“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 844 (Thursday) – food memories

Helen was an
amazing cook.

While foraging in the cabinet for ideas for supper among the many assorted ingredients, the box of matzo crackers was moved out of the way for the seventy-billionth time. This particular time, it made me think of my former mother-in-law and her delicious meals. And that was it, I suddenly needed to taste some Bronx memories. 

The matzo crackers came out, and half a sheet was busted up and put into a fry pan with melted butter. Eggs were scrambled with some water and added to the fry pan. The plate was dressed with herring in wine sauce from a jar in the fridge.

Had this been Co-op City in the Bronx, Helen’s table in her small kitchen would have been laden with additional items: lox, bagels, cream cheese, sliced onion, tomato, orange juice, coffee, and who knows what all else. I would not have been eating in the living room in front of the TV. And it would also have been breakfast and not breakfast for supper.

Helen was an amazing cook. There are only two things from her extensive arsenal that I know how to make – noodle kugel and matzo brie. Despite having the ingredients, I haven’t made kugel in ages, but now that I’m thinking about it, it might have to happen soon. Historically, my kugel was always more successful than the matzo brie.

Matzo brie breakfast for supper.

The trick to keep the matzo crispy seems to be to fry the cracker in butter first, then add the egg mixture. That was learned in a recipe site somewhere in my casual recipe reading activities, then stored away until needed, and miraculously not forgotten in the interim. Previously, I had been putting the broken matzo into the egg mixture, but the end result was less appealing with soggy matzo in the egg. So yes, tonight’s supper tasted more like my food memories of the Bronx. And it was good.