Food Autobiography 4-15

Michael Johnson reflects on the influences that have shaped his family's cuisine over multiple generations and their time living abroad. His parents came from backgrounds where his mother learned to cook basic meals and his father learned some skills making meals for himself and his brothers. During their time as missionaries in the Philippines, the family was exposed to new foods like balut and rice became a daily staple. They also experienced American Southern barbecue during training in North Carolina. Holidays now incorporate cultural influences from the various heritages within the extended family, such as Irish, American, Filipino and Hungarian dishes. Looking back, Johnson realizes the value in appreciating the historical foundation of one's familial cuisine that has been passed down.

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Food Autobiography 4-15

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Michael Johnson

UNST 126K
April 13, 2015

MILWAUKIE TO MANILA

Lets start father, Troy Pennock-Johnson, who grew up in a house of two

brothers and mother. Being that his mother was single, she usually worked
longer hours he and his brothers (one older and the other younger than
himself) tended to make meals for themselves on a somewhat regular basis.
Their meals were more often than not the quick and simpler menu items,
bringing him slowly into the realm of cooking and his abilities to do so. Meals
his mother would make were spaghetti, baked or fried chicken, potatoes,
burgers, hot dogs, mac-n-cheese almost all accompanied by a select few (if
any) vegetables. This foundation was put to good use after he married
mother, and appreciated through the years of my three sisters and myself as
we were growing up.

This leads us to mother, Cheryl Pennock-Johnson, she grew up in a

rural home, with two elder sisters and a brother and one younger sister. Their
father worked construction while mother worked as a stay-at-home-mom.
With her mother cooking meals she and her siblings developed very limited
amounts of cooking abilities and experience. Her father had farm background
and her mother had a partially farm partially urban and city background.
These backgrounds combined leaned their meals heavily into portioned
meals covering the necessities; meats, breads, starches, vegetables and
often milk. Frequent menu items were goulash (spaghetti and hamburger
meat sauce made with the usual macaroni noodles), breaded veil with
mashed potatoes and pea gravy (white creamy gravy containing peas),
baked or pan fried chicken (legs, thighs, wings etc) and meatloaf to name a
few.

Growing up in the Johnson household, dad worked construction

downtown while mom raised us kids while babysitting a number of other
children simultaneously. What a woman I tell you, if there was ever a handful
of kids making a mad house it wouldve been the gaggle that my mother, by
the grace of God, braved each day of our adolescent lives. On most days our
family tended to have family dinners all around the dining room table when
dad came home from a long day at work. Sit down to a homemade dinner by
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Michael Johnson
UNST 126K
April 13, 2015

mom, always having either baked or mashed potatoes, bread, vegetables

(typically cooked beans, broccoli, cauliflower or corn,) rounded off with a
meat (usually chicken, or pork.) Other meals such as those on the weekends
could be nearly anything, from Grandmas goulash or grandpas favorite
meal, the breaded veil with mashed potatoes and pea gravy, all the way to
the tasty but simple build your own burritos or quesadillas shindig. Raised in
a Christian home and local church, our family attended Sunday morning and
evening services as well as the Wednesday night youth program. Sunday
mornings could go one of two ways, (often, depending more or less on
whether it was a holiday or not) we could wake up to dad or mom making
sausage, eggs, and waffles or pancakes with homemade syrup. Then some
Sundays we get woken up because it was getting late and we needed to get
up and ready for church meals tended to be a little less extravagant falling to
the choice between making some toast with butter and sugar, peanut butter,
or jelly spread.

Traveling the course of my lifetime, I find there to be a plethora of

influences and impacts on my familys habits in regards to cuisine. What with
annual holidays as well as the various celebrations. First comes to mind after
my parents had started going into the field of missionary work with an
organization Wycliffe Bible Translators. As some of the initial training after
joining this organization, our family moved to North Carolina for six months
for my parents to receive training in areas pertaining to their work they
would do wherever we were assigned. While living in Waxhaw, North Carolina
we met and experienced foods ranging from Korean soups to the
stereotypical southern barbeque ribs with hushpuppies on the side. This was
a new experience to me in that usually the thought of ribs on the bone were
more work and gristle than was the flavor, but these were some amazing and
delicious ribs. As for the Korean soups and noodles, these were some fairly
spicy recipes and a little strong for my tastes. After living in Waxhaw we had
picked of somewhat of a new respect and taste for the BBQ meats,
specifically the pulled pork and ribs of course.

Completion of their training in North Carolina, my parents received an

assignment to a small compound in the center of the main Island of the
Philippines, Bagabag(bug-ah-bug) and this became our home for nearly three
years. Here we were living on a compound with another 13 or so families,
some from Canada, one from the Philippines, another from Hong Kong and
yet another from Chile. Each family had at least one woman working Monday
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Michael Johnson
UNST 126K
April 13, 2015

through Friday as what we refer to in English as a house helper, or Ate(ahtay) in Ilocano(the dialect in the area) doing basic tasks like shopping,
cooking, and cleaning for a weekly wage. Ate Myrna and Manang (respectful
title for an elder woman) Ida worked with our family and my goodness was
Manang (Mah-nung) Ida an incredible cook! She could make absolutely
impeccable cinnamon rolls, desserts and breads as well as the most delicious
fried pork chops or Tilapia. One of the favorites in our house was the Chicken
Parmesan with pieces of breaded chicken and marinara sauce under a
blanket of Parmesan cheese. Along with all the incredibly delicious meals we
had during our time in the Philippines, one of the most memorable was
definitely the time that I had eaten what they call Balut (buh-loot). Heres a
little description compliments of the internet; It is
a developing duck embryo (fertilized duck egg) that is boiled and eaten in
the shell. In the Philippines, balut eaters prefer salt and/or a chili, garlic and
vinegar (white or coconut sap) mixture to season their eggs. The eggs are
savored for their balance of textures and flavors; the broth surrounding the
embryo is sipped from the egg before the shell is peeled, and the yolk and
young chick inside can be eaten. All of the contents of the egg may be
consumed, although the white albumen may remain uneaten depending on
the age of the fertilized egg. This white albumen may have an unappetizing
cartilaginous taste and is tough and rubbery in texture. In the Philippines,
balut have recently entered haute cuisine by being served as appetizers in
restaurants, cooked adobo style, fried in omelets or even used as filling in
baked pastries. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_%28food%29)
Surprisingly enough the little ducky didnt taste too bad, slight crunch here a
there but if you go at in one bite it goes much easier than taking pieces.
After our years spent submersed in the culture, customs and cuisine of the
Philippine Islands, there was a whole new world view both in the
geographical sense as well as the dietary. In years following our whole family
had grown quite accustomed to the presence of rice as a major part of meals
regularly in the place of what, in the years prior to our time overseas, had
previously been those mashed or baked potatoes we consumed. Of course as
all things do in time, the cooking and consuming of rice, just about daily, at
family meals started to fade and return to having those good old potatoes in
their various forms, shapes and sizes.

Without fail in those family gatherings and major holidays we

consistently see the layers of cultural diversity and our experiences ebb and
flow from the present. It begins in April, on Easter coming together with the
extended family we see the roots of the Irish decent coming into play
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Michael Johnson
UNST 126K
April 13, 2015

through the potatoes yet again, complimented with the Turkey and stuffing of
our American heritage. In our family it can be seen in each of the major
holidays, celebrated in American culture today, there is a variety of cultures
in our clan. Ranging from Filipino, Hawaiian, Hungarian and then of course
the European/Americans. We most frequently and noticeably find the famous
Filipino dishes of Pancit and Lumpia prepared by Aunt Fe who was born and
raised in the Philippines. Always delicious and looked forward to in our family
especially!

Looking back now I see a lot that I never realized or even really had
thoughts about, such as the patterns one can see carried down the
generations. The historical foundation of an my familial cuisine is something
to be greatly appreciated and cherished after taking a step back with a
genuine look at something that can honestly go virtually undetected all
together. I would definitely encourage anyone who has the chance or just the
free few moments to meander through the pathways of their own familial
cuisine through their parent and grandparents at least. Who knows what sort
of eye opening experiences youll revisit, let alone the new memories to be
made carrying on the history!