Everyone who knows me knows that food can sometimes bring me weak to my knees. Food is my drug. Give me basket of fries and I'll be transported to a state of eternal bliss until I'm reminded of all the calories & fat I just inhaled. Yes, I literally inhale my food. I've lost track of how many times I've burned my tongue from impatiently taking my first bite out of my fresh-off-the-stove meals. Yes, I know I should work on slowing down and really taking my time to let the different flavors overtake my taste buds with culinary delight. Well, today, I decided to do just that. I took a nice stroll down to the intersection of Food Lane and Delicious Blvd and let me tell you the scenery was beautiful beyond words.
I was at Lemonade today in Venice and was intrigued by all the different ingredients that they combine in their dishes. Many times if you were given a list of different ingredients, you wouldn't think to combine some of the food items that they do. In the end, they all complement each other in perfect harmony. Let's start off with the light blend of chicken breast cubes tossed with butternut squash, chives, grapes, and sprinkled with slivered toasted almonds. I take a bite into the juicy chicken when, low and behold, the crunch of that almond gives me that edge I like, only to be brought back down to earth with a delightful finish thanks to mr. grape. If that wasn't enough, I move on to the next treat: Israeli couscous tossed with wild mushrooms. Only this couscous is not just Israeli- he's mixed. He's got some Italian in him. Joined in the mix is a dash of Parmesan cheese & Italian parsley doused in lemon truffle. The lemon truffle gives you a nice kick, but it's ok, because I was then pampered by the next one. In the next dish, slivers of watermelon radish soaked in sesame oil joined with seared ahi tuna almost melted in my mouth. If it wasn't for the snap peas to give me something to cling on to, I might have drowned! At last, my meal wouldn't have been complete without the golden, scrumptious bundle of cauliflower coated in curry with some golden raisins and almonds once again added to the mix, bringing me back full circle. At the end of this journey at the corner of Food Lane and Delicious Blvd was an airport and my taste buds just boarded first class on Succulent Airlines. The destination? A place where all foods can live in perfect harmony. Where foods from all different parts of the world, shapes, sizes, and colors can all frolic and play together in my mouth. Grapes can mingle with squash- raisins can shake hands with cauliflower- and who said almonds can't be on the side with meat-eaters and vegetarians alike? Together, differences aside, they all somehow work. And it's beautiful. Maybe we could all learn from this.
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