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Every Little Thing by April Jeppson

Last week I was at the grocery store on a very important mission: gathering all the yummiest foods to celebrate a friend’s birthday. We had tossed around the idea of going out somewhere fun, but after approximately zero arm twisting, we mutually decided that staying in and snuggling on her couch with dips and our favorite show was a much better use of our energy. Her husband had taken their kids out fishing, so the house was unusually quiet, an opportunity not to be wasted.

I was meandering down the aisles, letting the snacks speak to me (as they often do), when I saw it: a single loaf of pumpernickel bread. And just like that, I was transported back to a memory I hadn’t visited in years: pumpernickel bread, cheese whiz and green olives. Odd? Absolutely. Delicious? For reasons I can’t fully explain, yes.

It’s hard to say where I first tried this mysterious combination. I doubt it came from the old country. I like learning about people’s heritage; their stories, the traditions, the recipes passed down from kitchen to kitchen. I’ve often thought about mine, too. I know the countries my ancestors came from, the names of a few brave folks who crossed oceans, probably carrying family recipes scrawled on worn scraps of paper. But I’m quite certain that “cheese product in a can spread artfully on pumpernickel and topped with a green olive” wasn’t among them.

Still, that bite transported me. Food has a funny way of doing that, doesn’t it? One mouthful and suddenly you’re 5 years old again, eating at a neighbor’s house and wondering if your mom knows where you are. Or you’re at your grandma’s kitchen table, watching her whip up something from memory while telling stories you’ve already heard but love anyway. A can of Barq’s root beer still takes me back to swimming lessons at the lake.

I’ve often wondered who decided to pair certain things together in the first place. Was someone just really hungry one day and combined the random items they had in their cupboards? Is there a science behind the flavor combination that works so well? How many friends did they have to tell before it gathered traction? How many potlucks and midnight snacks did it make its way through before it eventually made its way into my culinary arsenal.

The older I get, the more I enjoy embracing the strange and wonderful food traditions that shape us, even if their origin stories are hazy at best. Sometimes our most comforting recipes don’t come from a handwritten card tucked in a recipe box, but from a moment, a mood or the magic of being with someone who makes life feel warm and easy.

So here’s to the odd pairings. To the dips that double as dinner. To the cozy birthdays spent on the couch instead of out on the town. And to pumpernickel bread, cheese whiz and green olives, which, for the record, still hits the spot.

Albert Lean April Jeppson is a wife, mom, coach and encourager of dreams. Her column appears every Saturday.\