About Me

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I live on the ocean, write women's fiction, love to read so much that it's an addiction rather than a hobby (I read an average of a book a day). I live on the wet west coast so it's a good thing that I like to walk in the rain.

Friday, September 03, 2010

It's all about ...

What is it about food that you love? I can tell you some of the things that it's about for me.

It's about flavour - not too much and not too little and all the flavours on my plate have to work together. I have a pretty good palate and it's easy for me to pick up a recipe and say that's not gonna work for me because that spice and that vegetable will not taste good in my mouth.

It's about colour. If I'm making a meal, I want to have a bunch of different colours on my plate. That's not to say that I wouldn't love a plate of mashed potatoes, bread and butter and a chicken breast - just that I would never serve all those things together. I'd be much more tempted by mashed potatoes, carrots and green beans and a pork chop. Those colours work for me.

It's about texture - I'm really picky about texture. It took me a long time to get to like tofu because I hated the texture. I don't like soggy cereal. I don't like watery oatmeal. I don't like that brown crispy stuff on the edge of overcooked fried eggs. It gives me the heebie-jeebies. And I still hate pancackes. Texture. Texture. Texture.

It's about memories. I often think about Proust and his madeleine and when I'm having a bad day or a bad week or I'm just overtired, I'll turn to the comfort foods of my childhood. Definitely not because they're good for me because they're not. Kraft Dinner. Chef Boyardee ravioli. Cheez Whiz on toast.

It's about the smell. I love putting a turkey in the oven or bouillabaise on the stove or a cake in the oven and going out for an hour and coming back to have the house smell like that beautiful food. It gets you set up for the meal.

It's about tomatoes. One of my favourite foods. Tomato paste. Tomato sauce. Tomato sandwiches. Grape tomatoes. Roma tomatoes. Tomatoes have everything - texture and aroma and colour and memories of my childhood, sitting in the back yard in the hot summer sun and eating a tomato sandwich. Sliced tomatoes, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. The perfect meal.

What is it about food that you love?

Kate

2 comments:

Lisa DiDio said...

Like you, I love the colors, the textures and just the right combination of flavors. But the thing I love best about food? Sharing it with all the beautiful people in my life - present company definitely included!

Kate Austin said...

Lisa - you're right. Even a mediocre meal tastes wonderful when you're sharing it with friends.

Kate