4. “We’re Out of Buns”
For lunch in the summer, nothing quite matched a hot dog. Furthermore, although everyone is aware that a hot dog should be eaten in a proper hot dog bun, back in the day this was not always the case. Hot dogs in a jar could survive years in the cupboard, but the same could not be said of the hot dog buns, which meant our mothers would frequently have to be creative.
Surely bread pieces are essentially the same? We had our own homemade burger bun and just folded over the bread. That was as basic as it gets.
Many homes, particularly on those lazy summer days when a trip to the market seemed like too much work, saw this kind of culinary improvisation on regular basis. A pantry must, always ready for a fast meal, the hot dogs in a jar were. For hungry children or working parents who could make their own lunch, these preserved sausages were a handy choice even if they might not be the healthiest one. For many, substituting hot dog buns for regular bread became a sentimental recollection rather than merely a make-do fix. Often molding around the hot dog, the soft white bread would provide an other but equally fulfilling dining experience. Some even favored this approach, saying that superior condiment distribution made possible by the flat bread From a young age, this basic workaround helped us in the kitchen become flexible and resourceful. It reminds us that occasionally the best meals result from innovative ideas and that the enjoyment of food is more about maximizing what you already have than about obtaining the “correct” ingredients.
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