Anonymous
07/18/2023 14:08
Subject: Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
California, coastal produce basket area.
When I was really young, we ate a lot of home-cooked, but kind of 80s things… spaghetti, tuna casserole, fajita pie, lasagna. But around the early 1990s my mom got super into cooking and taking advantage of fresh produce so she started making all kinds of cool things, although she did not really experiment with Asian flavors (which is really too bad). Lots of fresh fish, roast chicken, homemade tacos… and always a big salad with seasonal produce (*always* with the Good Seasonings “homemade” carafe dressing. Always).
When I was really young, we ate a lot of home-cooked, but kind of 80s things… spaghetti, tuna casserole, fajita pie, lasagna. But around the early 1990s my mom got super into cooking and taking advantage of fresh produce so she started making all kinds of cool things, although she did not really experiment with Asian flavors (which is really too bad). Lots of fresh fish, roast chicken, homemade tacos… and always a big salad with seasonal produce (*always* with the Good Seasonings “homemade” carafe dressing. Always).
Anonymous
07/18/2023 14:05
Subject: Re:Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
Illinois but the location is irrelevant. My mom is not a good cook and doesn't care much for food. My dad is a better cook but he ordered a lot of pizza (parents were divorced).
Over cooked dry meat
Tuna noodle casserole
Campbell's tomato soup
Ham and bean soup - one of the only things I still make
Bisquick biscuits
Kraft Mac and cheese
gooey butter cake
potatoes au gratin - make this one as well
Soup with stewed tomatoes and some meat
Over cooked dry meat
Tuna noodle casserole
Campbell's tomato soup
Ham and bean soup - one of the only things I still make
Bisquick biscuits
Kraft Mac and cheese
gooey butter cake
potatoes au gratin - make this one as well
Soup with stewed tomatoes and some meat
Anonymous
07/18/2023 14:04
Subject: Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
Anonymous wrote:Born 1970, grew up in eastern Massachusetts 30 minutes outside Boston until we moved to Arizona in 1979 and then to Maine in 1989.
On the weekday dinner table growing up:
Sloppy Joe’s from the can
Kraft blue box Mac and cheese
Hamburger helper and tuna helper
Steak’ums sandwiches with extra grease
Ragu spaghetti sauce on pasta witg Kraft Parmesan cheese - never meatballs, too much work
Chipped beef on toast in white gravy
Breakfast for dinner (usually poached eggs on toasted Wonder bread)
Etc.
On weekends we ate better when the father was around:
Overcooked dry pork chops
Overcooked dry pot roast
Overcooked dry roast chicken
Overcooked weiner schnitzel and sauerkraut
Overcooked steak and rice
Overcooked tasteless meatloaf
Salads were hunk of iceberg with wedge of tasteless tomato, cucumber and radish topped with sickly sweet French or thousand island dressing
Vegetables came exclusively in cans - is it any wonder I had no fondness for them?
The tuna helper was a particularly nauseating dish which I always struggled to consume. To this day I struggle with cooked tuna, but I am about to learn to make tuna meatballs because I’m eschewing beef and pork and expanding my Mediterranean cooking repertoire.
Sadly for several years after I left home I continued to eat basically the same stuff - it was all I knew how to make. I definitely explored other food out in the world, but I didn’t become an adventurous cook until my 40s so there were a lot of years wasted on a very bland diet. I hope I have several more years ahead to continue to taste all the flavors!
I had a college friend from the south (we are both Black) and she had a similar diet. Her mom REALLY embraced convenience food. She was amazed that you could whip your own cream. Like…girl. Get out more.
Anonymous
07/18/2023 14:00
Subject: Re:Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
Anonymous wrote:Grew up in CA to Korean immigrant parents. All Korean, but lots of fish and fresh vegetables and fruits. LA shortribs was only for special occasions since beef was more expensive.
Man, I miss the year round fresh fruits, and my mom's cooking. I didn't appreciate it as much growing up. I can't cook Korean food like her.
to add.. it wasn't easy for my mom to shop for Korean staples back in the early 70s even in CA. I remember one tiny Korean grocery store in the city; it was the size of a small 7/11. No Hmart back then.
Anonymous
07/18/2023 13:58
Subject: Re:Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
Grew up in CA to Korean immigrant parents. All Korean, but lots of fish and fresh vegetables and fruits. LA shortribs was only for special occasions since beef was more expensive.
Man, I miss the year round fresh fruits, and my mom's cooking. I didn't appreciate it as much growing up. I can't cook Korean food like her.
Man, I miss the year round fresh fruits, and my mom's cooking. I didn't appreciate it as much growing up. I can't cook Korean food like her.
Anonymous
07/18/2023 13:54
Subject: Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
Anonymous wrote:Born 1970, grew up in eastern Massachusetts 30 minutes outside Boston until we moved to Arizona in 1979 and then to Maine in 1989.
On the weekday dinner table growing up:
Sloppy Joe’s from the can
Kraft blue box Mac and cheese
Hamburger helper and tuna helper
Steak’ums sandwiches with extra grease
Ragu spaghetti sauce on pasta witg Kraft Parmesan cheese - never meatballs, too much work
Chipped beef on toast in white gravy
Breakfast for dinner (usually poached eggs on toasted Wonder bread)
Etc.
On weekends we ate better when the father was around:
Overcooked dry pork chops
Overcooked dry pot roast
Overcooked dry roast chicken
Overcooked weiner schnitzel and sauerkraut
Overcooked steak and rice
Overcooked tasteless meatloaf
Salads were hunk of iceberg with wedge of tasteless tomato, cucumber and radish topped with sickly sweet French or thousand island dressing
Vegetables came exclusively in cans - is it any wonder I had no fondness for them?
The tuna helper was a particularly nauseating dish which I always struggled to consume. To this day I struggle with cooked tuna, but I am about to learn to make tuna meatballs because I’m eschewing beef and pork and expanding my Mediterranean cooking repertoire.
Sadly for several years after I left home I continued to eat basically the same stuff - it was all I knew how to make. I definitely explored other food out in the world, but I didn’t become an adventurous cook until my 40s so there were a lot of years wasted on a very bland diet. I hope I have several more years ahead to continue to taste all the flavors!
Wow. I’m from NJ but you saved me the time of typing that all out! (Minus the weinerschnitzel). My experience is almost EXACTLY the same.
Anonymous
07/18/2023 13:49
Subject: Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
I remember a lot of tough meat (steak) that I chewed and shoot and shooting and then it's not to spit out in napkin or bathroom.
Anonymous
07/18/2023 13:49
Subject: Re:Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
Grew up in Southern California, mom from New Jersey and dad from a midwest farm. Mom cooked from scratch most nights. Dad grilled a lot (usually beef) from May-October. Mom picked up a lot of recipes from my midwestern grandmother, but generally not bland ones.
Meals I remember most as being in regular rotation:
Taco night (using the Lawry's taco seasoning packet)
Pasta with homemade spaghetti sauce
Swedish meatballs with egg noodles
Chili
Chicken and wild rice casserole
Oven fried chicken
"Goulash" aka ground beef with tomato sauce, veg, egg noodles
Porcupine meatballs (meatballs made with rice cooked in a tomato sauce)
Nearly always a green salad, fresh produce or frozen out of season. Never canned veg, my farm-raised father HATED that.
Meals I remember most as being in regular rotation:
Taco night (using the Lawry's taco seasoning packet)
Pasta with homemade spaghetti sauce
Swedish meatballs with egg noodles
Chili
Chicken and wild rice casserole
Oven fried chicken
"Goulash" aka ground beef with tomato sauce, veg, egg noodles
Porcupine meatballs (meatballs made with rice cooked in a tomato sauce)
Nearly always a green salad, fresh produce or frozen out of season. Never canned veg, my farm-raised father HATED that.
Anonymous
07/18/2023 13:41
Subject: Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
Central NJ. My parents are Hungarian immigrants so I was raised on Hungarian food. My mom never really learned to cook any American food, except maybe meat loaf. My life was basically My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but Hungarian. Other kids brought PB&J or baloney on white bread for lunch, while I had rye bread and charcuterie from the local European deli. In my early teens I became interested in cooking. My mom taught me the basics and then I expanded on that and taught myself to cook all kinds of different foods. So when I was tasked with cooking on certain days of the week, I'd always make non-Hungarian food to give us some variety!
Anonymous
07/18/2023 13:31
Subject: Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
North Carolina. Home cooking was mostly bland 70s/80s style American dishes. A lot of casseroles, lots of thoroughly tamed down versions of "ethnic" food (i.e. "chicken curry" that was whole chicken beasts in a cream of chicken soup with a bit of curry powder). Nothing particularly regional at home, but lots of southern food when we ate out.
Very bland, partially because my parents both dislike salt, so there was never any salt added to anything. Think a well-done steak with no seasoning or homemade bread and soup with no salt added to either one.
Very bland, partially because my parents both dislike salt, so there was never any salt added to anything. Think a well-done steak with no seasoning or homemade bread and soup with no salt added to either one.
Anonymous
07/18/2023 13:30
Subject: Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Born 1970, grew up in eastern Massachusetts 30 minutes outside Boston until we moved to Arizona in 1979 and then to Maine in 1989.
On the weekday dinner table growing up:
Sloppy Joe’s from the can
Kraft blue box Mac and cheese
Hamburger helper and tuna helper
Steak’ums sandwiches with extra grease
Ragu spaghetti sauce on pasta witg Kraft Parmesan cheese - never meatballs, too much work
Chipped beef on toast in white gravy
Breakfast for dinner (usually poached eggs on toasted Wonder bread)
Etc.
On weekends we ate better when the father was around:
Overcooked dry pork chops
Overcooked dry pot roast
Overcooked dry roast chicken
Overcooked weiner schnitzel and sauerkraut
Overcooked steak and rice
Overcooked tasteless meatloaf
Salads were hunk of iceberg with wedge of tasteless tomato, cucumber and radish topped with sickly sweet French or thousand island dressing
Vegetables came exclusively in cans - is it any wonder I had no fondness for them?
The tuna helper was a particularly nauseating dish which I always struggled to consume. To this day I struggle with cooked tuna, but I am about to learn to make tuna meatballs because I’m eschewing beef and pork and expanding my Mediterranean cooking repertoire.
Sadly for several years after I left home I continued to eat basically the same stuff - it was all I knew how to make. I definitely explored other food out in the world, but I didn’t become an adventurous cook until my 40s so there were a lot of years wasted on a very bland diet. I hope I have several more years ahead to continue to taste all the flavors!
I forgot to say, our spice cabinet growing up consisted of Morton’s salt, ground black pepper, and a bottle of paprika which mainly got sprinkled on deviled eggs - the same bottle sat in the cabinet for years and years so it was essentially flavorless.
This sounds like my upbringing.
Anonymous
07/18/2023 13:25
Subject: Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
Anonymous wrote:Outside Pittsburgh:
Stuffed cabbages
Pierogies
Fried Chicken
Spaghetti
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Ham Barbecue (chipped ham heated with ketchup and relish)
Pork chop and stuffing
Dumplings in chicken broth, carrots, celery
Pot roast, mashed potatoes, gravy
French style canned green beans
Hamburgers
Corn on the cob
Pickled eggs and beets
Homemade potato salad
Taco mix with lettuce, tomato, cheese
Frozen, breaded fish and frozen sweet peas
Hotdogs and sauerkraut
Pork roast in sauerkraut
Barbecue ribs
Meatloaf
Pasta springs with red tomato sauce
Iceberg lettuce salad
Red Jello salad with banana slices
Linguine vegetable salad
Grilled cheese with Campbell’s tomato soup
Campbell’s chicken noodle soup or tomato vegetable soup
Pancakes for dinner
Chicken divan
Ham and scalloped potatoes
Sloppy Joe’s (Manwich)
Frozen pizza
Chef Boyrdee ravioli (canned)
Steak-ems sandwich
Deli sandwiches
Hoagies
Beef stew
Roasted chicken
Big breakfast: bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, toast, shredded potatoes or home-fried chunks of potato
Chicken tetrazzini
Poached egg over toast
Instant pudding
Ice cream with Hershey fudge/syrup
Cereal: Life, Fruity Pebbles, Cap’n Crunch, Raisin Bran, Rice Krispy
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on cheap white bread
Also grew up outside of Pittsburgh and very similar for the first half. My parents were into 90's style health foods, so no sugary cereal or steak-ums except at friends' houses. But lots of pierogie, haluski, stuffed cabbages, kielbasi, chipped ham barbeque (at grandma's), pork and sauerkraut, corned beef and cabbage. Plus tons of Americanized Italian food at restaurants. Every restaurant menu had wedding soup and a bunch of pasta with red sauce options.
Anonymous
07/18/2023 09:39
Subject: Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
Outside Pittsburgh:
Stuffed cabbages
Pierogies
Fried Chicken
Spaghetti
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Ham Barbecue (chipped ham heated with ketchup and relish)
Pork chop and stuffing
Dumplings in chicken broth, carrots, celery
Pot roast, mashed potatoes, gravy
French style canned green beans
Hamburgers
Corn on the cob
Pickled eggs and beets
Homemade potato salad
Taco mix with lettuce, tomato, cheese
Frozen, breaded fish and frozen sweet peas
Hotdogs and sauerkraut
Pork roast in sauerkraut
Barbecue ribs
Meatloaf
Pasta springs with red tomato sauce
Iceberg lettuce salad
Red Jello salad with banana slices
Linguine vegetable salad
Grilled cheese with Campbell’s tomato soup
Campbell’s chicken noodle soup or tomato vegetable soup
Pancakes for dinner
Chicken divan
Ham and scalloped potatoes
Sloppy Joe’s (Manwich)
Frozen pizza
Chef Boyrdee ravioli (canned)
Steak-ems sandwich
Deli sandwiches
Hoagies
Beef stew
Roasted chicken
Big breakfast: bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, toast, shredded potatoes or home-fried chunks of potato
Chicken tetrazzini
Poached egg over toast
Instant pudding
Ice cream with Hershey fudge/syrup
Cereal: Life, Fruity Pebbles, Cap’n Crunch, Raisin Bran, Rice Krispy
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on cheap white bread
Stuffed cabbages
Pierogies
Fried Chicken
Spaghetti
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Ham Barbecue (chipped ham heated with ketchup and relish)
Pork chop and stuffing
Dumplings in chicken broth, carrots, celery
Pot roast, mashed potatoes, gravy
French style canned green beans
Hamburgers
Corn on the cob
Pickled eggs and beets
Homemade potato salad
Taco mix with lettuce, tomato, cheese
Frozen, breaded fish and frozen sweet peas
Hotdogs and sauerkraut
Pork roast in sauerkraut
Barbecue ribs
Meatloaf
Pasta springs with red tomato sauce
Iceberg lettuce salad
Red Jello salad with banana slices
Linguine vegetable salad
Grilled cheese with Campbell’s tomato soup
Campbell’s chicken noodle soup or tomato vegetable soup
Pancakes for dinner
Chicken divan
Ham and scalloped potatoes
Sloppy Joe’s (Manwich)
Frozen pizza
Chef Boyrdee ravioli (canned)
Steak-ems sandwich
Deli sandwiches
Hoagies
Beef stew
Roasted chicken
Big breakfast: bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, toast, shredded potatoes or home-fried chunks of potato
Chicken tetrazzini
Poached egg over toast
Instant pudding
Ice cream with Hershey fudge/syrup
Cereal: Life, Fruity Pebbles, Cap’n Crunch, Raisin Bran, Rice Krispy
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on cheap white bread
Anonymous
07/18/2023 09:17
Subject: Re:Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
Wisconsin. I remember lots of good fresh fruit and veggies. Vegetables were prepared simply (roasted, sauteed, etc). My mom was a health nut so not much sugar (carob!) or processed food. We didn't eat much meat because of cost, so very little lunch meat, for example (PB sandwiches). For dinners, it was things like taco night, pasta with veggies, grilled cheese with homemade soup, chili, meatloaf, vegetarian casseroles, etc. all with veggie sides. There was a nice variety of restaurants in our area that I think would hold up today in terms of quality - Italian, Nepalese, Indian, and of course standard American fare. Friday night fish fry - yum!
I was just back in WI and there are a ton of great restaurants; certainly on par with what we eat here.
I was just back in WI and there are a ton of great restaurants; certainly on par with what we eat here.
Anonymous
07/18/2023 09:16
Subject: Where did you live and what did you eat growing up?
I grew up in NJ. My parents were both excellent cooks, as was my grandma on my mom's side, who lived nearby and spent a lot of time at our house. Mom and Grandma cooked a lot of Italian staples - spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, manicotti, etc. Stirfry, pork chops, baked salmon, and roast chicken were also regularly in the rotation. Dad loved to grill and spent every weekend when the weather permitted at his trusty Weber (still does, at the age of 70).