campbell's soup if I was lucky. And toast. And Jell-o. Only red Jell-o, though. My mom is one of the world's worst cooks. I looked forward to waffle night for dinner b/c it was one thing she couldn't screw up.

I still like you even though you think chocolate and peanut butter is an abomination. More for me! xo. Thanks so much for sharing, Lisa. I'd love to hear more about your great-grandmothers home wine making!

Happy 2-year Blogiversary Jodi! We have loved reading your blog from the 1st time we were told you had one. The "Your Life in Food" series has been so much fun, really enjoyable. Almost up to 38 years being married to Adam's father, and I'm still hearing and learning things about Lenny. He made "secret" beer and then blew up an apartment!! Oy vay!!

Congrats on your blogiversary! I just discovered your blog and have enjoyed reading all the food memories. Here are mine

If I had a dollar for treats I would get something from the ice cream truck, or gummy bears and Tootsie pops from the corner store.

Dessert was nightly, and was almost always ice cream. Sara Lee cheesecake or a treat from Sanders (bakery in Detroit) if we had company.

I throw out bread if it gets moldy or hard. I’ll eat leftovers the next day but I can’t eat the same thing meal after meal so I try not to make too much.

My dad had one “specialty” that he made anytime he had to cook. Open-faced sandwiches = hamburger patties on a slice of white bread. My brother and I begged our mom to leave money for pizza anytime she would not be home for dinner.

Mom did the grocery shopping. My brother and I liked to go with her because she let us get whatever we wanted, didn’t matter if it was on the list.

My dad said grace every night. “Bless us O Lord and these thy gifts which we are about to receive through the bounty of Christ Our Lord amen!”…said quickly before digging in!

My mom bought meat at the grocery store. I stopped eating meat at age 7 when I realized meat was animals. I didn’t know any “vegetarians”, I just didn’t like the idea of eating animals.

First candy bar…probably a Snickers at my Granny’s house? She always had those little “fun size” candy bars in a dish on the table.

I can’t remember stealing a pack of gum…I was more into lipstick, nail polish.

Never made my own beer, my husband talks about it, maybe someday!

If the neighbor kids were over, my mom would fix sandwiches or snacks, but they had to go home at dinner. I guess we could have borrowed sugar but my mom was a champion grocery list maker, I doubt she ever ran out of anything unintentionally!

I got more ice cream than usual when I had the chicken pox or a sunburn. I don’t remember getting anything special when I just had a cold.

Thank you so much for reading and even more for commenting, Sara! Your dad's dinners sound kind of terrible. When my mom went out, we would usually make fish sticks or tater tots in the microwave...not much better!

I love the idea of getting more ice cream for a sunburn. Makes perfect sense to me!

Jodi, Congrats on your Blogiversary! Before I met you I did not kow what a blog was. Now " I are on one". Great job, you have made the computer interesting in a house full of rotary phones. I failed to relate in my interview that the beer I made in college was in a "dry" county at the time and in hidding our secret brew we blew up a small apartment in Nagadoches, Texas. What we saved was good but the story was better. Thanks again for the GREAT blogs and say HELLO to that young fellow who forgets to call home. Lenny

You blew up an apartment making beer? I need to hear more about this story....where did you live after that happened?

2 years...a shout out to you & tasty touring... on all your splendid posts...your labors of love .... joyous anniversary jodi!!

i was not the best of eaters as a young child & young adult...
loved chinese food...ate it all the time growing up...we got so friendly w/our local restaurant that after junior high school i would go & help the kitchen make wontons for the soup...but, i am making up for lost time & food sensations now! i do look forward to hooking up w/you & your mom in nyc & having a foodie feast real soon!

btw: would paula h share her banana bread recipe...we love bb!

wishing you & tt all the best & your passion shines thru in your writing... kudos!

I love that you worked in a Chinese restaurant! Not many Jewish girls can say that, Linda! Thank you for all of your support. It means so much to me :-)

Fresh dove. When is his next trip? I'm comin' over :-)

I love your description of the neighborhood you lived in. Mine was similar with all the kids around the same age and we knew almost all of our neighbors and at least one family on every street in the whole neighborhood. Our play area extended for miles around. Such fun!

As a kid, if I had a dollar, I'd walk to the Superette (love that convenience store name) and buy Hershey bars, wax lips, candy cigarettes, Blow Pops, Lemonheads, whatever caught my eye.

Dessert was special until junior high school when my grandmother came to live with us. She was always making peach cobbler or cakes or tea cakes, her version of thick, soft sugar cookies. Then dessert became a ritual. I still miss her tea cakes!

If leftovers don't get eaten for lunch the next day, they won't ever get eaten...and thus, thrown out. I also throw out leftover soup from our Chinese takeout. Ick...not good on day 2.

My father's only cooking as I grew up was to BBQ steaks, burgers, chicken or pork. There was one memorable time he made a pot of chili. The kitchen looked like he'd cooked for an army and the chili was so spicy hot that it was inedible.

My mother was in charge of the grocery shopping so my sister and I spent a lot of time in the stores. She bargain shopped, and we often went to 2 or 3 stores to get the deals.

My family always said grace, led by my mother. My parents still always say grace but my hubs and I do not, unless we're dining with them.

All of our meat was from the grocery store or brought home from one of Dad's hunting trips. Prepare and eat fresh dove, yes. Squirrel, not so much.

I have absolutely no idea what my first candy bar was but my favorite Halloween candy was the old fashioned Mary Jane candies.

Umm, yes. And quite a few other candies until the clerk at the Superette threatened to call my parents.

Sadly, no. My father did homebrew briefly but I was too young to be offered the beer or to even think about sneaking a bottle.


Yes, one of the neighborhoods we lived in was primarily stay at home moms who fed all the latchkey kids and patched up our skinned knees. Borrowing a cup of sugar was easily done.

I can't recall what she gave me to eat but it was the only times she'd buy ginger ale for us to drink. We weren't allowed sodas until we were probably ten years old.

Happy Anniversary Tasty Touring!! Thank you for sharing your talent, humor and good taste with us, Jod! You and the blog are amazing.
Ilyse
p.s. Kit Kat and Nestle Crunch all the way!

I know how you love that crunch, girl!

HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY! Ok... Here goes...

1. When I was a kid, my mom would send my brother, Michael and I to the corner store with a dollar each to get a treat. He would buy a candy bar and some gum. I would buy that ridiculous bag with the paddle ball and the paper dots and candy necklace. Gross.
2. Desert was somewhere between ritual and treat. Rarely spectacular.
3. We ate leftovers. We had "Smorgasbord Night" later in the week where we'd pull out everything that was left and make a plate. My mom cooked a full meal most nights, so there was usually a decent spread.
4. My father cooked all the Italian food. His Aunt Cleo married an Italian, and the food became a part of our family. He would come home from work late at night and make super spicy pasta, because he thought it would deter me from stealing his dinner... but no, I just became obsessed with spicy food.
5 & 6. Mom did the grocery shopping. Nobody said grace. We're heathens.
7. We bought meat from the store, occasionally from the butcher. My grandmother and mother used to nibble on raw ground beef when they cooked. I've always wondered if anyone else's grams did this, or if my people are just twisted.
8 &9. My first candy bar was probably a Snickers, because that's what my mom loved. I never stole gum, but once accidentally stole a bag of Rolos from Target.
10 &11. We didn't make beer/wine, and rarely dined with the neighbors. But we could definitely borrow a cup of sugar.
12. My mother makes the best homemade chicken noodle soup with fat egg noodles. Yum. Cures everything. But if I'm heartsick, she'll make me linguine with white clam sauce.

How is it your birthday week and you give me such a nice present, Lindsay. I told you what I wanted and you gave it to me. If everything in life worked this way, there would be no more wars!

I love "Smorgasbord Night." My mom made dinner most nights also and on the nights she didn't, she would sing as she took food out of the fridge, "A little bit of this, a little bit of that, that's what we're having for dinner tonight!" I'm going to do the same for my kids.

Eating raw ground beef sounded twisted to me. But then I remembered that the French eat raw ground beef mixed with raw egg and it's a delicacy. But the French are twisted so.....

Oh, Jodi, this is just so sweet that your remember this. It warms my heart to know that you will be singing the same to your children. Love, Mom

Oh, love it! "A little bit of this, a little bit of that, that's what we're having for dinner tonight!" Sitting here smiling that your mom Linda sang that as she pulled food from the fridge to make a Smorgasboard meal. Way to go Linda! Jodi, Happy 2nd Blogiversary!

Happy Blogiversary! Some of my answers - My dad grilled a lot and taught me to grill when I was little. We also made fudge together from the back of the Hershey can. He always brought me crackerjacks when he had been out of town. Mom made Chicken Noodle Soup from the can when I was sick, with Saltines and 7-up. Mom did the shopping, and we rarely ate dinner together, and never at the table, so no grace except on holidays.

I used a Hershey can just recently to make a layered chocolate cake. It does well in icing as well as fudge ;-) Crackerjacks were a MUST whenever I went to a baseball game with my parents. I just loved that I was eating something out of the famous song "buy me some peanuts and crack-er-jacks...."

Also, can you teach me how to grill. I still don't know how to do it and I LOVE food off the grill!

Congrats on two years! I love these questions, they bring back great memories. I remember family vacations to visit my grandmother in Lake Buchanan when we'd each get one dollar to spend at the Bluffton Store. Invariably, I'd get a combination of Big League Chew bubble gum, shredded beef jerky in a can (!), and Fun Dip. Thinking back on it now, that all sounds pretty awful, but it sure made my day as a kid. Thanks for the great topic and a wonderful way to celebrate your blogiversary.

Blake - Thank you for sharing your memories! I've never had shredded beef jerky in a can but I DEFINITELY enjoyed some Big League Chew and Fun Dip when I was a kid....especially the big league chew. Can you believe they marketed something that was basically a gateway drug to chewing tobacco and no one thought anything of it?!

Congratuations, Jodi! So glad to have you in my personal blogosphere. Love what you do...look forward to more. Cha cha cha.

Thank you, Cecilia. I can just hear your melodious voice when I read your words.

Happy Blogiversary Honey! I know this has been a true labor of love and you have written such interesting and creative blogs. I love reading them! Keep enjoying and sharing. We love reading them. We will have to celebrate while you are home. I love you! Mom

Thanks, mom. I love you too! I really appreciate all of your comments. You are my most loyal reader! Can't wait to celebrate with an amazing shabbat meal at Rachel's tonight followed by your peach pie and berry crisp. Yum!