Food Memories

I was listening to the Eating Ithaca food cast where they were reliving exceptional food moments in their lives. They had some exceptional food moments where you cannot think of anything else but what it on your plate and who you are sitting next to.

One of these such moments happened to me when I bit into a 222 Artisan Bakery Pastry at Riley's Christmas Party. I glanced down at the pastry, thinking that it was a just a run-of-the-mill dessert. However, I was quite wrong. Instead, I stumbled upon a maple and walnut pinwheel that had the melt in the mouth factor. As I brought each bite to my mouth, the pastry rested on my tongue and then slowly melted away.

Josh and I had a lovely food moment together when we were first married. We were dining at Brandt's on Delmar. Together we shared our meal on a tiny table overlooking the bustling sidewalk. Josh and I both ordered the crab stuffed trout with garlic mashed potatoes. They served us a plate sized slab of trout with the creamiest filling. As we both brought our forks to our mouths, we exclaimed "Yum!" in unison. It was so delicious. We don't really go to Brandt's much anymore, but this dinner will forever be etched into my mind.

My first significant coffee moment was when I discovered that Riley's Ethiopian Sidamo had a pronounced berry aroma. It's the one and only aroma I've every been able to pick out of a coffee. It gives me hope that I will be able to smell many more aromas. I will never be able to give up coffee.

Josh and I always share culinary experiences at Schlafly. The taproom offers typical pub fair that I simply cannot live without. They serve this spicy ketchup that makes our mouth water. I love the sampler beer flight where you can try six different beers. This is the first time that I decided that beer was something I could stomach. I will always remember the taste of the different varieties. Josh and I both took a swig and then spent several minutes discussing the taste. It was so fun.

Our dinner at Modesto, last year, started a little shaky. The hostess turned her nose up at our lack of a reservation. However, I really enjoyed every single small plate that was served to us on their patio. Ensalada de Trucha Ahumada, a house-smoked trout with Serrano bacon, membrillo, and lemon vinaigrette was what most sticks out in my mind. It was perfect. The Calamares Fritos gave me renowned hope for calamari.

Each week Trader Joe's sucks me into their sample area. I definitely love trying new items each week. Usually, their clever marketing works. I will never forget the day tried their sweet potato fries with garlic aioli mustard. Every week I grab a bag of those sweet potato fries from the freezer section. In fact, I just finished eating a batch about two minutes ago.

One evening a long, long time ago, I ran and got ice cream for my mom and me. We both sat on her couch with the dogs eating away. We giggled and laughed as we dunked our spoons into the bowls. I remember that somehow during this event we started feeding bites to Cheech, her chihuahua. I know that this sounds gross, but we had such a great time that night.

I cannot forget all of the fresh homegrown tomatoes with sliced onions served at my grandma's house, or the instant tea with sweet and low that she would let melt on her kitchen table. Nothing tasted better than that tea. It never tasted the same when I made it myself. I certainly cannot leave out Rick's beer chicken, or my mom's pot roast. I remember carrot cake at my Aunt Betty's where my grandma and I had a joint birthday celebration. I will never forget Grandma Maassen's raisin dressing at Christmas where we has a hilarious round of White Elephant. I must not forget cucumber salad. I will always remember the Thanksgiving that Pikachu knocked over my apple pie. I really wanted to kill him, and hug him at the same time.

I can probably continue this post forever. I know that there will definitely be many more food moments in my life, these weren't my first and won't be my last. Food is a giant part of my life. It's not only about what I eat, but who I eat it with.