One thing that feels particularly 1980s to me now: curly parsley as a garnish. WHY? Why did we do this? USELESS. Some people have taste buds that make cilantro taste soapy, and I can only imagine it tastes like curly parsley. (Flat-leaf parsley is delicious, though!)
I moved around, so I got a lot of exposure to how our country was changing through that time. For example, I remember going to my first Tex-Mex restaurant and how cultured I felt to try my first sopapilla dessert. LOL! Similarly, when I watched The Breakfast Club as a seven-year-old, I had never laid eyes on a piece of sushi before I saw it on film. Now, of course, it's available at, like, gas stations. I also remember getting my first fro-yo. And my first avocado--that was in middle grade in California! LOL!
I also lived mainly in the South, so I ate a LOT of chicken fried steak, po-boys, frogs’ legs and other game meat that people hunted themselves, pork rinds, and pickled EVERYTHING (I still adore pickled okra. It's SO GOOD.) The flip side is that we had outstanding produce when it was in season (and often heirloom--by default. Thrifty seed savers and all!) My Georgia relatives grew their own stash of snacking peanuts, among other fun things.
I didn't have a lot of comforts as a child, but the food was one of them. I'm so grateful for the wonderful (and even strange) tastes I got to explore before my metabolism caught up with me. LOL.
Good luck on your knish and Cel-Ray hunt, Julie! They both sound pretty great to me!
YES to the retro quality of curly parsley. I also have strong memories of decorative kale on deli plates. Before kale was cool.
I also remember thinking sopapillas were the fanciest thing when I first had one in my 20s (not a lot of sopapillas in New Jersey). I love all of your childhood food memories!
You'll be glad to know there's a knish and Cel-Ray update in my third letter, which is posting tomorrow.
Woo-hoo! Looking forward to finding out more, esp. regarding Cel-Ray soda (pretty sure the knish will be delish...though maybe not as good the best ones ever...but crossing my fingers for you!). 😋 or 🥴 =❓ 👀
I was talking about Cel-Ray soda last night at dinner and my 14-year-old said, "Can you not? We're EATING here." So it's exotic to my own kids -- or just disgusting.
One thing that feels particularly 1980s to me now: curly parsley as a garnish. WHY? Why did we do this? USELESS. Some people have taste buds that make cilantro taste soapy, and I can only imagine it tastes like curly parsley. (Flat-leaf parsley is delicious, though!)
I moved around, so I got a lot of exposure to how our country was changing through that time. For example, I remember going to my first Tex-Mex restaurant and how cultured I felt to try my first sopapilla dessert. LOL! Similarly, when I watched The Breakfast Club as a seven-year-old, I had never laid eyes on a piece of sushi before I saw it on film. Now, of course, it's available at, like, gas stations. I also remember getting my first fro-yo. And my first avocado--that was in middle grade in California! LOL!
I also lived mainly in the South, so I ate a LOT of chicken fried steak, po-boys, frogs’ legs and other game meat that people hunted themselves, pork rinds, and pickled EVERYTHING (I still adore pickled okra. It's SO GOOD.) The flip side is that we had outstanding produce when it was in season (and often heirloom--by default. Thrifty seed savers and all!) My Georgia relatives grew their own stash of snacking peanuts, among other fun things.
I didn't have a lot of comforts as a child, but the food was one of them. I'm so grateful for the wonderful (and even strange) tastes I got to explore before my metabolism caught up with me. LOL.
Good luck on your knish and Cel-Ray hunt, Julie! They both sound pretty great to me!
YES to the retro quality of curly parsley. I also have strong memories of decorative kale on deli plates. Before kale was cool.
I also remember thinking sopapillas were the fanciest thing when I first had one in my 20s (not a lot of sopapillas in New Jersey). I love all of your childhood food memories!
You'll be glad to know there's a knish and Cel-Ray update in my third letter, which is posting tomorrow.
Woo-hoo! Looking forward to finding out more, esp. regarding Cel-Ray soda (pretty sure the knish will be delish...though maybe not as good the best ones ever...but crossing my fingers for you!). 😋 or 🥴 =❓ 👀
I've learned a few new things from reading this letter, Julie. Knish and Cel-Ray, for example: kind of exotic compared to what I grew up with.
Juice bags were definitely not child-proof!!!!
I was talking about Cel-Ray soda last night at dinner and my 14-year-old said, "Can you not? We're EATING here." So it's exotic to my own kids -- or just disgusting.