Good grades, Great food

   I haven't set up any interviews yet, so I pulled this one from my own experiences. I was born and raised in northwest Pennsylvania during the 70's & 80's. A time when candy cost a penny a piece and you knew it was time to come home for dinner because the street lights were on. As I hope this blog shows, the connection between food and memories links us all, one of my earliest food memories that turned into family a tradition came when I was only around 6 or 7 yrs old.

   I would say school was a problem for me, only in the sense that I didn't apply myself, learning was easy for me, but I felt that if I knew the material then why did I have to do homework and assignments, just give me the quiz or test, if I pass then my grades should reflect that. Well, they did not, I would say I was a definitely an average student pulling strong C's the occasional B but teetering into D's at times. Every year my parents would reward my sister and I with a " special " dinner out, if we had kept our grades consistent and passed to the next grade level. We always chose the Old Express restaurant in Sharon, Pa. It was a converted railroad depot with a steam engine and dining cars, we always sat at a table where you could look through the glass and underneath the rail cars.

   So, what does a youngster of 6 or 7 choose when out for this one-time a year meal, LOBSTER !! I wanted to crown my achievement with the most expensive and luxurious item I could get my hands on. I loved them probably because they were a curiosity I mean what boy doesn't like bugs, animals & amphibious creatures, we hunted them in our play time, kept them in shoe boxes under our beds away from a mothers keen eye, so why not eat a creature as strange as this, besides they are delicious, succulent, sweet and they turn red when cooked, awesome to a boy. I always named my lobster George, but then again as a kid I named everything George. poking eyes, pulling antenna, cracking claws seemed an appropriate way to eat something. I always tried to convince my parents that it would be beneficial to let me keep the claws, I was never allowed.

                  Tully's Steakhouse formerly the Old Express / Seafood Express in Sharon, PA

  When I had the chance this past week to get some live Maine lobsters from friends that own a lobster co-op in Scarborough, ME I jumped at the opportunity. I guess being a truck driver has it's benefits. Gary and Tim run the Pine Point Fisherman's Co-Op. I hope to see them often. Incidentally Gary has a son that goes to school about a half hour away from me here in WI. He plays hockey for Lawrence University and I will be taking him some treats from WI next week when I make another trip to Maine. Cheese curds and bratwurst anyone?

                                         Pine Point Fisherman's Co-Op in Scarborough, ME

   And so this week I shared and re-lived memories with my family of being a boy that was rewarded for getting Good grades with Great food.

                                    Lobster's that were brought back from Pine Point this week.

   Who knew that a food item that was considered to be food fit for servants and lower class members of society and often relegated to the fields as fertilizer would turn out to be the King of the Ocean.




Ingredients:

Lobster
salted water
lemon
melted butter

Preparation:

   In a large pot boil salted water with lemon slices, put your lobster in head first ( lobster do NOT scream when put in boiling water, that sound is steam leaving the body ), start timing immediately 8min for a 1 lb & 12 min for a 1 1/2 lb lobster, increase 3 min per lb.

  

   Thanks for the memories mom & dad.


   Want to see your family food history on this blog contact me at my email link & don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

Green Bean-a-Rooni

It was never a question as to what I would start with for this blog. This story comes from my own parents James & Cathy Wathan as told by my dad, these are his words.

 This Wathan traditional fare started while I was serving in the United States Marine Corps and stationed at The Portsmouth Naval Yard in Portsmouth NH from 1970 to 1971. My wife (Cathy) and I lived on the third floor of a downtown apartment paying roughly $90.00 per month for rent. Back at that time a married couple in the Marine Corps didn't make that much money, we received $220 a month, so things were tight. I had come home from the base, where I was a prison guard with the Marine Security Guard Force at the Naval Prison. I worked 24hrs on 24hrs off.

   I had gotten Home and we were trying to figure out something for supper, and as I remember, it was between pay periods and the cupboards were pretty bare. We found that we had a couple of pork chops, a can of tomato rice soup and a can of green beans. I usually did the cooking when I was home as I still do 40 years later.

   I fried up the pork chops in a skillet, and after they were done added the tomato rice soup, along with the can of green beans, covered and let them simmer for about a half hour. My wife and I came up with name on the spot as a joke. To this day we still fix them at least once a month. Our kids know what we're talking about but when we tell other people they kind of look at you with that deer in the head light look. That usually changes once they have tried it.

   Well that's our story and we're sticking to it and we hope you'll try it and enjoy it.

   4 Pork Chops

   1 can green beans

   1 can tomato rice soup

   Cook chops till done (Can be baked in oven)

   Add tomato rice soup use a little less water than a full can along with the green beans cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for at least a half hour

   Serve chop with soup and bean mixture ladled over top

 I made this today for the blog, I would prefer bone-in-chops but this is what I had, also we have tried this different ways over the years with tomato soup and cooked rice, fresh beans and frozen, but it never tastes as good as tomato-rice soup and canned green beans. I usually bake mine off in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 min after cooking the chops and combine everything together

Thanks to my parents

Genealogy Jim

Introduction

FOOD. It is at the core of every families history. It is constant, continually occurring & reoccurring in our lives, even during lean times. Arguably more so in the past, it has been the single driving force in determining where we live, occupation, social status, survivability & religious practice. Civilizations have started brutal wars over food & yet still have the compassion to share with charitable generosity.

My goal here is to find the family history or individual story behind the meal, whether something as simple as a single ingredient, say a home-grown tomato to a dish created on a whim.

Many of these stories will come from a time when frugality was necessary. The Great Depression was not only a time of hardship, but also a time of creativity. Not only will the stories be posted here, but also the recipes. These will mostly be collected from actual conversations & interviews. It is not my intention to use recycled articles from long ago, out-of-print books & periodicals though some may be used from time-to-time when accompanied with a story of significant quality or entertaining value.

Please check back often as this is a work in progress.


James Wathan
Genealogy Jim