:meals with memories
Meals
by Claudia Batten Co-founder of Victor and Spoil
Photo: Robert D. Jones
MY BEST MEAL This wasn't one meal, it was an entire week and I think I am still
trying to lose a last couple of persistent pounds from it. Our family gathered in Tuscany in late October 2011; a great time to go if you love truffles… a bad time if you like warm weather. Luckily, the house we rented had a phenomenal kitchen. And we all love to cook. My mother has long been the queen of fresh pasta, my sister-in-law is the go-to-gal for cakes and my brother - well he is more a "if you shoot it I can whip up a sauce for it" kinda guy. Me - I love to make bread and pizza. We found an almost encyclopaedia of Italian cooking, some wonderful local markets and an incredible bottle store (critical). Before we knew it that kitchen had flour flying, eggs cracking, corks popping, olive oil flowing and stomachs growling. My father and husband quite brilliantly declared themselves official tasters and bottle openers. You name it, we cooked it. In fact we cooked a few things I still can't name. The week is a blur of incredible food and phenomenal wine but most of all a memory of music, laughter and family.
MY WORST MEAL When I was 21, I went on a life-changing trip to Vietnam. It
was the longest, furthest, most exotic trip I had ever taken. My trip preparations included Malaria pills, copies of the Rough Guide and
Lonely Planet and endless advice from people who hadn't travelled there but who were concerned about my probable recklessness. It seemed the biggest warning was the lack of water sanitation; the overall caution was to not eat anything uncooked/unprocessed. So I arrived in what has now become something of a foodie haven and proceeded to eat such culinary masterpieces as baguette with cheese and tomato. That got boring fast, though the bread is fabulous. My first gastronomic adventure was hot lemon: lemon juice, sugar and hot water. Tame, unless you have visited Vietnam and know that this particular beverage comes with a heavy dose of protein in the form of ants. YUM. We went to Halong Bay for three days where we ate amazing seafood and I started to get ambitious. Ok, I got reckless. Vietnamese spring rolls: rice paper, shrimp and loads of coriander. Coriander "washed" in water. So good, for about 20 minutes. Not so good that night. And really no fun on eight hour train ride I took the next day from Hanoi to Hue. I think it took me four years before I could handle the smell of coriander, let alone eat it. And I still shudder when I see a spring roll. Which is a shame, because they really are quite lovely.
memories wit h
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