Sunday, March 2, 2008

giveaway 1 - 'taste'

Isn't it interesting how we make mental associations to things that we experience through our senses? For instance, I love bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches, but I only ever eat them in the summer. I have absolutely no desire for them any other time of the year. It may be because of the fresh, ripe tomatoes that are in abundance during the summer, and how they taste sooo wonderful, not to mention I can just go pick one right off the plant in my yard. I know I also tend to look for hot, hearty meals in the winter, and in summer I'm usually looking for something quick and easy that doesn't heat up the house more. Whatever the case, it's a taste that I specifically associate with the summertime.

Another one is iced tea. I love tea - hot and cold - but there's few things I enjoy more than sitting on my patio in the sunshine with a glass of ice-cold tea. It makes me swell with hope for those warm, sunny days just thinking of it!


So, in order to jump in on this giveaway, leave me a comment telling me about a taste that brings about some kind of emotion or association in you. It can be related to a memory, annual event or a season...anything that evokes something within you when you taste it. (Remember to include your name in your comment if you post using the 'anonymous' button, for those who don't have a blogger account).

I'll announce the winner and the tasty prize tomorrow evening!

7 comments:

Deana said...

Grandmama's Mac N Cheese...

I asked her to show me how to make it before she died. I had watched her make it my whole life, but I just had to make sure...because I knew she wasn't going to be around much longer.

It's not exactly like hers when I make it, even when I make it in the same pan she used(which I got for Christmas last year), but every single time I eat it I think of her and miss her terribly!

Briana Almengor said...

Hmmm...this is hard b/c I'm such a "foodie"; there are too many. I love the food other people make for me, esp. dear friends of mine. For instance, my one friend, Heather (she lives in the same court as us and is like a 2nd mother to my children..has two kids right around our kids' age)...anyway, she makes ice tea for herself and always offers me some when I'm there. I am not a huge iced tea fan, but LOVE having hers...that goes for her caramel popcorn (the recipe of which I refuse to try b/c it's such a treat to get hers) and her chocolate chip cookies (the recipe of which I have and simply can't duplicate like hers).
My friend, Jo, is another amazing cook. She likes things a bit spicy which again, I don't typically. But, I always look forward to eating at her house b/c I know I'll like it.
But, nothing tops my mom's cooking/baking. I just love about anything my mom makes. I think now that I am the mom and the sole cook for my family, I have come to appreciate when others make food for me/us very much!!
And, hospitality and building friendships are often so intertwined with food. :)

Bets said...

I agree with Briana...this is hard! So many great memories are related to food! But I guess I'll go with good meadow tea ALWAYS reminding me of Glenda's. But I also love how fresh corn on the cob is such a "Summer" food, and I too only like BLT's in the summer... Food is so important to me-- I love food...and now that I'm hungry thinking about these things, I'm gonna hafta go hunt for a bedtime snack... thanks!

Crunchy Green Mom - Suzanne said...

Pumpkin Bread... My mother always made it every year for Christmas. The taste of the cloves and cinnamon always reminds me of it.

I made some Friday for a bake sale, and it was good, but I think because it wasn't cold, and I wasn't in that spirit, it wasn't as good.

Laura said...

Strawberry pie. this is such a late-spring early-summer treat for me. Fresh strawberries, real whipped cream... My grammy makes it better than anyone, though I've tried. Oh my gosh this makes me ache for spring.

Kristine said...

My mother-in-law's beef stew and corn bread... we always eat it in the winter and it reminds of when Chad and I first started dating.

Anonymous said...

I loved visiting my grandma in NY because she always made delicious spanish food. She also happened to be the head cook at an elderly community in the Bronx. She made the best roast pork, pastellas (a spanish patty made of banana pulp, pork and olives wrapped and boiled in banana leaves) and of course her coffee. It's because of her spanish coffee that I am a coffee drinker today.

She would boil milk in a sauce pan and take a 'sock', which was almost like cheese cloth but thicker, and put the espresso in the sock and then pour the hot milk through the sock several times. She would put in plenty of sugar and all of the grandkids would beg Grandma for some coffee!
My one aunt was so sweet when she presented me with a sock of my own....of course I own an espresso machine now and don't use the sock much any more, but if Grandma was still around I'd still prefer 'her' coffee to mine since it was made by her hands.

Lydia Fenstermacher
Lydia Fenstermacher