Portugal and Pastry Passion

Despite the photo of these delectable, mouth-watering pastries, I am NOT of Portuguese ancestry.  However, on Mother’s Day this year, these tarts reminded me of the fact that we all have a legacy — a family talent or treasure — that transcends the generations and manifests differently in our individual family members.  Every family has one or more wonderful traits that are transmitted to children, grandchildren, and beyond.  Sometimes it may be a challenge to recognize those gifts when life presents challenges, but they are there nonetheless. 

My mother grew up preparing food with her mother, and she in turn taught me to cook and bake (I later gleaned much from Julia Child, but she never knew it; at least my mother KNEW I was grateful for her mentorship!).  As we moved around the country, our family expanded its palate and adopted new dishes into the culinary repertoire.  When I was in college, I spent a couple of summers in Europe and arrived home with new food ideas to try.  The cycle continues to this day.

Our children, although different from one another, all share a love of good food and a companion sense of adventure.  Our oldest prepared veal parmesan for his soon-to-be wife on the night he proposed to her.  Our second son navigated seasons of fascination with Asian and Middle Eastern dishes, including homemade hummus.  Our third son bought himself a beautiful red Kitchen Aid stand mixer when he was 28 (what young man DOES that?!) and began gifting cookies to co-workers and friends. Our daughter regularly supplies me with recipes for personal and commercial use.  Our youngest happily cooks with his wife and children and has mentored their toddlers in making pancakes (unfortunately one of the children arose in the middle of the night and began mixing the appropriate dry and wet ingredients on his own!). 

We recently spent a week in Portugal with our Kitchen Aid mixer son, who took the lead in identifying memorable restaurants and top-rated bakeries for us to try.  He introduced us to a scrumptious pastry — pastel de nata.  Of course, we are currently perfecting our methods to produce these superb treats here at home!

This legacy of preparing food goes hand in hand with sharing it with anyone who dares to come eat at our tables.  For THAT, I am profoundly grateful!  After all, without people to share our creations, the most gourmet meal on earth would not be worth anything.

Of course, YOUR legacy may not include cooking and baking.  As you reflect on this 2023 Mother’s Day, however, I encourage you to seek the hidden treasure in your own family:  perhaps it’s sewing, carpentry, gardening, mechanical abilities, theater, sports, pantomime, ironing (THAT is a gift I did NOT inherit from my mother!), music, a love of learning, travel, languages, writing, logic (much needed!), humor, or persuasion (a tremendous gift!).  Your legacy matters to everyone around you, and often you yourself may be the last to notice it!

 

Daily Bread and Timeless Treasures

What does a loaf of bread have to do with treasures?  Bread is an ordinary food — in fact, a daily form of sustenance in our house.   I have baked bread since I arrived home from a year in Germany prior to getting married.  I considered baking bread to be a normal part of everyday life.

Our children also considered it ordinary.  In fact, sometimes one of them would trade his lunch for coveted processed food in a classmate’s lunchbox.  It took some time for our kids to figure out  why their classmates were so eager to trade soggy sandwiches and packaged cookies for my children’s homemade items.  

As an older adult, I suddenly realized that I have been no different from my children when it comes to appreciating the treasures we have in the ordinariness of our days.  When the children were growing up, our lives were a blur of laundry, cooking, cleaning up, repeat.  Friends flocked to the house, which was always a flurry of activity.  How did I manage all the extra children?  I fed them.   The days were full — and life, while certainly not without its joys, was a blur of survival — laundry, cooking, cleaning up.  Baseball, soccer, basketball, choir, and piano lessons dominated the schedule after school, and my husband and I both worked hard to keep all the moving parts functioning.  Somehow, I knew there was purpose in the midst of it all, but I wasn’t always clear on whether I was making progress toward any tangible goal.   Once, when it seemed I had baked more than usual, I realized I had baked 32 dozen cookies in a matter of a few days — and they were already consumed!  Did I enjoy it?  Yes.  Was there actually time to savor the whirlwind of activity?  Not fully.

The past few weeks, my husband has been digitizing countless hours of video he took while the children were growing up — video that we actually have never watched!  Hearing the kids’ voices echo through the house and seeing delightful clips of all the birthday parties, sports feats, choir performances, and Christmas celebrations, I was struck by the beauty of the maelstrom of activity — and the beauty of our children.  

Yes, I always knew our kids were very special, and I always loved them, but my vision was still a bit clouded. We were in the midst of a purposeful life, just as we are in the midst of purpose even now, but I wasn’t able to fully recognize it.   The kids grew up and are building families of their own, and that precious, chaotic season of growth is over; it’s their turn now.

We never get the “NOW” back — NOW evaporates before our eyes.  Bread, particularly manna, only lasts for a day, so we need to take a moment to savor it.  

What my children considered ordinary — a sandwich made with European-style homemade bread and a dessert of homemade cookies — was a treasure to other children.   My life at home was a blur, yes — a blur of dirty socks, dishes, books, science projects, and birthday parties — but it was a  blur replete with holy treasures:  the cacophony of children’s voices, laughter, crumpled wrapping paper, broken crayons, muddy shoes, and lots of BREAD.  We had our daily bread (various types), and we had cinnamon rolls baked in the shape of a Christmas tree every Christmas morning.  That was ordinary for us, yet nonetheless a special part of our life together.

The treasures are in the ordinary, daily rhythm of life.  The catch is to spot them and take the time to gaze on them — even for a second — before they vanish and become part of a glorious legacy we don’t realize we are building! 

Treasures from the Deep (Freeze)

My history with the mysteries of the deep began with a transitory but serious obsession with a television program featuring Jacques Yves Cousteau, a renowned deep-sea diver and explorer.   The exotic creatures living in the near-frigid depths of the oceans fascinated me to the point that I did a research paper at age 12 about the sea squirt.

Fortunately for my friends and family, the sea squirt did not capture my interest permanently.  Although they were a bit mystified when I delved into experiments with plant hormones, they tolerated such wild interests patiently until I settled into more “normal” pursuits — notably cooking and baking while rehearsing Russian verb conjugations to entertain myself.  

Now, instead of the deep sea, I am into the deep freeze(r)!  Over the years, I have often been surprised that people do not utilize their freezer space for much more than meat, ice cream, and frozen vegetables.  In our home, we freeze nearly everything!  

Of course, it is important to understand how to prepare various types of food for storage in the freezer, and shelf life there has its limits (depending on the food).  Some lessons in that department have been learned the hard way.  For example, when my mother arrived to assist me after the birth of our third child, she decided to organize and defrost our large chest freezer.  In itself, that was a daunting task for her, as she was too petite to easily reach the items on the floor of that deep space without falling in.  (Perhaps she used a stepstool?)  Nonetheless, she emerged from the frozen depths with a large unidentifiable object coated with layers of frost wrapped in a plastic bag.  

“Do you have any idea what this object might be?” she quizzically inquired.

“That,” I assured her, “is definitely a turkey carcass I saved to make turkey soup.” 

“Precisely when did you freeze said turkey carcass?”

“I froze it after New Year’s Day two years ago,” I responded.  Mom then explained that it was far past its frozen prime and had clearly succumbed to freezer burn.  I rationalized that at least freezer burn was a reason to dispose of the turkey carcass without guilt, as tossing out fresh food would have been a more egregious sin.  

As we manage the bakery and catering food we now produce, our freezers lead a full life.  I know what to freeze and for how long, and I have accrued decades of experience in how to wrap or package foods to ensure freshness when thawing such items.  

We now have a wide array of main dishes for your dining pleasure (local customers only).  Each pan will serve four people generously or, alternatively, six dieting women. We have stuffed manicotti with house-made marinara sauce, green & white vegetarian lasagne, Mediterranean chicken phyllo, bourbon barbequed meatballs, and green chile chicken enchiladas.  These foods can do triple duty for brunch, lunch, or dinner — just complement with sides of your choosing.  Moreover, our array of bakery items for breakfast and dessert continues to expand. 

I still affirm that it is worth exploring the mysteries of the deep (freezer) —  no diving gear required!  (P.S. I have transitioned to upright freezers, as I myself have difficulty not tumbling headlong into a chest freezer!)

My Life with Pie

Although you might well wonder how pie (or any dessert, for that matter) could possibly serve as a defining component of anyone’s life, it has been a significant feature in my most memorable moments, beginning when I was a toddler.  As a result, I initially assumed that pie was an ordinary part of everyone else’s life!  After all, it is reasonable to assume that what is normal for us is normal for everyone else — until we discover otherwise!

My grandmother in Colorado had a sour cherry tree gracing her back yard; that tree produced ample fruit to satisfy the family’s craving for cherry pie as my mother and her four siblings were growing up.  I recall visiting my grandmother and watching her use a special tool to pit the cherries for the pie to be baked that day.  This tool was truly a marvel — the cherries were emptied into a hopper, and with the turn of a handle, this wonderful implement spat the pits out one side while ejecting the cherries out a little chute on the other side. At age three, I reveled in the moment I was privileged to operate the handle of that cherry-pitting machine.   

A few years later, when we lived in Boston, my mother introduced us to the marvels of rhubarb, a sour celery-like stalk with tangy bursts of flavor when sugared and baked in a pie.  Rhubarb quickly found favor with the entire family and joined the ranks of regularly featured treats on our table.  Mom baked pies at least twice a week, as regularly as she did laundry.  I had a friend down the street who ostensibly came over to play with me but actually preferred watching my mother bake pies. I proceeded to inform her that it would be far more interesting to play a game together than to watch my mother do something so boring.  (Years later, my mother informed me that the parents of that child were alcoholics, and her mother never cooked or baked anything from scratch; THAT was why my friend had been so intrigued with watching my mom produce pies; I felt shame and compassion upon learning this news.)  My parents also told me that the reason we had rhubarb pie so frequently one particular spring and early summer was that my dad had been out of work for six months, and the rhubarb grew wild in the back yard. 

My favorite variety as a child was cherry pie, as I savored the sour acidity of the cherries combined with the sweetness of sugar and the depth of flavor of the lemon juice and almond extract my mother added to the filling.  On a rare occasion when we had a meal in a restaurant, I would search the menu for cherry pie; after all, it was my favorite dessert!  Although my parents gave me permission to order it a time or two, my mother warned me that it might not meet my expectations.  She was right.  The restaurant pie crust was leathery and flavorless compared to my mother’s flaky concoction, and the filling was syrupy sweet and insipid.  Needless to say, the light was dawning…. my mother was a pie-baking genius, and my life was far from normal!

My sisters and I grew up at our mother’s elbow watching her bake sundry other treats, but pies were always the most coveted dessert.  On occasion, when mom took a pie to a church bake sale, my father made a point to pay a premium to purchase that pie back for our family — much to my mother’s chagrin!   After all, my dad reasoned, nothing else was worth buying!   

Of course, making pie crust became part of our family DNA.  One of my most sorrowful moments was the day my aging mother called me and asked me for her pie crust recipe.  She had been suffering from dementia, and I wept as I recognized the magnitude of her requesting information that she had known so instinctively.  Somehow, my mother was being stolen from me!  What profound sorrow I felt as I tearfully related the details of my mother’s own pie crust recipe to her!   Nonetheless, I am thankful for her legacy…. 

Who would have dreamed that, when my father sold my parents’ home and my sisters and I hurriedly divided our mother’s many pie pans among ourselves, that I would inherit a pie pan that still bore a piece of masking tape with “Davis” written on it in my mother’s handwriting?  That pie pan had been sold and re-claimed at many bake sales.   The bit of masking tape inscribed with my family’s name was a poignant reminder of my family culture.  Somehow, my grandmother’s miracle-working cherry pitter also landed in my home.   Together, the battered pie pan and the antique cherry pitter symbolize a legacy of hospitality with family and friends gathered around the table. (Ironically, rhubarb has of late narrowly supplanted cherry as my favorite!).  

Comfort in the Commonplace: Banana Bread

 

• 

Kitchen Rules? Not Always!

One summery day, I dashed into the kitchen from the grassy courtyard area behind our apartment. The door was standing a bit ajar, apparently to allow the intoxicating smell of fried, sugary treats to disperse. I recall marveling at the sight of homemade doughnut twists neatly placed in rows on cooling racks atop the kitchen table (the same site of the breadcrust-stuffing crime a few months prior). The twists were newly-fried and boasted an abundant coating of crystalline sugar. Herself an ardent fan of tastes, my mother offered me a generous treat for a two-year-old: an entire sugary fried twist all to myself. Clearly, I have never forgotten it! Such homemade delicacies more than compensated for the brown-sugar-and-butter sandwiches she made on occasion using Wonderbread; the sugar sandwiches were a favorite, but the bread was not!

While my mother creatively plied her culinary prowess within the fairly strict limits of the family budget, my father worked hard to provide for us but was less than experienced in the kitchen. Several months after the doughnut twists had made a permanent impression on me, we moved to our first house, and my father underwent his first cooking test. My mother was in the hospital delivering my sister, which left him with the daunting task of feeding a toddler for a couple of days. He valiantly made fried eggs for me — eggs which he presented to me with a grand flourish and proudly called “turned-over eggs.” Tasting the somewhat try but delicious sea of firm egg on my plate, I appreciatively expressed my approval. After all, Dad was clearly delighted with his achievement! He also awarded me with a double-dip ice cream cone after dinner.

Of course, I learned early on that, in a mother’s absence, fathers enjoy breaking rules in the kitchen, particularly restrictions they may deem needless. Just as my father doled out a very large ice cream cone to my three-year-old self, my own husband (a few decades later) delighted in purchasing boxed Kraft macaroni-and-cheese dinner for our five children when I was out of town. The kids actually looked forward to this forbidden, preservative-laden treat, and I learned to allow it without protest. After all, winning the hearts of one’s children is worth a few bites of artificial flavoring and coloring!

Of course, his inventions did not remain a secret, as I began requesting these treats after Mom and my baby sister arrived home. To my disappointment, I discovered that Daddy had made the turned-over eggs only because he had inadvertently broken the egg yolks and was uncertain what else to do! Nonetheless, I made a point to prefer those turned-over masterpieces whenever given the option. When I made the mistake of asking for a double-dip ice cream cone, Mom eyed Dad suspiciously. “You DIDN’T give a three-year-old two scoops of ice cream, did you?,” she inquired. He laughingly responded that it must have been the right thing to do, because, “She ate it.” Laughter ensued all around, and I now realize that necessity IS, after all, the mother of invention (as the old adage goes). Moreover, creativity and flexibility are absolutely essential if culinary success is to be secured! Who knew what other adventures remained for my dad in the kitchen? (Stay tuned for more!)

Years later, our children fondly recall these simple treats that somehow became part of our family lore. May we all continue to appreciate the sweet things we experience together!

O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.  The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance. (Psalm 16:5-6, NKJV)

A Crusty Beginning

My first memories of food and family began when I was about two years old.   Unfortunately, I had a rather inauspicious initiation to the world of culinary arts.   I recall sitting alone at the lunch table (which featured a shiny black formica top with an aluminum rim around the edges) in our kitchen.  My father was at work, and my mother had dashed into the next room for a moment.  As I contemplated the peanut butter sandwich sitting on the plate before me, I recognized I only had a minute or two to act (by any means possible) if I were to avoid consuming the odious crust on that sandwich.   My mother was an impressive cook, but, as a young wife and mother, she unfortunately bought the typical American spongy white sandwich bread for daily consumption.  (I will relate numerous stories later that will redeem her in your sight; do not worry!)  In a flash of genius, I hastily gobbled down the center of each quarter of my neatly-cut sandwich and began packing the offending crusts into my little two-year-old nostrils.  THAT, I thought, would serve as the perfect hiding place for those cast-off, inedible remnants of an otherwise tasty lunch.  Unfortunately, my mother flew back into the kitchen just in time to apprehend me in my treachery!   Horrified, she shrieked, “What are you doing?,” and deftly flipped me on my back onto the tabletop.  She proceeded to extract the compacted crusts from my nostrils as quickly as possible, no doubt fearing a potential visit to the doctor for the procedure.   I was astonished at her reaction, as I did not understand that packing bread crusts into one’s nose was a less than salubrious tactic.

As a mother of five children, I now understand her alarm.   Her speedy response was certainly effective:  never since have I attempted to stash unwanted food items of any kind (especially not bread crusts!) in my nose.   Moreover, who would have ever guessed that I would harbor a longstanding aversion to white bread in general and American white sandwich bread in particular?  Who would have guessed I would bake all the bread for my husband and children in the decades to come?  (Ironically, the crust is now my favorite part of any loaf of bread!)

Don’t despise the day of small beginnings! (Zechariah 4:10)i