I've always loved food. Growing up I remember one dish in particular that my Mom made, Swedish meatballs and egg noodles. For some reason that is the one plate of food that I think of when I look back at my childhood.
It seemed like such a comforting dish, and I can't remember exactly why that is. Maybe I was having an especially stressful day in fourth or fifth grade at the time. There was probably some issue with note passing, boys, dodge ball at recess...who knows. But I know that when I walked into the kitchen and smelled the cardamom spice in the sauce mixing with the butter melting over the noodles, I was okay. Things were going to be alright, at least for the time we sat around the table, talking and feeding ourselves with both the delicious meal and conversations about our day.
This is the power of food. How certain smells, tastes and textures can throw you back into a memory instantly. Just thinking about the those meatballs drenched in a creamy sauce, cascading over the noodles, I'm starting to remember the pale wood of our kitchen table. I can even see the two soft scratch marks where I fell off the chair as a little kid and scraped my two front teeth. I can feel the sunlight filtering through the white curtains in the kitchen window, lighting up the food on the table in the softest way.
To me, food is nourishing in so many ways. I don't look at it as just a necessity to survive, but as an opportunity to give my body nutrients to thrive, while also feeding experiences and lasting memories. And now I'm rambling, and hungry, and inspired to cook Swedish meatballs for dinner. Maybe a recipe will be born out of inspiration from this post.....stay tuned.
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