Food Memories
Grandma Anna in Ocean City, MD getting the crabs ready for the sauce as only an Italian would do with the incredible MD blue claw crabs
Have you ever eaten something and it brings you back to an earlier time in your life? Has food ever made you cry with a memory so strong and meaningful? Food memories like certain scents are ingrained in our minds and when you smell or taste, you are suddenly transported to Grandmas kitchen or an amazing vacation you took. Sometimes it’s more subtle and you feel like you are having deja vu.
If you know my story, you know I have a strong connection to my Grandmother’s kitchen and her cooking. She was my earliest inspiration for my love of food and cooking. She was Italian and cooked mostly Italian American food. I was in heaven. Sauce every Sunday and enough food to feed the neighborhood all of the time. I cannot duplicate her sauce, but there is a brand of jarred sauce (gasp! I know) that rivals her marinara sauce. Every time I eat it, it reminds me of my Grandma which is comforting as food should be. It’s worth the extra money to buy the sauce too as it’s fairly pure. Look for it at your local supermarket- Victoria Marinara. I do make my own sauce, but it’s great to have on hand when you don’t have time.
Another food memory from my Grandma Anna is her squash and eggs. I don’t know anyone else who ate this as a child, but it was the best lunch. Yes, we ate it on a sandwich. We brought it to the park, the beach, to watch my parents run the marathon. Any time Grandma was packing sandwiches it was squash and eggs and I LOVED it. It was simply sautéed zucchini until they were really soft and oily and eggs scrambled into it. That’s it! I occasionally make it, not as good as hers, and it brings me back to sitting on the beach in Ocean City, MD with her watching the waves. I can sometimes even taste the grit of the sand (and no, it’s not an eggshell!)
My other Grandmother was Jewish and was not a fantastic cook but she made some things really well. Chicken soup of course, although my moms and now mine is better. But it’s her matzo brei that was one of those things that every time I make it for my kids it brings me back to my childhood and sitting at my Grandma Esther’s house playing cards with her and my Great Aunt Annie. If you have not had it, matzo brei is eggs and matzo. Nothing fancy but really good. To make it, you break the matzo into medium sized pieces and pour hot water over them in a strainer to allow them to soften. Then you scramble the matzo into eggs in butter. I like mine savory with salt and sometimes ketchup. Some people like to add sugar for serving to make it sweet. It’s a good way to use up the leftover matzo from Passover and a good way to stretch an already inexpensive meal
What are some of your food memories? If you feel like sharing please send me an email to debbie@theeffortlesskitchen.com and let me know if I can share on social media.
See you in the kitchen!
Debbie