The word bupkes is from the Yiddish language and it means "nothing." It can mean a little bit of something, such a small amount that it's almost nothing. My beloved grandmother used it to mean something she created just for me.

I was a fussy eater. I was squeamish and many foods made me feel nauseous due to their color, texture, or odor. I preferred dry foods; I didn't like anything that felt "slimy." Among my "slimy" foods were certain fruits. My grandmother made fruit pies, usually apple or berry pies. The piecrust she made was heavenly but I couldn't bring myself to eat a piece of her apple pie because of the large amount of filling.

My grandmother understood me at times when nobody else could, and this was no exception. A picky eater herself, she saw my dilemma and didn't get upset about it. She came forward with a compromise for me that enabled me to enjoy her pastry. She saved some little pieces of pie dough and once the pie was assembled, she scraped just a little of the fruit filling onto these leftover dough pieces and folded them over into small sandwiches; not too much filling, just a taste or else she knew I would "gag" and not be able to swallow. These baked sandwiches were for me alone and she called these sandwiches "bupkes."