Many of you already know that I spend a lot of time with my parents in the summer months. As in, we live in the same house. One big (mostly) happy family. It's been great, I have to say, but it's not without its challenges.
My mom is pretty much a walking stereotype of a nurturing, midwestern mother. Her mission is to take care of things -- people, animals, bugs struggling in the pool -- and she does it well. I enjoy hanging out with my daughters, but all the tasks that accompany it, like cooking and cleaning, are decidedly NOT a perk, in my view. My mom on the other hand...well, if you'd like your laundry done, just swing on by.
Most of all, my mom loves to feed people. Finding new and exciting dishes are an all-day quest, and her cookbook collection rivals the entire New York Public Library. Just now, she's stepped into a time warp and is on a 1960s retro food kick. It's a little...um, yeah, different.
Thusly:
The main problem with these cocktail sausages (aside from the whole ground up pig lips and entrails business, which I choose to ignore) is that my mother insists on calling them "weiners." What are we having tonight? Little weiners! Mmmm, weiners. Weiners are good. Would you like some more weiners? Yeah, no. That doesn't sound appetizing. If that makes me juvenile, so be it. We get things in varying shades of this:
Casserole! Who doesn't love it?
We've also been served up lots and lots of jellied foods. Sweet, savory--makes no difference. Just put it in a mold and refrigerate to make it "fancy." Behold, the wiggle!
I likely come off as a total ungrateful brat in this post. That is not my intention. I adore my parents. I do.
But tonight, I'm cooking.
16 comments:
ROFL!! Weiners!
My gramma insisted on making jello molds with fruit and serve them as salad and my step-dad put his foot down, declaring they were dessert.
That's awesome you get to spend so much time with your parents. I didn't realize that's who you stayed with in the summers.
btw, did you use "brat" intentionally? Because I'm still giggling over the weiners...
Ha! No, not intentionally.
And tonight I'm grilling steak. No weiners on the menu at all!
I'm going to have nightmares about that Jello mold. Jello is just wrong.
My husband is from Michigan. There's a familial tendency to include breakfast cereals in non-breakfast casseroles. It's interesting.
The food your Mom makes sounds similar to the way my Grandmother cooks. It's one of the few times when having food allergies comes in handy - I can just say, "Wow Grandma, I'd love to try that, but darn those allergies."
!!! so know what you mean. Have a happy time cooking and make sure it doesnt wobble or look yellow. X
LOL, you weiner!
Allie--You mean like cornflake crusts? I'm familiar with those.
Angie--She's typically a good cook, but I just rue the day she found those old Betty Crocker cookbooks. Really, most of those old recipes just don't stand the test of time.
LWM--Check! No wobbley food!
AngieL--Who you callin' weiner?
Wow, what a talent and I completetly understand your experience. I live with my parents too, and I can totally relate about the food and the laundry. I love cooking too, and I get the opportunity when mom is out the kitchen. I think I am bringing her round to my cuisine, and in no time I'll be the one that's needed to be kicked out the kitchen! So good to see your blog. I like the weiner recipe and momentum! These experiences are sure memorable, aren't they! Especially when its with people we love. P.S-I don't think I've ever tasted jello molds with fruit inside. Would be a delight to try. Oooh recipe in horizon! Thanks for entering the giveaway! Exciting prospects. ;)
Ana--Jello with fruit is more appealing than, say, beans and tomatoes. Trust me.
I'm only with my parents in July and August and some weekends, but yeah, who says you can't go home again? We moved them out from MO to Eastern Long Island about 3 years ago and it's been great.
Um, Allie is right. Jello is meant to be SWEET. Fruit, okay. Cream, okay. But beans? Olives?
Absolutely not.
Too funny. Being raised Jewish, you would have been run out of town if you made those weiners. Or anything out of Jello other than pudding. Of course, I don't cook. At all. Plus, I'm the first-born of four girls and I'm a vegetarian. So I not only sound like an ungrateful brat, I pretty much am one.
When I first told my mom I was going to become a vegetarian (MANY years ago) she worried I'd starve to death. She was a Jewish mom and a great cook. How was she supposed to take care of her baby? Needless to say, I was never in danger of starving.
I think it's great you spend quality time with your folks. I do, too, and I love every minute of it. (Well maybe not EVERY minute of it...) We travel together and visit each other often. They're the best. I can tell you feel the same way about your parents. Nothing beats that - it's the real "food" of life.;-)
I'm all for someone else doing the cooking, anytime, but I guess sometimes you just have to draw the line. Hm, this cooking tug of war between mother and daughter ... the next reality cooking tv show?
Really, I couldn't read the post or look at the pictures. Whatever is going on in your parents house should be outlawed.
Natasha--I don't really love Jello of any kind, but yes. Sweet. The way God intended.
Debra--How do you feel about veggie weiners?
Joanne--How funny. My mom is convinced that we need to go on a cooking show together.
AC--Was is the saucy bowl of tiny phalluses that turned you off? Or what? It's better you don't see it. That's for certain.
Don't forget "tuna casserolle" -- made by mixing a can of tuna with a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese, and topped with crushed potato chips.
Wait. DO forget that.
Little weiners. (Snicker) Your mom sounds ADORRRRRRRRABLE!
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