What's the weirdest thing you grew up eating (or eat now)?

[CeeQueue]

My dad always ate peanut butter and onion sandwiches; I tried them when I was about 10 and loved them. I also discovered I liked peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches, and later tried dill pickle relish or onion relish on PB sandwiches and loved that too.

[westaust]

Meatballs salad:

Lettuce and tomato, topped with hot beef meatballs and some beef and onion gravy on top!

[Jacey]

That doesn't sound bad. It's like a Mexican taco salad but another variety.

[DallasDude]

Taco salads are why Americans are fat? lol

[CeeQueue]

Sounds delicious. It reminds me that I always asked the lunch ladies at my high school to put gravy on my cole slaw when I was getting the fish & chips special every Friday. A bit of gravy always got mixed in with it anyway, so I figured why not do it on purpose.

[KayceeK]

My husband looked at me like I had two heads the first time he saw me put molasses on my pancakes. Is this weird?!

[mojoeater]

Mom would make "toaster pizza": white bread spread with ketchup and topped with a slice of processed cheese, then melted in the toaster oven. She would also make "bbq" by taking cheap packaged deli ham (like oscar meyer but whatever was cheapest), shredding it with her hands, heating it in a pot with ketchup and serving it in hamburger buns. The pizza was for snacking. The bbq was for sit-down dinner.

[occula]

When I was a kid, my big brother and I would drop salted peanuts into Dr. Pepper and eat/drink. *shudder*

[roro1831]

Cabbage and pig tails every New Years Day, everyone in my family thought it was normal, but most, especially my wife's family, thinks it's crazy. But then again, they are Yankees. lol

[CindyJ]

From my chidhood: canned salmon, mashed, in a sandwich on buttered white bread. Rye bread spread with chicken fat and sprinkled with kosher salt. Elbow macaroni with ketchup. Oh, and for a snack -- a wedge of iceberg lettuce (no kidding!)

[schmoopy]

Thanks for reminding me of goose fat (Gaenzeschmalz) spread on bread with a sprinkling of salt. It was something my German mother used to eat at home when she was growing up. We all learned to love it too. I still eat it occasionally when we find it at a deli. What a treat!

[cayjohan]

Oh my...Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers, spread with a thin schmear of....Miracle Whip (Yep, it has to be Miracle Whip here, folks). I don't know what we we thinking. But it's so tasty in a very bizarre way: that "tangy zip" with the cocoa-y wafer. Just thought of these the other day while searching for a nosh and finding the wafers in the cupboard. You can bet I had one, with the Miracle Whip.

And it was tasty.
Cay

[CeeQueue]

I thought of a few more, obviously born out of coming home from school hungry and opening the fridge to see what could be scrounged before dinner (and not wanting anything healthy, of course, like a piece of fruit).

Kraft Sandwich Spread sandwiches
Spaghetti sauce sandwiches
Uncooked oatmeal with sugar, carried around in a baggie (poor man's trail mix)
Peanut butter and honey sandwiches
Peanut butter and sugar sandwiches
Peanut butter and mayo sandwiches
Peanut butter, honey and mayo sandwiches
Koolaid or Jell-o out of the package by sticking your finger into the powder and licking it

[Shrinkrap]

We used to make a sugar and butter ( well, margarine) "sandwich" ( really a single slice of peppridge farm). Took off the crust, rolled it in a ball, then popped it in our mouth saying "Body of Christ?", followed by "Amen"!

[schmoopy]

Bless you, Shrinkrap. for this sweet and funny memory. This has prompted so many memories for me... first my youngest brother (what? 35 years ago?) simply smashing slices of Wonder bread into balls of bread dough and eating them that way; but also our youngest son, upon being given slices of apple, pretending that he was at the communion rail and saying, "body of Christ given for you". He was probably 3 at the time. Thanks for the smile!

[somervilleoldtimer]

Or making your own Pixie Stick by putting a straw in a package of Jello powder and sucking it out. (Amazing that I'm not a diabetic!)

[Analisas mom]

my roomates in college ate Ketchup on Mac & cheese . I always thought that was really odd.

[roro1831]

Not odd, I've been known to put that on mac and cheese, mostly the stuff out the box.

My mother also used tomato in her home made mac and cheese. Noodles, grated cheese and tomato. No sauce whatsoever.

[buttertart]

As a kid: moose meat - my dad hunted. Very tasty actually, like beef but a bit sweeter.

[lawgirl]

Cottage cheese with either ketchup or grape jelly, but not at the same time. My dad still likes Velveeta & dill pickle sandwiches.

[veggiemelt]

As a kid, we always loved eating ice cream with hot pudding poured over it. I guess it was Poor Man Sundaes! We also used to eat potato chip and mayonnaise sandwiches. Loved it!

[icey]

That reminded me of what I used to ask for at my grandma's house; ice cream and jello mixed together. So strange, but I loved it.

[LauraGrace]

We drank "horse's necks" (as my grandpa called them) -- Coke with cream in it. The poor man's ice cream float? :)

[bitsubeats]

Definitely had those growing up and yep you're the only other person (other than myself and my grandparents) that calls them horse's necks and not root beer floats. Are you from Western Maryland by any chance?

[Shrinkrap]

Hey! We did ice cream and jello too!

[beggsy]

Pickle sandwiches (dill pickle, mayo, super-fresh WHITE bread)...

Macaroni (elbow) and tomato juice (w/a bit of butter and salt).. Yummmmmm

[alkapal]

pickle sandwich ain't weird! it would be weird if it were on whole grain! ;-).

[CeeQueue]

Mmmm, have to try that one. And I have all the ingredients on hand ;)

[Antilope]

Peanut butter and potato chip sandwich on white bread.

[karykat]

That sounds delectable, right at the moment. Nice contrast of textures, for one thing.

[invinotheresverde]

That was a pretty common sandwich in my elementary school cafeteria.

[Antilope]

For breakfast........a cooked hamburger patty between two pieces of buttered toast. Ketchup on one side of the patty and strawberry jam on the other. Kind of a Breakfast McBurger.

[MazDee]

Actually, that's the 1st thing I've read here that sounds disgusting! I am glad you enjoy it, Antilope, but I'm not coming for breakfast. (I don't think ketchup belongs on a burger, let alone strawberry jam!) Grasshoppers, yes, they are ok. Eaten frequently in southern México. Headcheese can be delicious. Never had souse. Some of my friends think it is weird that I put bacon on my PB sans. How could that be weird?

[RichK]

Headcheese is delicious!

[Antilope]

How about a plain McDonald's hamburger dunked in Coca-Cola before each bite?

[Crispy skin]

Or, you could just slide it around on a dirty floor between bites.

[Shrinkrap]

I don't think it's "weird" but chittlins', pig ears, feet, "souse" , etc.

From Wikipedia, under "head cheese", as eaten in various countries.

"The Caribbean

Souse is pickled pork. The cooked meat is cut into bite sized pieces and soaked in a brine made of water, lime juice and cucumbers. It is usually eaten on Saturday mornings especially in St. Vincent and Barbados. Souse is also popularly served with pudding."

[Shrinkrap]

Here's a picture of souse

http://www.cancookmustcook.com/?p=91#...

[karykat]

Why Saturday mornings? Does it have to do with avoiding meat on Fridays (if still done)? Or something to do with weekly market cycles? Do you know?

[Shrinkrap]

I don't "know", but I am determined. My dad was old school African American in Alabama, with chitterlings, pigs feet and the like. My mom was first generation West Indian from Nevis, probably closest to Trinidadian, from the "recipes" I wish I had. Both deceased, and now I wish I knew......Help!

FWIW, my husband was born in Jamaica, so all is not lost....but he INSISTS it's "rice and peas", not "peas and rice"...ARGHHHH!....

[schmoopy]

My current wierd thing is canned shoestring beets (drained), canned white beans (drained), and Ina Garten's Creamy Vinaigrette. The beets and beans are merely a vehicle for the dressing which I LOVE!!! I really like beets and beans too so I've managed to get a lot of my favorite tastes into one very odd dish. I'm thinking of adding arugula to the mix next... it might just be perfect then! ;-)

[Meredith]

This sounds like a much better version of something I ate only one summer in college. It is important to note that we were poor and had access only to a tiny beverage refrigerator so our options got even more limited. But each of my roommates and I would open one can of something - options included canned beets, green beans, corn, peas, garbanzo beans, kidney beans etc and then toss the three items together with ranch dressing and store bought crutons. We called it veg-all and I swear at the time, it was delicious.

[schmoopy]

Hey, I can totally see how that probably tasted quite good! AND you probably fulfilled your day's requirement of complex carbohydrates and fiber!! :^)

[souschef]

I grew up in East Africa and ate fried grasshoppers. Tasted like shrimp, and they were super-fresh.