blog post Today on Lanarama: Foodie Friday! Food & Nostalgia

Amazing.... from what I remember when I was 5.  I guess TMNT had a bunch of other stuff too:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles_food_tie-ins

There are 2 pops I really miss:A & W Clear CreamsodaandRaspberry Gingerale

I also miss Cherry Coke, I love it whenever it makes it's resergence.

Also ruffled Salt and Vinigar chips.

I need to quit drinking so much pop!

my stream has been failing me quite often lately, and its not working at ALL now.

grrr.

ill be back.

One item that I remember my mother making for me as a kid, were home made Rice Crispy treats.  The ones where you melted 40 marshmallows in a pot and put in six cups of Rice Crispies.  Even when I went off to college, every so often, a big coffee can would show up at the dorm, and inside were the cereal treats that I'd usually manage to eat most of just before dinner on the day they arrived.  And when my daughter went off to college, I would send them to her.   They are truly a nostalgic food from my youth.

And now that I've thought about it, I think I'll go have a crispy block of them.  Seems my lovely wife made some last night, just because.  Mmmmm.

(Note, the pre made ones that are usually made with marshmallow cream and have a different texture.  Not the same.)

Lee Hower - Sacramento, California

Whenever my aunt would catch my cousin's swearing, she'd make them chew thrills (instead of 'cleaning' their mouth with soap).

I'd prefer the soap.

My parents bring me up Cap'n Crunch w/ Crunchberries from the states but what I really wish I could have again is the Nintendo Cereal System. It had two different cereals in it, Mario & The Legend of Zelda (Fruit & Berry respectively). Maybe it's just my love of video games at that age but I loved that stuff! Speaking of cereal, no more Count Chocula at Safeway, it's an outrage it is! They actually still produce Booberry, Frankenberry and the Count though (in the states at least) just the distribution isn't great.

I thought they brought back Garbage Pail Kids a couple years ago and they still make Fundips & Popeye sticks.

Big league chew reminds me of hanging out in my hometown during the summer when I was kid. Just running around the neighbourhood trying to kill time.

@Lana - Why don't you stockpile the syrup so you can add it to latte's yourself.

It's not the same! [re stockpile syrup]. I got some Vanilla syrup for Tessa to make London Fog tea..it was close, but not quite there.

Ah, but do you have an espresso machine with a proper steam wand?

Make you a trade.  I'll bring Cherry Coke up to you, and you can bring down Balderson Extra Old Cheddar and LeClerc Belgian Chocolate cookies for me. 

Deal?

Lee

Good stuff, although I'd rather have a can than a bottle.  It's too sweet to drink much of.

Amaretto and Coke makes a surprisingly good facsimile of Cherry Coke.  And my sister has a drink recipe involving cherry liqueur (I think) that's even closer.

I find that a Roy Rogers is the closest thing to make, a little too sweet sometimes though.

Hawkins Chezzies! Still love them and from way back, too. I just found a website for this tasty treat and I know why I like them so, according to the blurb: "Hawkins Cheezies® is synonymous with wholesome goodness."

A message from Tourism British Columbia!  But come to Vancouver for the Olympics?  I don't think so.

But I regularly get tourism emails from BC, NB, PEI and NS, along with the cities of Vancouver, Victoria, Charlottetown and Halifax. 

I have just got to win the lottery.

Lee

alas no...I like a good cup o coffee myself so both of those items are on the list of things to buy this year...somewhat down the list though..

A quick google search reveals that some people use both amaretto and grenadine, which might be worth a try.

I bought a huge bag of Cheezies today and I can't stop eating them. My desk is covered in orange dust. I used to eat them while watching TV with my grandpa. He liked the smaller ones, and now I do, too. They're just better for some reason.

Pork chops made me think of pork chops in mushroom sauce (made from mushroom soup).

And that made me think of chicken-rice bake, which is chicken thighs and rice baked in the same pan, also with mushroom soup.  And some other things.  I may have to make it next week sometime.

It's funny how this started out as a discussion of nostalgia for manufactured foods and quickly turned into nostalgia for homemade foods.

ive got it working...for now. 38mins later... ugh.

ground turkey is in the pan..chili is on its way.

i dont know what i use to eat that was discontinued, but almost just as bad is when you get a "new and improved flavour" and it is HORRIBLE and you never eat it again.

I'll second the Campbell's tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Also:

honey and jam sandwiches

meatloaf and ketchup

black forest ham

peanut butter marshmallow squares

popcorn balls (reminds me of Halloween trick-or-treating)

white chocolate macadamia nut cookies (high school lunch hour trips to the bakery - 6 cookies for $2!)

Tin Roof Sundae ice cream

Mmmmm....

Am I the only one who actually LIKES Thrills?

Yeah, maybe.

It doesn't get very good reviews.  Are you sure?

You're right, cereal is obvious. Does anyone remember the Gummy Bears cereal? This was my favourite thing growing up. Pure sugar and pink chemicals made my young tummy very happy. OR if you remember Strawberry Shortcake cereal, it was the same thing just with a different box... Actually, they were both just the berries from Captain Crunch Berries. I thought I was pretty smart and I figured that out as a kid. I blame the pink berry chemicals for my feminist inclinations, and possibly my addiction to this station. 

Actually though--they were soo good. I totally remember what they taste like. Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? 

OR

There was pink cake mix. I think it was cherry flavoured. I actually tried to buy a box of it online, because it's not available in Canada anymore.  Wow, I really had a thing for pink food. What would Freud say? Nevermind, I already know. 

Krib has got it right on!!!

"tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, along with dill pickles"

So amazing, I can see it, taste it, now in my parents kitchen with the sun coming in

Creamed corn used to be my nostalgic food. But now that I'm in university, its lost its shock appeal. HAha

I love the taste of Thrills too. There is a toothpaste by Weleda called Pink Toothpaste which has recently been renamed Ratanhia Toothpaste that tastes like Thrills. It's worth a try if you ever buy herbal toothpastes.

My dad used to make me the same toast. He ALSO made a pre-mix for the perfect portions of sugar and cinnamon.

And it's funny that you used to say girl cheese sandwiches because I couldn't say girl and I called myself a grill.

Oh, grilled cheese and tomato soup, definitely.  And cinnamon toast.

Not pickles, though.  Ick.

There is still a spice jar at my parent's place with the coveted mix of cinnamon and sugar. On top of toasted raisin bread: heaven. 

How about tuna, frozen peas, mushroom soup and...potato chips! Old Dutch, only. That was from a book called "six Ingredients or Less" that my mom bought for my brother when he moved out, thinking he would cook. But frozen pizza is only one, as he discovered.

Yes, it's pink! I've recently found it at Planet Organic, but you might be able to find it at over health food stores that carry Weleda products.

Gnarley and Gnashedy!

p.s. Herbal Tooshpaste Hahaha

 Puffed wheat! It's shot from guns! (Long) background explanation odf process here.

When I was a kid, in the fifties, it wasn't Quaker, but another company whose name I'm trying to remember, that had the "shot from guns!" byline on its big bags of puffed wheat.

McDonalds used to ahve that feeling for me. Going to McD's was a once a year kinda thing with my family(twice maybe if Grandma and Grandpa McGill were visiting). Then I worked at McDonalds during highschool. I need to get back to making it a once a year thing...

Mushroom soup was a staple of my childhood. Mushroom soup on chicken drumsticks... Mushroom soup on hamburger patties... Mushroom soup on egg noodles...My mom even made "fettucine alfredo" with... you guessed it - mushroom soup. The funny thing is that we never consumed it as soup.

Anyone remember these weird candies?

Yeah, we ate a fair number of mushroom-soup-based foods too.

I've tried it as soup.  It's not that great.

I like Thrills. From my childhood when I liked almost ALL candy. People complained about Thrills tasting like soap even then.

Since, we've gone to the moon, etc., and Thrills still taste like delicious, delicious soap.

YES! i have not seen them in forever.

you'd get hot lips, big feet and green thumbs. at least the first two exist.

Lana! We are going to eat these on Monday. I will bring you some.

My grandfather used to make corned beef and cabbage like it was nobody's business. I haven't had a decent feed since he died. Although some have come close to recreating the awesomeness that was his corned beef, none have succeeded!

Flintstones Push-up Pops! And those candies that I think were called "Fizz" that came in packages linked together in a long strip. And yes, Mojos!

Weirdly, I don't even really like candy now.

They still make Mojos! I think the Candy Aisle in Vancouver sells them. Cola flavour was the best.

The whole mushroom soup in everything is cooking from the 50/60s. That was the casserole heyday. I for one, am not a fan of the mushroom soup based casserole. Casserole can be good, just gotta make your own sauce base.

Yes they are still around, but the spearmint ones are REALLY hard to find and are almost always so rock hard that you could probably chip a tooth on them.

But, so yummy.

Although my favourite casserole was cheesy-beef-rice, which had beef and rice and onion and a little carrot, with cheese on top.

Cheesy-beef-rice casserole contained no mushroom soup.  Or other sauce.

Me mah used to make Porkchops with Potatoes with mushroom soup thrown on it every once in a while. She never made casseroles, because we hated them.

Now that we are on the topic of candy, my roomate and I are addicted to SWEDISH FISH , the assorted kind and we found them in large bags at a Toronto metro for just over 2 bucks!

SWEDISH FISH!

aaah hot lips and big feet! i used to eat the big toe first. the blue whales were the worst things ever. i didn't mnind the mint leaves, but could only eat one, then i'd be sick of them. sometimes i'd just suck the sugar coating off them.

a couple of other dishes that take me right back to childhood (but i'm likely alone on this) is kibbeh (cooked in a square cake pan), and yabrak. (my grampy was from lebanon) i can't have kibbeh anymore (vegetarian) but we have a grape vine in the backyard and can make veggie friendly rolls.

my grandmother also made carrot cake with the most DELICIOUS cream cheese icing on top. oh, i miss it so much... no-one can make carrot cake like she could. :(

i also miss gravy... i am too lazy to make the veggie kind.

I just remembered McD's orange drink! It makes me think of the old church basement and pancake breakfasts! 

Do they even still make that stuff? 

Deal!

I can easily go through a box of Crunchberries in like a week if I don't restrict myself. I was eating 2 - 3 bowls a day when I got that first glorious box. I've been getting cherry coke regularily enough that it's easier to make it last between shipments.

Oh yeah, do you have Ketchup or Dill Pickle chips down there? I remember hearing one or both of those are Canadian specific. Possibly heard you don't have bacon or roast chicken chips either. Any truth here?

I love how it's named after it's colour! It makes me think of hotdog day at school.

RE: mcdonalds orange drink.

no.

the end of an era..

Always the best... esp when you get those little tubs of vanilla ice cream that you had to eat with a slivery wooden "spoon"...

Totally not a spoon.

Get spectacularly sick?

Did anyone's parents make a broccoli, cheddar and chicken casserole with a (surprise!) cream of mushroom soup base mixed with a little curry powder?

I swear we ate this 1-2 times a week for a year before my brother and I begged my mom never to make it again cause we were so sick of it.

We've heard about the cut-up hot dogs, mushroom soup... any other additions? Nostalgic or otherwise?

You guys have those Chef Boy-Ar-Dee products up north?  Was always in our pantry growing up, but only ate it on rare occasions.  However, once on my own, it'd get into the regular rotation.  My son really was fond of it.  However, when I married my wife, who is of Italian extraction, and prides herself on her heritage would not let that stuff in the house.  (She is okay with frozen pasta products, but never, but never sauce other than freshly made.)

Still, I remember one night where my kids and I ate Chef Boy-Ar-Dee ravioli right out of the pot while camping because it was so cold, it had to be eaten that fast if you wanted it warm at all.

Lee

my dad used to fry up bolonga for me.

OH AND this macaroni/hamburger/tomato sauce in a frying pan concoction. it was delicious.

@lee- various chef boyardee cans were in our house, along with alphagetti. i loved them, but always felt ill after.

for a person who isn't really "into food" i sure did love the heck out of a lot of edibles!

One thing I was blessed with whle growing up is that my mother loved going for Sunday drives just to "explore".  When we returned home on Sunday night, dinner had to be made, as we rarely ate out.  Mom would whip up one of her quick Sunday dinners, and one of the favourites was tuna and cream of mushroom soup over either leftover rice or toast.  Can of peas, and that'd be our dinner.

Even now, when I have my 94 year old dad over for dinner (tonight!), if I make that for him, it'll almost bring tears to his face - memories of years and decades ago, when Mom was still here, and we were all so much younger.

Lee

THE BEST CHOCOLATE BAR E.V.E.R

Crunchy honeycomb that melt in your mouth goodness. Too bad it's only sold in AUSTRALIA. Does anyone know where i can get them in Canada?

cream of mushroom soup with peas over toast is my FAVOURITE! i used to take it to work and everyone looked at me like i was nuts... no-one had ever heard of such a thing!

were her little meatloaf patties, made from hamburger, bread crumbs, an egg, an onion and spices.  One of my favourites, and my own kids loved them.  (After my ex and I split up, my son would beg me to make them.  Served with mashed potatoes and a vegetable.  Pure comfort food.  Hmmm.  Come to think of it, I think I'll make that tonight for Dad and I.  Give us a chance to pretend its 1958 again.

BTW, my son now makes it for himself and his wife.

Lee

Cracker Jack, of course, still a baseball seasons staple. 

Speaking of childhood treats, there is confection that's made in San Francisco called Pink Popcorn.  Popcorn in the shape of a thin brick, in cellophane with a pink candy mixture in it.  Really not very good, but whenever I see it when I'm down in the City, I have to buy some, as it a pure memory trip for all those days at Fishermans Wharf and the zoo when I was little. 

Hmmm.  That popcorn is so stale, I wonder if its from a batch from 1958?

Lee

i think we had ice cream with our hot dog day, or maybe that was later for hamburger day. but hot dog day was ruined for me in grade 4 when i majorly choked on a piece. my teacher wrapped her arms around me and was JUST about to do the heimlich maneuver on me when i finally coughed it up. i had never had my breathing cut completely off like that! it was terrifying! then the class bully teased me until i cried.

MAN!

You're right Bacon and Coke totally grandma's house [54]

BUT [74] Don't forget then dad could also make hotdogs in the oven with a slit down the middle and cheese stuffed in there with bacon wrapped around them, he was the only one to eat it though.

I seem to remember some serious protest to the missing orange drink at the last family reunion as well. [102]

ps. Fun Dip and sweet tarts was basically my childhood. I remember getting a few bucks off my mom and walking to the store just to get them. If only they packaged just the sticks, gawd those are good.

Let us know how the candy research goes!

Hey Lana,

So the trick with Spam is to slice it really thin and cook it in a non-stick skillet.  This makes it crispy and more like bacon or "Canadian bacon" to others.

Tthanks for reading my post out loud. :=)

You always make my afternoons in the Lab go by quickly.

Cheerio! And come to Seattle so I can cook for you.

Dr. Noodle

Is it weird that I think I know ALL the candy you guys are talking about and some I've only had in the last 3 years?

Dear Benoit, are you perchance talking about the elephant in the room?

And ugh, hot lunch day at my elementary. It was once a month and the only good one was pizza. Hot dog day was boiled hot dogs and ketchup chips, I hate boiled hot dogs.

@The Johnson Report - I know, it's sleezalicous!

Not exactly, but darned close. Probably an improved version of the fifties type. A lovely treat when slightly stale.

I guess it must be this then?

Sorry. (That's S.F. stuff anyway 0-- completely unavailable in Ottawa in the 50s.

No, more like the lucky elephant. Real cheap.

Yes!  That's MY San Francisco Pink Popcorn!!!

Lee

woo , the brekkie looks good