My Mom left to go back home after her week long visit, but traces of her presence still remain. I think we can all relate to foods that are synonymous with our growing up years, or with our parents and home. My Mom may have left the building, but foods that are only here when she's around still find themselves in my fridge and cupboards.
I sometimes neglect buying food that "I" really like, because I'm the only one who eats it. That changes when my Mom is around and we both indulge in glorious, yummy eats from my childhood.
When I think of my Mom, and our table during special occasions growing up, there was always "pickled" everythings. Apparently, that's not the norm. Huh? We always had a platter full of pickles, olives, beets and even pickled eggs on the table, whether for Christmas, Thanksgiving or Easter. I don't know why our family is pickly food fond, but we love them.
I opened up the fridge today to make lunch, and there on the shelves were Kalamata olives, green olives, baby pickled beets and baby dills. Yep, my Mom had clearly been here. In the deli drawer, more evidence. There, I found Swiss cheese and smoked meat. Let's not even get started on the breads! Pumpernickle, dark rye, buns and potato/scallion. My mom loves a good deli sandwich with a side of pickled everything. She's picky about "what" smoked meat and will reference, "I didn't buy any because they only had the wet kind. This was as close to Montreal as I could get."
It made me smile and chuckle a little, as I prepared my sandwich and sat down to eat. Soon, all traces will be gone, for now. Today, however, a little bit of my Mom and some of the food memories she creates, will linger.
All that was missing was some Werther's and some mints. That would make it feel exactly like "home."
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