The part about the crab, artichokes, and sourdough bread cracked me up. That is exactly what my mother served Fabio on his first trip from Colombia to meet my parents. The pressure on him was on! She wanted to give him a California meal. Of course, he had no idea how to eat it. He'd never seen a crab fork or had had to finesse crab out of the shell. He didn't know what to do with the artichoke or how to get to the heart. What was that little plate of butter for? The only thing he recognized was the bread. Of course he was a very good sport and didn't need to charm my parents with his use of a crab fork.
This is a great story Andrea! I agree that your parents could have fed him anything and he would have charmed them. Although I can't imagine how difficult those foods would have been to figure out, even when watching others take them apart! And oh that yummy Sourdough! Still haven't had enough of that this trip....
Cracked crab, artichokes, tomato basil soup and sourdough bread is the meal I always request when I’m home. And it’s the meal my NYC-raised children request every time. Our family didn’t eat out much when I was growing up - Tuna Helper and Skillet Lasagna were favs, but I did grow to love all foods over the years (except beets)!
So interesting that is what your kids ask for too! I love fresh or roasted beets/beetroot, but Pete is like you with beets! I think the canned ones of our childhood ruined beets for so many people, sadly. Haven't had artichokes yet this trip but managed a meal of fresh cracked crab the day the season opened when we were staying in Monterey. Pure bliss!
Even back in the 70's The City was well known for the variety and quality of its ethnic foods and restaurants. For a time, our family traveled to exotic places where Dad was able to teach in hospitals: Guatemala, Thailand, Afghanistan among them. During the winter we went out to dinner to a different "foreign" restaurant every week -- Mamounia was our favorite, though Sakura was a close second. When I went east to college, I reveled in the Italian and Portuguese culture and foods in Providence, and was surprised and delighted by the variety of restaurants in Portland, ME, once we settled there. The close access to farmers who practice year-round cultivation of produce even in the depth of winter is the key. Now we are on Martha's Vineyard, and again, the diversity of foods in flavor, freshness, and quality is a testament to the Portuguese/Thai/Brazilian/Caribbean and others who rely on the many farms right here on-island to bring us tastes of the world to add to the recipes which showcase the bounty of the New England waters. We wouldn't want to live anywhere that didn't offer such variety.
Thanks for sharing this Pam! (Mamounia was one of our favourites too!). You were so lucky to travel and to value the diversity of food you were able to explore. Living in Devon, where there was less diversity of food, I was able to learn to eat very fresh with the seasons and enjoy that rhythm. I tried a lot of new recipes to take advantage of the seasonality using produce I'd never used before, like wild garlic for pesto, sourced from the woods behind our house. Plus of course at first I had to learn the names for some of the familiar foods: Courgettes = zucchini; aubergine = eggplant, etc.
Honored to have made an appearance, and looking forward to future explorations!
Absolutely, and maybe coauthor the recollections episode?
The part about the crab, artichokes, and sourdough bread cracked me up. That is exactly what my mother served Fabio on his first trip from Colombia to meet my parents. The pressure on him was on! She wanted to give him a California meal. Of course, he had no idea how to eat it. He'd never seen a crab fork or had had to finesse crab out of the shell. He didn't know what to do with the artichoke or how to get to the heart. What was that little plate of butter for? The only thing he recognized was the bread. Of course he was a very good sport and didn't need to charm my parents with his use of a crab fork.
This is a great story Andrea! I agree that your parents could have fed him anything and he would have charmed them. Although I can't imagine how difficult those foods would have been to figure out, even when watching others take them apart! And oh that yummy Sourdough! Still haven't had enough of that this trip....
Cracked crab, artichokes, tomato basil soup and sourdough bread is the meal I always request when I’m home. And it’s the meal my NYC-raised children request every time. Our family didn’t eat out much when I was growing up - Tuna Helper and Skillet Lasagna were favs, but I did grow to love all foods over the years (except beets)!
So interesting that is what your kids ask for too! I love fresh or roasted beets/beetroot, but Pete is like you with beets! I think the canned ones of our childhood ruined beets for so many people, sadly. Haven't had artichokes yet this trip but managed a meal of fresh cracked crab the day the season opened when we were staying in Monterey. Pure bliss!
Even back in the 70's The City was well known for the variety and quality of its ethnic foods and restaurants. For a time, our family traveled to exotic places where Dad was able to teach in hospitals: Guatemala, Thailand, Afghanistan among them. During the winter we went out to dinner to a different "foreign" restaurant every week -- Mamounia was our favorite, though Sakura was a close second. When I went east to college, I reveled in the Italian and Portuguese culture and foods in Providence, and was surprised and delighted by the variety of restaurants in Portland, ME, once we settled there. The close access to farmers who practice year-round cultivation of produce even in the depth of winter is the key. Now we are on Martha's Vineyard, and again, the diversity of foods in flavor, freshness, and quality is a testament to the Portuguese/Thai/Brazilian/Caribbean and others who rely on the many farms right here on-island to bring us tastes of the world to add to the recipes which showcase the bounty of the New England waters. We wouldn't want to live anywhere that didn't offer such variety.
Thanks for sharing this Pam! (Mamounia was one of our favourites too!). You were so lucky to travel and to value the diversity of food you were able to explore. Living in Devon, where there was less diversity of food, I was able to learn to eat very fresh with the seasons and enjoy that rhythm. I tried a lot of new recipes to take advantage of the seasonality using produce I'd never used before, like wild garlic for pesto, sourced from the woods behind our house. Plus of course at first I had to learn the names for some of the familiar foods: Courgettes = zucchini; aubergine = eggplant, etc.