Welcome to my summer series.“Childhood is the most beautiful of all life’s seasons”. It’s a quote from an unknown author. It sums up what I hope to accomplish with this series. Because I’d like to capture that all too fleeting moment when youth and summer collide. Where were you? What were you doing? To help me tell the story, I invited a few of my favorite food bloggers to share how they spent their summers as a kid. Starting with Pamela Braun. How My Man’s Belly spent most of her summer vacations….before she was My Man’s Belly. GREG
My Man’s Belly
I grew up just outside of Cleveland, Ohio and spent many a summer sweltering in my parents’ un-air conditioned house which, to this day, remains un-air conditioned. Yes, My Man’s Belly comes from a family of martyrs.
I’ve mentioned several times, on my site, that my parents had (and still have) a humongous garden. That meant summers were spent assisting my mother in canning and freezing all kinds of produce (beans, broccoli, strawberries etc.). But the worst process for me was the tomatoes. Let’s just say heat, humidity and cooking tomatoes is not a great combination. In fact, it’s still so traumatizing to me that I’m not even going to talk about it now.
In between donning my “mommy’s little helper” apron and gloves for the farm chores were the wedding cakes. My mom was a bit ahead of her time in that she had a small home-based business making wedding cakes. These pictures are but a couple of her cakes that were baked in our home (in a standard electric oven no less). I asked her to share some of her pictures for this post and I wish she had sent some of the more ornate cakes she decorated. Yes, even back then brides were looking to create insanely ornate cakes that did just about everything except recite the vows for you.
I didn’t assist in the design or decorating phase of the wedding cake process (and believe me, it’s a process). My part included eating the cake scraps that were cut from the cake layers to level them off, examining the frosted surface for wayward crumbs, advising on the “lean” factor (is the cake leaning when stacked), being a travel chaperone and performing on-site entertainment (aka the cute kid distraction).
The travel chaperone, for the travel staff member who didn’t drive, included riding in the back of the un-air conditioned station wagon (trying not to puke all over the wedding cakes – since riding backwards for a car sick kid is akin to challenging the big balls on Wipeout) keeping the cake layers from colliding into one another, making sure the bag of fountain parts, cake stabilizers, glass birds and matching glass cake topper or mangle of baby’s breath all made it into the vehicle (before leaving the driveway).
I’m pretty sure the only reason why my mom made me part of the travel crew was so that I could be the cute kid distraction at the final destination well, that and she couldn’t leave me home alone at that age (even though I was her assistant well into my teens). People involved with the wedding process can be total freaks. I don’t (completely) mean that in a disparaging way…they have to be like that. They’re dealing with neurotic brides and an even bigger freak show – the mother of the bride. Enter the cute kid distraction. I was always dressed in a cute outfit with clean face, hair and hands. There I was big blue eyes, red hair and freckled face beaming, pretending to be “mommy’s assistant” instead of mommy’s additional pain in the ass that day.
This little dog and pony show was usually enough to get the focus off of my mom so she was able to assemble the cake with minimal interruptions. If you’ve never stacked a 6 tier wedding cake in a strange location, in front of a bunch of people that are literally running around like maniacs you have no idea what the term nerves of steel really means.
I’ve always been proud of my mother’s gift for designing and decorating wedding cakes. I only wish that this had been some genetic gift that I could have received from her, along with my red hair. But alas, it was not to be. I’m about as talented with a piping bag full of icing as a two year old. Let’s just say it isn’t pretty.
So I don’t cook and process tomatoes and I don’t make wedding cakes…can you tell how my summers growing up have affected my life? Pamela from My Man’s Belly
My Man’s Belly My Man’s Belly
I don’t understand how one person can do this to another single person for any motive, let alone, a mass attack like this. At times like this, I know that dolphins truly are the most intelligent life forms on the planet, as Douglas Adams suggested. It certainly isn’t us.
Hi Greg — your soup is simply lovely. I thought of you and your trip when I first heard about the horrible terrorist attacks in Norway. Such a tragedy. Thank you for contributing specks of beauty and happy color to our thoughts and prayers for that mourning country.
LL
Greg: Tusen takk (thank you) for bringing back memories, recipes and thought of/for Norway. It’s hard to fathom what happened. all we can (and have to) do is continue bringing positive thinking, actions, and beautiful things to the world to dispel the bag, ugly, horrific. And you do that.
BTW, This soup sounds like a very refreshing nordic version of a gazpacho
Beautiful post, beautiful soup. I love this sentence so much: “I don’t have the answer and soup won’t fix it, but cooking is what I do.” I’ve so enjoyed the posts I’ve read, and I got behind so I have the pleasure of catching up in the next little while. If you are at IFBC in NOLA in August, I will gladly see you there. Thanks for the feast of SippitySup.
But I believe I am speaking at IFBC Santa Monica in November. GREG
Sad day for Norway. I thought of you right away. These things do often leave us speechless, disoriented. Cooking can be a little bit of relief in the midst of this confusion.
I have friends here originally from Norway, a Twitter friend in Norway, a friend who visited Norway for the first time just recently and YOU who was just there. Everything I’ve heard about Norway from all these people makes it seem the last place on earth where such a tragedy could happen. My heart goes out to all.
But on to food because … it’s what we do. One friend from Norway introduced me to a Norwegian cheese that I believe you’d have to be born to it to like it! Don’t recall its name, but it was brown and sweet. I do like Jarlsberg and would like to learn more about Snofrisk. This soup looks and sounds fabulous!
The cheese your talking about is brown cheese. And technically it is not cheese it is the caramelized whey from goat cheese. Aged until firm. You can buy it a Ralph’s in CA under the Ski Queen Label imported by TINE SA
As I said earlier in our email about this, thank you for your compassion. It is so very needed, both after a tragedy like this and simply in our everyday interactions with each other. Glad to know you and learn from you.
Best,
Casey
We were completely shocked about this news, such a tragedy. We were thankful that our friends who work downtown were away on vacation at least but very sad for the whole country. Your beet soup is lovely, the color is just gorgeous.
yes, very sad and crazy.
good thing, there’s soups. cause that looks delicious.
Greg, I have been thinking of you and I imagine it has been incredibly difficult to process this unspeakable tragedy. I don’t know if there’s ever a “just right” thing to say, but what you did feels exactly right. You write — and cook — straight from the heart.
My thoughts are with you and all who are affected.
Jeanne
It is really tragic what happened in Norway. Our prayers are with the people who have been affected.
Your soup looks lovely and refreshing greg. Glad you’re safe.
I just wanted to say that while I’m sure we can’t know exactly how you’re feeling, we are at a total loss about the whole thing. I can’t explain how the whole thing has really affected our whole household. we’ve always dreamed of visiting Norway, and if anything this makes us want to go more. My husband was just saying today that he wishes we could just go there and help. tell people that we’re so sorry. hand out hugs. Our hearts go out to you and everyone in Norway.
i don’t even know what to say other than i’m grateful you had the fabulous experience in Norway and i’m also grateful you’re safe … i am so very sorry for the people of Norway and those who have been affected — such a tragedy!
I though you of you, Greg, when I heard the news. My heart goes out to the people of Norway. There is simply no explanation for violence like this; it truly is senseless.
Your soup is lovely. Beautiful color and I can imagine how refreshing it would be on a hot day.
Thank you for bringing us this beautiful bowl of comfort.
Making soup is an act of love, and your fennel and beet combo sounds lovely.
I wondered how you’d approach the subject since you were in the middle of this series about your trip. As I’ve come to expect from SippitySup, it was addressed in an eloquent, honest and heartfelt manner that we can all relate to.
…and if I may add a food comment, this is definitely a soup I would like to try. The combination of beets and fennel must be sublime.
I have been truly shocked by what has happened in Norway and feel like all of Scandinavia (and the world) has been shaken by this horrific event.
God Bless you Greg. I don’t know how a bowl of soup can show so much heartache but yours does.
The emotion you can convey in a single photo is a testament to your art.
So much sadness for Norway and the world today.
Thank you as always for sharing-