No it is not about food our children will love when they are five...but maybe in the future these tasty bites will be something they enjoy. It really can happen. For instance my niece who is now 8 years old loves leg of lamb, in fact it has been her favorite for more than a few years. So yes there is hope for the simple pallets of our children to develop a bit of sophistication.
What about our own pallets? Do you linger over the flavor of a tasty spaghetti sauce cooked with time in the crock pot? What about a balsamic vinegar reduction drizzled like chocolate over grilled eggplant, stuffed with a lovely goat cheese mixture. One simple bite, and the flavors slowly explode upon your tongue! Individually these flavors are strong, perhaps too strong for a delightful treat, but put together, and you discover the sweetness of the balsamic reduction balances out and smooths the flavor of the goat cheese. Ah, the delight of savory and tasty food.
Wednesday night we enjoyed lasagna, prepared with home made pasta, scratch sauce, and a flavor that creates a dish as light as a feather. Who ever thought lasagna could be considered light, but this dish prepared in the kitchens of our newly discovered restaurant did not disappoint. Saturday we enjoyed salads made with mom's vinaigrette dressing over the long weekend. And of course s'mores cooked around the fire pit as we all talked about..., gee I don't remember what we discussed, but I do remember the s'mores that July 4th night.
My sister-in-law, my brother, husband and I had spent the afternoon preparing the feast to celebrate July 4th. At first we thought it would be a simple meal, but as we talked and discussed what would be prepared the gastronomical delights just kept appearing. We featured a variety of meats which included, the killer leg of lamb, rare and tender with each bite. The tri-tip was twice marinated, along with chicken breasts for those who enjoyed "white meat". We also prepared a vegetarian stir fry created with sesame flavor, pared with a light cucumber salad flavored with sweet rice vinegar. This simple salad was refreshing and cool to the taste, lovely with the vegetarian dish and big enough to counter balance all of the meats. Corn on the cob was boiled and ready to be served at the required time, as well as baked potatoes and that lovely green salad. Desert consisted of two home made pies prepared by my sister Elisabeth. They were wonderful in every way. The crust was flaky and light, she revealed the secret of the recipe, it is very very cold ice water. The apple filling was not mushy in any way, and the flavor rich. The strawberry rhubarb pie was simply to die for. And yes the s'mores were enjoyed as much by the senior crowd as the eight and five year old girls.
Friends and family add to the flavors of the past week. Last night I ate the most wonderful calamari salad I have ever had. It was perfect, tender in every way, fresh with the use of the vinaigrette style dressing. In fact I have never had a calamari salad as good as this one was. So I am begging my friend Gia to set up a cooking date with her mom. I would love to learn how to make this delightful dish. One day perhaps I shall.
In the midst of all the eating, at every event, I watched and listened to the conversation. We all seemed to enjoy the flavors of each others lives. I suppose that is really what July 4th and weekends are all about...enjoying our lives with each other.....Now on to the next meal.
Little Margo wants me to write about her and food. She wants me to talk about cheese! "I still like pizza too." Sounds like she wants to do a funny story. I better set up her own blog. Off to make her more food to eat.
ReplyDeleteThis post has made me hungry!
ReplyDeleteA "Little Margo" blog site sounds like a great idea! I remember Elyse and Chloe had "story time" in preschool where the parent would write down the story each told about the picture on the paper. I still have them.
ReplyDeleteAny yes, reading your blog today has made me very hungry.
Lots of love,
Eve