A longing for the old country
Occasionally Husband feels these pangs for the old country. And by that I mean the East Coast. Typically these bouts manifest themselves as food cravings. A trip to his favorite cheesesteak haunt pays homage to his native Philadelphia. But when he misses New York, only matzoh ball soup will do. Apparently the streets of New York are paved with matzoh balls.

I attribute this recent trend to The Lurker, who very kindly brought me some very yummy MBS (I'm tired of typing "matzoh ball soup") when I was sick. Of course I shared this with Husband, who practically wept with sense memory. The next time we went grocery shopping we conveniently passed the huge "Kosher for Passover" display by the dairy case and he picked up a box of matzoh mix. MBS ensued. (By the way, I was amused that on the box of matzoh mix it says "Not for Passover!" in big letters -- complete with exclamation point. It is kosher, though.)

I must admit, it was damned fine soup. The MBs were of a delicious consistency and the soup scrumpy in a way that would appall my mother (whose cooking is lacking only two things: flavor and taste). Even though we had MBS on Sunday night, last night as we were serving up dinner Husband said what he really wanted for dinner was....yup, MBS. So tonight, that's on the menu.

For me as a native of the Bay Area, I think the only taste food that screams "home" to me is San Francisco sourdough, for which I would commit crimes if I were ever forceably transported away from here. Good soourdough bread is one of my favorite foods (carbs be damned, bring on the crust!) and one that played a huge role in my childhood. Unfortunately all attempts to make my own have resulted in tragedies involving pale lumps, flour on the ceiling, something fermenting in my fridge, and the smoke alarm. And I have to admit that truly good, truly crusty French bread is getting harder to find, but I persevere. (Damn, now I really want some.)

So tonight it's MBS for Husband. And when I go to the store for ingredients, perhaps a loaf of bread for me. And for Cipher, the World's Most Amazing Cat, Screw You if You Don't Agree (tm), it's chicken and rice. (She has no old country.)