Gramma

For Such a Picky Eater: Eating Brains

Photo courtesy of www.goodreads.com of Jeff Hart's bookcover
For such a picky eater I have consumed quite an interesting array of foods in my life.


Pumpkin Blossoms
Ostrich
Alligator
Squid
Lamb Fries (a.k.a. Rocky Mountain Oysters)
Pig Brains
Cow Brains
Bear (In the form of stew)
Buffalo/Bison
Conch
Dandelion Tea
Morel "Sponge" Mushrooms



Yes it is true. Brains, now considered a delicacy by some while most of the population considers them foul. As a child, I ate them fried for breakfast as a side to my scrambled or soft fried eggs.  At the time delish!  As I got older I couldn't handle the flavor any longer and have not touched them since.

The bear was cooked in a stew and was very similar to pot roast except that it had a much more coarse texture than beef.  Simply it would just require getting used to the texture to enjoy.  I can't remember for sure but I believe it was either Brown Bear or Black Bear.

The wonderful Summer of Dandelion tea!  Oh how fond I am of that memory.  Our family friend Rose Penary brought some over one day and then that summer my Gramma and I would dig dandelions so that Paw-Paw (and of course myself and her too!) could enjoy it.  It was so much fun.

Morels are one of my favorite foods of all time.  You know the mushrooms that sell anywhere between $45.00 to $100.00 per fresh pound each year or up to $200.00 per dehydrated pound.  Yup, those.  They were so abundant in Illinois during my childhood that they were considered a major food source for April.   They were also considered a delicacy however, because you physically hunted for them yourselves and they were usually only available for two to four weeks.  Apparently, if you had just the perfect season they might be available for up to eight weeks but I have never experienced that phenomenon. After April showers the sun would come out and heat up the ground and up would pop the yummy fungi.  Some of my best memories are of Paw-Paw and Gramma hunting and preparing the morels with me.

 With Angela O'


Life Changes

I grew up in an abundant family.  On my mother's side alone, 4 aunts, a mother, and a grandmother.  A brother, grandfather, a few uncles and several great aunts and great uncles and a ton of cousins.  My aunts were part of my immediate family, they were part of raising me.  Growing up in this family of Altevogt's and the maiden Traylor was a blessing.  A few changes to the family had happened overtime had happened, some sad and some positive but nothing we couldn't handle.  

Between the ages of 15 and 27 one typically doesn't really understand the placement or meaning of what is around them.  It is a natural phase of life, one that is experienced during the "finding yourself" moment.  Going to college, moving to a new location, getting a job, struggling to make ends meet....yada yada yada.  It's natural.  You love what you have but you don't fully grasp and understand, yet.

Then it happens, you get it.  You cherish every moment that you get to spend with your family and when you look back at those limited times that you visited home your heart is joyous and aching all in one beat.  You realize that you never want those moments to change.  That is when the lightbulb has gone on.  You come to the realization that you understand, you get it.

Finally, I got to that point around the age of 28.  After moving multiple times and starting new paths and completing the obstacle courses that were laid before me my light bulb turned on.  It was at 28, when things became possible.  Taking trips (because now one was at the age were they could used their hard earned funds) to visit those you missed.  Solely because you missed spending time with them.  Planning to just do things because you should experience it.  

Well, it had all just began to come together for that third phase in life.  The enjoyment part.  Two trips under my belt home.  Both short, we were playing catch up.  But both very quality.  Somehow in a 6 month period, I had managed to make it home twice and got to spend time with extremely important people in my life.  However, prior to that I had only been able to complete one trip in a 7 year period.  And that was in phase two of my life, so not great quality because it was in the "finding yourself" stage.  But the next phase was here and it was great.

Just when I got comfortable parking my mind, body and soul in phase three it fell apart.  Starting in November, just 2.5 months after I turned 30 my baby Aunt passed away.  The entire family was heartbroken.  And heartbreak was exactly what it was.  Exactly two and a half months later the apple of my eye, the center of our family, the rock and the peace maker, the one with the best smile and the best heart left us too.  Gramma, also known as Mom.  Our hearts were no longer just broken, they were stabbed, squashed, twisted, chewed and spit out.

My days will never be the same.

With Angela O'





Pie Challenge # 2: Peach Pie

Now that's a Peach Pie
Of course it is from scratch.  Now I did mess up the pie crust layout, but the flavor was not affected.  That teaches me not to leave my balls of dough sitting out!  Whoops!  Better next time.  Oh I love my Gramma's pie crust and I will never alter it's recipe for anyone or anything.  No matter who tells me what I should do instead...FORGET IT!  Gramma's pie crust is GRAMMA's pie crust.  I love Gramma and I love her pies.  Hehe.

 Bon Apetit!
Step 1: Get the real deal ingredients
Mixing up the ingredients for the filling

Gramma best kept secret....butter

Sprinkled with cinnamon

~Angela O'






Pie Challenge #1: Strawberry Pie



This summer I have challenged myself to become a Pie Connoisseur, like my Gramma.  Gramma has always made the best pies in the world.  It is because of my Gramma that I am so picky and hold food to very high standards.  She has magic hands and wrists that make everything so delicious.

One of my favorite past times is making pies with Gramma.  She always let me cut the edge of the pie dough and make cinnamon rolls with the excess dough.  A.K.A. rugelachs which we didn't know what they were until 25 years later!  However, the last time I must have made a pie with Gramma was while I was in high school, I cannot remember for sure.  In two months I will be 30 and yet have never made a pie on my own. So hence my challenge.  I want to be like Gramma! So I am going to make tons and tons of pies this summer.  Starting with my very favorite pie, a midwestern favorite: Strawberry Pie.

A true Strawberry Pie does not have odd things in it like pudding or cake, it is a real fruit pie.  No pre-made gels are added to it.  It uses only fresh, handmade piecrust not store-purchased crust.  And for all of the Texans out there we are going to set the record straight...the crap that HEB call's strawberry pie at Mother's Day is NOT Strawberry Pie!!

I made this yesterday on the Summer Solstice.  A perfect remembrance to all those Junes that Gramma, Paw-Paw, and I would sit eating Strawberry Pie at the kitchen table in Illinois.



Gramma got me my first rolling pin

Gramma always let me poke the holes in the pie dough.  My favorite task.



Getting ready to spread the cool whip


xoxo hugs and quiches,

~ Angela O'

A sneak peak at our pie dough cinnamon rolls


80th Surprises and Sentiments

Invitation
I got a little sneaky at the end of March, which is why I have been MIA for the past few weeks.  My Gramma's 80th birthday was on April 1st and I wanted to be involved and do something special.  Unfortunately, I live over 1,000 miles away so I just assumed that we wouldn't get to do anything celebratory that included me.  Well, two weeks prior I decided to book a plane ticket without telling anyone.  Since I don't get to spend as much time with my Gramma as I would like I wanted to show her how I like entertain  (I moved away from home immediately following college graduation).  So to prepare for the big day I handmade invitations using my Aunt Peggy as a cover story.  She "hired" me to make invitations to invite the family over to Gramma's house for the Easter lunch that she was going to "bring" over.  I sneakily flew in to St. Louis on Friday, visited my bff Casie who was visiting from out of state, did all the shopping and cooking Saturday, and then Sunday morning at 10 a.m. showed up on Gramma's front patio with a homemade feast!!  I was soooo happy to be able to pull this off.  I love my gramma!!  Happy 80th!!

Menu

Pumpkin Muffins
Lemon Poppy Muffins
Shrimp Cocktail
Quiche Lorraine
Lemon Roasted Asparagus with Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper
Mini Fruit Kabobs
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Mimosas
Blood Orange Italian Soda
Frutta d'Isola Italian Soda
Taste of San Antonio Coffee

 One of the best moments of the day was that I got to use Gramma's vintage dishes and utensils as the tableware.  

Thank you all for being my Easter brunch guest:  Gramma (Guest of Honor), Aunt Shirley, Aunt Peggy, Uncle Rick, Aunt Roberta, Aunt Sheila, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Homer.  Thank you Uncle Jim for transporting Aunt Shirley!

I do apologize to all my friends and family that I did not get to see make time to see that weekend.  I hectically did a turn around flight that following Monday.  I can't wait to visit with everyone next time!


Quiche Lorraine

Fruit Kabobs

Lemon Poppy & Pumpkin Muffins
Shrimp
Lemon Roasted Asparagus with Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper


Gramma's Place Setting