Day 303. Bon Appetit

Do you ever get sick of all food?  Have no cravings for anything?  Stand in front of your fridge, staring into it, hoping for inspiration?  Willing your taste buds to kick in?  Flip through every cookbook you own, wishing something would cause your mouth to start watering?

Stare at menus, longing for something to jump out at you, screaming “Order me, order me, I’m really tasty, you’ll love me”?

It’s exactly where I’m at right now.  Have been for a while.  Nothing appeals.  Well, that’s a bit of an exaggeration.  I can’t get enough nectarines.  Especially the white ones.  And those strange-looking donut peaches.  Gosh they’re delicious.  I could eat them three times a day.  For breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I do get urges for oysters and  lobster.  But not as often as I used to.  I love vegetables; and the sight of red

Day 280. Food Lovers

A former client of mine has just started a blog here, on WordPress.  It’s called tea & tamarind, and you should check it out.  In all the years we worked together, I never knew she was a foodie.  I knew she loved to travel, but had no idea there was more to the story.  See, you do learn something new, every day.

So it turns out her latest post is the inspiration behind this story of mine.

Yesterday she talked about how her mother’s life-long love affair with food influenced her.  And how the fact her mother is such a wonderful cook, was responsible for her own interest in cooking.  At the end of her blog she asked, “What’s your favourite food memory with your mother?”

As I thought about what my answer might be, I realized I had far too many memories to leave as a comment on

Day 188. Soup’s On

I woke up yesterday morning with a craving.  For soup.  Really not surprising, given all the snow and cold weather.  Of course by yesterday, the storm had passed; and I woke up to clear, sunny skies.

But it was still soup weather, as far as I was concerned.  And what I hankered for was not out of a can.  Not ‘dust’, from a just-add-water-and-stir box.  Not store made.  I wanted home made soup.  Specifically, my mother’s chicken soup.  She made THE best chicken soup.

Which meant a trip to the grocery store was in my immediate future.  I looked outside and everything seemed to be all right.  At least as much as I could see from fifteen floors up.  So I fed the cats, had breakfast, read the paper, took a shower, emptied litter boxes; and waited to see if the urge would pass.  It didn’t.

So I made a list of all the ingredients I’d need, and got dressed.  And dicked around for a while.  Much as I wanted the soup, I was in no rush to leave the warmth and comfort of my abode.  But then I spoke to a friend and committed myself.  

Day 186. Topsy Turvy

I do it quite often. It’s because I get bored, after a while, with the more conventional choices. Or because I start craving a different kind of comfort food. You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?

Flipping things around. Having breakfast for dinner.

Savoury sausages, cooked just long enough to have a crust on the outside. So they ‘snap’ when you bite into them. Chorizo’s my favourite. Soft, fluffy scrambled eggs. I do make THE best scrambled eggs, by the way. Just because I like you, I’ll share my secrets:

Add some cream or milk to the eggs. Don’t add the salt or pepper until they’re finished cooking. DON’T beat them. Whisk them. And DON’t over whisk. Unsalted butter is best. Melt the butter, in the skillet, over a high heat. But then immediately reduce it to a VERY low flame once you put the eggs in.

The idea is to cook them GENTLY. So they are not overcooked. So they are creamy. And soft. And light. And fluffy. Then add whatever seasoning you want. And eat them IMMEDIATELY. Don’t let them just sit there,

Day 61. Give Thanks

Here, in Canada, we’re celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend.  Sometimes I think we get so caught up in all the food we’ll be serving, the menu, the recipes, the shopping and cooking (myself included), we forget what this celebration is really all about:

A time to take stock of our lives and give thanks.

The world is in such turmoil now. Politically, socially, culturally, religiously, economically, environmentally, every which way.  So there’s probably never been a better time to remember how grateful we are (or should be) for all our blessings, whatever they might be.  It’s different for everyone.  Some are small and might be considered

Day 56. Lazy Bones

There was so much I’d planned to do yesterday.   

I was going to attack the paperwork.  Clean out all my files.  Get rid of all the newspaper and magazine clippings I was saving, for one reason or another.  Shred the piles of paid bills, invoices, old receipts, etc. that shouldn’t just be thrown out.  Didn’t get done.  I was going to go through my closets and drawers.  Make piles of what would stay and what would go.  Re-organize, so fall and winter clothes and shoes were more easily accessible.  Didn’t get done.

Then there was the soup I was going to make.  My mother’s chicken soup.  I already have the noodles, celery, carrots, green pepper, onion and parsnips.  All I had to do was pick up some fresh dill and the chicken.  Didn’t get done.  When I first made the list of Sunday chores, I also thought I’d reward myself, by going to a movie at the end of the day.  Even

Day 41. Changing Seasons

We’ve had one of the hottest summers I can remember.  Hardly any rain.  Temperatures most days in the mid 30s (mid 90s Farenheit).  And with the humidity it felt more like the mid forties.  Day after day after day.  I am not a fan of cold weather, but even I found the heat almost unbearable.

I was thirsty, more than hungry.  And when I did want food, all I really wanted was fruit.  Berries, of every description alone, or with yoghurt, cereal or tossed in a salad.  Peaches, nectarines and plums that were ripe, juicy and not too sweet.  Grapefruit and orange segments, mixed with lime juice and a drop of honey.  Honey dew, cantaloup and watermelon, enjoyed by themselves or added to other ingredients to become lovely, light and refreshing meals.  Cubes of watermelon, feta, kalamata olives, lime juice and fresh mint, for example.  I was eating it by the bowlful.

And then there were the frozen pink lemonade bars I found at Whole foods, that quickly became an addiction.  Very low in calories, they’re tart, cold and the perfect antidote to blazing hot temperatures.  I couldn’t get enough

Day 12. Fall’s Coming

Much as I hate to acknowledge that summer’s coming to a close, I know it is; and it has nothing to do with the fact that the days are starting to get shorter.  It has nothing to do with all the back-to-school advertising.  Or the fact that Toronto’s CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) opened yesterday.

It’s because yesterday, my cleaning lady brought me a paper bag filled with beautiful, sun-ripened tomatoes from her garden.  She does it every year at this time.  It is an end of summer ritual.  And end of summer, means beginning of fall.  I love the tomatoes.  I love the fall.  It’s winter I’m not crazy about, but I’m getting way ahead of myself here.  So let’s get back to the food most people call a vegetable but is, in fact, a fruit:  The tomato.

I have a love/hate relationship with tomatoes.  I don’t like most of the tomatoes available in grocery stores — even high end ‘epicure’ shops.  They look beautiful.  It’s nice to see all the different varieties, colours, shapes and sizes.  But you get them home and they’re tasteless.

So disappointing, because when a tomato’s at its peak there’s nothing more delicious.  Which is why I love when my cleaning lady brings me samples from her