My Childhood in Food

Dungeness crab with lemon, garlic butter, and French bread (a tradition that continues each December with my husband now catching them from his kayak in Tamales Bay!).

My grandpa's cottage cheese latkes with sour cream and jam. I even remember my Mickey Mouse bib! Now I make my own version with my sourdough starter. Every Saturday morning.

My mom's turkey (the crispy skin was and is my favorite), gravy, and cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving. She still does it most years - so blessed! (Alicia)

Every Friday night we would do laundry at Red Hill shopping center and then go to Wendy's for dinner. "Fancy" dinners at Sizzler with the great salad bar and surf n turf and garlic bread.

My dad's garlic bread. The only thing he could cook. TV dinners with him when he was a bachelor. My favorite was the Hungry Man turkey dinner with mashed potatoes and buttery peas. Him taking me to fondue.

Picking strawberries and lemons at my grandmas. Eating the lemons whole. Her serving Bitter Lemon and "finger toast." (buttered bread sliced in vertical strips). In my young adult years, her giving me olives, artichoke hearts, and smoked oysters from her pantry.

Picking Ollalie berries in Half Moon Bay on the way home from camp.

All kinds of olives at every occasion because everyone knew how much I loved them.

And that's just getting started...my best childhood memories involve food and these little traditions that birthed a passion for food and cooking.

(this post is a template I intend to return to and fill out much more completely, so a rough draft/base for an essay or even book to come, Lord willing...)