W3: Teachers

Just is the case with probably everyone else in the class, I was subjected to food since I left my mother’s womb. As a child, I would sit in the kitchen and watch my mother cook, like every curious child would do on occasion. Aside from teaching me how to make eggs and use our kitchen appliances, my mother hasn’t really, directly taught me how to cook. That’s not to say that I haven’t learned how to cook from her. In many ways she has taught me a great deal. For starters, I have learned much, over the years, from just watching her cook. In addition, she has taught me many little intricacies and tips that I apply quite often when I cook dinner for my self at school. For example, my mom would always tell me that it is important to put a dollop of oil and a pinch of salt in the water that you boil for pasta. She would always tell my brother and I that it is important that we have a colorful plate (many different colored foods), which always struck me as odd. However, I later learned she said that due to the propensity for vegetables, which are among the most nutritious types of foods, to be many different colors, therefore referring to vegetables. I guess that is more of a motherly piece of advice, as opposed to a cooking tip. All in all, while my mother may not have directly taught me how to cook, more or less, through observing her throughout the years, I have obtained the skills to get through the cooking demands in everyday life (aka I can make pasta, grill, and use a stove/oven). By no means am I a good cook and, most of the time, I tend to get carried away with unusual, yet creative combinations of foods.

W2: Family Food Cultures

Similarly to Abu-Jaber’s shish kabob or Witzenberg’s French toast, my family also has a few special recipes that represent us. Although, the one particular meal that embodies my family is barbeque-grilled chicken, bow tied pasta, and salad. I just want to start off by saying, that, although this is a very good meal, it is not one of my favorites as far as my mother’s cooking goes. I only say this to make the point that the importance of this meal, in terms of representing my family, comes from the company over which we share it, not the taste of the food, which, by all accounts, is great! My family consists of my mom, my dad, my brother (who is 3 years younger than I), and myself. Growing up, my house was always the house where all the festivities would take place. Whether it was a backyard football game, a pick-up basketball game in the driveway, or video game session inside, we constantly had people over at our house. Eventually, everyone needs to eat; and for as far back as I can remember my mom would whip up meals large enough to feed a small army. At any given time, between my brother and I, we would have anywhere from 3 to 10 people over for dinner on weekends and during the summer months when we were out of school.

My mom had a collection of go to meals for when we had friends over for dinner, but her most common and popular was the barbeque-grilled chicken, bow tied pasta, and salad trio. The chicken is marinated in Italian dressing, doused in Open Pit barbeque sauce, and then grilled with more sauce as needed.  Although I do not eat chicken often, my mother’s barbeque chicken is excellent, especially dipped in Open Pit. The bow tied pasta is a very simple, yet amazing side. It is simply pasta loaded with pesto and melted cheese. Alas, the salad. I have the firm belief that my mother has the ability to make anyone a salad eater. I have been a main proponent of salad ever since I can remember, and my mother is responsible. While she makes an array of salads, when we had friends over for dinner she would keep it simple.  She would wash the lettuce, lay it out to dry on paper towels, then place it in the big aluminum bowl, large enough to hold all the lettuce that anyone could ever dream of. Next, she would take a cut a fresh lemon in half, squeezing both halves into the mixture of leaves. She would then toss in a little bit of red wine vinegar, along with fresh ground pepper. It is a very simple dressing, yet I have come in contact with less than a handful of store bought dressings. This is the meal that I was reminded of after reading the passage. 

W1: Remembering Home

Like everyone, I have a few special foods that remind of me being at home and spending time with my family. The three that I will be discussing are pomegranates, bruschetta, and beef stroganoff. In addition, these foods are sources of pride, unlike the foods discussed in the piece by Janzen.

First off, I have considered pomegranates to be my favorite fruit and one of my favorite overall foods since they were introduced to me by my mother as far back as I can remember. Pomegranates, known as Chinese apples, have a thick outer skin that covers the thousands of juicy, pop-able, and seed-like fruit. Each seed is about half the size of a single M&M candy. I used to love sitting down to the tedious task of peeling open a pomegranate and working until I had gotten every last seed out and onto my plate, at which point I would start eating the bittersweet fruit.

Moreover, I can recall my mother, slicing up grape tomatoes, chives, and onions to make my grandmother’s special bruschetta recipe on a weekly basis. She would slice sourdough bread into little squares, spray them with olive oil, douse them with garlic salt, and then toss them into the oven to bake. It is my favorite side dish that my mother makes. She serves her most famous dish with anything from grilled chicken to spaghetti or alone, as the main dish. I will say that I have had bruschetta at many restaurants and a few places elsewhere, but there is something about my grandmother’s recipe that is unique, and I have never had better.

Last, but not least, my mother’s beef stroganoff is to die for. Although this food is a source of pride for me, and in no way a shame-based food like those listed in Janzen’s piece, it does have a rather peculiar name. Although, it is hard to pinpoint what exactly goes into this entrée, I know that the sauce is a combination of sour cream and cream of mushroom, which sounds less than appetizing, but the end result could not taste any better. I can remember back when I was younger, we would have beef stroganoff once a week, and I would never be able to have any leftovers because my brother, who liked this dish a little too much, would always beat me to it.

Exlporing America's Food Culture's first blog!

My name is Tyler Schindewolf. I grew up in the city of Akron, Ohio and was raised in one of Akron’s western suburbs in a town called Copley. I am a junior and communications major with a focus in writing. In addition, I have always enjoyed expressing myself on paper and look forward to taking full advantage of the newly offered writing certificate at Ohio University. Currently, I spend most of time as a student and managing, Blimp City Records & Entertainment, a small music production company that I recently started up with a few friends. We are a hip-hop/rap collective and will be down at the Union on the 31st of this month, if any of you want to come check us out. 

Growing up, I ate a wide variety of foods that, I now know, mainly belong to the Midwest regional food culture. For as far back as I can remember, my favorite meal was always steak and a baked potato or mashed potatoes, which is a staple in midwestern food culture. However, I believe that it is hard to group the foods that I eat into just one culture, because the foods that I eat on a regular basis are consist of foods that are common among various different regional food cultures. For instance, I am a main proponent of spicy dishes found in the southwestern regional food cultures. Moreover, two of my favorite fruits, pomegranates and pineapples, which I eat on a regular basis when I am back home at my parent’s house, are more commonly found in costal regions where the climate is warm year-round, as opposed to Northeast Ohio, where conditions do not even permit such fruits to grow. I feel that my diet, although heavily influenced by my regional culture, is well rounded and contains a large variety of foods common in other regional food cultures.