Fathers and Food Part Deux

Tanti's post started me thinking about how much my father influenced me in the food department. My mother was the everyday cook and made amazing roasted chicken, milanesas with mashed potatoes, and the best pan-muchachas ever. But it was my dad who introduced me to the world of food. We were eating local, global, fusion before those words were ever used to describe food. Sunday was his day, he started outside tending his garden, lots of basil plants and fig trees are what I think of most. He would then get into the kitchen and start something delicious, often Italian, in a large pot which he would instruct you to stir often and "slap a lid on it," if he had to be away from the stove. Although it all sounds very idyllic , trust me .... not so much, as those of you who remember Tony can attest to he could be volatile! My mom worked most Sundays so once I delivered my dad his morning cup of tea, in bed, us kids would fly out of the house and bike the neighborhood, swim, or visit friends houses until my mom returned in the afternoon.

My best kitchen memory of my dad involves mushrooms. He was busy with something else and asked me to slice mushrooms for his tuco. I was nervous and hesitant because I knew he would be watching out of the corner of his eye ready to pronounce my slicing skills inadequate, either too thin, too fat or just not right. To my utter amazement he stopped what he was doing and told me my slicing was perfect, that he had never seen anyone produce such lovely evenly sliced mushrooms. To this day I relive that moment every time I reach for my large chef knife. Everytime I am chopping a stack of raw veggies. Everytime I see a mushroom. Word to the wise mommies and daddies, they remember what you say .... trust me on this one.

What I often do if I have a few mushrooms lying around is slice them thinly, put in a mug and pour a cup of College Inn brand Culinary Broth Thai Coconut Curry flavor over them, add a bit of shredded green stuff (basil, spinach, arrugula) and heat for a minute in the microwave. It is a nice treat to hold you over till dinner. It could also be what's for dinner if you add some leftover shredded chicken, a little rice or noodles, a squeeze of lime and some chopped peanuts.