What I Used to Eat When I Was a Child

I started making a list a few days ago with everything that I used to eat as a child, either made by my mom or by my grandparents. Most often by my grandparents. These feasts would take place on the well-known Saturday and Sunday most of the time – when we would all have lunch together, on holidays, or on the “special occasions” when we had guests. In fact, I think I liked when everybody gathered in the same place and there was a hoard of people, with everyone there, all the puppies and piglets, grandparents, godparents, cousins, uncles, aunts, the atmosphere and the stories told at the table, for which I always kept my ears open, the clear and simple order of everyone and everything.

Of course, all the madness was accompanied, for the adults, of course, with splashes of home-made wine and brandies, while the children had cherry or raspberry syrup. My mother’s grandfather, Oldie, used to drink “carcalete”, a mixture of wine, water and syrup.

Needless to say, everything had its unique aroma.

All in all, I came up with a pretty hefty list of foods.

Appetizers
Sweet cottage cheese with red onion, paprika and cumin
Eggplant salad with onions
Baked peppers
Stuffed eggs
Beef or chicken salad
Boiled spinach with garlic, lemon and vegetable oil
Lamb tripe
Boiled cauliflower with fried breadcrumbs
Fish paste with butter and onion
Carp roe with onions

Soups and broths
Chicken noodle soup
Green bean soup
Red bean soup with smoked ham
Potato soup
Lettuce soup with bacon
Tomato noodle soup
Onion soup

Main dishes
Breaded chicken legs with mashed potatoes
Eggplant moussaka with meat
Potato moussaka with meat
Rabbit in gravy
Noodles with cabbage and pepper
Pork steak with mashed or sautéed potatoes
Spinach with fried eggs
Chicken paprika with pasta
Pasta with sauce and beef tongue
Pan-fried pork liver with fried semolina
Breaded brain with pepper, lemon and sautéed potatoes
Beef stew with horseradish sauce, cream and mashed potatoes
Schnitzels with mashed potatoes and pickles
Hot polenta with cold milk
Polenta with cheese, cream and fried bacon
Beans with fried onion and slices of fried sausage with sauerkraut
Meat rolls in vine leaves
Baked meat crepes with cream
Baked lamb steak
Bread with egg and spinach
Boiled beef with green beans, bouillon and garlic broth
Fried eggs with peas
Grilled pork steak with lemon sauce and sautéed potatoes
Chanterelle stew with cream and polenta

Desserts
Creme Brule
Dumplings with plums, cinnamon and breadcrumbs
Rice with milk, cinnamon and cocoa sauce
Gnocchi with walnuts and sugar
Gnocchi with breadcrumbs and sugar
Pies with plum mesir macunu
Strudel
Crepes with dill and cheese
Crepes with apricot jam
Biscuit salami
Apple pie