My memories of my Nana were first Fridays walking from St A’s school for lunch. Campbells tomato soup, 1/2 Tuna salad on toast listening to I want to hold your hand by the Beatles! So special ! Last a lifetime. You are the grandmom of the traveling pants!💜
What a great memory! The whole thing. It really touched a nerve for you, Sc’Eric. Thanks for sharing. I will ponder that Concord grape pie idea. We do have two vines in our yard but the birds usually beat us to the fruit.
I didn't know any of my Grandma's or Grandpa's but fortunately there was Aunt Jennie! She was our Italian neighbor, 3 doors down in Queens NY, who cheerfully became my best friend and surrogate Grandma. Southern Italian food of every variety was her specialty and I was a willing student and taste tester.
My maternal grandma was a master of Thanksgiving dinner: turkey and gravy, mashed, the summer's white corn (shaved from the cob in their back yard and frozen), candied yams, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, pecan pie--all from scratch! My paternal grandma was known to me for her (canned) Le Seueur peas cooked in milk with butter and white pepper... and for her Thanksgiving "filling" which, I learned is more of a savory strata: 3-weeks stale white bread (the cheapest loaf you could find), a dozen eggs, a pound of butter, fresh onion, onion powder, dried parsley, S+P... baked in the 8" square Corningware dish. It's no wonder I have Celiac disease! <--(no, that's also not how that works!)
My paternal and maternal grandparents lived next to one another, which is how my parents met. My paternal grandparents had a concord grape arbor, but my maternal grandmother was the baker. I pestered them for years that I wanted concord grape pie. Eventually, in my teens, they found a way to make it happen. The best version ended up being skins removed and pulverized in the food processor... grape interior mashed through a sieve to remove seeds, then also buzzed with tapioca starch, sugar, etc. The pie came together as a pale green filling in home-made pie shell (shortening, not over-mixed!) with the skins forming a top layer with sugar crystals dusted on top before finishing low under the broiler. If you ever have the chance to experiment with this, I highly encourage it.
In the last 15 yrs of her life, my maternal grandma became forgetful about recipes... also leaving things to burn on the stove. The Thanksgiving baton was passed to other family members with larger families and larger houses to accommodate the extended fam. But it was just never the same.
My memories of my Nana were first Fridays walking from St A’s school for lunch. Campbells tomato soup, 1/2 Tuna salad on toast listening to I want to hold your hand by the Beatles! So special ! Last a lifetime. You are the grandmom of the traveling pants!💜
That is a wonderful memory, Grace! I can taste it and hear it. Thanks!
What a great memory! The whole thing. It really touched a nerve for you, Sc’Eric. Thanks for sharing. I will ponder that Concord grape pie idea. We do have two vines in our yard but the birds usually beat us to the fruit.
You were lucky that your alternate Grandma was a great Italian cook. No wonder you love Eggplant Parm so much!
I didn't know any of my Grandma's or Grandpa's but fortunately there was Aunt Jennie! She was our Italian neighbor, 3 doors down in Queens NY, who cheerfully became my best friend and surrogate Grandma. Southern Italian food of every variety was her specialty and I was a willing student and taste tester.
"I don’t like your too-salty spice mix either."
Classic. (Me either.)
My maternal grandma was a master of Thanksgiving dinner: turkey and gravy, mashed, the summer's white corn (shaved from the cob in their back yard and frozen), candied yams, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, pecan pie--all from scratch! My paternal grandma was known to me for her (canned) Le Seueur peas cooked in milk with butter and white pepper... and for her Thanksgiving "filling" which, I learned is more of a savory strata: 3-weeks stale white bread (the cheapest loaf you could find), a dozen eggs, a pound of butter, fresh onion, onion powder, dried parsley, S+P... baked in the 8" square Corningware dish. It's no wonder I have Celiac disease! <--(no, that's also not how that works!)
My paternal and maternal grandparents lived next to one another, which is how my parents met. My paternal grandparents had a concord grape arbor, but my maternal grandmother was the baker. I pestered them for years that I wanted concord grape pie. Eventually, in my teens, they found a way to make it happen. The best version ended up being skins removed and pulverized in the food processor... grape interior mashed through a sieve to remove seeds, then also buzzed with tapioca starch, sugar, etc. The pie came together as a pale green filling in home-made pie shell (shortening, not over-mixed!) with the skins forming a top layer with sugar crystals dusted on top before finishing low under the broiler. If you ever have the chance to experiment with this, I highly encourage it.
In the last 15 yrs of her life, my maternal grandma became forgetful about recipes... also leaving things to burn on the stove. The Thanksgiving baton was passed to other family members with larger families and larger houses to accommodate the extended fam. But it was just never the same.
Love it. Good one Gma!
Hi Grace, Campbells tomato soup w a dollop of butter and a grilled cheese was a favorite for our lunch -especially in colder weather.