Food, glorious Food

I think it is something to do with the rather chilly weather we have been having, but I find that I am constantly thinking about food. The Stud and I do enjoy cooking (food) and so it is a subject that comes up quite regularly as in "Whats for tea?" or "Did you take anything out of the freezer for tea?"


Food to some people is an inconvenient way to spend time - in fact, I once had a boyfriend who complained of that. "Takes up too much time, this eating business" - of course, I would have felt less like smacking him with a hefty fry pan if he hadn't said that as I was dishing up a meal I had spent the better part of my day making! However, I digress.


There are some dishes that are imprinted in my mind forever - for example, the toasted chicken sandwiches that I had many years ago in Melbourne while waiting for the ferry to Tasmania on my first trip overseas alone; the whitebait patties that my dad would make me for my birthday breakfast for as long as I can remember....


My top dish is Spaghetti Bolognaise. If I'm out for dinner and it is on the menu you can almost guarantee that I will end up ordering it. My good buddy Pixie once sent me a postcard from her holidays in Italy, telling me that I wouldn't recognise Spag Bol over there as it is so deliciously different! When Pixie and I first lived in Wellington, we used to go to the Mangiare Spaghetti House in Dixon Street and order Spag Bol, while we waited for the meals we would always eat our way thru all the Parmesan cheese and the staff would have to bring us another bowl of it to go with our meals. I loved those dinners, even tho' we spent a fair bit of our time trying to be brave and not be homesick.


The next favourite dish would have to be tinned salmon, mashed with vinegar and pepper and spread on wholemeal toast. I have been eating this for breakfasts and as hangover cures FOR YEARS! To this day, whenever I visit my mother she always proudly points out where the tinned salmon is in the cupboard. 


Actually, as hangover cures go - I know Jamie Oliver swears by his Hangover Kedgeree but that takes too long to fart about making. My tried and true recipe is nothing simpler than Poached Eggs with Brown Onion Gravy (thanks to Maggi for that).


My mum's pavlova would be next - so crunchy on the outside and all gooey on the inside. A perfect mix of egg whites and sugar. I gather it is the vinegar that is the secret, that and a dash of cornflour! Whenever I eat that, I am transported to the special occasion days such as birthdays or Christmas and my brothers and I would hang about waiting to see if it was ready yet!


I think it's fab when food can conjure up such powerful memories, my youngest daughter always wants to make Roast Chicken when we go to Invercargill because it reminds her of the times we were on holiday down there for my brother's birthday and she and her Dad made us all that dish. She had such a wonderful time making it and serving it up, that brings back memories for her.


What foods bring back the good times for you?