TTC

[Terrie]

What mainly amazes me about TTC is that it takes one of my grandmother's bland comfort food recipes, Tater Tot Hotdish, and makes it blander. (Hotdishes are very similar to casseroles, but made by Lutherans). My grandmother's dish was ground beef, spread raw on the bottom of the pan, sprinkled with pepper and minced dried onions, a layer of frozen tater tots, and topped with a can of cream of mushroom soup, thinned with milk (real milk, not evaporated), then baked.

[formergothardite]

I think TTC is gross. We tried it once and it didn't taste good at all. It has no taste at all.

[Witsec7]

Years ago one of my first jobs as an adult was as a WIC nutrition educator. (Those positions were cut decades ago). I'd visit women on WIC and we'd tour their fridges, cupboards and cooking gear and work out menus and recipes that were nutritional and could be affordable on a low income. I must say that the Hispanic and Asian women had the edge. It was the Anglo American ladies that had some horrible food prejudices.

[shangrila]

I heard about it from the Duggars and I would only eat it if I lost a bet or it was april's fools day or something.

[formergothardite]

It has been around a lot longer than that. I remember seeing it in Church cookbooks, but my mom never bought Tator Tots and would have never cooked it.

[Jezebel]

...FJ got me googling US food deserts and NYC was on the list http://newsone.com/newsone-original/jot ... d-deserts/

I guess it has a lot to do with whether or not you live in a poor neighborhood. If you live in the worst neighborhoods in the Bronx, you are not likely going to have the opportunity to go Union Square. My MIL lives in Forest Hills and the only supermarket that's convenient to her is a really crappy and tiny Key Food.

It depends a lot on the poor neighborhood, too.

Long ago, I lived in Oakland, California, in a very rough neighborhood (I'm talking crack dealers doing business openly on the corner in front of our house, and prostitutes in the apartment complex across the street). The only food within reasonable walking distance was at convenience stores. I had to drive through an even worse neighborhood to get to a crappy Safeway supermarket with a small, sad produce section. But many of my neighbors didn't have cars, and had to make that trip by bus (with one transfer), so they'd opt for the 7-11 or mom-and-pop stores instead--which meant eating lots of expensive processed food.

A couple of years later, I was living in the Mission District of San Francisco. (This was long before it became Hipster Douchebag Paradise.) Most of my neighbors were very poor, but it was easy to get good, cheap food, including wonderful produce, because of the small Latino and Asian markets in the neighborhood. The one supermarket in the neighborhood was (as in Oakland), crap, but it didn't matter. And I finally learned to cook while living in that neighborhood, because for all its problems (gangs, drugs, drive-by shootings) access to inexpensive fresh food was not one of them.

I don't know why some markets, even though they are in fairly wealthy areas, do not keep a good produce selection.

There has to be a demand for better produce--it really does come down to that. The Safeway in my neighborhood has a small, mediocre produce section because it caters mostly to college students. So it does a booming trade in crappy snackfood and suitcases of cheap beer, but a big, varied, produce section is not in as high demand. The produce is in good shape; it's just not a big selection (half the time they don't carry shallots, for instance, or Romaine lettuce that's not in a bag). Go down the hill to the Safeway that's next to an upscale mall, and it's a completely different story--the customers who shop there are really picky and insist on a better selection of quality produce.

So it's possible that most residents of those areas choose to eat out more, rather than cook at home. Or maybe they're like me and get most of their produce elsewhere. Maybe it's an East Coast thing that I, the die-hard West Coaster, cannot fathom. For whatever reason, they aren't insisting on a better produce section.

There are farmer's markets year-round every week in multiple locations, but I swear they are more about pie and cookies and bread than they are about produce!

The farmers' markets here tend to be more produce-based, or as much as they can be given the season. I can also get honey, cheese, goat milk, nuts, fresh and smoked salmon, and pasture-raised meat and eggs. There's a few bakers and confectioners (not to mention flower-growers and soap-makers) in the bunch, but here, farmers' markets are the place to go for fresh, local, in-season produce.

Plus, supermarkets around here have been making a point of advertising locally-grown produce in the last few years. There's always been a distinct food culture here in the Northwest that I only saw in California among the upscale yuppie types. When I first moved to a poky little city here in the mid-'90s I was amazed at how much "ordinary" working- and middle-class people talked about food, and how many people I met who had a keen interest in cooking, home-brewing, making cheese, smoking fish, gardening, canning, etc. And sure, there's always going to be folks who live on things like TTC and don't care for vegetables, and there are a lot of people who eat their share of junk alongside the good stuff, but when I go to a potluck here I'm always amazed at how much really good, creative, unusual food, made with fresh ingredients, is on the table. No funeral potatoes, no TTC, no Jell-O (except for my insane Christmas cranberry mold).

(Yeah, I'm bragging. I live in an awesome place. :lol:)

[Mais Pourquoi]

Years ago one of my first jobs as an adult was as a WIC nutrition educator. (Those positions were cut decades ago). I'd visit women on WIC and we'd tour their fridges, cupboards and cooking gear and work out menus and recipes that were nutritional and could be affordable on a low income. I must say that the Hispanic and Asian women had the edge. It was the Anglo American ladies that had some horrible food prejudices.

OT: experiencedd, I love hearing little anecdotes about your life- it seems so interesting!

[MaroonMandy]

I also live in a place where there's just not much of a demand for fresh produce. There's only one grocery store that belongs to a local chain. Their nearest store is 90 miles away and they send their almost-expired produce down to us. The only other options are to go into Mexico for food (but there are restrictions on what we can bring back across) or travel to the nearest "super chain-store" which is about 250 miles away.

[samithemage]

It's the same thing for me. I live in a fairly upscale area, though I'm a poor student. A lot of the people in my apartment complex can only afford to live here through section 8. The Aldi's nearest my apartment carries a fairly large selection of produce and decent meats and cheeses to boot. The Aldi's in the poorer sections of town have a terrible selection of anything not heavily processed. Neighborhood has so much to do with the food choices available to a family.

[MrsYoungie]

Reason I'm glad to be Canadian #247: Tater tots not for sale here.

[Daenerys]

This all sounds so crazy to me. In my neigbourhood there are two competing greengrocers, as well as the mini-supermarket. Even where my parents live, the supermarket has four aisles of fruit and vegetables.

[Witsec7]

My town has no food deserts. Although if you don't have a car shopping can be a real chore, and its more difficult to comparison shop. We have two Safeways, a Fred Meyer (Kroegers), TJs, Market of Choice and a Co-op with two locations and a close out grocery store. But even local organic food is expensive. I bought a two lb delicata squash, (grown a mile from the store) and it was $2.25. The same squash at the Co-op was $2.79. Local organic apples are $2.99.

[emmiedahl]

According to the USDA's locator, I live in a food desert and I have 3 grocery stores in walking distance. I can't think of a neighborhood in my town without access to fresh food. I wonder how they determine it.

[samithemage]

There are 3 or 4 grocery stores within (a long) walking distance. Even the best has decent produce, but a tiny selection (one or two rows) of organic. I can get decent produce, but it's very rarely "organic). To be honest, since "organic and natural" and whatnot mean almost nothing, it's not on the top of my food priority list. I try to buy natural produce and foods that are processed as little as possible, but in the US organic has almost no meaning, so I don't feel like spending more on something that is almost completely unregulated. I'll check the ingredients, to make sure that there aren't a ton of unnatural ones, but I don't trust the organic label.

[samurai_sarah]

(snip)

I don't say this to poor-shame: the eating habits of the poor in America come from a lot more than just cost and availability. The average American poor family has access to cheaper healthier food than what they are eating, but there are other barriers that are much more difficult to deal with. Time, for example, and personal tastes built over a lifetime, and the knowledge of how to turn beans and rice into a meal. A lot of poor people do not understand that a 50 cent apple is the same cost as a 50 cent candy bar and gives more actual food. The economics of those decisions has not been taught to them. We are making steps in the right direction, though. WIC is being changed nationwide to include less cheese vouchers and more fresh produce and whole grain vouchers, for example. A lot of poor families will add those foods to their diet simply because they are free, and then they will be more likely to buy them when they age out of the program.

But there's also a change in perception of what constitutes good and bad food, I'd say. What I mean is that certain types of food were seen as a sign of wealth, not that long ago. I think someone, either on this or another thread mentioned microwaveable food that her older sister said, she was going to eat when she got a good job. Personal anecdata pertain to butter vs margerine. For my grandmother, who ironically was a farmer, margerine was a status symbol. Butter, she could get "for free", whereas margerine meant she had money to buy it.

A lot of "bad" food habits, to my mind, seem to stem from that. Or at least in part. I'm "lucky" enough to have grown up with parents who did everything from scratch, and organic (nothing to do with conviction, we were poor, they had land, so fruit, veg and meat was "for free"). It wasn't fashionable, trust me. For a school outing, which was supposed to end at McD's, they planned dinner so we'd have hambugers the night before. Sending me off with the leftovers saved them another few pennies. Oh, the humiliation...

What I'm trying to get at is that the perception of food, as a "status symbol", is always changing. For me, as a child, being able to eat at McD's was something to aspire to. It seemed "high class" to me. I still love ready-made meals, and have a soft spot for McD's, it's just that they don't taste "right" to me. Basically, I still think of them as "once in a while" luxury items, but not "proper food". My boyfriend, on the other hand, grew up with ready-meals and fast-food, and thought I was completely pretentious for insisting on making everything from scratch and organic. Yeah, I am in many ways, but it is actually cheaper too, at least in the UK.

P.S.: My anecdata is about 1950s to 1990s Germany. No idea how that looked in the States or elsewhere for that matter.

P.P.S: As Daenerys already said, it is relatively easy to get fresh produce in the UK. Once upon a time, as a poor student, I did my math, and figured out that for half the price, I could recreate a dish of savoy cabbage, getting three times the amount of food, if I bought raw ingredients. So, at least over here, it makes sense to buy fresh and cook from scratch.

[lilah]

I actually made tatertot casserole twice *Ducks* when I was 19 years old and had my apartment for the first time, and had a major nostalgic yearning for tater tots. I made it once for my then boyfriend now husband, and once for my junkfood loving sister. It has this weird chemically taste, and it's very salty. I've since moved on to being a better cook with better taste in food and I pretty much avoid recipes that call for cream of whatever, or at least substitute in real ingredients for it.

I've always wanted to see if I could make a gourmet version with quality meat, a real cream sauce and some kind of breaded potatos. if I ever get around to I might post the recipe here.

[debrand]

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Tater-Brat-Bake

Ingredients

1 package (1-1/4 pounds) uncooked bratwurst links

2 bottles (12 ounces each) beer or nonalcoholic beer

2 tablespoons butter

1 can (16 ounces) sauerkraut, rinsed, drained and chopped

1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted

1/2 cup milk

1 package (32 ounces) frozen Tater Tots

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

In a large saucepan, combine bratwurst and beer. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Drain and cut into 1/4-in. slices. In a large skillet, brown brats in butter over medium-high heat; drain on paper towels.

Spoon sauerkraut into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Top with brats. Combine soup and milk; drizzle over brats. Top with Tater Tots. Bake at 450° for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are lightly browned.

Sprinkle with cheese; bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 6 servings.

A friend made this and brought me a sample. It is difficult for me to be mean to people so I forced myself to eat it. It was the nasiest food that I have ever tasted.

I love sourkraut. I love cheese. I didn't love this. :? By the way, there was no beer in the recipe.

[Tanaqui]

Does cheese and sauerkraut even go together?

[debrand]

Does cheese and sauerkraut even go together?

NO!

[holierthanyou]

I do like the idea (not the taste, but the idea!) of adding beer to the sacred Duggar TTC

[debrand]

I do like the idea (not the taste, but the idea!) of adding beer to the sacred Duggar TTC

Well, if you drank enough beer, it might make you forget what this stuff tastes like.

[Guest Anonymous]

Cheese and beer can work together OK. There is a fondue recipe I have tried that has leeks, lager and Caerphilly cheese as the main ingredients, and it really works well, for some strange reason.

[mnb357]

Does cheese and sauerkraut even go together?

Yes, yes they do, in this wonderful creation called a Reuben sandwich. It is corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing on dark rye bread.

[Guest Anonymous]

I do like the idea (not the taste, but the idea!) of adding beer to the sacred Duggar TTC

With any luck, you could get hammered enough not to notice what you're eating.

[Tanaqui]

Yes, yes they do, in this wonderful creation called a Reuben sandwich. It is corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing on dark rye bread.

I could see that, but with canned cheddar cheese soup? It's been about 15 years since I've had sauerkraut due to an unfortunate incident, so I can't clearly remember the flavour.