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These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things - Foods I Am Currently Missing

I have been missing some food that I just cannot get here in California to the same caliber as the places it belongs.  Every area has their specialties, and lately I have been missing the 4 listed below somethin' fierce!  


1. Maryland Crab Feasts

If you have never had a Maryland crab feast, I am so sorry. 

Imagine the most incredible smell of Old Bay wafting through the air covering the crabs that have been practically soaking in it while they cook to perfection.  The art of cracking open a crab and knowing how to proceed is something anyone in Maryland can teach you.  We have names for every part of the crab and it is such a treasured tradition.  

Is it fun?  Is it delicious?  You have NO idea until you have tried it how fun and how delicious it is.  When you are elbow deep in juicy, crabby goodness,  to the point that you are licking your hands and they are burning but you keep going for more - then you will be able to answer for your self, its amazing.  I am missing this Maryland pastime as I type these words and I am missing the summer in Maryland where it seems to happen every other week.


2. Popovers

These golden beauties hale from New England, and mostly North of Boston - Popovers.  Then are similar to a muffin, but not as dense.  They are light and delicate and are generally served with honey butter or jam/jelly of your flavor preference.  However, they are also hollow in the middle and can be cut open carefully and stuffed with different items to make like a hollowed out sandwich.

They are incredible delicious when fresh out of the oven and just seeing this picture makes me want to head to Maine to scoop up one of these beauties with a cup of tea while I sit and read looking out at a beautiful view.  What a fun treat they are!  Oh, and don't try to make these in a regular muffin tin, they are about twice as tall and need their own special popover pan :)


3. Italian Coffee

Italian coffee... It's like a dream.  What I like most is that you cannot get coffee "to-go" in Italy, you have to sit and enjoy.  Imagine that, being in a community that is not so much in a rush that they invent drive throughs to get coffee.  Come on America, really?!?!  What's the rush?

Italy knows what's up.  They enjoy and savor every sip of coffee and the smell - Oh my!  It is like heaven has come and rested in a tiny little room.  The culture is incredible to keep such a simple thing sacred - a good cup of coffee and a relaxing moment go hand in hand there, and I miss it so much lately.  The sensory memory is so strong, just smelling a cup of good coffee brings me back to Italy time and time again.


4. Bangkok Street Food

Somehow, while the aforementioned foods are near and dear to my heart, Thailand captured me hook line and sinker with the street food we ate there.  Bill and I ate everything we could get our hands on, and no matter what it was (and whether we could figure out what it was or not), it was absolutely delicious.  

We loved getting breakfast at a food cart and eating fried rice with fried eggs and watching them cook it, then sitting two feet away while we ate it.   We loved getting food handed to us in baggies that we would normally eat off a plate and having to spear it to eat it off a stick.  We loved all the intense flavors and soaked it up so much that just looking at this picture makes me heart happy and sink at the same time.  I wish I was there now eating curry and papaya salad and amazing soups and just diving head first into the Thai flavors that their culture is so famous for.


Who knew food memories could have these effects on me!

I wish I could be in each of these places right now, but I am learning to enjoy what I have around me because there is someone out there craving what my current culture offers :)  So, if you are missing amazing Mexican food or Rogers family pizza (a little something thrown in for my fantastic family - and believe me you would miss it if you had it!) consider yourself lucky for what you do have, and share it all with me on here so I know that I am not alone!

I'm guessing I made you all crave something :)  

Happy eating!
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Comments

  1. AshleyJune 13, 2013 at 8:26 PM

    Love when you write. Love reading every word.

    I'll second the Maryland crabs, and the popovers are a new adventure I have yet to try (even though their practically down the street).

    Foods I miss: My dad's french toast. Scones in Oxford. Summertime corn, strawberries, and watermelon in California.

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