Daily Archives: 8 November 2007

Wheat Germ

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My Thursday Thirteen post for today is below, so scroll down if that’s the only reason you’re here. Otherwise, I want to talk about wheat germ.

Specifically I want to talk about why I like wheat germ. It’s not for nutritional value, and it’s not for flavor or texture, though it offers all three. I like wheat germ because it reminds me of my grandfather.

Chilly mornings when i was little I would come downstairs to find my grandfather standing at the stove in his robe and slippers, the former a faded blue that matched the shade of a stormy sea, the latter scuffed brown man-slippers. (Men’s shoes are so distinctly masculine, even the slippers. They’re masculine in ways that women’s shoes are NOT feminine. It’s weird. Or it’s me. Probably both.) We would discuss the merits of raisins and walnuts, of brown sugar and honey, and always, at the end, I would watch him spooning wheat germ from the tall jar, sprinkling it over his bowl.

Wheat germ smells like fall. It’s an aroma that is reminiscent of baking bread, of cold nights, of warm ovens, of home. It is a little sweet, a little nutty, gritty, and faintly metallic. Sometimes it’s like cookie crumbs, other times it’s not.

This morning, as I write this, I am just finishing a bowl of oatmeal with wheat germ.
And honey.

Thanks, Grandpop, for all the great memories.

Thursday 13: 0711.08

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Thirteen Things about MISS MELISS
Things that Begin with Y

  1. Y’all – I talked about this word a few days ago, in this post. I have nothing to add, except that it bugs me when people spell it “ya’ll” which just…makes no sense.
  2. Yacht Harbor – The ship-y, tar-y scents of the Atlantic Highlands (NJ) Yacht Harbor are some of my favorite memories from childhood. Weekends we’d go for walks on the piers, either my mother and me, or my grandparents and me. Summers, there would be the firemen’s fair in the parking lot. Every once in a while, we’d do a day trip on one of the fishing boats. My favorite was the Sea Cat.
  3. Yahrzeit – I’m not Jewish, though my stepfather is. This tradition, this remembrance, is one I’ve adapted to suit my own sensibilities.
  4. Yam – Pink skin, golden-orange inside, sweetness without adding sugar, truly amazing with melted butter.
  5. Yard – After a lifetime of living in apartments, when Fuzzy and I bought our first home with it’s postage-stamp yard, I swore I’d never live anywhere without one again. Yards, to me, mean permanence. Also, it’s way easier to have pets.
  6. Yarn – I don’t knit, though my friends do. I envy their talent. I have a footlocker in my living room that holds my grandmother’s knitting things, half made projects, balls of yarn. She thought it was essential to keep your hands moving all the time, and I don’t think she would have counted blogging among the viable options. The other meaning of “yarn,” of course, is a story. Sea stories, fish stories, those are some of my favorites.
  7. Yarrow, Peter – He’s the “Peter” of “Peter, Paul & Mary” which was the music of my childhood. He’s also Puff’s father, and one of the funniest, gentlest men I’ve ever met. He made the entire company of a benefit party sing happy birthday to me the year I turned 32.
  8. Yearn – Wishing, hoping, dreaming, yearning – all these things are essential to imagination and creativity.
  9. Yellow – I used to hate yellow. I still won’t wear it, because it makes me look jaundiced, but I like so many yellow things – lemons, lemonade, cheery kitchen walls, morning sun.
  10. Yes, and – The concept of “agree and add” – the heart of improv. I’m not always GOOD at it, and have to work hard, at times, to not say “No, but…” Nevertheless, I appreciate the concept.
  11. Yesterday – Our memories and experiences inform our choices and the stories we tell. Just as there is no light without dark, there is no tomorrow without today and yesterday. Also, the song’s kind of cool.
  12. Yodel – This word doesn’t make me think of Ricola commercials so much as it does the puppet show scene in The Sound of Music. Enough said.
  13. Yogurt – I like yogurt. I’m currently digging Lucerne’s light flavors, but I’m fine with most any brand as long as it’s not a strawberry flavor. Plain yogurt is a great substitute for sour cream in many recipes, also.

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