Share your favorite childhood memories, especially those tied to the holidays and Chicago’s train tracks.
When I was a kid, there was a lot of cooking. And a lot of eating, especially over the Holidays. My grandmother was Ukrainian and came here after the Great War. She remembered starving and watching people starve to death, so my bopcha was obsessed with feeding us kids constantly. My Grandmother cooked, my mom cooked, my cousins cooked, and I cooked. I had to help peel potatoes or melt butter at a very young age, and I grew up really looking forward to getting cozy and cooking. Also, our house was old and drafty. Having the ovens going kept everything nice and warm. Remember, there were no DoorDash or Uber eats and there were very few restaurants. If you wanted to eat, you had to make it. Those are great memories for me.