I found this old TGIFriday's dessert menu in a drawer of papers the other day. It's glossy and double-sided and I've kept it for a long time. Teagan wanted me to frame it and hang it on the wall by our kitchen table at one point. It's just some old pictures of desserts, but boy does it bring back memories to me!
I almost added a paragraph in the post about my Letter to my 16-year old self that I should have not eaten so many TGIFriday's Thin Onion Rings or Pie in the Sky dessert. I lost count of how many I ate during my college years- they were so good and you know what? I have some wonderful memories of those days and the people I shared apps and dessert with back then that I don't know if it such a bad thing that I lost track of how many baskets of rings we had together. They were times and people I will always be fond of.
Is it a wonder to you, as much as it is to me, just how closely food and memories are tied together? I think of the meals I shared with my family as a kid. I still remember Sunday meals with friends and family around our big table together. I always think of my Grandma Shirley on St. Patrick's Day. She loved the holiday, anything green and especially making her famous corned beef and potato dinner for friends and family. I think of picking berries at my other Grandma's house. Her strawberry patch always had loads of berries and even though they were ripe and sweet and delicious, we kids still loved to dip them in a bit of sugar when we ate them. She always made the best dinner rolls too. I've never had anything close to them. And her chocolate cake bites covered in coconut...mmmm. I feel like a kid again just thinking about them.
I sometimes wonder what my own kids will remember about growing up. I am not the best when it comes to making dinner and meals. Chip is a great cook. I am good when I have recipes, time to shop and plan and people that I know will appreciate my efforts. When it comes to nightly meals, I have to admit we eat more homemade buttermilk waffles and orange julius than we probably should. But my kids never complain when I make that meal and so the meal stays in our dinner rotation frequently.
I know food is powerful in many ways. Do you have any favorite foods that evoke strong memories? I'd love to read yours...
Today I am missing Pie-in-the-Sky for some reason. And I don't think it just has to do with whipped cream.
3 comments:
You know, you should check out Pioneer Woman. Her website is awesome and she shows pictures every step of the way. At this very minute I am making the bacon wrapped meatloaf...heaven :) Don't worry about the waffles, though, they are yummy and it's the love and conversation around the table that's more important than the food.
Jody, I have trouble figuring out what to make for supper and there are only TWO of us! If you feed your big family every night at all, you are doing great. And like you mentioned, the memories are what count. Hmmmmm... I'd LOVE some buttermilk pancakes for supper!
I always enjoy your posts...And you are so right...memories are so often tied to food. What I wouldn't give to taste my sweet Grandmother's chocolate pie or a cup of her "white coffee"...which was really just pure cream from her cows with sugar. She would heat it up and put it in a coffee cup for me to drink when I was a child.
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