Mama's hair smelling like bread in "Hair" - Angel Vargas in "There Was an Old Woman..." who dropped from the sky "like a sugar donut" - Alicia and the "lunchbox tortillas" ...
References to food abound in "The House on Mango Street." Are there any special foods you associate with childhood, and is there a history behind it?
My special food is the "nine-layered cake" that my grandmother made. It's made with coconut milk and rice flour. I'd peel each layer apart in a sort of sacred ritual before eating it. Ahh! It's beyond good.
Oh my gosh, is that a picture of the cake? It's beautiful! Which grandma made that? (Do you have an Australian grandma and a Chinese grandma?) I could see how a kid would totally play with and savor those morsels. (And I wasn't even one who was tempted to deconstruct Oreos as a kid!)
ReplyDeleteI associate coffee with very early childhood. That's a food, right? My dad worked nights on the railroad, and before he left the house he made a huge pot of coffee. He drank about half of it, giving me a small cup, with tons of cream and sugar and put the other half in his thermos. I guess my mom didn't care that a 4-year-old was drinking coffee at midnight. Later, when I was in grade school and they were divorced, I'd drink coffee with her, but I had learned to take it black like she did.
Also my dad was kind of a connoisseur of greasy spoons and barbecue, so I remember being dragged off to various dives to eat fried eggs and chicken gizzards and burnt ends. And one drive-in we frequented had pork tenderloin sandwiches as big as your head. My mom made delicious fried bologna sandwiches and goldenrod eggs, although after she divorced my dad she made the eggs rarely because she associated them with him.
That cake looks awesome! I think I'd like to peel those layers apart right now.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of childhood food, I immediately think of oyster stew, which my mom made for my dad and me. She couldn't stand it, herself. But it was my ultimate comfort food. So warm and buttery. I'd load it up with oyster crackers and savor every bite. I haven't had it in about 15 years, and I almost don't want to for fear that it wouldn't taste like I remember it.
Hehe - yes, that's the cake. My Asian grandma would make that..and probably still would now, if I asked her very nicely. :) Both my grandparents on my dad's side have been long gone.
ReplyDeleteI loved hearing Kim's coffee stories - and I could almost see the pork tenderloin sandwiches. Wow! I've never actually had goldenrod eggs ... I had to look that up on Google. And Erin, your mom's oyster stew sounds fabulous.
I did have a wild idea when reading "Mango Street" - how feasible would a Mexican-style fiesta be for our book club? If each of us brought something even remotely Mexican - tamales, frijoles, burritos, etc. - that might be a fitting tribute to Cisneros. But we'd need a time and place that works for everyone, if they're interested.
Shanxi, a feast is always a good idea. I have a great recipe for a mango quesadilla, too. Unfortunately, DW lives in California, and Erin lives in Newton. But Erin is here on weekends sometimes, so maybe the three of us can cook up something sometime!
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