One of my mom's (and my) favorite comfort food dishes is both inspired by her mother but also rejects her own mom's cooking. "When my mother made stuffed cabbage, called 'golabki' in Polish," my mom says, "She'd set aside a little of the stuffing for me to eat, in a small cereal bowl with a teaspoon with which to eat it. She also used this stuffing for stuffed peppers, another dish I found disgusting when I was a child."
This stuffing eclipsed the stuffed cabbage itself, and it was ultimately phased out. This worked out well for my family, but I know that if my mom, for instance, worked for a long time over, say, a lasagna and I asked her just to make lasagna noodles for me, no cheese, sauce, or meat, she would not respond positively.Â
Since Grandma Buren died before I was born, it became her one culinary legacy, a celebration of being picky when your mom is cooking. My mother makes this when she doesn't feel like putting something special or experimental together, often when my dad is out of town. When I lived at home, it was the one dish she, my brother and I were equally enthusiastic about. Mom made several cups of the mix and we'd spoon it generously into bowls and scarf it with a spoon. It's simple, yet the mixture is delicious, the fat from the meat coating the rice, the celery providing a little crunch.
Despite its origin of rejecting your mother's effort, it's a hearty, stick to your ribs simple recipe that fills you up and keeps you asking for more. It tastes like love.
Grandma Buren's Special (or, stuffing for stuffed peppers/cabbage)
Brown 1 lb. ground beef, about 85% lean
Add 2-3 ribs chopped celery and 1 large, chopped sweet onion and saute, along with the beef until tender.
Stir in 3 cups cooked white rice
Add as much salt and pepper as you can stand, not just a dash or a pinch.
Serve in a bowl and eat with a spoon until you can't physically eat another bite. Tell your mother you love her.
Here are some other posts about/by my mom, should you care to read on: