The Fine Art of Family Magazine

As a first-generation American, I was exposed to many of my parents’ homeland traditions through food. When I was a little girl, my mother and I would visit this Eastern European market called Schaller & Weber (pronounced “shawl-ler unt vay-bar”) near our home on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. Once a week, we’d hop in the car to go to this market where customers (like my Austrian-born mother) could chat with merchants in German and buy fresh spices, sausages, phyllo dough, and other special ingredients.

At the time, I thought it was such a drag to have to go to this store. Why couldn’t we just go across the street to the supermarket to get the poppy seeds for Poppy Seed Strudel and paprika for Chicken Paprikash like normal people? For my parents, it was simply not an option. It was important to go to this particular market to buy the freshest spices that were often kept in large barrels with self-serving scoopers (something that would never pass health codes today).

Cooking for my parents was very specific. They were very discerning about what they put into their meals. It’s these traditions that I have come to appreciate and share with my own family. No matter what we had going on, the four of us—my husband and two daughters (especially when they were younger)—would sit down to have dinner together and enjoy a well-rounded meal that usually included vegetables and pasta or meat. We still try to do this whenever we can.

Without a doubt, I’ve inherited my parents’ passion for food. After breakfast I’m already thinking about what I’m going to have for lunch. I don’t just like to eat, but also I love the traditions around eating. I enjoy the art of eating. I enjoy eating out. I enjoy cooking as do my girls. They definitely got the “cooking gene” and happen to be really good at it, too.

Do you have any food traditions that you didn’t appreciate when you were a kid but love now?

xox,

M

P.S. Speaking of Eastern European foods, we found this great family-owned German restaurant named Mader’s in downtown Milwaukee that has been cooking up traditional dishes since the Prohibition in 1902. Read this week’s Heirloom Recipes to find out why it’s worth popping by for some knackwurst and spaetzle next time in you’re in the neighborhood.

Published on January 31, 2010

Tags: Celebrating, Family, Food, Monicas Blog