Foods I Miss

[kadesma]

I've read so much about how terrible the produce you buy is. I can't complain because I have home grown cantaloupes,cucumbers, sweet Italian peppers,tomatoes heirlooms, pumpkins, watermelons nectarines,peaches,soon we will have figs, all kinds of herbs, artichokes,tangarines,oranges, meyer lemons,apples two kinds fujii, and gala, lettuce if I don't have it I go to a near by local farmer for corn as I didn't put any in this year and It's really bugging me
Wondering is Tutti Frutti the same as Spumoni? Had some yesterday and it was heaven.
kades

 

[Andy M.]

Andy if you don''t grow your own tomatoes
try the farmers market. I never but never buy any tomatoes except heirlooms when they come into season those vine rippened jobs are awful and not worth the money.no taste, mealy YUK Only others I do buy are romas for making sauce.
kades

Thanks, kades. That's what I do in the mid- to late summer months when toe farmers' markets start offering tomatoes. You're right, the rest of the time the supermarket toms just don't compare.

 

[CWS4322]

Dawglover--I spent every summer of my life at LoW from the time I was a baby until I graduated from university and moved to Canada. And then I spent weeks on the Canada side. I've attached a pic I took of the sun coming up on the lake the first morning we were there last year--I slept with the window open so I could hear the waves (even though that is the most uncomfortable bed one could imagine)...watching the sunrise (and capturing it with my camera--was fantastic). I am so looking forward to August at the Lake. Did I mention I brought back 4 4-gal ice cream pails of the sand--best exfoliant I've every used for softening your feet. I pour the sand in a dish pan and rub my feet back and forth...works great. I wish my grandma had left the cabin to me and not my cousin (he is, however, my godfather and my mom's godson, so when I say we want the cabin, he can't refuse <g>). LoW, is my familiar--I can move, my parents can move, but Birch Beach is my familiar and the place I know is my constant.

Even though I hadn't been there for years, I could still remember how to drive from Bemidji to Birch Beach--I didn't need a map, I just knew where I had to turn in Williams and again to get to Birch Beach. Funny how you never forget some things. I could smell the lake (and taste it- in the air-we used to wash our hair in the lake and dip buckets of lake water to wash dishes--there is a well, but we used lake water for bathing and doing dishes).

I always stop outside of Marquette, MI when I drive to MN to watch the sunset...it reminds me of LoW. The attached photo is LoW, not Superior.

 

[Dawgluver]

Oh CWS, : Ontario side for me, since I was a baby too through college. We made the journey every summer, as a toddler I threw my sister's doll out the car window, and luckily it landed in the boat we were towing. Took swimming lessons, taught swimming and lifeguarded, water still had ice on it when we got there in June when we took our training.

Beautiful pic, my lake!

Thanks!

 

[CWS4322]

Oh CWS, : Ontario side for me, since I was a baby too through college. We made the journey every summer, as a toddler threw my sister's doll out the window, and luckily it landed in the boat we were towing. Taught swimming and lifeguarded, water still had ice on it when we got there in June when we took our training.

Beautiful pic, my lake!

Thanks!

That's the US-side. I have pics of the Canadian side with the rocks! Did you take out the boat and stop at a "rock island," do shore lunch, and then pretend you were seals on the hot granite rocks--and dip into the lake before getting back into the boat? We did! Napping on those sunbaked rocks with a full belly was so close to heaven...definitely one of the best vacation spots in the Midwesst, but I am a bit biased.

Even though getting my parents to the cabin is an ordeal, I am so looking forward to being at the Lake again this August. I want to wake up and see the sun coming up over the lake again--I want to go out in the boat and fish...

 

[Dawgluver]

That's the US-side. I have pics of the Canadian side with the rocks! Did you take out the boat and stop at a "rock island," do shore lunch, and then pertend you were seals on the hot granite rocks--and dip into the lake before getting back into the boat? We did! Napping on those rocks with a full belly was so close to heaven...

Many times. Best way to eat walleye! My dad ran into Pierre Trudeau, former Prime Minister of Canada, taking a dip from a boat when he was at one of Dad's fave way out of the way fishing spots. Trudeau just swam up and asked Dad how the fishing was!

Alas, my dad's gone, and my mom let her green card expire. The folks in authority make it too difficult for a Canadian citizen living in the US to renew. I am hoping we can get her back to her beloved LoW sometime.

 

[CWS4322]

I thought Trudeau was an amazing person--I had the opportunity to chat with him at a garden party...didn't ever encounter him swimming at LoW! If your mom has a passport, she can still be taken across.

 

[Dawgluver]

I thought Trudeau was an amazing person--I had the opportunity to chat with him at a garden party...didn't ever encounter him swimming at LoW! If your mom has a passport, she can still be taken across.

She needs her green card to get a passport. Used to be you didn't need anything to get across the Canadian border, and she won't let that go. I tried to help her, went round and round with the authorities. No one there to answer the phone.

Loved Trudeau too, remember Fuddle Duddle?

The PM let loose on an opinion with many f- words, all caught on mike, and when asked to explain by the press, he said "All I said was " Fuddle Duddle.". They had tee shirts printed up with Fuddle Duddle.

 

[joesfolk]

You guys made me remember all of the fish meals we used to have before my dad passed. He was an avid fisherman. His last ice fishing shanty was a doosie. It had windows, a wood stove, a fold down bed and (get this) carpeting and curtains. He would go out on the lake in the morning with his radio and a sandwich wrapped in tin foil. The sandwich went on the stove and he spent the whole day out there just waiting for the right fish to come along.
My brother is just as avid a fisherman but he keeps 99% of the fish for himself and I can't really say that I blame him. Still, I hate paying for the stuff you get in the supermarket. It just feels like an insult to buy fish that is frozen and mostly tasteless. Unfortunately dad didn't believe in teaching girls anything that boys were taught including how to fish. Oh, I can string a line if I have to but knowing what to put on it or when and where to fish is another matter. Thank God I know how to cook a fish without turning it to charcoal or mush!
I know someone on this thread mentioned that they missed Smith Brothers cough drops. We can get them here and they are cheap. They are called throat lozenges now. They taste the same as they always did. We can still get life savers easily too. I know someone mentioned that one.
As for milk. I miss the days when the milkman drove up to our house and delivered milk in 2 1/2 gallon containers with a pull out spout so we could just hold a glass up to a container in the fridge and fill the glass like they do in restaurants. (There were 7 kids in our family so we got about 4 or 5 of those containers a week.) In those days having to drink unhomogenized milk from our landlords farm meant that we didn't have the money for the milkman. (And I hated the "farm" milk.) Now having said that, my folks had a hard and fast rule...there will always be milk in the house to feed the kids, no matter what else had to go by the wayside. It might not have been the kind of milk that we liked but there was never a day without milk. I am always amazed when I hear some parent say that they don't have any milk in the house. To me, with my upbringing it says "bad parent". I guess the world is slowly leaving me behind.

 

[chopper]

I miss eating blueberries while picking them in Paw Paw, Michigan. You could eat all you wanted as long as you didn't waste any. They needed to go in your mouth or in your bucket. Mom used to tease about how they should weigh people going in and out and charge for the difference. LOL. We had so much fun!!! Kids picking blueberries sure beats kids playing video games...

 

[kadesma]

I miss eating blueberries while picking them in Paw Paw, Michigan. You could eat all you wanted as long as you didn't waste any. They needed to go in your mouth or in your bucket. Mom used to tease about how they should weigh people going in and out and charge for the difference. LOL. We had so much fun!!! Kids picking blueberries sure beats kids playing video games...

Blueberries my grandkids keep picking and bringing them to me. Then I clean them and give them each a bowl of them and watch as they squat on the grass and eat, They love them and any kind of berry.
kades

 

[Selkie]

I stopped buying supermarket fruit for that reason. peaches and nectarines hard as a rock and tasteless. I remember ripe juicy peaches and hen you bit into them juices would run down your arm...

I guess it depends on your produce manager. I've been getting GREAT TASTING fruit from my local supermarket, including peaches and nectarines, which I have in my bowl right now. And yes, they drip down my arm while I eat them and they have a full, sweet flavor!

I am selective about choosing them while in the market, and once I get them home, I let them fully ripen before eating them. Most fresh fruit has about a two day window of perfection. I have found that a reliable source and patience are rewarded.

 

[PattY1]

Chocolate Chip Cookies- I think they were made by Nabisco. They were packaged in a wax bag in a box. They were about the size of a half dollar and had a swirl stamped on the top. I sure do miss them.

 

[CharlieD]

Pork brains are getting mighty scarce in these parts!! And a small can of herring roe is nigh on to $10.00!!!

Herring roe - i've never even heard of it being sold. sounds like something I would love. The only time I was able to get it is when I used to buy the whole herring, but nowadays FDA makes producer to cut stomach of the fish open and clean before salting.

 

[niquejim]

Alix, I think we are all lamenting the modern pig. The pork industry has bred the fat out of modern pigs to the point where loin meat is very lean and therefore dry. Brining is a must now.

I've stopped buying loin cuts. I now buy pork sirloin, tenderloin and butt.

After having one of these you'll never want to eat supermarket or warehouse club pork again
Berkshire Pork Loin Chops - Buy online at Lobel's

Now if I could only afford them more often than for a special occasion

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

After having one of these you'll never want to eat supermarket or warehouse club pork again
Berkshire Pork Loin Chops - Buy online at Lobel's

Now if I could only afford them more often than for a special occasion

Wow! Those are pricey. We have a local meat processor about thirty miles down the road. They process local pork, lamb, and beef. It's far superior to Supermarket meat, and less expensive. I'd love to save up about $300 and purchase some meat in bulk.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Andy M.]

After having one of these you'll never want to eat supermarket or warehouse club pork again
Berkshire Pork Loin Chops - Buy online at Lobel's

Now if I could only afford them more often than for a special occasion

WOW! Those prices are outrageous! I have no doubt the meat is excellent, but they are out of my range.

 

[Hoot]

Herring roe - i've never even heard of it being sold. sounds like something I would love. The only time I was able to get it is when I used to buy the whole herring, but nowadays FDA makes producer to cut stomach of the fish open and clean before salting.

Here is a link to Perry-Wynn's Fish Company. This webpage hasn't been updated in a while but, as far as I know they are still in business. You can read about the company on the "About Us" page...it is a kinda sad tale to folks like me that grew up in this area and watched the decline of the herring population, and it's impact on the area.
http://saltherring.home.mchsi.com/index.html

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

I miss the fruits and veggies from my grandpa's garden. I miss picking ripe tomatoes and eating them with just a little salt on them. I miss picking peas and eating them right out of the pod and snitching green beans as I helped grandma string them. I miss the black plums from the tree that died around the same time grandpa did. I've never had black plums that were as good as those ones. I miss his corn, and the tangerines my grandma put in the freezer because their tree produced more than we could eat fresh. I miss their apricots and golden cherry tomatoes and the zucchini bread grandma made from the baseball bat sized squash. I don't miss her vegetable hash, that stuff was gross, but I miss her baked chicken. She swears she only ever put black pepper on it but when I bake chicken with black pepper it never tastes the way hers did.

 

[merstar]

Fresh green peas! What happened to them? I haven't seen them in the stores for eons.