contrast

Different! Very different! Night and day. A whole other animal. What am I talking about? Meals, lifestyle, hair, clothing, birthdays - from how I grew up until now. Generationally (if that's a word) speaking it makes sense. That's what happens, but these differences play so vividly in my memory from childhood to now that I wonder what planet I came from and what planet my daughters will think they came from.

Growing up my meals were rich in protein and processed foods. Lots of Kraft singles, mac and cheese, filet-o-fish sandwiches, pizza, hot dogs and hamburgers. Empire chickens with metal "K" tags too. The meat at home was all kosher though, but despite that most of it was like what many other kids of the 70s who were living in cookie cutter neighborhoods were eating.

Birthdays always consisted of ordered cakes from the local bakery or Carvel ice cream cakes with Fonzie or the Pink Panther. Ice cream cake for my fourth birthday party and my first kiss caught on the 8mm camera. Five was the pink panther. Six showed Abbot and Costello movies. Seven I sneaked a swig of Wild Turkey (don't tell my mother).


not the actual tortilla in this photo

For my daughter's 5th birthday party the other day everything was home-made as most things are here... at home. Home made pancakes including a dinosaur for the birthday girl. Tortilla Espanola inspired my my Spanish friend Marina who makes the greatest tortilla on this side of Southern Denmark. Actually the greatest tortilla I've ever tasted. I think I'll cry now. And my wife's famous lasagne, which I won't share because it's hers and not mine. Trust me though. She doesn't cook very often, but when she says "lasagne", I listen!



OK I'm not a baker. I can bake if I really set my mind to it, but I'm more a free spirit in the kitchen. I don't do directions well with my need to improvise, but I need to learn the classics before I can go abstract right? So anyway I combined two recipes for this chocolate cake. One Scandinavian recipe and one American. And I won't get into it because I HATE the word recipe, but you can have a visual. That's all.

So my present neo-hippie life - summer herb garden, fresh ingredients, earth-friendly heating system and paperless bank statements - makes me wonder what my kids will take with them and leave behind. Perhaps they will live a Jetsons existence with meal capsules or download their daily nourishment. Who knows.

This has been another non-instructional food post by me. Do what you want! I'm not your mother!