Thoughts about food from Grandma Lang

I just finished reading In Defense of Food.

Michael Pollan states in the opening pages that we would all be better off if we ate like our grandmothers and great-grandmothers used to eat.

I thought that this was an interesting idea, so I called up my Grandma Lang and asked her,
"What kind of things did you used to eat?"

She laughed and said,

"Well, we ate what we made!"

She went on to say that they bought very little from a store.

They baked their own bread.

They had a cow for milk and butter.

Pretty much everything else they ate came from their garden.

I asked her, "who taught you how to cook?"

She answered, "Well my mother, I guess. I just grew up cooking."

She then told me about days when she would be late to jr. high school because her Grandma Church wouldn't let her go until the bread dough was just right.

She also told me that every Monday they would spend the day doing their laundry- no matter what. So every laundry day they would put on a big pot of beans and ham. She remembers how fussy her Grandma Church was about the laundry because people could see it on the line.

I asked her what her favorite food was when she was a child.

She took a moment and then told me that she loved the homemade ice cream.

During the winter they would go out to the frozen lake and cut chunks of ice and store them in the cellar under sawdust. They would use this ice to make ice cream during the summer.

I asked her what "kind" of ice cream they made, and she said it depended what "fruit was on." They would add peach or strawberry or they would make vanilla.

But she did remember that for the Fourth of July they would make homemade rootbeer. They would make it a month in advance and store it in the cellar, and then for Fourth they would have Rootbeer Floats!

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I really love my Grandma. I still remember sitting at the bar in her kitchen watching her cook. I was fascinated by how she knew how to make such delicious food- it seemed a little bit like magic. She had a way of making holidays more exciting and ordinairy day seem special by whipping up something so delicious. She was an especially wonderful baker. I still remember the breads and cookies- and OH the cinnamon rolls! Brock especially LOVED her cinnamon rolls. He may or may not have married me because of the deliciousness of those rolls. :)

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The two things that stand out the most to me from the conversation with my Grandma is

1. Food doesn't need to be elaborate or complicated to be delicious. At times she almost seemed apologetic as she answered my questions with , "well...we just ate what we made." I think that simple food is still good food.

2. That there is something so wonderful about routine and tradition when it comes to food. I find myself loving the idea that EVERY Monday was ham and beans. That in a world of constant change and chaos I can use food as a stabilizing factor in my home. I also love that special occasions call for special foods. I love that the flavor of the ice cream depended on the fruit in season. I want to give my kids a reason to look forward to holidays and the changing seasons. That means maybe not buying strawberries in January or apples in May- just an ideas...we'll see.

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Thank you Grandma! You are such an inspiration to me!!! I will have to call you and tell you this because you don't read my blog. As we were talking about somethings she used to make and she apologized for using butter, but then said, "well it got me this far... ninety years." And as I wrote down what she said I can only hope eating more like her can get my family to ninety years too.

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And for a special bonus, here is my Grandma's Cinnamon Roll Recipe:

4 C. Water
1 C. Sugar
¾ C. Oil
1 Egg
4 pkgs. Yeast
¾ C. Powdered milk
½ C. Instant Potato Flakes
1 T. salt
Enough flour to make soft dough (don’t make to stiff; as it is mixed the lighter the dough the better), about 7 C.

Soften yeast in warm water; add sugar, oil, egg, potato flakes, powdered milk and salt, Mix and let rise to double. Put out on floured counter; roll out and spread with butter, then sugar with cinnamon mixed in (I use part brown sugar), some nuts (chopped) and raisins, if desired, Roll dough up and slice, Put on cookie sheet; let rise and bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes ( don’t over bake). Frost with a powdered sugar glaze.

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I want to make these this weekend. I'll let you know how they turn out.

I can't wait-If they do turn out...Brock is going to love his wife so much more!