Dinner With Meg

I’m someone that really does feel things. I’ll often describe myself as an overthinker, an empath to the highest degree, and sometimes a little ‘all or nothing’ too. Put it this way – if ever I’m talking about how I feel things, it’s usually with a slightly negative undertone. 

But as I get older and learn more about myself, I realise now that this ability to feel things deeply and truly isn’t actually all that bad.

I’d much rather feel everything about anything than nothing at all.

To some people, eating is just fuel. Cooking is simply the route to which you get said fuel. For me though, I’ve always seen cooking and eating as so much more.

For example, they’re gateways to nostalgia. Nostalgia is defined as a “sentimental longing for a period in the past”. Food and nostalgia are so deeply intertwined by memory, emotion, and sensory experience. 

Now what follows is a list of foods that evoke a sense of nostalgia in me. I haven’t had some of these in years, but with tastes so distinctive and vivid they evoke a sense of nostalgia just at the very thought of them.

Some of these might be entirely relatable, whereas for some others I’d be very surprised if anyone else could relate…

Breakfast

Weetabix and sprinkle of sugar

I’d eat it through gritted teeth now, but loved it as a child at my Nana’s house. Probably because she put on far more sugar than my parents ever would’ve. 

Magdalenas

One from the regular trips to Spain. I was never really a big fan of breakfast growing up but my Nana always used to stock up on magdalenas, so who was I to say no to one of these lemony, sugary little muffins to kickstart the day? I say this like I still don’t eat them now every time I visit…

Lunch

Chicken super noodles

Before I graduated to more authentic noodle dishes, chicken super noodles were an absolute staple. They’d never really fill me up, but they left the soul full. Especially if sandwiched between two pieces of white bread…

Milk roll 

Anyone else have milk roll sandwiches in their school packed lunch? It’s a Warburton’s bread I’ve just learnt actually originates from Blackpool – it’s made with milk instead of water. 

I used to absolutely love this with chicken paste slapped between two slices, or lashings of Dairylea cheese spread with some cucumber slices. 

Mum’s pea soup

God I loved this stuff. Every Saturday my dad would take me swimming at the gym, and we’d return to the smell of Mum’s pea soup on the go. I can remember it being a bright green, and the colour itself was enough to lure you in (as was the buttered crusty bread to dunk).

Heinz tomato soup with croutons

Okay, so they weren’t croutons. It was white Warburton’s bread simply ripped up into small pieces and plunged into a big bowl of Heinz tomato soup. A working class crouton, if you will.

It was Nana’s go-to whenever I was poorly, alongside a duvet day watching The Wizard of Oz, and guzzling hot Vimtos like they were the last thing I’d ever drink.

The sandwich mixto

My grandparents moved to Spain when I was fairly young, and so I spent many holidays there. A sandwich mixto is a ham and cheese toastie, but it just tastes SO much better over there. I think it must be the cheese they use.

Either way, every time I go to Spain, it’s absolutely essential I have a sandwich mixto, for old time’s sake. It literally reminds me of those carefree trips as a child when your biggest concern was how long you had left to play in the pool or whether your Dad would cough up €1 for you to get a bouncy ball from the vending machine.

Dinner

Nana Elsie’s steak and chips

I was lucky enough to have my great-grandma in my life for nearly 18 years. And boy oh boy did she make a good plate of braising steak and crinkle cut chips (homemade, with a proper crinkle cutter). We’d have it lathered in onion gravy with a buttered oven bottom on the side – the Lurpak almost as thick as the barm itself.

Cod in butter sauce

I’m pretty sure the one I used to eat as a kid was by Young’s. I used to absolutely love this stuff. I haven’t had it in years so I’m not sure it would go down as nicely as it did back then…maybe it’s one to recreate as a homecook.

Spaghetti hoops and cheesy mash

Now we’re talking. The midweek tea that took the crown – buttery homemade mash made with cheese, then topped with more cheese, drenched in a tin of Heinz spaghetti hoops.

Dad’s mash was always a cut above the rest though. Don’t get me wrong, Mum’s was good, but I think Dad had a bit more elbow grease to really knock the lumps right out of it.

Hotpot

Also known as lobby, Scouse, or corn beef hash. This was the type of meal you’d roll your eyes at when mum declared you were having it for tea after school. And I definitely did roll mine. But, we only ever had it when Grandad came round, probably once every week or two. So if I could request anything now, it would be that, and to hear him knock at our door again. 

Pickled red cabbage, beetroot, lashings of brown sauce and crusty bread did make it go down easier…

Mum’s fajitas

In our house growing up, there were certain meals that were reserved for a Friday or a Saturday night. Fajitas were a Friday night tea.

Mum didn’t do fajitas by halves. We’d have all the trimmings to go with it, all out on the kitchen table, so we could help ourselves before devouring the plate’s contents in the living room, infront of the TV. Chicken, onions and peppers, cheese, rice, wedges, maybe even some corn on the cob, and all the dips were non-negotiable.

Shami kebab and green dip from Spicy Hut

To this day, I still don’t know what the green dip was, but they served it on the dip tray you’d get with your starters.

And the shami kebab at The Spicy Hut was like no other. You get some that are bone dry, whereas these were almost slightly mushy and moist (and whilst that probably doesn’t sell it, let me tell you, they were unlike other Indian starters I’ve ever tried).

The Spicy Hut’s now closed down, but if I think long and hard enough I can remember the taste. You can read more about The Spicy Hut in my love letter to curry.

Grilled cheese from Bar Ramón

Everything that you need to know is HERE. Yes, it deserves an article of its own.

Treats

Grandad Rob biscuits

They’re literally just chocolate bourbons. My great-grandad passed away when I was about 3 or 4, but one of my earliest memories is visiting him and noting his love for a bourbon biscuit. Something I then seemed to have inherited… 

As a little girl with the whitest blonde locks I’d always flick my hair over my shoulder, so it didn’t get in the way as I played with my toys. In the same way I observed my Grandad’s love for a bourbon, he observed my hair tossing and used to mimic it from his armchair.

Gingerbread from Waterfields 

When I was younger, both sets of grandparents would look after me when my mum and dad were working. My nursery was near my mum’s parents, and so Nana would pick me up from nursery at lunchtime and we’d often head to Waterfields for lunch. No order was complete without a gingerbread man…I remember I particularly liked the ones that were soft in the middle.

It became a ritual, followed by going into the pharmacy across the road – by my favourite park – that sold Topsy & Tim books (I think I had pretty much the full collection).

Ambrosia chocolate custard 

I think my little sister was the one that got us onto this – she was so much of a chocoholic growing up that a pot of pure sugary chocolate was enough to satisfy her needs. 

And as if the custard itself wasn’t enough, we’d heat it in the microwave and top it with squirty cream (after squirting it onto our fingers first). What was five minutes of absolute joy was always followed my memorable stomach cramps, which probably should’ve been an early sign I had IBS…

Hot Vimto 

I’ve never been a brew drinker in my adult life, and so my hot beverage of choice is still a hot Vimto. I’ll drink them all year round, but definitely ramp up the daily dosage when I’m poorly.

Childhood crisps

Skips, Quavers, and Wotsits were all my favourite as a child. And come to think of it, they’re all types of crisp that dissolve on your tongue if you let them. Maybe there was something about the texture and the feeling that I liked as a kid.

That said though, I still love these now – particularly Wotsits. I’m a sucker for anything overly-cheesy.

Pink Panther biscuits 

When Nana picked me up from nursery, sometimes I’d get an upgrade from going to the park and she’d take me to the Wacky Warehouse – our local soft play centre (a.k.a. one of my favourites places…I still sometimes go back there in my dreams). 

You’d get the tangiest orange cordial to give you a sugar boost (that you definitely didn’t need) and a plate full of biscuits. My favourite were the Pink Panther wafers.

Trying these in my adult life didn’t lead to the same enjoyment (they’re a bit like sawdust…) but at the time I loved these things.

Final thoughts…

What’s special about nostalgia is that it can mean different things to different people, and there are layers to it. 

For one person, nostalgia from food might be evoked by tasting a dish you shared at your favourite family get together once. For someone else, it might be as simple as a childhood snack evoking those feelings of being care-free and innocent all over again. For others, it might go layers deeper and Infact connect them to their heritage and remind them of their cultural identity.

When I started to think about the foods that make me feel nostalgic, a clear pattern emerged – pretty much everything listed here is attached to a childhood memory, or a key figure in my upbringing (some loved ones still present, some not).

And I guess I thought it was just that – a link to a childhood memory. I’ve been quite dismissive about the fact that me – a 20-something-year-old from the outskirts of Manchester, in the UK, with no exotic or ‘interesting’ heritage – could infact have had culinary experiences that have shaped my identity (and I use the word ‘culinary’ loosely, as you’ll see when you see my list).

But they certainly have.

Whether I recognise it or not, these encounters with different foods have shaped the person that I am today – my palette and appreciation for different cuisines, my hosting, and my love for homely, comforting dishes (especially the ones I call hugs in a bowl).

You’ll most definitely have equivalents to this experience if you just take a moment to consider it.