food borne

My father is a chef. He is a chef of frugal ambitions because he grew up eating meals made of the cheapest ingredients. Perhaps this requires him to be a better chef than most because he has had to make low quality meat, fish, poultry, vegetable and spices into dishes that would keep his family happy, not just nourished.

I get my food love from him and today, I realized that my sister Kelly didn't get the same food love. She asked me what I had for brunch and then asked if arugula was a cheese and what brioche is and where it comes from. We came from the same two people, yet our curiosities are so vastly different. But, to my surprise, it was she who explained my love of food to my father in a way that he understood. He doesn't get spending money on food. She helped him to realize that in my world, dollar signs don't equal stars. Taste equals stars. He can understand this, can't he? Since a dearth of dollar signs may not equate a less-than-stellar meal, so does a surplus of those $$$$ not guarantee a splendid dinner.

So thank you, Kelly. And for you, I did a little page flipping of culinary reference books (at last count I have 6). Arugula is a type of lettuce also known as Italian cress or rocket. It's got a bit of spiciness to it and is mainly used by Italians but appears in the modern cuisine of other countries like America, France and Japan. Brioche comes from France and is a yeasty dough that's supposed to be shaped by one ball on top of another larger ball. It's usually a bit sweet and is said to have been made with Brie cheese way back in the day.