The Foods I Ate When I Was a Kid

The Foods I Ate When I Was a Kid

This morning, I was walking along, minding my own business, when I saw an unusual truck.

icecream truck

The funny thing was that the moment I saw this truck my mouth started watering and I felt strangely happy. This truck, I realized a second later, and its unusual door handles, was an icecream delivery truck, and it reminded me of the Good Humor Icecream truck which used to come every afternoon to the Mt. Washington Swim Club where I spent a large chunk of my childhood summers.

My favorite Good Humor flavors came rushing back… Toasted almond. Coconut. Cherry italian ice. Icecream sundae.

Even as I write this, my mouth is watering for treats I haven’t tasted in 25 years.

Which got me reminiscing about the tastes of my childhood.

Grandma’s house was Chicken broth with Hebrew alphabet noodles and an icecube, bagels with cream cheese and lox, and Special K with whole milk (at home we only got skim).

My house was microwaved mallo pies and potato pierogies from the freezer and rice krispies and cornflakes.

Again, my mouth is watering for foods I haven’t eaten in 25 years or more.

And, what about the infinitely greater power of holy food!

Food used to feed children and husbands (and JewishMOMs!) who will use the energy from that food to perform mitzvot, learn Torah, and serve Hashem. Food used as a way to honor Shabbat, to honor our holidays–our holy days.

Which reminds me of the power of food we prepare. And the way it leaves our stomachs but, sometimes, stays in our hearts.

7 comments

  1. oy, tastycakes

    sorry, that was a klipah moment ;>)

  2. yes, food is much more than just tasty calories. we should be zoche to elevate this physical world though the food we eat every day! thanks for reminding me of the potential sanctity of eating and the importance of what i’m doing during meal preparation and shopping. I hope my kids look back with nostalgia and what i’m feeding them!

  3. The main thing I remember from our family trips are Oreos! We rarely had cookies in the house but for a weekend getaway my mom always bought Oreos. On our family trip I told my kids about the oreos then handed each of them a chocolate pudding snack with whipped cream. And that’s what they talk about when we me mention the trip! Food makes such an impression. Good reason to have the tastiest foods for Shabbes!

  4. I read this as we are on our first family Shabbat overnight and my toddler munches on pretzels in an attempt that the baby will nap. She likes to see what kind of snacks we have for our rare road trips.

  5. I love that last line – it leaves our stomachs but sometimes stays in our hearts. I have such fond memories of my grandmother’s food that she made and I make so many of them for my family.

  6. I still remember the birthday cakes my Bubby (may she rest in peace) used to bake for my birthday on Sukkos when we visited her. Dark chocolate bundt shape cake with white homemade frosting and colored sprinkles on it.

  7. You know what they say about Jews and food:
    They tried to kill us, we won; lets eat!

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