Ben was adamant this week that we make steak. I know, I know, I have started a dozen posts this way, but this week was different because he developed a new tactic in achieving his aim. By the way, for every time that we do have steak, there have been at least four rejections, lest…
Author: Liz
Slant-Faced Sausage Eater
As my parents age, I increasingly ask about their early days, and a new story surfaced this Christmas. My parents both grew up Amish, my mom in Iowa and my dad in Kansas. My dad passed what I thought was a family trait to me, but I just learned it was a characteristic common to…
The Ramen Approximation
When Sophia struck off on her own adult life after college, I made her a cookbook including recipes I knew she loved. One of the recipes I included was something I called “The Ramen Approximation,” and it included notes for a new cook about the most efficient way to produce something ramen-ish that tastes way…
Present Tense
Phil, the historian’s son, could be said to be a man of the past, constantly accumulating knowledge and artifacts from earlier times. As a teacher, I not only plan for the future, I shape it. But, Ben? Ben is all in on the present. Sure, he remembers any good meal or time he ever had…
My Associate
The past week has been rough. First, I got sick and stayed in bed coughing, staring, and dripping for five days. Two days in, Phil succumbed. According to our tests, it wasn’t Covid, but it sure wasn’t pleasant either. While I was at the height of misery, Ben happened to be home due to weather,…
Church Pew
The yuletide season is upon us and I should tell you a lovely Christmas story. Instead, I’ll tell you what could be a chapter in a book called Ben’s Church Antics. It must have been about ten years ago that our family put on a spontaneous Christmas pageant of sorts, and it is time to…
Old Seoul
If you are waiting to see how the whole cannoli thing from last week worked out, skip to the end. If, however, you are interested in Korean, Mexican, Hawaiian, and Mennonite cultural appropriation (can one appropriate her own culture?), then you’d best read straight through. This week, Ben asked for Taco Tuesday. I confirmed that…
Cannoli Crime and Punishment – A guessing game for our readers
We did not have cannolis for dessert this week. In fact, I’m pretty sure that nobody in the family has had a cannoli for years. Why? We have a family secret: a tale of cannoli shame and regret. If you were to hear three cannoli tales, could you ferret out the real one? Tale #1…
Meach
When Ben was very young, just learning to speak, he created his own contraction to use when presented with any culinary choice. The word is “meach” and it means “some of each.” This year, our Thanksgiving holiday embodied the spirit of meach. As usual, people began arriving late Wednesday afternoon. Ben and I made chicken…
Thanksgiving Makeover? Join the Club (Sandwich)
Ben is all about Thanksgiving food. Can’t get enough. I thought it might be fun, as we anticipate the upcoming holiday, to see how many traditional Thanksgiving foods we could reimagine in a club sandwich. That was the easy part. Making the meal relatively nutritious was the real challenge. Thanksgiving staples we included: √ turkey…