Sunday, October 24, 2010

Food as Mile Markers of our Lives

Welcome to the Let's Eat blog hop, organized by my wonderful Australian blog friend Amy. You can read all about the blog hop and find the master list on her blog here. If you're following the blog ring, you probably came from Sian's wonderful blog, "From High in the Sky". Or perhaps you're one of my regular readers just popping in to check things out.  In either event, welcome! When you are done digesting my post, you should skip on over to see Helena, she's quite the Creative Maven.
Certain foods conjure up very strong memories for me - sometimes of an event, sometimes of a restaurant and sometimes of a period in my life.  Tostadas, cheese enchiladas, mole and fried chicken take me back to my childhood. Round Table pizza and Safeway birthday cake remind me of when the kids were little, and I ate these processed foods several times a month! The recipe I'm sharing today - a wonderful curry featuring farmer's cheese and peas - is one developed by my husband  and which recalls another wonderful time in my life.
We were young, married and fully enjoying our life as "DINK's" (Double Income No Kids) in the San Francisco Bay Area. We loved food and wine and each other. We'd often watch cooking shows together and experiment with all kinds of food. We'd spend most of Sunday reading the New York Times, maybe over french toast or fabulous bagels. We made big batches of pesto and yummy blackberry jam in the summer. We had time to relax and talk and read.  It was a magical period of our lives. 
Since Paul is a vegetarian, he was always experimenting with new recipes to find something that we would both found yummy and satisfying.  This one is based loosely on "Cheese Curry" from Vegetarian Dishes from around the World by Rose Elliot. Any time I eat it (or any good Indian food), I find myself transported back to that wonderful, exciting time in my life when we were just starting out. I love how food does that. And I'd love to food to hear of a food that serves as a mile marker in your life.
Thanks for reminiscing with me! Once you're done, click on this link to head over to see what Helena is cooking up today.

24 comments:

furrypig said...

DD is a vegetarian though I like to call her a Fussetarian as she is sooo fussy! So I will be checking out the link to those vege recipes thanks xxx

Amy said...

Rinda I'm smiling and nodding at the screen, you have reminded me of a similar time when we were first married. My father's mother would bring a birthday cake to our place when Mum had gone back to work full-time, it was always there waiting for us when we arrived home, layers of sponge, cream and strawberries ..... delicious!

Diane said...

This would be great for me...make me think outside the box :)
Thanks for sharing.

scrappyjacky said...

It's fascinating how foods [like scents] can transport us back to a certain time in life.
This sounds a really interesting recipe....one that I think my DDs will love trying out.

alexa said...

As a vegetarian myself, this sounds wonderful, and am always delighted to add new things to my cookbook. :)

Anne said...

I am not vegetarian but try to have some non meat meals each week. This will be a new one for me.

helena said...

great memories - I love how a taste of smell can transport you back to a particular time

Miriam said...

like Helena I love how taste and scent and can transport you to another time & place. I'm passing this recipe onto my son, it's just up his street! thank you :)

JO SOWERBY said...

aw young, married and in love sounds nice, gr8 recipe choice
Jo xxxx

Beverly said...

This sounds good even for us non vegetarians

Anonymous said...

Last year, I had a decorated birthday cake for the first time in years, and it brought back such special memories. We rarely purchased bakery goods when I was young, but I always had a beautiful bakery decorated (and delicious) birthday cake. I think food plays such a big part in our memories. Thanks for sharing yours.

Jennifer Grace said...

Sounds yummy, I'd never thought of making curry with cheese before but it sounds great.

A mile-marker for something I learned to cook would be spaghetti bolognase, which a friend taught me to cook at uni because she was horrified that I was eating a tinned version. Once I'd learned I cooked it every week during my uni years. I still love it now, but it will always remind me of being at uni! xx

Mommy2CVC said...

LOL! Your brother and I love that DINK comment! So true! Life was so different back then, but it only gets better with age!!! Love u!

Sian said...

Oh, you conjured up some wonderful memories for me too with this post. I'm sitting here smiling and remembering those magical days too. And a chees curry? oh, yes please! plenty of takers for that one over here

debs14 said...

Now I've tried quite a few different types of curries but I've never heard of a cheese curry! I love the way you have shared a memory of a happy moment in time as well as the recipe.

Ruth said...

We're not veggie, but we're always open to yummy meat-free alternatives, so thanks for the tip.

laurie said...

you made this recipe look just as delicious as i'm sure it tastes! it is interesting how certain foods belong in different times and places in our lives.

ComfyMom~Stacey said...

We ate well as DINKs too. Not as much cooking until we moved here, where there is no take out nearby or delivery, but lots of good food. Stuff the kids still won't touch

Faith Hope and Cherrytea said...

thx for the reminiscing :)
food does that for sure!
enjoy the rest of the blogs...

humel said...

Love how you've presented your recipe, and love your whole post :-) The Doctor and I were never DINKs, sadly - The Boy was born just 2 years into our marriage, while The Doctor was still doing his PhD! It's only in the last few years that we've finally left 'student eating' behind us....

Tracy said...

I have had quite a similar sounding curry from a restaurant near here and it was yummy. Will definitely try your recipe

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

Leave it to you to create an adorable recipe card as presentation for your favorite dish, Rinda. I love it! And I especially loved reading the story of your memories surrounding this dish. Thanks for sharing! :o)

emhowl said...

What lovely elephants and such happy memories. I like the idea of a cheese curry.

Anonymous said...

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