Food and Memories

Food triggers memories for me.

Food is a lot of other things too, but let me roll with this idea for a while. There was this time I went with my husband to northern Minnesota for stock car racing and I got to visit with a friend from college. Along the way, we stopped at a diner to have breakfast and I ordered over easy eggs that were a bit more runny than I liked. For some reason this stuck in my mind and to this day, when I’m at the stove making over easy eggs for breakfast, that trip flashes through my mind.

When my kids make popcorn I always think of the evenings when I was in high school, my dad would make popcorn and he, my mom, and I would sit and watch movies together.

Whenever I see a good roast chicken I harken back to the nights that my next door neighbor high school bestie would invite me over to her house for her mother’s delectable cooking which often included a fantastic melt in your mouth roast chicken.

Salad dressing triggers memories too. Another high school bestie and I would go to her house after school and her mom made the most delicious French salad dressing. She also made pate, which I never eat, but I did make recently in a fit of nostalgia.

Peas remind me of a dinner party with friends where one friend’s husband told us about his aversion to peas.

Cutting cabbage takes me back to another dinner party where I impromptu taught my friends how to slice cabbage super thin with a knife.

Avocados take me to college when I froze a bunch to stash in my luggage to bring back to the US from Panama.

All seemingly small and minor events, but then there’s the rush of conversations remembered, long gone moments with friends, flashes of history. And they’re all good, I can’t think of a single food associated memory that makes me sad.

One food that triggers a wide net of memories for me is one we don’t eat very often. It’s a sort of tomato sauce with sautéed vegetables and strips of hot dogs served over rice. Sometimes people eat it for breakfast, which is *amazing* and *delicious*. When eaten for breakfast it’s awesome with hojaldres, which I have previously extolled.

Anyway, it’s super easy and super cheap and so I made it for dinner. Feast your eyes.

I guess I write about food a lot, maybe I should have a food blog 🙂