One of the reasons I enjoy cooking so much, aside from the fact that I can never get enough to eat, is that it reminds me of people, places and times in my life. For example, today I made the
honeyed spiced pork stew I learned from my Irish friend Alva.
The first time I ate it I was newly pregnant with the Littlest and had just passed the awful 'i can't eat, nor can I tolerate the smell of anything' stage. It was the first thing that made me feel good again. And so Alva, I think of you every time I make your warming pork stew.
There are delicious curries from Kirsten, roast lamb from Annabel, tuna spaghetti from Bestie A, oatmeal cookies from Bestie K, Greek pork and salad feasts from
La Canadienne....the list goes on.
Plus vegetable and feta lasagna I learned from my Irish friend Ciara whose house smelled deliciously of roasted red peppers and garlic so you knew she was making it. She also made one of the Middlest's forever favorites, eggy rice, which I cannot seem to replicate to his satisfaction.
Of course my mom's beef stew and Thanksgiving dressing are classics that transport me to special childhood days. And my
belle-mere makes the best crispy fried chicken and chocolate chip cookies you can imagine.
And finally, as I wind down my list of what has turned into a walk down memory lane, the chocolate cake my grandmother always made and my favorite jello salad that makes me feel like a kid.
What are some of your favorite food memories? Go into the kitchen and conjure some up. You'll be amazed how close you feel to the important people and times in your life.
Isn't it funny how food can trigger memories. Some foods can make me feel nauseous because I associate them with when I was morning sick, it's bizarre.
ReplyDeleteThat last photo of the baby is just so gorgeous.
Look at Littlest! He's such a cute bruiser!
ReplyDeleteAnd with all this talk of cooking and making memories... have you figured out what you're making me for my birthday yet, have ya?! It's not every year that a girl turns 29 you know. x
I cook up foods from my childhood - kedgeree, boiled ham and parsley sauce, roast chicken, fruit cake (although I do boiled fruit to my mother's Dundee) and spag bol. I associate childhood food with comfort eating (wrote a blog about it fairly recently in fact).
ReplyDeleteI wonder what food will stick in my boys' memories.
For me it's not just the food. I make jam in the big jam pan my husband's Grandmother & Mother used and he carves with his grandfather's carving knife now slender with so much sharpening. My little espresso pot reminds me of a special Italian holiday... and so it goes on.
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