Community Chat

[Tinkrbl44]

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@SloopJohnB wrote:

Let me start off saying, if any or all of these items are things you like or liked, I don't mean any offense.  Looking back at my childhood,  I know my parents didn't buy or cook certain foods.  They were both first generation Americans and were used to a different culture.  Although some items I have learned to love, for the most part I still.follow suit.  

Also, we hardly ever bought school lunch.  We brought from home.  Money wasn't the issue, because truth be known, our lunches probably cost more than the school lunch did.  Most of the other children brought peanut butter and jelly on white sliced sandwich bread.  Not us.  It was usually Italian cold cuts or sliced roast beef.  Fridays were meatless, and that translated to tuna fish!  But not with mayo.  Tuna salad was made with a little olive oil.  And the bread was usually fresh hoagie rolls.  Occasionally we would have cream cheese and jelly on sliced Italian bread.

So, some of the foods we never had were mayonnaise and Miracle Whip, Spam, Velveeta cheese, peanut butter, jarred spaghetti sauce, and frozen dinners.

Anybody else have childhood food memories that might not be the norm nowadays?

👩‍🍳🍽🍶

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@SloopJohnB 

I realize that what we grew up with was considered "normal" since that was what we knew .... but ..... just the thought of tuna fish covered in olive oil makes want to gag.   I don't think I would have ever gotten used to that one! 

[SloopJohnB]

@Tinkrbl44 Sorry if I gave you the impression that the tuna fish was covered with olive oil when I said in lieu of mayo a little olive oil was used.  Actually, most tuna fish sold in cans are already packed with water, oil or olive oil on the Italian brands. 

But anyway, in our case the olive oil was used as a binder, or moistener if you will, instead of mayo.  Didn't mean to set off a gag reflex for you.

[aubnwa01]

All the talk of Mexican food reminded me that my mom used to buy the brand XLNT tamales & XLNT brick chili sauce to spoon over them & Gosh, that stuff was tasty!  I grew up in SoCal, will have to check & see if it's still available.

My mom always used Gebhardt Chili Powder & made the best Spanish Rice with it & would add it to other stuff she made, too.  I recently found it at a local grocery store here in Tucson, but haven't opened it yet

[Carmie]

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@Sushismom wrote:

Ah, I remember the Tang! 

The only thing I can remember never having as a child is lamb in any shape or form. My mother doesn't like it so she never served it. 

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We had lamb, but as children wouldn't eat it.

My father would buy a whole lamb from the farmer. They were always so cute  and loving. We would befriend it and play with it.

When It ended up on the table, we would be upset and refuse to eat it. My family always cooked a whole lamb outdoors over coals.

[SunValley]

No "fast food" of any kind or anything deep fat fried or pizza, savory spices, steak, butter, anything Italian or Mexican (pasta or tacos, burritos, enchiladas) mayonnaise, soda pop, pinto beans...the list goes on and on. We ate plain food, not even salt and pepper on the table, and lots of creamed veggies on toast the full week before payday. Pot roast on Sunday with red jello and bananas. Every. Single. Sunday. You get used to it if that's what you have. The world of food, spices, and the wonder of recipes opened up to me as an adult. 

[Burnsite]

No fried food in our house. My mother was grossed out by it.  No tomatoes: one of her brothers had told her as a preschooler that tomato sauces were made with human blood and even though she soon knew better, they made her queasy. I received this "yuck" gene.

I liked oatmeal but not the raisins she would add as a "treat." One of my brothers had whispered to me that they were rabbit do-do. In summer we had Corn Flakes or Rice Crispies for breakfast. When the box ran low, she would mix different kinds together.  (My reaction, "Yuck!") Eventually she allowed Sugar Pop, which back in the 1960s should have been called "Sugar Bomb."  

Meat and potatoes for dinner almost always: hamburger, pork, or chicken. When she could get fresh haddock and halibut, she prepared fish really well, and she made a great fish chowder.

The dinner vegetable was usually mashed potatoes,of which I strongly disapproved. Often accompanied by shriveled canned peas. I would sit near the radiator and throw them underneath, and our little dog Ruffles would eat them.

One year when both parents were on an ulcer diet, we regularly ate boiled chicken with the skin still on. Horrible. When accompanied by mashed potatoes, as it always was, truly the stuff of nightmare.Two or three times a year we would order take-out pizza or Chinese food.  

[River Song]

Today, I made myself fried baloney in bacon grease.  Wow, was it good!  Just like I remembered it as a kid!

[RedTop]

@River Song 

I'm a lover of fried bologna sandwiches too!   Air fried bologna is awesome, and stays nice and flat when cooking.   

[River Song]

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@RedTop wrote:

@River Song 

I'm a lover of fried bologna sandwiches too!   Air fried bologna is awesome, and stays nice and flat when cooking.   

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If I ever get an air fryer, I will keep that in mind.  Thanks for the tip!

[TY]

We never had lamb or mutton in our home until my mom tried cooking it a couple of times. I thought the house smelled like candle wax and said so. I think my mom did too so that was the end of that.

I don't think we ever ate lefse or lox but my high school girlfriend's mom made those and they were delicious!