In the late 1930s, before WW2, my mother had come to the mainland from Puerto Rico. She was a nanny for an Italian family in New York for a year, but she longed to see the world and left the family for new employment. Her skills? She spoke 3 languages: Spanish, Sicilian and English. She could pick coffee, bring in the harvest, but most of all - she could sew. There weren't too many employment opportunities for women then but for young Italian and Puerto Rican girls jobs could be found in the garment district. My Mom is the lady on the right.
Those spools of thread, in my last post, brought her story to mind. I found several cones of thread in her stash that she had saved since the 30s. The cotton is too old to use but she hung on to them anyway. She also saved pictures of good friends from those times, and when I was a child, she loved to make her favorite sandwich for me while telling me stories of times in the factories. She was very lucky to have worked for the better employers who took care of their employees rather than exploit them; this old picture is in the lunch room with "the sandwich maker". I'm sure I knew her name at one time but all I can remember now is that for 5 cents each she would make marvelous sandwiches for her coworkers. Keep in mind that at this time a loaf of bread cost 5 cents so the sandwich was a real deal.
The sandwich was made up of eggs, Parmesan cheese, slices of salami or ham, and - most important - cherry peppers; contents filled an Italian bread roll, was wrapped in waxed paper, all made fresh in the morning before work. Each woman brought her own thermos of coffee or bought a cup in the lunch room to follow up the tasty meal.
The ingredients are simple. The eggs are beaten, adding salt and pepper, cooked as though you are making an omelet (you are, kinda). When the egg is firm enough to fold, add shaved Parmesan, salami, and chopped cherry peppers. Fold over the egg, remove the pan from the heat, give the cheese a minute to melt before you lay it on a slice of buttered bread, or in a roll (the one I made for this blog is on a Tuscan artisan bread - thick sliced with a chewy texture). Let the sandwich cool before wrapping up (if your taking it for lunch) so the bread doesn't become too moist.
If you have a grill pan, or electric counter-top grill, you might want to brush the bread with a seasoned olive oil and make this panini style. This is the simple recipe but I can think of lots of other things to add. I like this one, though, because it brings up memories of my Mom's memories. Enjoy!
I must end this with a little history - because I'm a teacher and haven't figured out how not to be! Garment sweatshops then, and now, are horrific places to work in. They usually employ women who are exploited for the gain of profit. My Mother was lucky because she was a skilled seamstress, by the age of 5 she was doing embroidery piecework for the family income. Because of her skill, she was able to get into one of the better shops, however, there weren't many of those. I found a video, from the late 1930s, that shows what was happening to women in the industry at that time.
http://youtu.be/9ozRXax8wTo
Watch this when you can; I think you will find it enlightening!
