I know, I know....I have shamefully neglected my blog. I had a few minor things come up, such as getting pregnant and moving house, so I humbly offer those things as an excuse. :) There is a great deal to write about, not least of which is our little person who is going to debut in December. But the topic I wanted to write on today is one that has been bounding around in my mind for some weeks now and I feel I should get it out of there before it does too much damage! So fear not, I have blog entries planned about late spring, 4th of July and our new place, but this must come first.
I don't know about you, but I find that I plunge down memory lane, almost every time I cook. And various dishes can produce very specific memories and experiences from my life. I haven't felt much like serious cooking for a while, but recently Becky came to visit and this inspired a return to the kitchen. One of the most precious gifts she brought with her from the States was Brianna's poppyseed dressing--the ONLY poppyseed dressing worth eating and I haven't had it in a year! Naturally this meant several salads just so we could eat it and I was recalling the very first time I ever had Brianna's grace my tongue. It was at Alice Kniss's home. I was a freshly minted college grad, living in Seattle to teach at my first school. I board with the lovely Kniss family and it was Alice who first showed me how to have lovely dinners that didn't take very long to prepare. I grew up very happily with meals made from scratch, but when one is working all day that isn't always possible. Alice one evening produced a roast chicken dinner and on the side was a gorgeous salad. It looked like it had taken a huge amount of time, but it was quite simply romaine, strawberries, blue cheese, and candied pecans. And over all of it was the poppyseed dressing of joy. I've never looked back and every time I eat it, I think of the Kniss home very fondly.
Of course, even the act of cleaning and ripping up romaine lettuce makes me think of the Shaws. They are very dear to my heart and were most definitely my second family in Seattle. Janna was and is one of the most hospitable people I know and so, given that I was there often, I got to help her prepare many meals. One of the staples was usually a gigantic salad of some sort and it was usually made with a Costco amount of romaine. Sometimes it was a classic Caesar (made with another favorite dressing--Gardini's) sometimes it was a balsamic and fruit salad, and sometimes a classic veg salad. But I loved washing so many heads of lettuce and it was Janna who showed me how to speed up the process by chopping the heads of lettuce rather than rip them.
I made my favorite Thai curry while Becky was with us, and of course I cannot mention Thai food without discussing Lori Schlect at some length. :) When I moved to Spokane I became a Thai food addict and this was one of many things that bonded Lori and I together (one of the other main 'things' being her dear daughter Kelly:)) and we often 'Thaied one on'. Sometimes we went out and enjoyed restaurant offerings. But it was loads of fun to make it ourselves as well and I think Lori's Pad Thai hit it out of the park. One of my favorite dishes was something called Gang Dang which sounds a bit like a curse, but it isn't. So I learned how to make it myself and every time I smell the curry and basil I am back with Lori and Liza eating Thai food (with peanut sauce and sticky rice of course!)
And of course, when I think about making food, I have to mention making bread--something I do weekly just as my mom did all through my childhood. The smell of fresh baked bread is something I associate with my home and every time I smell it here, thousands of miles away, I think of home. I always strove to be the first one to have a piece fresh out of the oven because the crusty heel was my favorite, soaked in butter.
I love food. I think most of us do, right? But there's something so evocative about so many smells and every time I cook, I'm on some trip down memory lane. I can't wait to pursue my culinary trips in this new place because the kitchen is.....!! But I'll save that for another post. :)
