To Mom, on Mother’s Day: A Tribute to the Meals That Made Us

 

I created this entry to thank my mother for all the delicious food she made and sourced for our family over the years. It was a lot of fun making this list and I am very happy to have a record of all the memories related to our home kitchen and eating habits. If you would like to make a similar list for your mom, I hope you find that this is a good starting point and helps jog your recollections. If you are reading this, thanks Mom, you’re the greatest! Happy Mother’s Day everybody!

 

To Mom, on Mother’s Day: A Tribute to the Meals That Made Us

You used to say, “If I were a good cook, you’d all be over 300 pounds.” But Mom, that line never told the whole story. The truth is, your food was excellent, and I think this ode will prove that it was very memorable. Your cooking was woven into the rhythms of our everyday life, from rushed mornings, to family gatherings, to holidays, and special weekends. You gave us savory meals that were healthy, thoughtful, and full of character. Here's what I remember—and what I treasure.

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Breakfasts Worth Waking Up For

As a kid, the best part of waking up was walking into the kitchen and have scrambled eggs with Cheese Whiz on top of a Thomas English muffin. We haven’t really recreated that since elementary school days. I loved it, especially with a dash of Tabasco sauce. On weekends you made delicious omelets with veggies, bacon, and sometimes ham. You also made us hard-boiled eggs with salt and pepper. Your eggs Benedict with hollandaise sauce was the best I ever had and the best I will ever have. I have ordered it at countless places, and none can compare to yours.

You made excellent French toast with oversized brioche bread, egg, milk, and cinnamon. Your chocolate chip pancakes were boss. We often dropped Eggo waffles in the toaster (even when it wasn’t breakfast time). And sometimes we added honey, peanut butter and banana (Leggo my Eggo). When it comes to bread, we mostly toasted wheat bread and sourdough. William always wanted his bread “butterly toasted.”

We also liked raisin bagels with cream cheese. And Sun-Maid raisin bread. We all loved those warm Pillsbury cinnamon rolls from the oven which we would coat in icing on Sundays. You would give us slices of cantaloupe, grapefruit, and bananas. You would also cut fresh oranges form our tree and place them in a green bowl. It was fun to peel cuties on the breakfast table. We savored oatmeal as well as cream of wheat with butter and sugar. Sometimes, when mornings were hectic, we’d hit McDonald’s for bacon, egg, & cheese biscuits.

I remember your proprietary muesli recipe, wholesome and good with orange juice, oats, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and yogurt. We also liked plain yogurt with honey. Our go-to cereals were Cheerios and Rice Krispies because you kept it healthy. Sometimes it would be Grape Nuts with milk and cinnamon. Sometimes, you would cut fresh bananas or strawberries into the cereal, something I still do to this day.

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Hearty Dinners and Weeknight Favorites

Weeknight dinners were very healthy. You made really good chilli. It would have large chunks of tomato, ground beef, chili seasoning, and sometimes okra, great with bread. You sometimes grilled us burgers with great big slices of tomato. I would get excited when you would make meatloaf with oats which was delicious with Heinz ketchup. We often got juicy steaks with A1 or mango chutney. The occasional lamb dinner with mint sauce was always special. I remember spaghetti with ground beef and Ragu. Your lasagna was top notch. We toasted garlic bread in the oven.

I remember tasty burritos filled with beans, veggies, and sour cream. You liked to make rice pilaf, wild rice, and white rice with soy sauce. You made an excellent quiche in a buttery pie crust with bacon, zucchini and broccoli. You often made shish kebabs on the grill— with shrimp, chicken, cherry tomatoes, onions, and colored peppers. Sometimes you made a cool bowl of gazpacho (Marty Starnes recipe). We enjoyed working together to top a Boboli pizza on the kitchen counter. You made a hell of a pot roast in the Dutch oven with carrots and potatoes and onions (a recipe from your mom). Sometimes you baked bread rolls. You would make first class olive and cranberry bread from scratch in your bread maker.

You cooked salmon in the oven and seasoned it to perfection with Old Bay. I think we stole that recipe from the Elramsisy / Stewart’s who would serve it with Rice-a-Roni. We used Knudsen sour cream for potatoes and nachos. You made some great salads. I loved it when you would use Thousand Island. Do you remember what you would put in them? I remember a chef salas with ham, cheese, eggs, and tomatoes. Am I wrong to think you had a Cesar salad with sardines?

When we had gatherings with people from Berkeley Hall School you and Dad would make an incredible dish with chicken wrapped in Pepperidge Farm philo dough and stuffed with Philadelphia cream cheese. On St. Patrick’s Day, you brought out the onions, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage with tasty boiled corned beef. Thanksgiving meant your incredible oyster stuffing and spinach casserole. Something everyone asked about. It also meant Durkey’s dressing on the turkey and turkey sandwiches. Your mashed da’patoes with cream were always a welcome addition during the holidays. You could make one heck of a gravy from the bird’s gizzard. You made barbeque chicken at times. Your chicken soup from the carcass (bone broth) was as nourishing as anything we ever had. You also made a great chicken paella with chicken thighs, peas, Spanish sausage and Spanish rice. All unforgettable.

From time to time, we had tacos in store-bought shells, loaded with seasoned ground beef, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and cheese. Sometimes you would let me add the seasoning. Dad would break his taco shells and turn his tacos into a sandwich. You baked nachos in the oven with copious toppings and cooked the tortilla chips crispy and tan. We scarfed hot dogs, but we loved bratwurst. You and Dad made us quesadillas sometimes. And the whole family enjoyed grilling cheese sandwiches and dipping them in tomato soup. In the late 90s Will would make Chinese stir fry with steak, onions, and chili paste in the wok you got him.

I’d run outside when you said, “Jared, go get a lemon from the tree.” I’d bring one back and ask, “Is this a good one?” You trusted me to choose, and I wasn’t sure if it was the right one, but you made me feel like I always got it right.

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Satisfying Sides and Vegetables

Every meal came with vegetables. Broccoli with mayo was a go-to. You cooked green beans, carrots, corn, and peas—there was always something colorful. You worked in brussels sprouts, eggplant, zucchini and asparagus. You oven-baked butternut squash with butter and brown sugar. For appetizers you often cut veggies and Ranch dressing. You would also lovingly peel and cut fruit for us to eat like apples, oranges, kiwi and the like. We love your homemade applesauce and plum preserves.

You served corn on the cob on cob holders. We would set the hot cob down on a stick of butter and roll it around. We dipped artichokes leaves in melted butter (okey dokey artichoke). I always wanted to help you set up the perforated, collapsible steamer basket in the bottom of the pot. At the end we would share the heart of the artichoke, and I never got over the concept of eating a plant’s heart. You would bake or boil potatoes and we would add butter, salt, and pepper. Sometimes you used russets, reds, or small variously colored potatoes. We always had dill pickles and sometimes jars of pickled okra.

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Snacks, Sandwiches, and Light Bites

Brown Schweiger sandwiches felt really special and different especially with our grandparents. You showed me how to make open-face sandwiches with peanut butter and jelly—which I still make today. You also put P&B on a Ritz cracker sometimes. We loved Mission tortilla chips with Pace Picante sauce, and we would also pour Pace on your Sunday morning omelets or Dad’s “monkey hash.” Cottage cheese with applesauce or pineapple chunks was a family favorite.

You sliced apples and added a dab of peanut butter to each. Sometimes you put the peanut butter on celery. You set out crackers and cheddar cheese at times. There was always a box of Saltines and usually a box of Ritz in the pantry. We always had milk and yogurt in the fridge. You called the freezer an “icebox” as if you were from the 1800s. Other family staples included Worcestershire sauce, polenta cheese, Kikkoman soy sauce, Grey Poupon, Best Foods mayo, Better than Bullion, Martinelli’s, Tropicana orange juice, Land O Lakes butter. By the late 90s we always had Cholula & Sriracha on hand. You bought a lot of Costco sushi in the form of California Rolls. You also got the shrimp cocktail platter from Costco for the weekends. After it all, we brushed with Crest toothpaste.

You packed us hearty lunch boxes. And that sandwich you made us—with meat, tomato, lettuce and mustard – had all the other kids, and even the milkman, jealous.

When I was hungry, I would go to the kitchen and warm up a tortilla in the microwave and then add a bit of butter and Tabasco. Other times, I would toast a slice of sourdough and then add butter and lemon pepper. There was always something in the fridge or the pantry that could dress up a simple plate into something craveable.

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Sweet Tooth Moments and Homemade Treats

Mom, you had a sweet tooth, and lucky for us—you shared it. You would ask us about our day at school over cookies dipped in milk. Did you do that with your Mom? We used Famous Amos, and the Famous Chocolate Wafer cookies for that. And remember, a few times we made the recipe on the back of the box for the Famous Chocolate Wafter cake? Two of your weaknesses were Milano mint chocolate cookies from Pepperidge Farm and thin mint Girl Scout cookies which you preferred cold as ice. We liked ice cream cake and German chocolate cake for birthdays. We made sour lemonade from our own lemons, and you helped us monetize it. I think we also had our own kumquat tree for a while.

You would make banana pudding with slices of real banana and let them cool in the fridge in those small blue cups. You baked an amazing carrot cake from scratch. Your chocolate chip cookies from scratch were awesome too. Your grandmother’s Christmas cookies were always tops. The only thing that compared to them were the baking soda biscuits with homemade Crystal Lake raspberry jam.

You bought raspberry Linzer cookies, marzipan, fruit tarts, and raspberry coffee cake from Victor Benes. In October we would get mixed variety packs of chocolate candies to hand out to trick or treaters for Halloween. In November, we had pumpkin pie with whipped cream. We often had chocolate Jell-O pudding in the fridge. It was fun to make strawberry Jell-O and watch it set in the fridge. Don’t forget See’s Candies. Sometimes in the summer you would buy the colored Otter Pops. And of course, ice cream with Hershey’s syrup and walnuts. You would make cupcakes for the bake sales. Sometimes we made s’mores especially for campouts. You kept Nestle hot cocoa mix. What kind of coffee would you drink, Folgers?

 

Dining Out Memories

When we ate out, you made sure it was an adventure. Lana Thai, Chin Chin, CPK, El Torito, Chevy’s, and Sushi Hirosuki were our favorites. I remember Grandma mistaking the wasabi for guacamole at Midori Sushi. Then there was Koo Koo Roo, Jerry’s Deli, Rubio’s Fish Taco, Boston Market, Massis Kabob, Taj Mahal, Johnnie Rockets, and Togos. You loved the six inch tuna sub at Subway with Fritos. Other times, it was donuts from K’s while the car got washed. We also ate at sitdown restaurants and my favorites were chicken fried steak, clam chowder, corned beef hash, and key lime pie. On the way to Palm Springs, we’d stop at Hadley’s for a banana date shake. I remember Grandpa Freund loved to eat Gelson’s tuna spread on a roll with French’s mustard. Sometimes we would go to yogurt zone next to Subway. We loved getting “Frogen Yozurt” with nuts, fudge, and the Hershey’s kisses with small candy beads. We snacked on Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn while watching blockbuster videos or dad’s laser discs. But at the movie theaters, we usually skipped the popcorn and went for Junior mints. On our bike trips and hikes in the Santa Monicas we brought water bottles and granola bars.

 

Houston Food Memories:

I remember eating melted cheese from the fondue set in Houston with the long stick/forks. I loved Planters Cheez Balls in the yellow and blue cylinder with the logo of the peanut that has a monocle, cane, and top hat. We would pour honey into the opening of a strawberry and eat it whole. I would help you cook Kraft macaroni and cheese. We liked Fig Newtons. We gobbled Nilla Wafers out of the box. We made fruit juice pops in the freezer. In Houston, we would go to McDonalds to get me my chicken nugget with sweet and sour sauce. I would wait outside for the sound of the ice cream truck to get a red, white and blue “bomb pop.” There was sweet potato pie at Lalo’s Café, black eyed peas at the Black Eyed Pea, delicious Mexican food at Los Tio’s and lots of Tex Mex, oysters, softshell crab, and Texas BBQ. In Houston, I had my first experiences with Honey Nut Cheerios, JIF peanut butter, Smucker’s jam, peanut M&Ms, Dryer’s chocolate ice cream, and Barnum’s Animal Crackers (googie googie).

 

Food that You Would Pack in our Lunchboxes:

Baby Carrots, Bananas, Celery Sticks, Dried Fruit, Fruit Leather, Goldfish, Graham Crackers, Grapes, Hard-Boiled Eggs, Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Bars, Kraft Handi-Snacks (cheese and crackers with the little red stick), Kudos Bars, Laughing Cow Mini Babybel Rounds, Mixed Nuts, Mott’s Applesauce, Lunchables, Quaker Chewy Granola Bars, Ritz Bitz, String Cheese, Sun-Maid Raisin Box, and your famous handmade Sandwiches.

 

Junk Food that other Moms Would Pack in Lunchboxes:

AirHeads, Bugles Chips, Capri Sun, Cheetos Paws, Chips Ahoy!, Dannon Danimals Yogurt Cups, Dunkaroos, Foil Pouches, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Roll-Ups, Handi-Snacks, Hi-C Coolers, Hostess Twinkies and CupCakes, Hunt’s Snack Packs, Keebler Fudge Stripes, Koala Yummies, Little Debbie Pies, Mondo Fruit Squeezers, Munchos, Nerds, Otter Pops, Pop Rocks, Pringles, Push Pops, Rice Krispies Treats, Ring Pops, Squeezit, Squeezit Flavored Drinks, Teddy Grahams, Warheads Sour Candies, Yoplait Yogurt Tubes.

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Final Thoughts

Your food was good and good for us. Your focus on healthy food has stayed with us. As a child I didn’t understand why you wouldn’t feed us the sugary cereals, but today I praise you for it. You helped us make the right early choices and now it is so easy for us to continue to make them.

You may not have thought of yourself as a culinary artist, but to us, you were exactly that and more. Sitting down and trying to remember all this reminded me of how good your food really was and how much time you put into it for us. It made us feel full, warm, and cared for.

“I also can’t forget the song you would sing to us as toddlers when we ate fish. Fishy fishy in the brook, Daddy catch him on a hook, Mommy fry him in a pan, Baby eat him like a man.”

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. Thank you for every meal, every bite, and every memory.

Love,

Jared

 

 

Restaurants We Frequented and Our Selections:

 

Benihana: miso soup, tangy ginger salad, and red and yellow dipping sauces

Boston Market: rotisserie chicken, creamed spinach, steamed vegetables, and market sandwiches

California Chicken Café: wraps with alfalfa

Cha Cha Cha: jerk chicken

 

Cherry Hut: Cherry pie, cherry chicken salad, cherry ade, and chicken pot pie

Chevy’s (Laredo): chicken enchiladas with red chili sauce, chile relleno, pork tamales with

green tomatillo sauce, chips and salsa

Chin Chin: black pepper steak, walnut shrimp, and wonton soup

CPK: barbecue chicken chopped salad and Thai pizza

Domino’s Pizza: with onions and olives for delivery

El Torito: combination plate with beef tamales, and cornmeal for the ducks

Gelson’s: chicken tenders and butter croissants

Hogly Wogly’s Tyler Texas BBQ: oak-smoked pork brisket that falls apart when you look at it

Jerry’s Deli: pastrami Reuben sandwich on rye, matzo ball soup, and dry bagels

Johnny Rockets: Number 12 burger, egg salad sandwich, onion rings, and a chocolate shake

Koo Koo Roo: rotisserie half chicken with Chinese chicken salad and pita bread

Lana Thai: Pad Thai, Tom Yum soup, satay chicken skewers, and prawn spring rolls

Massis Kabob: beef koobideh pita wrap with tabbouleh and baba ghanoush

McDonald’s: McChicken sandwich, Filet-O-Fish, fries, chicken nuggets with sweet-and-sour

sauce, and bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits

More Than Waffles: strawberry waffles, crêpes, scrambles, and blintzes

Mulberry Street Pizzeria: New York-style pizza with Italian salad

Rosti Tuscan Kitchen: fire-roasted chicken and potatoes with broccoli

Rubio’s Fish Taco: beer-battered tilapia with mayonnaise and cabbage, or seafood burritos

Ruben’s Red Hot: Chicago Polish hot dog with cucumbers, tomatoes, and pickles

Sushi Hirosuki: edamame, popcorn chicken, spicy tuna, and vegetable tempura

Subway: tuna and meatball subs

Taco Bell: Mexican Pizzas and Burrito Supremes for Easter

Taj Mahal: tikka masala, garlic naan, saag paneer, and samosas

Togo’s: Italian sandwiches and tuna melts with their signature mayonnaise

Versailles: Cuban-style marinated roast pork with black beans, rice, plantains, and garlic toast

Yum Yum Yogurt: gyros, air-baked fries, and frozen yogurt with lots of toppings