Every 4th of July my Mom's giant family (2 grandparents, 8 kids, 17 grandkids) gathers at our beach house in Canada on Lake Erie. Though our beach vacation includes all the traditional activities like tanning, boating and playing in the sand, it's the food we dream about all year.
Food weaves its way in and out of all my memories of the beach in Canada. It's a way for us to come together after spending the year scattered across the U.S., a constant across the changing years. Our family specialties remain the same: grilled chicken with Chevetta's and "white trash" potatoes on the 4th, and late night trips into the city for wings and pizza; my Grandmother's pies and my Aunt Meg's famous sauce. We also look forward to the regional specialties from Buffalo and Ontario: cheese, local ice wine, Buffalo wings and Sleeman's Cream Ale.
The Ahrens family food obsession certainly comes from my grandfather, shown below with a breakfast scrambled eggs (with sharp Canadian cheddar of course) and peameal bacon. His sense of taste is almost gone, though he is a miraculously good cook.
