Pasta la Vista
What is the one food that reminds you of your childhood? The one food that when you eat it, reminds you of simpler times? The one food that you can eat over and over again and not get sick of? For me, that one food is spaghetti and homemade meatballs. Spaghetti and meatballs embodies many happy memories from my childhood; symbolizing the happiness, simplicity, and love in my life that endures on to today.
When I was a child, I would always help my mom cook dinner for the family. One of my favorite meals to help her make was spaghetti and homemade meatballs. My mom acquired the recipe for the meatballs from my mémère, but changed a few of the spices to add her own spin on it throughout the years. This meal is very easy to make; the longest part of the whole process is making the meatballs. To start, my mom would get me a glass bowl and put all the ingredients in it for me and tell me to mix everything with my hands. The hamburger meat was always almost still frozen because my mom did not want to wait until it was fully dethawed to start making dinner, which would cause my hands to go numb as I mixed the ingredients. I hated this part of the process because the meat was still bloody and my hands would drip from all of the liquids in the mixture. After all of the meat was mixed with the various ingredients, I would roll it in little balls and place them on a cookie sheet for them to be cooked. The smell of the meatballs baking in the oven would waft throughout the house and let everyone know that dinner was being cooked.
These times cooking with my mom will always reside in the back of my head and play on a loop because of how happy it made my family. My favorite part about cooking this meal was after the food was already made and everyone would sit around the kitchen table and fill their plate with spaghetti and meatballs. During these family dinners we would all talk about the events of the day; my parents would ask how school was and my sisters and I would complain about something that happened during the day. These little flashbacks that I experience when thinking about this dish, are the same my mom had when she was a child. When I asked her what this dish meant to her she said, “It reminds me of my childhood and eating with my mom, dad, and siblings.” For both of us, spaghetti and meatballs reflect the happiness of our childhoods and being surrounded by family.
Along with all the memories, spaghetti and meatballs is a relatively simple dish to make that does not take a lot of time or skill. This is one reason why my mom would make it so often when my sisters and I were growing up. She told me that this meal is very filling and hearty, therefore, she thought it would help us grow tall and strong. As a result of her believe, she cooked it a lot when I was growing up. I can remember when I would come home from soccer practices, after working out for at least two hours, looking for anything to appease my hunger; I would become ravenous and eat at least three servings, while the rest of my family would eat only one or two servings. This reoccurring episode became a running joke in my family, that I would eat more spaghetti and meatballs than my dad, even though I was the smallest person in the household. Although I do not eat the most spaghetti and meatballs anymore, the joke still remains and is brought up almost every time we eat this meal, mostly as a way to embarrass me.
Not only is this dish threaded into my memories, but it is also a part of some decorations in the kitchen. My sister, Rachel, made an art project in elementary school about slurping spaghetti. It was a paper plate with a smiley face drawn on and a small hole in the middle of the mouth with a piece of yarn, knotted at both ends, pulled through the opening. The purpose of this string was so that when you pull it, it gives the illusion of the paper plate person “slurping the spaghetti.” This art project was hung in the kitchen for many years, until my mom finally took it down a few years ago (it was in the kitchen for about eight years). This artwork has been apart of my life for as long as I can remember and whenever someone mentions slurping spaghetti, my immediate thought is of the paper plate person and the yarn.
My favorite thing about spaghetti and meatballs, is not the taste of it, but rather the myriad amount of cherished memories that are entangled within the noodles and rolled into the meatballs. From having family dinners and enjoying many laughs to the decoration in my kitchen; I would never change a single thing. Thinking back on all of these amazing times brings a smile to my face and warmth in my heart. In words of my mom, “[Spaghetti and meatballs is] definitely a comfort food.” This meal is integrated in many different aspects in my life and brings a great amount of comfort whenever I taste or smell this wonderful food.
RECIPE FOR THE MEATBALLS
- 1-pound ground beef
- 1 egg
- Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper
- 1 Tbs BBQ sauce
- Parmesan cheese
- 1 slice of bread ripped into little pieces or bread crumbs
Mix together by hand. Form into small balls, bake for 10 minutes on 350. Remove from oven and gently place meatballs into hot spaghetti sauce. Cook another 10 minutes on low heat.
