Food Combinations

Lucky for me I grew up in a family that enjoyed food. My mother was a very good cook and her meals were delicious, and so complete. Our children used to look forward to eating meals at Grandma’s, especially breakfast. Meals never seemed to be made up of a dish to two. There would be the main item which was always some type of meat or fish. Next came the hierarchy of the side-dishes. First would be the potato dish. We rarely had a pasta or a rice. Potatoes might be mashed, boiled, fried, baked,or scalloped. After that there would be the vegetable dish; this was in addition to the potato selection. Sometimes there would be two vegetables as we had a few fussy eaters around the table, and my mother catered to them. Often there would be little dishes with home-made pickles, or applesauce. Oh,and gravy, really good gravy. It never seemed to matter if it was lunch or dinner, there were lots of choices. Perhaps this was just the way of good, ‘old-fashioned’ cooking. Today it seems meals are usually a main item and a side. Years ago our table was the stage for wonderful food combinations. Our combinations were not based on food groups. They were not orchestrated to aid in digestion, or to intentionally provide opposite flavors or textures. They were based on what we liked, what we would eat, and what could be provided on a budget. We had wonderful meals all the time even though we weren’t flush with cash. We just ate like we were thanks to real cooking with for the most part, local, pure, food.To this day I remember some of the meal combinations and duplicate them myself. We all enjoy some standard combinations: bacon and eggs, burgers and fries, roast beef and mashed potatoes. To this day I remember some childhood food combinations. Growing up we knew if we were having pork chops more than likely we would have applesauce, baked beans, and fried potatoes. Pork steak would probably be on the table with potatoes steamed with sauerkraut, and green beans. Fried fish usually meant creamed corn and oven roasted, small potatoes smothered in sautéed onions, spare-ribs meant creamed peas with dumplings, and on and on and on. Meals took planning and time, and a lot of effort. Even casseroles, which we seldom had as my dad wasn’t a huge casserole fan always meant relishes made at home and good bread. I never really appreciated those meals, but I surely have a great deal of respect for that part of my food past! Good food combinations were a ton of work. We had no dishwasher, no microwave. We didn’t even have a separate freezer. We did have a root cellar filled with stored food and jars of canned fruits and vegetables that helped make so many food combinations possible and memorable. Food combinations help make food even more delicious when coupled with good, old-fashioned cooking. Do you have any favorite food combinations from your childhood? Please share!