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October 2009 
hamburger stew
Posted on Feb 18th, 2007
by 
maze
maze
The other day I picked up our daughter Julie from school and she was just coming off a two day bug. The first thing she asked me when she got in the car was what we were going to have for supper thant night. As she put it, "Im starving for some real food." For a couple of days she was on the BRATT diet. (bananas, rice, applesauce, tea and toast) That may be dull stuff to eat, but it pales when you consider how those foods would be a banquet for millions of people throughout the world. Right now, our local supermarket has a promotion going on where if you make a donation to the local food bank they give you some tickets towards some neat stuff they're raffling off. The donation that I make every week is probably one sixth of what I spend on dog, cat and bird food weekly. I make it a point to tell the cashier that I want to make a donation before she asks. It must be my way of lessening the guilt. Anyway, when I told Julie the other day we were having hamburger stew she was elated. My mom never fixed this meal, I married into the recipe. My mother in law Gloria made it once a month and called all her kids up and invited them over for supper. When I first partook of this stew I thought it was nothing special. But it did have the power to draw us all together for some sustenance and good conversation. And now with Gloria gone, I feel a special love when I'm making a pot of this stew. Each family must have a meal of this sort. Something basic that provides a certain glue that keeps families together. My buddy Tom Meier's grandmother made these marvelous potato and bread dumplings and she would serve them with pork roast, sauerkraut and generous bowls of homemade gravy. To this day we still try to mimic my mom's mushroom soup but it seems we always come up short. We always add the main ingredient "love," but I think the ingredient we miss the most is mom. One of my favorite parts in the bible is when the disciples recognized Jesus by his breaking of tthe bread. All meals are sacraments. I am grateful I have food on our table and that we prepare it with love and eat it with equal amounts of the same ingredient. And we share what we can, when we can. But for some reason, I feel it's never enough.
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I remember how my mom would can our summer tomatoes and make a tomato soup. Then she would make a big pan of cornbread to go with it. Oh, yeah, and we always had garden veggies and pickled okra. YUM! I think I'll go call my mom.
Sometimes reading your blog is like finding a down-to-earth refuge in a troubled world. An awareness of the ongoing situations, even the present need to take constructive action, is still there; but you remind us that it is also still possible to live with grace and act with love. Thanks for sharing your perspective on life.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. This has made me realized how our parents are just wonderful and hardworking to put food on our table. I am thankful for them and for your post that it might make people be thankful for everything.
samme
It's the “simple,” oft prepared dishes that seem to invoke the most love and memoy, I think. They keep us rooted.
Tom, I was just up in Buffalo visiting my Mom. Vicky was going to fix her a nice, simple meal, maybe some fish. But for some reason, somebody brought up roast beef. You should've seen Ma's eyes light up. She remembered the prime rib we made her one Christmas a few years ago. I knew we had to make it again. Though expensive, prime rib is one of the easiest meals to make. I know restaurants screw it up a lot, but that's because it takes a while to cook and when it's ready, you have to serve it. It's hard to keep it lying around for hours waiting for people to order it.
So we went to Wegman's and got a rib roast and a meat thermometer (essential for perfect prime rib, and Ma didn't have one). We covered it with cracked pepper and fresh rosemary and then let the oven do the work. When the roast hit the perfect temperature, we took it out to sit (it cooks a little more while it sits) while I made some mushroom gravy from beef stock and the roast drippings. VIcky made Yorkshire Pudding. Amy and David showed up with some wine *just* in time (you have to serve the roast when it's ready). Everything was perfect. Ma has a hard time eating a lot these days, but she went to town on that beef. It was such a gift to be able to return a small amount of the love that she's given making meals over the years.
yeah that's beautiful Marty…my original blog …that went to cyberheaven had a little snippet about how your mom would make bologna and onions in a pot…and how essential it was to have a nice fresh piece of rye bread to use as a mop.
mmm….that makes my mouth water. So do y'all take that cooking on the road? Maybe to the South?
WOW, sentiment from Marty, a guy who seems to like to make us think he is a crusty ol' troll-type! Way to go Marty; obviously food is a real trigger for your sweet, soft side. Your meal sounds YUMMY! I gotta run to the grocery store now, by.
Appearances can deceive. I'm a lot squishier than I look. And Tom's more of a hard-guy than he sometimes lets on…