Life is a Smorgasbord
I saw the stage play “Cabaret” when I was about twenty five and never forgot”Life is a smorgasbord and most poor suckers are starving to death”. It has resonated with me all my life. I definitely try not to starve when I have so many good choices and most of us do. I am just the type who loves variety. I have gotten over going to an actual smorgasbord and thinking I have to try every single thing that is out there. So we do have to make some choices. I like differences in people, places and food. I always have even though some tastes and customs, may not appeal to me and some take a period of adjustment.
I made a new dish, Hungarian beef paprika. I am no expert on whether this is the same as Hungarian goulash, and how it compares to stroganoff. I am not well versed in different types of paprika, but I up and decided to do a new dish. It turned out great and now my life will have an added dimension. Variety is the spice of life and spice is the variety in food. I studied before and I have studied since and I was lucky to really hit a good recipe that is quick and easy. Life is like that, you go along for a while, and then you make a significant new discovery that just expands your life and fills some inner hunger. I may never be satisfied with beef stew again, in fact I never was, come to think of it.
I have lived in cities but there is nothing like cooking for people that you love in your own home. A granddaughter who is in the military came to visit and she just had to have food at home that she remembered. Food carries our memories. All my grand children love my mac and cheese even though it was not a favorite of mine. I moved to a city, and I missed my childhood food, but I loved the many ethnic foods. Some I like immediately and some took me years to learn to love.
Food, the world, and people are like that to me. All food has value, if you are starving. People have boiled their shoes. All people have value and some that you may not like may be of the most value. I hated Chinese food and guacamole. These are wonderful food and now they are a huge part of my life.
We cannot live without food and we cannot live as a human without people. All people need people. You can choose to starve yourself amidst the smorgasbord of life, but why would you do that? Have you not learned that you cannot judge a book by the cover and the proof of the pudding is in the tasting. And Have you learned that it may take a period of adjustment to fully appreciate food and people or almost anything.
Enough, but I hope you get the idea, as I think about doing my yoga, get out of my kimona, and decide what is for breakfast, toast or a brioche, and then I will go out in my volvo, which was Swedish and now is American and that is what this American does a lot. I just have immersed myself on new things, that I forget my roots, but they are there and just better nourished.
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Well Rose let me start with the Hungarian Goulash / and Paprika. The difference as far as I know and cook is in this point; Goulash has a lot of onions, caraway and Paprika powder. For the Hungarian Paprika salt, pepper, chilli and the paprika (red, yellow ) are been used.
For the Stroganoff sliced beaf, mushrooms, and saure cream is used and it goes very well with rice. To cook Chinese food perfectly one has to have a really big, hot gas flame cos the food remains only for few minutes in the woke. Any food used has to be cut before frying except the Chinese duck. Guacamole is excellent, great in taste and easy to make and it goes very well as a sauce with beaf, Tortillias, Tapas etc. Very, very good choise of yours I have to admit.
Good Lord we are living in a time when we can select food as well as people, just up to our taste.
Great blog Rose.
Thank you Michael. You really know your food and I think you also like variety in people and places.
What I do Rose, but not in a crowd, not in quantities but therefore in qualities.
Starlette, maybe you said it better than I did. I love your descriptions. Are you still talking about food? LOL Which is your favorite? That would be the subject of a good blog and you could write it, starlette.
FOOD !!……ooops !! that’s what your blog is about is it……lol…..well I’m quite partial to chocolate mousse……..yummy…….xx
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Starlette. Mousse seems like a lot of work and Fattening. I like the Packaged chocolate pudding better than some products called mousse. Do you have the packaged pudding and pie filling mixes in your stores?
It is about food and I see you like the french stuff. LOL
Rose she did commit murder though and should have gone to prison.
I liked your blog Rose,I didn`t interpret it as a culinary revelation but rather as an insight into the various fragments during our lives to make a whole in the present.Food does play a part with memories of taste and smell and atmosphere and those memories are important as they form in part who we are today.Trying a new spice and ingredients to a base provoke a new sight and experience to either our lives or food itself within the parameters of ones norm,it is enriching.I think we`re guilty of going to those same ole,same ole spices because they are familiar and well tested and predictable,such can`t improve but rather stagnate.
Sylvestercat. you add a lot to this discussion and I am glad you like the blog. I think you nailed it when you said, “those same ole recipes because they are familiar and well tested”. Like everything else, we need to learn something before we plunge in too fast. I am talking about food and life. We need to be open to new things and people. I did say I studied before and after. There is always learning to do.
Variety is the spice of life so tis said……..so different characters and personalities just like food all have something to offer……. some we will enjoy more than others…………..some will tickle the taste buds, fresh and zingy, some hot and spicy, others smooth and alluring……. room for them all depending on what we are fancying at the time, so dont discount any, never know what your going to get a taste for till you have tried it………xx