StoryTime - Memory Foods

Oh, before I start, I feel I should post this link: http://www.mndaily.com/news/campus/2013/03/08/fbi-raids-room-middlebrook ... Yeah, wasn't planning to hear about my old res hall in that way... but life makes things interesting?

So, when I did the StoryTime blog for Spring Break last year, I had a lot of food memories. I didn't think that trip had that many distinctive foods, but it just sort of happened. Nothing too exciting happened today, so hey, why not do some random sharing? To clarify, this is less of a "remember that time I had that huge meal" but more of a "when I eat this food, I think back to..." memory. Here goes nothing!

8 Food Memories (hmmm, Memory Foods?)

1. Lemon-Lime Gatorade - During summer vacations around middle school age, I would ride with my dad as he would drive around northern Minnesota for work. The work itself wasn't that memorable, but it seemed like every trip, we would get a big container of lemon-lime Gatorade to share, and yes, this memory food is flavor-specific.

2. Pepperoni Pizza Combos - Yes, another flavor-specific food. This became the snack of choice when I operated the soundboard or lightboard at the summer theater. There was a gas station right across the street from the theater (some of us called it "the kitchen") and since performances would take place in the evening, it was nice to have a little snack there for long, cueless scenes.

3. Sundae Crunch Bars - These ice cream treats were one of the most popular items at the ala carte stand in middle school. They were 75 cents, so I think that dessert was my first experience with lending/borrowing a quarter.

4. Macaroni and Cheese Pizza - Oddly specific yet again, I know. The specificity of the food does limit the memories - specifically college. Mesa Pizza set up shop in Dinkytown (a "suburb" of campus) and were known for having (1) giant slices of pizza until like 2am (2) quite adventurous toppings. Sure, it was probably pretty greasy and you got a lot of food for cheap, but that's college, right? Naturally, they boomed once word got around. Since college, I've come to experience Shakespeare's in Columbia which also has a very wide topping assortment, but I feel like macaroni and cheese pizza anywhere just wouldn't be the same. (Plus, I don't even know if Shakespeare's has that. I do like the addition of broccoli though.)

5. "Soviet Transmission" Waffles - I mentioned this in the 15 Truths post, but I have a waffle maker and several times a year, I have waffle parties for the students. It used to be in my apartment, but I've moved it to the lounge so more people can come and it's easier to maintain order and clean up. The "soviet transmission" waffle is one that usually has chocolate chips, sometimes cocoa powder, but always has peanut butter chips. At the beginning of a waffle day, I typically just make plain waffles to quell the hungry masses, and by the time I pull out Soviet transmissions, a lot of people are usually full. I don't outright say what's in that type of waffle (unless someone has a particular allergy), so it's also kind of an in-joke for anyone who helps me with a Waffle Day.

6. Peanut Butter Blossoms - My mom didn't bake a lot of treats, but peanut butter blossoms were a staple to the Christmas treats. I remember helping out a couple of times and having fun squishing the chocolate kiss onto each dough disc. Over the years, other peanut butter blossoms popped up from other families - bake sales, holiday goody plates - but like other memory foods, it just wasn't the same if it wasn't home-made. Well, *my* home. Made.

7. Chipotle Southwest sauce from Mr. Goodcents - Don't worry, it was on a sandwich, and yes, it has to be from Mr. Goodcents (although maybe the name is something slightly different). The memory was my first full day here in Missouri. My high school friends left to drive back to Minnesota and I decided to walk from campus to the HyVee for groceries. (I've pretty sure I blogged on this before, so if you want the full story, go back to August 2009.) I stopped at a Mr. Goodcents and decided to change my sandwich order up since I had just moved two states south. I enjoyed the kick and whenever I order sandwiches from Goodcents or Subway, it has some variety of southwest sauce.

8. Chocolate Truffles - I can't remember the brand, but there's a specific type that came in a black sorta hexagonal box. This takes me back to my senior year of high school where my mom was planning out things for my graduation party. I think she saw truffles at another random party, tried one, and then went out and got a box for the two of us to split. They are very indulgent and would probably melt if I so much as looked at them long enough. We definitely had plenty of them at the graduation party and Mom has gifted me a few boxes in the years since then. Like some other chocolate treats, I put them in the fridge so that they are juuust right. And so I don't pull one out and have my fingers covered in chocolate goo. Mmmmmm French chocolate goo.....


So there we go. Another storytime in a way. I did notice about halfway through that the list is basically all sweets and other "sparingly" treats. The optimist in me says that they have more specific memories because I eat healthy foods in many contexts and more often.

Going with the "Memory Items" theme, I'm mulling around the idea for a "Memory Songs" post, but that probably won't be tomorrow. Just thinking ahead.

Well, have a good night and good eating!