Meals (Oatmeal, Liver, etc.)
Meals were primarily of the meat and potato sort. Sunday meal was most likely a big juicy pot roast. I had the job of coming home from Sunday school and putting the potatoes, carrots, and onions into the cast iron roaster with the beef, then adding one cup of water. All would then be ready at noon.Grace was always observed. More times than not, it consisted of a moment of silence. Dad was in charge of carving and serving the main course. All plates began in a stack in front of him, and he enjoyed asking if we wanted white or dark meat, no matter what the meat was.
Some meals would include kidney stew, (with chipped beef provided for us kids), served over toast. Needless to say that Dad was in charge of making the toast. The toaster was unique. Setting on the table and plugged into a cord suspended from the ceiling overhead, it's doors flipped down in such a way to allow the slice of bread to be turned to allow the reverse side to be toasted. Woe be it if the toast burned! The char was scraped off and someone got the offering.
We experienced the kidney stew, tongue, and one meal of brain fritters. The only meal I hated was the fried liver. That disgusting meat would remain on my plate, and I would have to sit there until it was gone. Everyone would finish and leave; the table would be cleared and there sat Bob. I finally figured that if the liver fell to the floor, the problem would go away and Brownie would benefit.
Just couldn't pull off that stunt with the oatmeal in the morning. Even with lumps of brown sugar buried in the bottom of the bowl, that stuff was lumpy and lethal. Other breakfasts would center around waffles. The waffle maker had a broken foot, so a napkin ring was used to support it. The heat changed the coloring of Esther's and mine. We would all watch and report with glee when Dad poured too much batter and it overflowed.
All in all, Mom's meals were varied, well prepared, very tasty and more than ample. Right down to the Sunday evening meal, which was all dessert!
