The Cross and the Cleaver:…You Simply Make Do
I am sure most of us are familiar with the phrase: “Do what you can, with what you have.” It is attributed to Theodore Roosevelt. While the younger generations might not fully understand, or appreciate, its meaning; the older ones might wish to never hear, or experience, it ever again. There are reasons why some people would rather eat dirt than a fried baloney sandwich or cream of tomato soup or hamburger hash.
There might be some sinister undertones in the very names of “clean-out-the-fridge stew,” “not-sure-what-it-is-anymore soup” or “expired-in-the-pantry stir-fry.” Yet those concepts speak to human desperation, creativity, and resilience, when it comes to food, when it comes to feeding our loved ones.
Let me tell you two stories. The first one comes from my home, from my childhood. An interesting fact about that one is that my mother does not remember it, even though talked about it more than once. Whether she does not want to remember, or whether it happened differently – I see it is a story of my mother’s love, and ever-present optimism about living in the moment. So here it goes …
There wasn’t much to eat at home that evening. There either wasn’t much in stores, or payday has not yet come, or both. My mother took a few wieners, chunk of butter, and some herbs from the pantry and whizzed it all together into a paste. She spread it thinly on slices of bread, drizzled some of them with ketchup, some with mustard; and that was our supper.
That story is still vivid in my mind. It did not traumatise me. To this day I love cans, and tubes, of pâtés and devilled meats. Even if I playfully refer to them as “liquidised and seasoned floor sweepings.”
The second story is not mine. I came across it during preparation for Lorna Dunn’s funeral. The family, especially Dennis, recalled a frequently made sandwich, with a filling of shredded Prem, mixed with shredded dill pickles and mayonnaise. Memory worth telling! With the exception of Hawaii and Philippines, “luncheon meat” of any brand, almost anywhere else, is often associated with war, rations, poverty and occasionally the ‘70s dinners, when accompanied by jellied salads and bacon wrapped bananas (yeah – just Google it). Occasionally it makes an appearance under a guise of nostalgia, sentimentality or “this is what grandma and grandpa had to eat before you were born.”
Here is a confession. I used to be an anglophile (Google that again ). With “used” being an operative word, I retained some love for British food, music, and peculiar TV shows. The British of the past, and the nostalgic British of the present, often recall, if not partake in, a BULLY BEEF SANDWICH. It was a meal of soldiers in WWI trenches, and of children displaced by the London bombing of WWII.
You can make it real or fancy. The difference is in the “real” being minced all-together, and in the “fancy” in being artfully stacked. If you are doing the latter, don’t forget the brush-stroke smears of something on the plate, and the sprig of whatever you pick off your front lawn, as a decoration.
Here we go:
– Can of Prem©/Spam©/Luncheon meat/Hereford© corned beef
– Mix with (all or some of) …
o Mustard
o Ketchup (or your favourite BBQ sauce)
o Chopped dill pickles (or hot-dog relish)
o Touch of Marmite© (more about it next time)
o Few chopped hot banana peppers
Stuff in-between two slices of bread and devour!!!!!!!
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