W4 "American Food"

Entrées-

Steak. I've always thought steak was just something most people ate but thinking about it it's clear that it's merely prominent in American food culture.

Lobster. Along with Steak I think it's one of those foods most Americans think of as classy.

Desert-

Apple pie. “As American as apple pie.” that phrase made me think apple pie originated in America somehow but a quick fact check proved otherwise, that said it's definitely another food prominent in our culture.

Ice cream sundaes. Though the origins are contested this did originate in America. The fact that the origins are contested makes it seem prominent enough to include on the menu.

Breakfast(available all day)-

Pancakes. Always a popular breakfast item here.

Breakfast burrito. It originated in the southwest U.S. And was quickly picked up by our fast food companies because of it's convenience and breakfasty goodness.

Fried eggs. Who doesn't have memories of having these cooked for them or cooking them? Simple but tasty.

Sides, Soups-

Bacon. We include it in a lot of things, from salads to burgers to breakfast. No meal is complete without bacon.

Chicken wings. They're popular enough here to have entire restaurants dedicated to them.

Clam Chowder. Many of the variants are named for places in America and in the past we have been so passionate about it that lawmakers in Maine once attempted to make putting tomatoes into it illegal.

Beverages-

Coke products. Personally prefer some of Pepsi's sodas but Coke is iconic.

Lemonade. Kids have been selling it on the sides of our roads for quite awhile now, and it's just a simply good drink.

Coffee. Another thing that has entire businesses dedicated to it. I wonder how many Americans use it to wake up in the morning?

Iced Tea. It's available in most restaurants and generally popular.

Remembering Home

 My family moved once but while I have two images of home in my head the thing separating them is not the small distance between those houses but my parent’s divorce. Fresh off the stalks sweetcorn with however much butter and salt you preferred, they were the best. At the time I could not stand to eat canned corn or store bought cobs when I had that to compare them to. We had steak so often I grew sick of it. My grandparents lived nearby and while we ate plenty of cheap store bought stuff when we ate with them we were always greeted with things like corn cobs, steaks, ham hock soup, and raspberry cobbler. Before we moved out of our house in town onto the farm my mom would make grape juice, there were some vines in our backyard, I don’t know how to describe it to highlight just how different it was to all the other grape juice I have ever drank but of the foods I remember from back then it is the one I miss the most.


 Later we started having Little Caesar’s pizza on an almost weekly basis. Hamburger Helper was another staple. The seasoning packets that come with Little Caesar’s pizza are really good for mac and cheese, and when making ramen noodles I like to do a double batch so I can mix the chicken and oriental spice packets in after draining most of the water.  I’m proud of the foods from both of those periods of my life, farming is not for me but I can certainly be proud of the foods my family worked hard to grow and cook well, and sure after the divorce money was tight and the food was not good but my mom was raising three kids by herself and she tried hard to make nice meals as often as she could.