naked notes

The Japanese half of my background reined much of my upbringing—well, sort of, at least the culinary effects were strongly felt. My mother’s mother would drive her silver diesel Mercedes from the strawberry land of Oxnard, CA, and unload countless trays of food from her trunk: big pot of teriyaki short ribs, rolls of futomaki sushi, and bags of Japanese candy treats. She lived an hour away, however, so this was more of a once-a-month occurrence. On my Armenian side, my father’s mother, Lillian, lived less than a mile away. So we dined at her house often. Usually, on Thursdays, the entire family—aunties, uncles, and cousins—would trek to her house on Arbolada Drive for one of her sprawling dinners.

Lillian, or Lil, as she was known, was a classy lady. We never saw her undone—ever. She was always dressed up—silky blouse that tied at the neck, skirt that hit just below the knee, stockings, and a low heel. She went to the beauty shop every Saturday for her weekly hair (reddish brown) and nail (pink) upkeep. She drove a yellow Cadillac and liked to have lunch at hotel coffee shops.

Lil’s dinner menu usually consisted of the following: fresh vegetables to start; a pot of Gram’s soup, which I’ll elaborate on later; hamburger patties, barbecued chicken, grilled tomatoes and onions, and rice pilaf. It was immense, but then there were a lot of people to feed. In my family, gender roles were, and still are, very old-fashioned, very defined. Upon arriving at Lil’s house, the men would head to the family room to watch news or sports, the kids would play in the backyard, and the women would cook.

There were picky eaters in my family but the one dish that everyone would eat was Gram’s soup. Lil made up the recipe, a variation of chicken soup, and we were all raised on the stuff. It was even featured in a Neiman Marcus cookbook.

Lately I haven’t had a taste for anything. Maybe it’s the cold or my lackluster mood of late. Just the other day, after gathering the courage to attempt my dismal Key Food, I bought a few simple ingredients for a quick batch of Gram’s soup. First bite, and I was right back in that harvest yellow kitchen on Arbolada Drive.

Gram’s soup

ground beef

½ onion, diced

celery, chopped

carrots, chopped

2 cans of chicken broth

egg noodles

Sweat the onions with a little olive oil, then add the ground beef to brown, breaking it up into bite-size pieces. After a few minutes, add the chopped celery, carrots, egg noodles, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer a few minutes. It’s so easy, you can’t mess it up.

Category: NY Eat IN

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