Diversity At The Table

My great-aunt ran a boarding house in down town Portland.   It attracted a myriad of people while the staunch rules of a curfew and no visitors deterred a good many other folks.  Most notably, there was the tall, thin scholar who could speak seven languages and a short stout Hungarian woman, Mrs. Shevenall.  When the scholar spoke to my uncle, his English was refined, formal and without a noted accent.  His clothes and how he gracefully moved about the room was so different than how my grandfather shuffled around his apartment.  There was an air of worldly experience.   Mrs. Shevenall spent a good deal of time with Auntie in the kitchen and as requested made the most luscious dish to ever pass my lips.  As I recall the dish had broad flat green beans, fresh garlic and tomato, a marriage of flavors, color and texture.  Whenever I returned, I would beg Mrs. Shevenall to cook this.  Despite my numerous attempts to replicate it as an adult, I have been unable to achieve the delicate balance of ingredients.  At six years old, my culinary experiences were limited, but after tasting a bit of European cuisine and liking it, I was willing to try just about anything. These two boarders helped me to discover that the world literally was bigger than the twenty-mile radius that I had been exposed to thus far.

Each time, I have the good pleasure to eat something beyond the ordinary fare of poultry, pork, fish and potatoes, I am grateful for my early culinary experiences.  My risk taking has extended to my children, most of them anyway.  We regularly eat sushi, pot stickers, and curry at home. My adult son treated me to a birthday dinner and we were talking, just this evening about his love of Thai and Indian food.  My daughter having lived in Costa Rica for years is able to create authentic dishes.  Having accessibility to recipes and produce from all over the world makes this diversity at the table possible.