Every day after school my mother would serve my sister and me tea and cinnamon toast. Sitting at the kitchen table is where our real conversations took place. I tried to emulate her when our boys came home from school, which I realize working moms can’t do.
A snack always awaited them. I even recall preparing mussels for our younger son, which I must admit I also enjoyed. One day, just for fun, I bought a Maine lobster. Sometimes I cruised by McDonald’s and purchased Happy Meals. Maybe not the healthiest food, but what they enjoyed.
Imagine my surprise when our sons informed me several years ago that they didn’t have a favorite dish that I prepared while they were young. They both looked at me with blank faces as if I hadn’t toiled hours cooking and serving what I thought they loved. They did not recall the many chicken dishes I prepared especially for them for dinner, not to mention spaghetti or leg of lamb.
My husband and I were dumbfounded when our older son told us he didn’t recall the blueberry pancakes, waffles, omelets, and other yummy breakfast items I readily offered in the morning. Our son claims he didn’t remember that I drove him and two friends to school in the morning every day through eighth grade. According to him, he was forced to walk. The word perception comes to mind, because he also told me I slept in. Huh? Would that I could.
My mother was an incredible cook. When I was a girl, she’d asked me what I wanted for my birthday dinner. I usually requested lasagna, and can still taste the succulent flavors and creamy texture. She excelled in whatever dish she prepared, including ragout (pretty much beef stew), For lunch, Campbell’s tomato soup and toasted cheese sandwiches or one of her fabulous soups made from scratch such as vichyssoise (French leek and potato soup served warm). Her meals were divine, so I grew up knowing what tasted good. And I prepared many a delicious meal. Or so I thought. Our older son brought a friend whose mother was a nurse home after school almost every day. Maybe I should ask him. What do you think? As our children grow up, do they forget? Older people often complain about their memories, but my husband assures me that I offered a plentiful breakfast in the morning.
What was your favorite meal when you were a child? Did family-time make meals special or was it the food? Do you still cook your favorite dish? If you could choose one meal from your childhood, what would it be?
Please leave a comment and enter to win these beautiful Amish-made Oven Mitts and a Tea Towel from Lancaster, PA, plus a signed copy of a novel from The Legacy of Lancaster County Trilogy, CBA bestseller Leaving Lancaster, its sequel CBA bestseller Pennsylvania Patchwork, or Forever Amish. USA and Canada. Winner chosen at random and has three days to respond. Winner announced on next week’s Blog.
I loved having meal on Sunday after church
A delightful time for meal, Jennifer. Thanks for writing and entering the giveaway!
Kate
Macaroni and cheese homemade. Even as an adult she could get me to come visit by calling and saying Mac and cheese is in the oven
That sounds so tasty, Fran Thanks for jogging my memory … I cooked that too. Good luck in the giveaway!
Kate
A friend and I were just discussing this yesterday. My favorite meal growing up was ham and cabbage – always fixed on a Sunday afternoon. I can remember coming home from the playground and the minute I would reach the front door I knew from the aroma that something delicious was waiting inside.
A scrumptious memory, Dawn! And a delightful Sunday tradition. Thanks for writing and entering the giveaway!
Kate
MY favorite meals was lunch I love to cook home cook meals and my mom and grandmother taught to cook from scratch and I love to cook
Lunch is usually my largest meal of the day, Ernestine. Your grandmother and mother would be pleased that you are carrying on their cooking traditions! Thanks for entering the giveaway!
I loved my mom’s roast chicken and stuffing! A Sunday dinner always included one of her homemade pies! Mmmmmm!
Your mom’s Sunday dinner sounds scrumptious, Karla! Mouthwatering. Thanks for making me hungry and entering the giveaway!
Kate
I don’t recall my mom’ s Sunday meals (hmm I must have a memory like your children!). As to her other meals I vaguely remember having the same things on certain days of the week. As to my own Sunday meal traditions, we often go out with friends after church, many times with a couple of grandkids in tow.
We didn’t have specific meals for certain days either, Anne. But I do recall my mom’s many fantastic dishes. According to our oldest son I slept in in the morning. Not very likely for a light sleeper like me who got up and cooked and then drove him to school. Odd recollections. Fortunately, my husband was a witness. Thanks for entering the giveaway!
Kate
My mom was an excellent cook and my favorite breakfast was French toast, lunch was peanut butter/grape jelly sandwiches, and supper was chicken and dumplings. I was never blessed with children but they would have been fed lots of pb&j. I am a ho-hum cook with no imagination but my hubby isn’t starving. I don’t remember much about my childhood but my 89 year old mom says she remembers everything. Hmmmm! Thanks for the opportunity to win another awesome giveaway!
Thanks for reminding me, Linda, I made French toast too. Yum, that sounds good. You are fortunate to still have your 89-year-old mom. And she even remembers everything, Or was that tongue-in-cheek? Thanks so much for writing and entering the giveaway!
Kate
It is almost impossible to name one meal. My mom was a wonderful cook. She would get up early enough on school days to fix us a great breakfast and pack us very yummy lunches. But dinner was probably the best. Her homemade mac and cheese, pot roast, chili, fried chicken, spaghetti, and more were always delicious. But what made them even more wonderful was the “love” she put in them.
You are making me hungry, Pat. How lovely that you remember and recognize her yummy offerings to you, especially the LOVE. Good luck in the giveaway!
Kate
Breaded pork chops which mom only made for special occasions. I also liked the traditional Thanksgiving dinner of turkey & stuffing. My mom was a wonderful cook.
How wonderful that your mom was a wonderful cook, Susan. Any time of year, a traditional Thanksgiving dinner sounds good, doesn’t it? Thanks for writing and entering the giveaway!
Kate
My favorite meal was the simplest. We would go to church service on Sunday evening then come home and have tea and peanut butter sandwiches. My Mom would make the tea in her favorite tea pot. It had lovely pink flowers painted on it. Such happy memories 🙂
Thanks for sharing your happy memories with me, Michelle. A lovely scene. A good lesson: fancy does not always mean best. Good luck in the giveaway!
Kate
Of the foods my mom would prepare, my all time favorite is “arroz con pollo” which is Puerto Rican chicken and rice. The chicken and rice are cooked together using “sofrito” which is a combination of onion, green peppers, sweet peppers, cilantro, culantro, and a few other things to give it flavor. The rice has a yellow, orange color instead of white. Definitely hands down my favortite. I could never replicate it, but hubs does it up almost as good as my mom’s. Add to that my favorite comfort food, which many will probably not have a clue as to why: fried egg over white rice with a fried banana on the side. The reason for the fried banana? When I was growing up, plantains weren’t always readily available where we lived, so the sweet of the banana was a substitute for a sweet, fried plantain. And, yes, that dish I can actually make. =)
How very convenient your husband can cook your favorite dish, Dali. Fried egg over white rice with a fried banana on the side is new to me. Glad you can prepare it as well as your mother. Thanks for sharing your culinary favorites. Good luck in the giveaway!
Kate
Kate it sounds like you created wonderful memories, however the boys at this time do not remember them. One day they will.
My Mom was a wonderful role model and cook, always experimenting with another recipe, but being a kid I always liked the usual homemade mac and cheese, homemade chocolate pupping and peanut butter sandwich. Then came a day I was allergic to everything so I could only have Lamb chops which is non allergenic, rice, and carrots. Boring. After a full year of eating just those three things I was able to have more of a variety.
I was determined when I had a family I was going to have family meal time where we sat down shared our day while we ate over a meal, so we could creat those memories. Now that all my children are grown they have those good memories and yes can pick favorite meals, and have called for recipes.
Sitting down to eat dinner together is so very important for children, Cherese. Sorry to hear about your allergies. That must have been tough. Too many peanut butter sandwiches? I’ve always been curious why so many children are allergic to peanuts. Fortunately, no allergies in this family … just poor memories. The day one of my sons comes and asks for a recipe I will faint, but thanks for the good thought.
Kate
Mine is speghetti! Mom was widowed when dad was killed in Germany at the end of WWII . At the time she had a almost 3 yo and an unborn child. Money was tight. We ate a lot of speghetti with homemade sauce as they didn’t have it in the stores then. I wish I had her sauce recipe. She also made a lot on mac and cheese, swissed round steak and liver and onions. I loved all of them but I could eat speghetti for lunch and dinner every day if mom had made it every day. We got it once or twice a week and on my birthday. Whatever the birthday person wanted on their birthday, mom made. Now I craving moms speghetti and meatballs….
You’ve got me craving spaghetti too, Judy! My mother didn’t make meatballs, that I recall anyway. Wow, she had a lot to cope with. I used to make a big fat of spaghetti to keep in the refrigerator, but now even my husband doesn’t want to eat it. Everything your mother prepared sounds delicious including the liver and onions. I don’t know how liver got such a bad rap. Liver is also used to make pâté, one of my mother specialties. Thanks for your lovely letter and for entering the giveaway!
Kate
I loved my Mom’s homemade soups/stews. She could always make the best soup out of left overs. They were always so good.
Your mom’s soups and stews sound wonderful. Always nutritious and perfect on a chilly day, which were having today. Thanks for entering the giveaway and good luck!
Kate
Oops, I forgot to say, “Thanks for a chance to win.” Love the pot holders and towel.
My mom was an amazing cook. She was PA Dutch so our meals were always very filling. My favorite was Bott Boi (slippery noodle pot pie). She would vary the meat, one week it would be chicken bott boi, a few weeks later it would be ham bott boi and so on. Her bott boi noodles were always homemade. We always had a side dish of pickled beets and a salad with hot bacon dressing. To this day, these are some of my favorite comfort foods. I make this dish once a month just for the memories and the fact that it is very tasty!Thank you for having this great giveaway!
I feel comforted just hearing about eating Bott Boi, Patti! Not to mention the pickled beets and salad. Yum. Thanks for sharing your memories and for entering the giveaway!
Kate
On Sunday after church we alway had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, mac.and cheese pie or cake, mom and dad cook,after school we would have bread with homemade butter with sugar on it.
I’m savoring all this food in my mind, Barbara, especially the homemade butter. (love butter) Thanks for writing and entering the giveaway!
Kate
Homemade noodles and chicken broth
My, that sounds good, Amy. I just had a snack and I’m hungry again. Good luck in the giveaway!
Kate
My mom made sure that our evening meal (Supper) was hot and filling because my dad often had a sandwich for dinner (his midday meal). She was a very good cook but one of my favorites was roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes and beans. I also loved her custard and that is one of my comfort foods.
Thanks for sharing your memories and encouraging me to recall some of mine. Mom passed away Feb. 20, 2017 so it will be left up to me to fix my comfort food.
Blessings!
I’m so sorry to hear of your recent loss, Connie. I still miss my mother every day and she died over 20 years ago at an early age. I hope you are finding comfort. Your mother sounds like she was a great cook. Mine made custard too and I love it. Thanks for writing and entering the giveaway!
Kate
My Mom made the best fried chicken and spaghetti and cheese baked in the oven! That is the meal we always asked for.
I would’ve asked for it too, Carol. Sounds delicious. Best of luck in the giveaway!
Kate
As a child I loved going to my Grandmas and watch her cook and bake. Dinner was always my favorite at her house. I would wear one of her aprons which was way to big, but I loved it. We would start out with getting the homemade bread rising and baked. She always saved just a bit of dough and made us fried bread. Dinner was either home fried chicken or beef pot roast. Now being a grandmother myself, I love sharing the kitchen with my granddaughters as I did with my daughters.
Thanks for recalling your memories of your fabulous Grandma, Joannah. She must have been a dear and delightful woman not to mention a good cook. What fun that you can now share your kitchen with your granddaughters. Good luck in the giveaway!
Kate
My mom was an amazing cook, so it’s hard to pick my favorite meal. She was German and Bohemian, but cooked food of all nationalities. My favorite Sunday Neal was one of her pork loin roasts roasted with sauerkraut and potatoes.
How marvelous to grow up in the home of a wonderful cook, Carol. It sounds as though she was able to cook many wonderful dishes. Lucky you! Good luck in the giveaway!
Kate
Ok I put a note somewhere else too but hopefully I’m in the right place now to enter….I always cooked….cooked with my Mom and showed my kids how to cook and did a lot of cooking and baking with my grand daughter Taylor Belle, she’s my first and now 14….I thought cooking/baking was not only good to do/know how to do….but it was time together AND I also used it as a time of teaching Math….fractions…”how many 1/4 cups do I need for a full cup?” that sort of thing…and my first thing was “what is the first thing we do when we cook?” WASH OUR HANDS! I was a stay at home Mom as much as I could be with my kids and for 12 1/2 years I was a FT Grandma….my husband and I have moved to the Ga. mts (from So. Fla where the kids and grands still are) and while I miss them all dearly as long as we can, we will drive down and visit and yes, babysit, as we just did for Spring Break….and hoping some of the grands will get to come up for summer vacation….
You are in the right place to enter, Kris. Weren’t you a clever mom and now grandma? I’m sure your grandkids adore you. Thanks for entering the giveaway and good luck!
Kate
A comfort food from my childhood would be macaroni and tuna.
I also enjoyed thin gravy and toast!
Both sound yummy, Jayne. I used to eat tons of tuna until I found out about the possibility of mercury. I must do more research, because I miss it. Thanks for entering the giveaway!
Kate
I remember quite a few meals that my Mom made. My favorite was meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans. I do make this meal for my children and they enjoy it too. I hope that they have memories of not only the food prepared, but the time we spent together around the table. Although, I am sure their memories will have a different spin than what mine do!
I absolutely love meatloaf, hot out of the oven or the day after, in a sandwich, Heather. I hope your children have realistic and good memories of the meals they shared at the table. Thanks for entering the giveaway and good luck!
Kate
Every Wednesday my grandpa would make pasta and meatballs and Italian sausage. He made his own sauce with clams and leftovers from the week (a piece of pork, mushrooms, sometimes beef etc).
It is still a meal my family talks about today.
Was your grandfather Italian, Wen? I mean, how many men make pasta and meatballs? His sauce sounds superb. I love Italian food. I’ve spent time in Italy and studied Italian in college. Thanks for entering the giveaway!!
Kate
Our big meals and mostly our favorites were Sunday’s after church. My mother did fried chicken or pot roasts with all the trimmings. These were dishes I shall never forget! We sometimes shared these Sunday meals with my Mothers parents….whom we all loved dearly. Grandma would make her flour tortillas and they were just heavenly. During the week Mom worked cleaning homes so we didn’t have snacks after school but we had carrots and other veggies we smacked on as us three girls hustled about getting thing prepped for our Mother. She would rest a bit then we all pitched in and cooked our Mexican food dishes for supper. My favorite Mexican dish my Mother made was her porksteak chili. I can make it, but it will never compare to hers!!! She was a fabulous cook when it came to Mexican dishes!
Thanks for writing. I would love to taste some of those meals, Linda! Your fond memories are making my mouth water. Good luck in the giveaway!
Kate