Living with my parents and “tasting” my childhood all over again

A scent can transform a moment, take you back in time, sometimes to days ago, sometimes to decades long gone.  I am reminded 2 to 3 times a week of my childhood.  I come home and often detect the scents of my childhood in my kitchen…

Hot dogs wrapped in buttery, warm, rolls. Creamy mac and cheese. Sandwiches made of toast that turns peanut butter warm and gooey and sweetened with strawberry jelly.  Chocolate cookie wafers soaked in whipped cream, layered with jam and walnuts.  Made from scratch chocolate brownies with homemade vanilla frosting.  Lemon bundt cake with a sweet/sour glaze that made my lips pucker.  Sloppy Joes open-faced on hamburger buns.  Warm rice casserole with broccoli florets and cheddar cheese.  “Minute” steaks with ketchup.

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Taste familiar?

These are some of the flavors of my childhood – and since I was raised in the 70s (holy c**p, am I that old?) I am sure there are plenty of people out there who recall the same tastes.

Because my parents live with my husband and me and help with our kids, my mom makes dinner for my son and daughter, ages 5 and 7, a couple of nights a week.  I can usually tell what the kids have had for dinner as soon as I walk in the door; it is a walk down memory lane each time mom cooks.  I still love those “pigs in a blanket.”  The roll has to be crunchy and the hot dog warm throughout as I dip them in a bit of ketchup.  YUM!

Lest you think I have not evolved at all, today’s rolls are whole grain, the mac ‘n cheese organic and the hotdogs and Sloppy Joes turkey.   But the flavor is the same.  The flavor and the scent are what take me back to Tucson Arizona, where I grew up, and where, from the age of 3-18, I lived with my two brothers, mom and dad.  I can still see that lemon yellow countertop and the avocado green stove.  (I also recall being pelted in the head with my favorite “pig in a blanket” when I got into a fight with one of my brothers, but all-in-all, the memories are good.)

I get a kick out of the fact that my kids will have some of the same (but slightly more nutritional) food memories from their childhood as I do.  There is also something comforting in knowing that the same food from my childhood is still good, even four decades later.  (Holy c**p, I am that old.)

What food takes you back to your childhood?  What scent, color, or fabric takes you back to when linoleum and burnt orange were king?

Coffee WARS – love the smell, right?

Uhmm, yeah, ok.

Margot:

Ahhhh, the delicious smell of coffee in the morning.  I like a dark roast, percolating gently, aromatically wafting through the house as I finish getting dressed – Peet’s coffee specifically, with a splash of Coffee Mate, Italian Sweet Cream.  My husband uses a nifty Nespresso machine that uses espresso pods – and he warms milk, whips it to a froth and adds a spoonful of sugar.

My husband and I used to get our coffee on the way to work every morning – but that changed when we had kids.  (And the savings, honestly, is impressive!)  I never drank coffee until after college – and now – it is THE thing that I look forward most to when the day starts.

In my multigenerational house, the smell of coffee coming from my parents’ part of the house means my dad is up and reading the Denver Post – usually between 6-6:30 am.  I have to admit, their coffee does not have the same effect on me. I have caught a whiff of it here and there over the last 4 years– not so good.

So yesterday, I decided to look in their kitchen cabinet – Target brand.  Nothing wrong with the red dot boutique – in fact, I love Target – but not for my coffee.  When did I become a coffee snob?  Are most Americans becoming coffee snobs?  Do we blame Starbucks?  How did this happen?  And snobbery can go the other way, too – I have seen my dad looking at all the coffee stuff we have – and he just chuckles.

Kanesha:

And the coffee snob saga continues…

I was running downstairs the other morning, so I could dig through the dryer to find some pants for the 3-year-old (just looking for the pants – the rest of the clothes stayed in the dryer). As I turned the corner to head into the kitchen, I smelled coffee brewing, but what KIND of coffee?

My MIL makes it to the main floor between 6-6:30am, grabs the Daily Camera and Denver Post from the driveway, starts the coffee, and then tackles sudoku. If I’m having a “snooze-a-holic” morning, the smell of brewing coffee is my wake up call to get a move on. BUT, on this particular day, the coffee smell was…  off.

Back in the kitchen, I said to my MIL, “Good morning.  What kind of coffee are you making this morning?”

MIL, “Folgers.  It was on sale, a good deal.”

Big sigh!! The coffee snob in me just kept it moving and went downstairs.

I LOVE it that my MIL is a conscious shopper, uses coupons that I clip, and likes to take advantage of a great deal when she sees one, but Folgers?  I mean we have a bean grinder, a programmable coffee maker, several accoutrements, and access to the best fair trade coffee around. We can do better!  Ok ok , the coffee snob in me says we can do better.

I didn’t make a big fuss about the coffee that morning because in the reality of  multigenerational living, coffee ain’t no deal breaker!  I just ended up buying a florentine (my fav!) at Celestial Seasonings.

(Think about Zeek and the hazelnut coffee on Parenthood!)

Here’s the reality: I love having a cup coffee with my MIL. We grab our favorite coffee containers, doctor up the coffee to taste, sit down and just shoot the breeze.  If I have to smell Folgers on some mornings (or afternoons), so be it.  BTW…later that day, I did find a bag of “designer” coffee beans in the cabinet. Coffee unites us!

Tell us – what’s your favorite coffee/coffee drink?

we each have our own coffee needs, and thus, separate coffee makers

Target coffee – hmmm…

The “peace” keeper

Brew baby brew

NOT Folgers

Fun time with Folgers

Coffee stuff

Coffee fixins

Reusable coffee mug – go GREEN!

Coffee tool

Let’s make a deal

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After much planning, reading, clicking, researching, and giggling, our blog has moved from conversations in the hallway to being LIVE on the web.

it’s a full nest is a comfy space that offers humorous, raw, informative and honest support about living in a multigenerational household (MGH).

it’s a full nest aims to support families that subscribe to the “new”clear approach in raising a family. We’re coming from the perspective that living with parents/in-laws is a CHOICE rather than a forced situation  and we will be spilling our guts about how it all goes down.

We’d love to hear from you as we have mutligenerational living MOSTLY figured out, but we’re still learning.

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