Nostalgia Sunday – Stuff we had to do without

November 24, 2008 - 12:41 AM by

Stuff we had to do without
Back in the old days, children, not so very long ago, newly-arrived American immigrants to this dry and barren country could not buy chocolate chips for love or money.

Desperate for the foods of our native land, we took matters into our own hands. We made chocolate chips from what was available locally, stuffing a few Elite “cow” chocolate bars into a plastic bag and bashing away with a hammer. From the shards and cocoa dust, we fashioned cookies.

Moreover, there was no peanut butter. And so, we learned to roast and grind peanuts into a paste in our newly purchased 220v blenders (adding a half-cup of oil would prevent blade getting stuck in mid-grind).

There was no cream cheese to put on the New York bagels that in any case we did not have. Once again, ingenuity prevailed; we mixed one cup of yogurt with one cup of soft white cheese, hung the liquid in a cheesecloth bag over the sink and hoped for the best.

But perhaps our worst deprivation at this season, dear children, was the lack of cranberry sauce.

Emissaries were dispatched to bring us cans of the stuff. Sometimes they arrived, and sometimes they arrived bearing Tasters Choice instant coffee as well.

And when they did, it was surely a time for thanksgiving.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , • Category: General, History and Culture, Holidays, Immigrant Moments, Life, Nostalgia Sunday 

Comments

6 Comments on Nostalgia Sunday – Stuff we had to do without

  1. Linda Lovitch on Tue, Nov 25th 2008 12:36 AM

    2. Oh, Yeah! How we craved those things — M & M’s, Reese’s cups, White Tuna, Grape Nuts!! I once had an Olah nightmare in which I entered a store to buy Reese’s cups but when I bought them, there was no peanut butter!!!! My, how things have changed — at least we don’t have to stuff our suitcases with tampons anymore!!

  2. varda on Tue, Nov 25th 2008 8:11 AM

    3. speaking of thanksgiving, my mother called yesterday from her kibbutz up north to tell me that she cannot find cranberry sauce.

    my husband went for a little jump to boston last week, and since we now have m&m’s in our local colbo, (ok, so the big bags are red and green christmas ones (???))
    he brought back tootsie pops instead.

    i still keep a list of things to buy in the u.s. at the moment it has skippy reduced fat peanut butter and reduced fat parmesan shaky cheese.

    but when i was in the u.s. for a couple of years, i kept a list of things i needed sent from israel. like good tracing paper. and zaatar. and little tiny staples for little staplers. (i really could not find those anywhere in america.)

    so it works in both directions.

  3. varda on Tue, Nov 25th 2008 8:14 AM

    4. speaking of thanksgiving, my mother called yesterday from her kibbutz up north to tell me that she cannot find cranberry sauce.

    and my husband went for a little jump to boston last week, and since we now have m&m’s in our local colbo, (ok, so the big bags are red and green christmas ones (???))
    he brought back tootsie pops instead.

    i still keep a list of things to buy in the u.s. at the moment it has skippy reduced fat peanut butter and reduced fat parmesan shaky cheese.

    but when i was in the u.s. for a couple of years, i kept a list of things i needed sent from israel. like good tracing paper. and zaatar. and little tiny staples for little staplers. (i really could not find those anywhere in america.)

    in any case, now you can probably get anything anywhere off the internet, if you are willing to pay the shipping.

  4. Poppy on Tue, Nov 25th 2008 12:35 PM

    5. How about a box of Captain Crunch??

  5. varda on Tue, Nov 25th 2008 6:52 PM

    6. we actually have reese’s CEREAL in our colbo.

  6. Brian Blum on Fri, Nov 28th 2008 12:14 PM

    7. What I miss the most…Frito’s Corn Chips.
    Runners up… Eggo NutriGrain Waffles
    And Entemann’s and Krispy Kreme Donuts. But hey, it’s sufganiot season so we got the donuts covered. Now if we could just get one in corn chip flavor :)

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