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a cupboard of a different kind by barbara gewirtz In contrast to the "cooking" moms on these pages, I grew up with a loving mom who believed that food belonged to one of four food groups: bottled, bagged, canned or frozen. My lunchbags and supper table were distinguished by canned tuna, processed cheese singles, and frozen entrees packaged in convenient foil tins. Monday mornings differed from all other meals, and stand apart in my memory. Mondays meant day-old breads and cakes from the local A&P grocery. Supermarkets were closed on Sundays in those years, and Saturday's leftovers had been marked down to below half-price! Imagine -- mom said we could have our choices from among the jelly rolls, frosted muffins, cinnamon raisin bread, Danish, and more, provided that they had been marked down. These Monday breakfasts became our family's tradition, a sort of covenant between the A&P and my sisters and I, until one day...my sister felt ill at grade school. She was sent to the school nurse. As the nurse proceeded with her exam, she benignly asked many questions including, "what did you eat for breakfast?" Having noted my sister's response, and due to her slight fever, the nurse called my mother at home asking her to come to the nurse's office to pick up her daughter. Upon my mother's arrival, the nurse seized the opportunity for a lengthy and detailed discourse on the benefits of a healthy, nutritious start to a student's day, assuming that these Monday breakfast "specials" were the norm in our household. My mother's embarrassment that afternoon marked the last of my Monday mark-down memories. To this day, I doubt that my sister's malaise was in any way related to jelly rolls or derived from a Danish. In these current shelf-stable times, when scanning the shelves on a Monday morning, you're not likely to find any boxed cereals reduced to half-price. You may see, on occasion, reduced-price fresh fruits, and they will usually be found in my mother's grocery cart. ABOUT BARBARA: Barbara's adventures with jelly rolls may be the inspiration for her love of nutrition. She is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, as well as an Editorial Consultant. She has lent all of these talents to this web site. Barbara lives in Brooklyn, New York. Click to meet Barbara on our about us page. back to 'food is art'   contributors top of page    membership agreement contact us ©Barbara Gewirtz 2001