Tuesday 18 September 2012

Coming Home

After nearly a two year stretch of living life away from Coffee in a Teacup, following a recent trip back to my hometown of Cleveland Ohio I've decided it's about time to come back home to this space.  Home, in all senses of the word looks quite a bit different than it did back in 2010!   

Since my last post in October 2010 there have been countless meals made in the kitchen and enjoyed while sitting at the dining room table (or sometimes in our laps on the sofa- shhhh!).  I've made my own puff pastry to sit on top of a chicken pie- traversing the traditions of British cooking with the American Midwest's love of a good 'pot pie'  I've made my very first slow-cooked brisket honouring my Jewish herritage, which we then shredded and served with a vinegary slaw inside soft corn tortillas and a smoky bbq.  Sorry Grandma!  I've cooked Thanksgiving dinner twice for my in-laws, and defended it's so-called similarity to a traditional Christmas dinner (it's totally different I swear!).  

That being said, none of these meals above, nor any of the others made in the past two years can hold a candle to the best, most organically fused representation of multiple backgrounds and cultures that we have ever made.

Let me introduce you to my daughter Nell, the best recipe I have produced to date.

And so my world has gone from this:

To this:

She is my most honest critic.  Most of my adventures in the kitchen these days are not photogenic.  They consist of steamed, unseasoned vegetables, lumpy mash, or nearly over-ripened juicy fruit- so I will probably never post photographs of them here.  And yet when she grins, sings, or eagerly looks for the next mouthful of food I have never taken more pride in what comes out of the kitchen.

I will indeed return to my include original point of view- looking at food from an anthropological, cross-cultural and of course personal perspective that I created this blog to highlight.  But as home no longer looks the same as it used to, I think that this space needs a fresh coat of (non-toxic, wipeable) paint too.