Saturday, January 29, 2011

Betrayed by a Manwich

My mom made the BEST sloppy joes. 

Hands down, the best.  All my life I ate them.  On softie buns from the bakery with a whole bunch of crinkle cut dill pickles.  Potato chips and chip dip on the side.  Glass of milk.  And if it was a birthday party, there was Kool-Aid to drink.  Other kids' moms made sloppy joes too, but they never measured up.  Sometimes they were too sweet, or maybe they were stingy with the pickles. 

Unfortunately, I never did learn how to make them.  I could guess at some of the basic ingredients, I suppose, but in what combination and quantities?  It was one of those "a little of this, a little of that" recipes that you can't really write down.  Even after discussing it with my sister several times, we only came up with a vague recipe at best.    

Then, while visiting my brother this December, something surprising happened.  He made sloppy joes from a can of Manwich, with a little chopped onion thrown in for good measure.  And with all the requisite side items, pickles and chips included. 

They were really good.  Dare I say, almost identical to my mom's.  I realize that Manwich is not a revelation for most people, considering it's been around forever.  But in all my 38 years, I'd never tried it (at least not knowingly).  I couldn't believe it.  Sloppy joes almost as good as Mom used to make...in a can?!

Betrayed by a Manwich.  Sorry, Mom, hope you don't mind.  hee-hee!  ; )


Wednesday, January 26, 2011

What's up, Crankyface?

I'm rarely cranky.  At least on the outside.  Sometimes I'm cranky on the inside but most people wouldn't know.  Today was one of those cranky on the inside days.

Nothing particularly bad happened.  It was a lovely, snowy, picturesque day, in fact. 

Just tired.  One too many snarky comments on the train.  One too many indifferent souls marching along.  I had ridiculously smushed hat-head all day and my lips are chapped.  My TV screen was all static when I got home.  The snow turned to sleet.  I annoyed myself  by eating some pizza instead of the salad sitting in my fridge.    

Then my friend wrote me and asked what was up.  She called me Crankyface and that made me smile.  And she distracted me until I wasn't cranky anymore. 

Thanks, ladyface. 

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Fancy

The word 'fancy' came up the other day, and it got me thinking about this particular story.  Here 'tis...

It was my last year at Parsons School of Design.  For anyone in the fashion design department, the senior fashion show was a major event.  We'd spent the last several months working alongside designers like Isaac Mizrahi, Donna Karan and Michael Kors.  We'd seen our ideas go from rough sketch to final product, and soon they would strut down the runway.

My family was coming to New York. 

The show was to be held at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, and it was a black tie affair.  Designers and industry big-whigs would attend.  There was salmon on the menu.  My brother rented a tux.

One evening, my mom called, excited to tell me she'd found a dress for the occasion.

"Hi, Darling.  I found a dress for your show.  I think you will like it."

"Oh, good.  What's it like?"

"Well, it's kind of a slip dress.  It's black."

"Oh, that sounds nice."

"Yes, and it has spaghetti straps with little rhinestones."

"Oh, OK."

"Yeah, and then in the back there is a big ruffle that goes over the hips, and that has little silver sequins on it."

"Huh."

"And then there's a little jacket that goes on top with red feathers around the neck.  It's kind of glittery."

"Oh, really?"

"But you will really love the sleeves.  They're kind of gathered and really puffy.  I think they're satin."

Nervous silence. 

A few seconds went by and finally I said, quietly, "Um, I don't think you have to be quite that fancy."

Suddenly a burst of laughter exploded on the other end of the line and it didn't stop.  My mom had been teasing me, of course, knowing that I would never ever say, "Mom, that sounds hideous!"  She laughed and laughed and laughed, and so did I.

(By the way, her real dress was simple and elegant, and she was the most beautiful person there.)