We grew up eating Whimpies on a regular basis, and until recently, I thought the name and the dish were my mother's creation.
I assumed, because it contains hamburger meat, she named them after, Whimpy, the character from the old Popeye cartoons.
Remember?
"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday, for a hamburger today."
After an online search, I found there are quite a few recipes for Whimpies out there. I still don't know if they have anything to do with Popeye (they do not contain spinach!), but I found that most of the recipes I came across were more like a beef barbecue, featuring a sweet, ketchup-based sauce, and a lot more ingredients.
This recipe has just a few ingredients, is savory, not sweet, and can be on the table in a half-hour or less, depending on how quickly you can chop veggies.
The cole slaw recipe here brings back great memories for me as well. The dressing features a mayonnaise and sour cream base, with a hint of sweetness, and the surprise of caraway.
It was a favorite of mine, made by the mother of one of my closest friends growing up.
In high school, I spent so much time at my friend Ione's house, I'm surprised her mother didn't include me as a tax deduction. I don't really remember that she did a lot of cooking, but whatever she made, I loved even the Hormel chili served atop Frito corn chips.
Descended from Native American Indian royalty, Auntie Iney, as I called her,