Steakums All Grown Up [Fierce Foodie]

During my childhood, dinnertime could be as late as nine o’clock due to my dad’s frenetic work schedule.  I had to have a snack after school to be able to wait for a long simmered Persian meat and vegetable stew over rice.  My mini-meal of choice was Oscar Meyer bologna and Kraft American cheese (always white, never the orange slices) on white bread with a glass of milk.  As part of my preparation I squeezed the sandwich together between my palms so the cheese and bologna would meld with the bread. Years later I read about another young girl who made her own supper: fried bologna served on white bread with mayonnaise.   The description of the bologna curling up in the pan, its fried edges turning brown, triggered a memory.  If we were out of baloney, my mother would sometimes make me a steak sandwich.  The edges of the thinly sliced frozen meat would crisp and darken as she fried them in oil with onions.  Then she garnished the steak sandwich with white sliced cheese and fresh beefsteak tomatoes from her garden. What we ate as children can shape our appetites later.  Taking frozen and prepared foods and making them taste fresher using fresh ingredients is my mother’s talent. Because of her I never tire of learning about kid food, quick food, and canned and frozen food made homemade with a little creativity.  There are few written records for the foods we grow nostalgic for. My Mother’s Steak Sandwich All Grown Up For one: 1 package Steakum or other thin sliced frozen steak 1 fresh hoagie roll 1 onion sliced thin American cheese Grated Parmesan cheese 2 wedges Laughing Cow spreadable cheese – onion flavor 1 beefsteak tomato, sliced 1 tbsp Vegetable oil for...