“I once went to a restaurant and ordered a chicken salad sandwich and an egg salad sandwich to see which would come first.” – Fuad Alakbarov, Exodus
Let me return to a more current history, and of course, sandwiches. If you recall from part 1, three of my most vivid memories from childhood involve food. I do have more than three vivid memories from childhood, and not all involve food, but many do.
Why is that? Is it because of the multiple senses involved that strengthen the memory? Is it the emotions attached to the events occurring when consuming the food? Is it the people that are there when the food is consumed, adding to the intensity of the shared experience? Or perhaps it is that I am just that obsessed with food? If it is the latter, I would ask how I acquired this obsession? When did I acquire it? Maybe it is simply a combination of it all. Whatever the case, cause, and origin, I have a deep love for food, and those that I share it with make it even better.
So, let me take you back a bit in time. I grew up with a pretty close family that spent holidays and special occasions together. The meal and the food served was always very central to any occasion. From the Easter ham to the Thanksgiving family stuffing, to the Christmas Eve Seafood to the Corned Beef & Cabbage on St Patrick’s Day. For the most part, these meals were the same every year. They were traditional. Some of the traditions started before my time and were passed through the generations. Others were started by my generation. To this day we still have the meal on many holidays and our kids now share the love, and obsession, of the holiday menu. The meals that changed annually were typically Easter & Christmas Day, which in itself became a tradition.
Let me not forget about the birthday dinners. As a child it was always about “what do you want for your birthday”, “what do you want to do?” That evolved into “what do you want for your birthday dinner”? The birthday celebrant was given the privilege to choose the menu to be cooked for them on the Sunday Dinner closest to their birthday.
Sunday dinners, another long-standing tradition, provide enough memories to fill a hefty book. The food, the family, and the friends – what fond memories.
Many of the friends and family are no longer with us but the memories remain, as fond as ever. My great Uncle John, who would join us Sundays after Tata Ann passed away. My Uncle Dave with his eyebrows, cigars, financial advice, and Roquefort Steak. Uncle Gary with his jokes, infectious laughter, and shenanigans. Grandma and Grandpa Janich with his stories and her artichoke dip. The list goes on as my parent’s home was an open, safe place for all to join. Anyone could enter and join us as there was always an open seat with the guarantee of a warm meal and a hot cup of coffee, and maybe a little something sweet.
I simply can’t express the love, the gratitude, the flavors, the aromas, the tradition, and the history that the meals and those people created for me.
This has to be the reason I love food and love to create it and share it with others even more. Our home has become the host, the place where most celebrations take place, Sunday dinners continue, where there is always an open, and most importantly, where the traditions continue to live and grow.
What does this have to do with sandwiches? I am afraid I have rambled on for too long so I’ll have to explain next time.
Talk Soon,
Kevin
@coldfire_kev
@coldfire.coffee
@coldfire_hotsauce
kevin@coldfirecoffee.com
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