Last week our burning question was about the food that you would want to eat if you could only one food the rest of your life. It was interesting, because many of the readers talked about their favorite food, but a lot of them opted to have something more balanced, and more nutritional. My choice was a chicken Caesar salad wrap from a little restaurant at Bradley airport in Hartford Connecticut. Only because it balances the three food groups. There’s no fruit in there, I guess. Maybe I’ll drink some orange juice and that will count.
When you think about your favorite foods, I’ll bet a lot of them are on your list, maybe not necessarily because of the food itself, but maybe the person that cooked it for you. As I thought about my favorite foods, I was immediately taken back to my childhood. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents because both of my parents worked. I thought my grandma was the best cook ever. Everything she made was amazing. My favorite was what we referred to as “The Casserole.” And then of course she would cook many of her favorite Polish dishes too. One thing I really enjoyed was fried liver and onions. Interestingly, as my grandmother aged, so did some of her cooking techniques. The last time she cooked liver for me I was 27 years old getting ready to transfer to the island of Guam. She cooked liver for me. As I cut into it I realized that it was almost completely raw. The outside was fried but the inside was almost a purple color. Not wanting to offend her, I hate every last bite of it. I did not ask for seconds (liver is really filling). I wonder if looking at WHO cooked your favorite food might be what we should really think about.
I think for most of us, if we’re honest, the food itself wasn’t all that great, it was the person who made it, or the experience of eating at that, made it our favorite. In hindsight, The Casserole was just elbow macaroni, ground beef, and some breadcrumbs thrown together. If that’s true, then that’s good news for all of us. We may not have to be the best cooks in the world (although I think I am a pretty good one when it comes to barbecue). I think what we need to do is have a loving environment and spend it with people that we genuinely care about. If that’s the case, then a bowl of cold cereal would probably be the greatest food ever wouldn’t it?
This week think about what experiences you can create that anchor to something as simple as a particular food. We’re all going to be remembered for something. I hope it’s for something that makes people happy.