Corn Fritters
My favorite food is corn fritters. And if that tells you I’m from the country without telling you I’m from the country, that’s alright. There is nothing else that tastes so good. I’m talking about crispy edges, summer fresh corn, a batter just right, and mama’s special touch.
I can remember my mama cooking corn fritters and every now and then a batch would completely fall apart. For whatever reason, they just didn’t keep their shape. My mama would say that they didn’t turn out good, and I’d eat them anyway. I’d eat every little bite. I didn’t care what they looked like or if corn was falling out. My mama made them and they were delicious. I would eat them for breakfast or any other time. If she cooked corn fritters, I was eating corn fritters. Maybe you didn’t get excited over corn fritters as a kid, but I sure did.
Apple Jacks
My mom never bought premade pastry dough for chicken pot pie. She rolled the dough herself and cut it into strips, and later on into cute shapes with the grandkids. For apple jacks she would cut up the apples and dry them in the sun. I can remember seeing a cookie sheet covered with dried apples just like it was yesterday, but it was probably more than thirty years ago. I’d ask her, “Are they ready yet?” And she’d tell me no. I knew what was coming next – my other favorite food that she made. Homemade apple jacks.
I can’t get corn fritters or homemade apple jacks from anywhere else that taste like my mama’s and I definitely can’t make them myself as good as my mama’s, and so I haven’t eaten my favorite foods in quite some time. If you ask me when, I can’t even give you a date.
As many of you know, my mama has Parkinson’s disease. It has been with us now for quite some time – 15 years to be exact. And as my mama used to say, it has overstayed its welcome. When we had to turn off the stove for safety reasons, that was a hard day. My mama was not happy. Neither were we, but it had to be done. To watch someone who used to cook everything from scratch no longer be able to cook at all is really hard. So many of our memories are wrapped up with her in that little kitchen.
Fried Flounder
One day I was at my parent’s house and my older brother brought over some hot, fresh fried flounder – you know, my other favorite food. It tasted just like my mama’s. And I was so happy, and I was so sad, and I cried a little on my way home. Yes, there I was on the interstate crying over fried fish. I love fried flounder, but I didn’t realize until that night that I had been avoiding it. My dad was a commercial fisherman, and my mama cooked fried flounder a lot when we were growing up. It was a major trigger of tears for me.
Meals that Make a Memory
For the meals that make a memory for you, don’t take them for granted. Don’t take the people who make them for granted. Your favorite foods might show up when a sibling brings them over to continue the legacy, or you might even have a sister like I do who opens up a restaurant. My mama was, and is, so proud of her. Go get some coleslaw (mom’s recipe) at Story’s Seafood or try that fried flounder without any tears. Someday I will too.
