Childhood Food Memories

Whenever I talk to my lifelong friend Lynne, we usually find ourselves reminiscing about our teen years.  Those conversations remind me how good Lynne’s house always smelled when I’d stop by after school.  Her mother was a first-class baker, and she apparently spent many afternoons making bread, cakes, cookies and cloverleaf rolls.

Maybe Lynne’s mother, whom I will call Mrs. B, is the reason I was never daunted by yeast

Mom Cooking Tip 53

Here’s a shortcut when making garlic bread from French bread– slice the bread horizontally and spoon on the butter/garlic mixture.  Wrap tightly in foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  When ready to serve it, unwrap and slice vertically into 1-inch pieces.

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Mom Money-Saving Tip 50

Leftovers in My Refrigerator: Stuffed Mushrooms, Penne, Candied Yam

Analyze your leftovers. If you consistently have 1-portion servings left, either reduce the amount of food you are cooking or increase it enough so that you can freeze half for a future meal.

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I Can Make That Too: Mussels in Mom’s Kitchen vs. the Restaurant Version

Mussels from Mom's Kitchen

I started loving mussels when I lived in London and could buy fresh ones at the fishmonger’s stall in the Tachbrook Street Market, near Victoria Station. This was before mussel farming began in earnest, so the mussels I got were wild ones, often with barnacles attached to their shells.

Cleaning the mussels took ages and sometimes required a hammer and flat-head screwdriver to knock off the barnacles.  They had to go because they were likely to be full of sand.  I also had to yank out the mussels’ beards—a bunch of threads that help the mussel attach to an underwater surface.  That took brute strength.

Mom Cooking Tip 52

Corn on the cob gets tough if it’s overcooked. Add ears of corn to a pot of unsalted boiling water, cover and cook for about 2 minutes.  Remove from the water with tongs and serve with butter and salt on the side.  I prefer removing the husks before cooking because there’s less folderol at the table.

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Stuffing a Tomato

When I was growing up in Pennsylvania, fresh tomatoes were for eating whole or cut up in salads.  Somehow cooking them didn’t occur to my mother.  If she wanted tomato sauce, she opened a can or she used ketchup. 

Imagine my surprise when I went to Greece as a high school exchange student and had my first Stuffed Tomato.  Everything about it was exotic—the herbs and spices, the crunchy breadcrumbs on top drizzled with something called olive oil? 

Okay, I was 16 and pretty ignorant about cooking, but that summer in Greece changed everything.  For one thing, I gained 15 pounds because I liked the food so much.  More importantly, I realized that I could have an impact on what I ate.  If I wanted a Stuffed Tomato, a Stuffed Grape Leaf or some Taramasalata (a Greek dip made from fish roe), I could learn to make it myself.

Question for Mom

Clockwise from left: Coriander Seeds, Cilantro, Ground Coriander

What’s the difference between coriander and cilantro?--Steve D.

Coriander is the name of the plant.  The leaves, commonly known either as fresh coriander or cilantro (the Spanish word for coriander), are sold in bunches like parsley.  Cilantro is a popular ingredient in Mexican and Indian recipes. 

The coriander plant’s small round seeds are called coriander.  The seeds can be used whole or ground up and sold as a powder.  The powder tastes considerably different from the leaves, which have a lemony flavor.