Coming up with a name for this blog was a far more taxing task that I had thought. I mean, naming a blog is hugely important. It sets the tone for everything that follows. Odds are that if you're reading this blog, you can probably vouch for that sentiment (shout out to my Food Writing peeps!). Nevertheless, my inspiration came from my childhood.
As you may know from growing up in the South, it's always been frowned upon to leave food on your plate, or at least at my house it was. This was especially true at my Nanny and Pop Pop's house. I can remember having breakfast at her house. My brother and I would sit outside on her screened-in porch amidst the potted aloe plants and frog figurines hungrily awaiting the breakfast food to follow.
My Nanny would soon bring out two paper plates that consisted of a bowl of grits, or oatmeal, and several slices of liberally buttered toast. I loved her grits, as they were the perfect combination of salty, buttery goodness and sugary sweet. Sometimes, if I pestered her just enough, she or my Pop Pop would let me sip from their brown and cream stripped cermaic mugs. As my tummy got full, I would start to ask for a Little Debbie Zebra Cake. If you haven't experienced Little Debbies, then you've missed out. For those of you who have experienced these, you know what sort of treats I was looking for. Yet, Nanny refused to let me have my dessert until breakfast had been completed. So what was a little boy to do? I hurridly forced those last spoonfuls into my mouth. Then with grinning pride presented her with my empty bowl and plate.
Nanny would take the plate and bowl from my hands, and hug me tightly. "Now you're a part of the Clean Bowl Club!" she would exclaim. Then she would get the small cake from the cabinet that held delicious treaures.
These mornings are some of my favorite memories with them. Now that I'm older, I rarely make time to visit them as often as I should, but I cling to these memories. So, it seemed the logical choice as a name for this blog where I hope to share some of my favorite food memories. I realize that unfortunately, this "clean-your-plate" mentality has been one of the factors in helping me gain weight, but I guess knowing is half the battle, right? Funny what food can reveal, huh?
