Ad

Thursday, February 04, 2010

An Egg McMuffin, Before The World Ever Had One!


As I have mentioned before, I grew up in a West Michigan Dutch background.. My Grampa Jake went to a neighborhood bakery twice a week to get cracked wheat bread and cookies.. Oatmeal raisin cookies, hot from the oven are still hard to beat! About once a week, my mom would dump me off at his house(1/2 block away!) to go do mom stuff.. I think he could only cook oatmeal, eggs, and tea- as that all I remember him eating while I was around! A fried egg sandwich was a staple- and I liked them! As I got older, I started cooking- but wanted to dress up this plain Jane sammich! I added cheese, then later, ham- still using a grain bread, unfried.
With the wife still working a goofy shift, I made a two fried egg, one piece of cheese, two slices of ham in a sandwich on whole wheat... That brought back memories of simpler days.. Good food grounds you. Good food brings back memories of times when you were hungry, and devoured simple things done well. Escargot are great, and I love many gourmet dishes- but anything that helps you remember where you came from should never be lost!
Share with us your humble meal while growing up.. there is nothing to be ashamed of, and a lot to be proud of!

40 comments:

Chef E said...

You know I also grew up eating lots of egg sammies...my favorite was when the yolk was runny, and lots of bacon!

buffalodick said...

Hard fried was the Dutch way- learned to love loose when I was older!

Jen said...

We didn't cook much. We used to love the canned ravioli and spaghetti-o's...now things that make you go eeew...

buffalodick said...

Jen- When I was young, I got Old El Paso tamales out of a can!! Made me wonder how could they could actually be! We grow and learn, but when we didn't know any better..we became who we are..

Kate said...

That looks lovely. I made egg sandwiches for a whole week last winter. Only I don't put on ham. I just put on mustard. Or bacon. I guess that's ham.

Ileana said...

Fried eggs over rice when we didn't have money wasn't so bad. I still like it, but i haven't had it in years!

buffalodick said...

Kate- Sounds OK to me!
Ily- Revisit your past, it helps you appreciate the future..

Jen said...

I remember a scrambled eggs with bits of ham on white bread sandwich my godmother used to make for me as a kid. She cut off the crust and cut the sandwich into for squares. I loved it! Nothing like a basic.

Brian Miller said...

creme chipped beef on toast...takes me back every time.

Velva said...

We had a huge pot of northern beans on the stove everyday to eat throughout the day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

For payday, we might get an on sale chuck roast or boil in a bg chipped beef on toast.

Anonymous said...

Egg sandwiches are so yummy! I grew up in NY so if I can get my hands on a good bagel (Not possible in Arizona) that would bring me back! A good slice of Pizza (Also not possible in AZ)

Jeff B said...

I learned how to cook gourmet through my years in the restaurant biz, but I grew up with relatively simple fare. That kind of food is still my favorite to this day.

Chicken and dumplings was my dads favorite. As a kid I didn't seem to have feelings for it one way or another. Today though, whenever I have it, it makes me think of him. I like that.

Mike said...

Nothing better than the good old peanut butter and banana sandwich, lunch!

Akelamalu said...

My absolute favourite is 'Buck Rarebit' - fried egg on melted cheese on toast! Yummy. :)

buffalodick said...

Jen- Kind of similar, except I can still hear the old Dutchman say "The crust is the best part!" It wasn't!
Brian- My dad was in WWII and never ate it again after 1945!
Velva- My dad loved baked bean sandwiches...
Christie- Not a big bagel fan myself, but they have gotten very popular here!
Jeff- My mom couldn't make a dumpling to save her life..
otin- My wife loves peanut butter on toast!
Ake- You have something called "Toad in the hole"..what is that?

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

My mom made a tunafish casserole that we all loved. In fact, when we picked what we wanted her to cook for our birthday dinners, all three of us picked tunafish casserole.

My husband hurls at the thought of heated tunafish and the girls hurl when I open a can of it...so it will just be a tender memory.

Barbara said...

My grandmother's homemade noodles, fried in butter with swiss cheese. Double yummy, triple fattening.

Anonymous said...

Milk and toast. My dad would warm milk in a sauce pan until scalding. Take two pieces of toast, butter them, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and slowly pour on the scalding milk. That sugar and cinnamon would crust up abit and it was delicious. Also used to eat Franco American Spaghetti cold out of a can! good lord. I'm going to do a post about that little fettish one of these days....

Marjie said...

My dearly beloved chuckles fondly at the memory of his grandfather eating all of his meals from one glass, heated with one pan, every time his grandmother went away with the church ladies for whatever they were doing. He and the boys think to varying degrees that it's not a bad way to live.

And do I have to remember from whence I came? I'd rather not.

Unknown said...

Hey, you hit the nail on the head there! I've had all sorts of fancy smanchy dishes and I still default to PB&J (thanks to my American heritage) and spaghetti with marina sauce (thanks to my Italian side). As a matter of fact, I start most days with a oatmeal pancake and top it with natural peanut butter and strawberry jam. Yum, yum.

Christo Gonzales said...

"hard cooked is the dutch way" or is it maybe your gramps way? We had beans, chile and tortillas everyday and at every relatives house we went to...non-stop - I hated it back then but I love it now!

Gloria Baker said...

aaah! this look sooo tasty really!!! I love this type of meal, have a nice weekend

Gloria Baker said...

I was thinking where is Buffalo dick dont stopping by at my blog but really you was busy!! LOL

Just telling it like it is said...

How endearing? I loke to hear thoughts stories of past times. When I was a kid I used to eat toast with about a pound of suga and butter on topmmmmm

Anonymous said...

Waffles... for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner... didn't matter. It was dirt cheap and we got 'em whether we liked it or not.

I certainly won't forget them and I certainly don't want to eat them ever again.

Martha said...

All I remember eating while growing up is boiled hot dogs, and "TV dinners" as we called them back then - ICK!! My mother cooked up wonderful holiday meals but that was about it!

Mike Minzes said...

It's funny how food, like smells or sounds can bring back good memories.

The Good Cook said...

What a beautiful post - and so true! Simple food, done well and appreciated for the glorious act of nourishing ourselves... when I was a little girl, way back when Catholics did NOT eat meat on Friday my mom would make potato soup. Oh, I LOVE potato soup. Simple, pure, creamy, thick and hot. Stick to your ribs soup.

Ileana said...

PS - I had it yesterday! Fried eggs over rice. You inspired me! It brought back some warm memories. :)

CDB said...

I'm envious of both the neighborhood bakery AND that your Mom got to drop off her son for some mom type things.. (: And yum, bakery cookies are the best.

Gloria Baker said...

Buffalo how are you dear??? Is snowing? I heard is snowing a lot at USA, let us to know how are you and family?? huggs! gloria

goatman said...

Scrambled bread my three brothers and I were served when the money was low: Broken up bread tossed in eggs then fried. Hot sugar water poured over for flavor.
Cheap treat and quite tasty (what wouldn't be with lots of sugar??)

urban vegan said...

Simple food is the best food.

Humble meal growing up: Polish peasant food, Bleenies (blinis), aka potato pancakes or latkes. We had them once a week and I never tired of them.

My mom kept them warm on the shelf of the coal stove. (Yes, we had a coal stove in my house. It kept the entire place warm all winter!)

KB said...

My favourite comfort food is cheese on toast. Actually, anything with cheese on makes my mouth water.

G-Man said...

I have a fried egg sammy about 4 times a week...hahahaha

MarmiteToasty said...

my lads love an egg and bacon butty on a weekend.....

when I was younger me and me brother would come in from school (aged around 6-7) and we would make dripping on toast LOL know just the though of it makes me gag, we would also thickly buter bread and squash spoon fulls of sugar on the butter and eat it like a sarnie....


Beans on toast with an egg on top has still got to be my most favourite quickie....

oxoxox

Chris said...

I don't really have much of a humble meal memory because everything we ever had was rather humble but it was always good. My mom stretched a budget but never made me feel that I was missing out on anything.

Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree more! Growing up my Mom used to make this for dinner: wonder bread, topped with fried bacon and then sliced mozzarella and put under the broiler until the cheese was all melty.

So simple. So delicious!

fimere said...

magnifique jolie photos
bonne soirée

buffalodick said...

To all above, thanks for your comments! I printed answers to all of you, but blogger never published them!
biz319- Welcome! Looks like we've got another good cook coming here!
Fimere- Merci! Welcome to the blog!