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SD15 really wows 'em at school or way to go, bm

ChiefGrownup's picture

SD15 has 3 solid Fs to end the term and the other 3 classes are a moving target of D-Cs. So last week BM informs us that for a presentation in one of these D/C classes upcoming, SD will be making a food item for extra credit. OK, great, maybe some Mom and daughter bonding time at last? in the kitchen? Teach the girl something? (BM is not a bad cook)

Over the weekend, kids are at our house now, BM reports she alone is making the food item while SD15 is at our house. Couldn't see that coming. *Sarcasm drips*

The item is brownies. It's supposed to be cultural, dh and I wonder what cultural highlight is represented by brownies? Figure SD must have worked up some interesting thing to go with the assignment. (Yes, I'm still that naive)

SD15 does the presentation when the class rolls around again. Teacher asks her, "Okaaaaay, can you please now tell us how brownies represent your culture?"

Wait. For. It.

SD15 declaims, "I'm a white girl. I have no culture. Here's some brownies, everyone."

Comments

B22S22's picture

Or some green leafies (IYKWIM) and said they were of the "Colorado culture"

ChiefGrownup's picture

Heehee!

hereiam's picture

She could have thrown in some cayenne pepper and said they were mexican brownies

I am so gonna try these! Wait, I'm a white girl, can I? Should I?

I found a recipe that says you can do cinnamon AND cayenne pepper. Sounds delish.

ChiefGrownup's picture

I actually put cayenne pepper in my hot cocoa all the time. It's fantastic!

Also, for cinnamon cocoa, do get the Abuelita brand. It comes in a cake and is a different texture than you're accustomed to. Cook it over the stove and then dip in an immersion blender to froth it up. Delicious!

ChiefGrownup's picture

moving_on, you remind me of another girl in the class who provides a good contrast. The girl served menudo to the entire class and all the kids liked it. THEN she told them it's made from tripe! Some real thought went into that presentation and I bet she and her mom had a good time together making the stew. I wouldn't doubt if the girl already knew how to make it. My sd15 can't boil water. Really. She can't. BM never teaches her any of her cooking skills.

ChiefGrownup's picture

I'm sure plenty of the kids did! Which is actually a great way on the girl's part to make her classmates experience culture in a new way.

Yes, I cannot understand it either about bm not teaching the cooking. I think it's the laziness of not wanting a kid underfoot plus the emotional detachment she's famous for plus a heaping helping of enjoying her child being helpless and dependent and not growing.

ChiefGrownup's picture

She actually has plenty of culture which I won't go into here, too specific. But there is, in fact, truth in her statement because she opts out of any activity that doesn't involve her staying glued to an e-device. So SHE does not have any culture. She's a slug.

But considering how much culture she was born into, this really was a missed opportunity. I still can't believe the nerve of the girl.

DaizyDuke's picture

She should have made some Exlax brownies and exclaimed to the class that she's a shit head.

Tuff Noogies's picture

*facepalm* really........

boy would i have LOVED this sort of project back in highschool!!!!!!! even as a white girl, there are soooo many options! i could go NY food (where mom and i grew up), new england food (where my dad grew up), german, irish, english foods (our ancestry) oh the possibilities are endless.

damn i'm hungry!!! Sad

Tuff Noogies's picture

just had liverwurst with mustard. OMG YUM!!!!!!!

sometimes it's kinda hard down here to find many foods that i grew up eating- some i miss terribly! Sad

ChiefGrownup's picture

MMMM! That sounds fantastic! I think I'll go buy some liverwurst and have that for lunch! With some hot cocoa! But no damn brownies!

ChiefGrownup's picture

Yes! Yessssss!

Cuz you are a proper mother who actually wants to parent your child and instill values, customs, and ethics! Plus it's FUN! As you say!

ChiefGrownup's picture

Exactly, Tuff Noggies. She has an immigrant grandmother whose "gramma" nickname is not English. She has strong regional ties. She has a mouthful of strongly non-English syllables for her other grandparents last name. She shares interests with her dad that are also strongly associated with a region.

But any of that would require thought. And speaking more than 2 phrases to the entire class. BM decided to make brownies (wouldn't be surprised if she fixed an extra batch just for herself alone in the house for the weekend) so that was done and done. Required no effort on either of their parts. Just a regular weekend. Let's call it Extra Credit!

ChiefGrownup's picture

Great story! I wish I'd been in the classroom hearing the blessing and eating the Cherokee food!

WTF...REALLY's picture

She not only does not look into any aspect of her genealogy and create a food item based on it, her MOM did the cooking. So she did nothing but hand out brownies.

Why did her mom even have kids?????

This is sad.

ChiefGrownup's picture

Yup. I've asked myself the same question. As has dh who is incredulous when he reports, "She WANTED kids!"

Aniki-Moderator's picture

Nutella on the brownies (is she tall?). White...no culture... OMG. Spread some mayo (gag) on them. SMDH

hereiam's picture

Nutella on the brownies. White...no culture...Spread some mayo (gag) on them.

And suddenly I'm over the brownies! :sick:

misSTEP's picture

I would have loved that myself. I was born in Germany and both my grandmothers were Germans who did the traditional cooking...mmmmmmm

When my maternal grandmother moved into the nursing home she asked me what I wanted from her stuff. All I took was her recipes!

ChiefGrownup's picture

That sounds so lovely. Recipes that are handed down are such a treasure. I always picture the generations before me when I use one.

Aniki-Moderator's picture

My paternal grandparents were Finnish. I have very fond memories of spending time in the kitchen with grandma while she made all kinds of delicious things - all cooked on a WOOD BURNING STOVE. I have several recipes that have been passed down through the generations.

Aniki-Moderator's picture

Grandma made "pie crust cookies", which I thought (at age 5) were the best-est thing in the whole world! They were simply the scraps from her homemade pie crust, placed on a cookie sheet, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, and baked. I got to help her make them and she made me feel very special. Biggrin

ChiefGrownup's picture

Oh, my goodness, I love this discussion and it makes me sad that this is exactly the kind of conversations the teacher was hoping to spark in her classroom.

I so love the Finnish fire cooking story and the pie crust cookies. What a charming picture that paints!

ChiefGrownup's picture

Damn, that makes me happy! It's like the evil deficit in the world that was created this week by the Blah Brownie Experience will be healed and erased by your being inspired to do the Generational Cookie Experience with your daughter! What was once a negative has just become a positive. Ahhhhhhhhh, thank you!!!!

ChiefGrownup's picture

moving_on, I have a lot of Swedish and Danish in me. My grampa made Swedish pancakes (large crepes) and often rolled them in sour cream and oysters. As kids of course we much preferred the lingonberry filling. I love being able to get the lingonberry jam at Ikea now!

I was also raised on "sil" -- pickled herring. And do have a few Swedish recipes that I was raised on including meatballs and "sweet soup."

ChiefGrownup's picture

Oooooh! Czech! I'm very intrigued with Czechoslovakia and hope to go to Prague some day.

ChiefGrownup's picture

Hey! Don't tell my sd that a city as "white" as Omaha can have any culture! Looks so fun and yummy!

ChiefGrownup's picture

Did you learn any Czech or German? Any fun foods or traditions from them you want to share? Love to hear!

Aniki-Moderator's picture

My Dad absolutely LOVES pickled herring. Finnish tradition (when he was growing up) was to eat pickled herring on New Year's Day. I buy him pickled herring every year for Christmas, so he happily continues this decades-long tradition.

tryingmom's picture

This discussion has made me smile. My mother was a horrible cook. She could cook Thanksgiving dinner well and make Turkey ala King with leftovers. What I would do to have my mother back to make a casserole for me. I'd eat it all up.

My ExMIL was a great cook, I do miss enjoying making holiday dinners with her. The pies were the best. My current MIL is kind of the queen of cream of soup foods. Nothing bad with it every once in awhile, but a constant diet of it is horrible. Their health isn't great and she is raising two of her grandchildren, the food they eat isn't good for any of them.

I am going to start writing some recipes down. Need to get ExMIL congo bar recipe.

ChiefGrownup's picture

This is the tragedy fudge ripple through the whole calamity cake. The answer, apparently, is yes. Of course, BM and SD have often fibbed about what grade she's going to get on something so we can only hope this is another fib.

Perhaps teachers are so sick of her they will do anything to ensure she doesn't end up in their class again. There's always that.

ChiefGrownup's picture

You know, Finally, you have totally nailed what her culture is! It's a fine tradition passed down from grandmother to mother and now to her.

Aniki-Moderator's picture

Ah, 1982! And not just girls, Sally. My mother was a stay-at-home mom, so she cooked dinner every night. My dad cooked Saturday night and he always made the Sunday pot roast when we had it. The parents made sure all 5 of us, girls AND boys, could cook. Good thing, too, as both my brothers married women whose kitchen skills are pretty much pressing the Start button on the dishwasher.

Tuff Noogies's picture

hey now, i take offense to that! i was born in '79 and i can cook like nobody's business!!!!

dh wants me to go for masterchef or chopped.

but then again, i actually DID start in the kitchen in 1982 - i was making my own cereal and toast at that age already. i think i mastered scrambled eggs in '83.

ChiefGrownup's picture

Hey, Tuff, I did go out and get the liverwurst yesterday even though I had ss13 latched on to me! Had the mustard/liverwurst sandwich you got me obsessing about finally for dinner. Worth. Every. Bite. Biggrin

ChiefGrownup's picture

For the Swedish pancakes you need two iron skillets. You pour a thin batter into the first one. Then you flip it into the second one. Pour more batter into the first. Again and again and again.

This creates quite a spectacle as the cook tries to get the timing just right. There's a rhythm to it and it's quite a skill. It makes for a fun Saturday morning and those who are eating can't wait for the next one to come off the second pan! Then it's glorious deciding just what you will put inside yours, make the strip of filling, then roll it up like a cigar. Slice off the bites and float to Nirvana.

Aniki-Moderator's picture

Fresh, wild strawberries just picked that morning.... of course, I'll have to wait until late June, early July...

Aniki-Moderator's picture

Only a month to go!! They are so tiny and grow so close to the ground, the mower goes right over and never touches any part of the plant. Blum 3