Melancholy and Marvelous

Our mother loved FOOD- shopping, unpacking, organizing the refrigerator,preparing, cooking, eating, wrapping leftovers, eating, cleaning out the refrigerator. Sara Lee and Entenmanns cake boxes were scotch taped closed. She studied food and became a dietItian.
Studied some more and with her masters degree was titled nutritionist. Then got an M.S.W. In social work at the age of 50. We think she wanted to figure out through research why food was always top of mind.

We relied on radishes cleaned and in Tupperware with French dressing as an after school snack. Sometimes we opted for Buitoni Raviolis, yum as we think about it now.

We waited around and did homework until dinner. We came to expect something breaded, something fried with Le Seur Peas and a baked sweet potato. We looked forward to broiled baby lamp chops- We still do. Snowballs, hostess cupcakes, twinkies, drakes ring dings, yodels -yum and yum. Euphoric gastronomic recall. She saved the Lindt Chocolate for her card games.

As the culinary seed was planted we waited for it to sprout into our type of cuisine. We too love food. However, everything else around it feels equally as appealing. We have an extensive salt and pepper shaker collection.
Varied, and meaningful. Collected from places we’ve been, antiquing and given to us as gifts. Some are antiques, several glass, some ceramic. Betty Boop and Harley Davidson sets hang out in my cabinet together. Dishes, silverware and amber glass represent our treasured items.
Flowers and table settings add to the allure of our meals. Our collection of soupcons (fancy serving ladles) makes us smile.

Shopping for the ingredients and researching who has the best mozzarella and filet mignon a past time. Aligning the seats for comfort and space adds to the canvas. We make sure the creases in the napkins are well pressed
and the water glass is properly situated. We light candles and get dressed. We then set up the ice on the bar and cut lemon slices. All the time this is going on we have the oven on, the flames on low and check our “something” breaded, something fried.” We learned from The Best. Miss you mama especially today.