Starting in the Middle...

I have always, always loved food.

In my 1950s style "Baby's First Years" book, my mother notes my extreme fondness for french fries. That's not all, though. I loved fresh tomatoes from Dad's garden, watermelon (oh my God, I loved watermelon), my mom's hamburgers, ice cream from the ice cream truck. You name it, I loved it.

There were some notable exceptions to loving all food and, to be honest, most of them were in the vegetable category. Beets. To this day I can remember coming down the stairs from my bedroom and smelling the beets cooking as mom made them for dad or canned them. How I hated that Kohlrabi that almost ended my life, as I had to eat a huge chunk before I could leave the table one evening. My Dad was in the SS in World War II and I don't doubt that my life hung in the balance as I simply refused to eat it. Luckily, he lost interest in torturing me and my mother, God bless her soul, let me off the hook as Dad sat in the living room watching Bonanza or Gunsmoke.

Those were simpler times. They really were. My world revolved around my family, school and church. I read a lot. Book series like "Tom Swift" and "The Hardy Boys". I read National Geographic Magazines and every Reader's Digest I could find. I was unaware that an Interstate was being built a mile from my home, later to be named the Kennedy Expressway. Catholic kids were exotic and every Wednesday at 2:30 PM they would line up to leave school early for something called "Release Time Class". I had no idea that what I was eating came from a rapidly developing Agribusiness and that family farms were being eaten up by larger and larger corporations. I just liked to eat and mom made sure that her Danny got good food.

Mom's Hamburgers
1 pound Ground Chuck from the Certified Grocers on Elston Avenue, North of Diversey Avenue.
1 sliced onion
1 Tomato from the Garden
1 Cooked Dill Pickle  (May substitute a fresh dill pickle from the crock at Jewel's Foods or Paulina Market)
Cheapest Ketchup and cheapest Mustard available
1 Hamburger Bun

1. Brown hamburgers in a frying pan over medium high heat. 
2. Add onions and lower heat.  Cook until onions are soft and translucent.
3. Split buns and layer on top of  burgers until steamed through.

Aunt Theresa Worman

and the

KYB Club

These hamburgers are best eaten after walking home from Jahn School and while listening to the "Aunt Theresa Worman Show" on Moody Bible Radio.  I was a proud listener to the KYB club... Know Your Bible.