I too wish that everyone in the blizzard’s path stays warm and safe.
I love your description of cinnamon toast. I have no idea why, but my mom only made it when we were sick, also. Made well, it’s like the toast equivalent of creme brulee with that crackling thin caramel of the cinnamon sugar on top. I’ve only made it a handful of times for my own children, and, yes, it was when they were sick: not out of a rule, just because that is when I think of it.
It reminds me of one of the well known American cooks, wondering why she always cut a piece of raw roast off the roast beef before cooking. So she asked her mom. Mom said, “I don’t know. Grandma always did it that way and so I always have too.” Grandma was still around, so they asked her. She burst out laughing and said, “That was because my pan was so small! It wouldn’t fit!”
I roasted a chicken tonight and at the bottom of the pan I put potatoes and sweet potatoes cut in big chunks, as well as onions and some garlic cloves still in their paper skins but with their tips nicked off. So good to get one on HR plate later and suck the melted garlic out of the skin.
I love cooking and eating; if I’m not already on your ping list, please add me.
I’ve added you to the list; and Yaelle, you are exactly correct! Everything we eat, comes down to Tradition. It’s all stuff passed-down to us from the old folks - and not just the food, but the habits and the stories, and all the other connected ‘parts’ that go with it.
It is a HERITAGE, one that we may often add to, build upon, etc. - but the past is always the Foundation, with everything added just grafted upon the old bones.
-JT