Saturday, March 22, 2008

Cooking adventure

It has been quite some time since I have had a moment to just reflect on the things happening around me. The past month has been packed with meetings, and social events, and planning for the next few months.
For instance, I'm standing in my kitchen, with the laptop open in order to view a family recipe that my step-mother forwarded to me. I'm finally at the stand around a wait part. Sure I could wander into the den and watch some TV, but I have the ability to tune out everything around me, except the TV. So here I wait to listen for the timer. In to oven now is pizza gain, an Italian meat pie, and this is my first attempt. I'm cooking it for my Italian hubby, who oddly enough has never had it. My step-mothers family has it every year, and I didn't want to go a year without it. We plan on spending this particular Easter with Joe's parents. His mom plans on making a lasagna, which by the way, she hasn't made in some 10 years, and even before that she's only made it "once or twice." So in an attempt to blend some traditions, or make new ones, I'm bringing my pizza gain.
To me it's interesting how important food is for the holidays. Besides the obvious need in order to sustain life, food gives us comfort and traditions that we base our holidays around. A lasagna for Easter? I thought the Christmas turkey was out of place. When most people will be enjoying their honey baked hams, or some lamb concoction, we will be sitting down to dig into lasagna. And for the first time, I'm trying to look at it for what it is, a meal with family. Traditions may have been discarded, but perhaps it'll be a new tradition, or at least a funny story that we can share with friends.

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