The memory of food

I just read a beautiful post on my friend's blog. It was a post about her late father who was a man who loved to indulge in the finest food but found so much pleasure in the most simple dish- fairy toast. For those of you who don't know what fairy toast is, it's basically toasted bread with butter and sprinkled sugar. She also mentions that there's usually so much emotional attachment with food. Certain food remind you of certain people, a time in life or a special occasion. Here are my favourites;

Beef bacon- every Sunday morning, Mummy would make beef bacon, sausages,baked beans and fried eggs. We would sit at the dining table, tak mandi, tak gosok gigi, well except for Mummy and just enjoy breakfast. The smell of fried bacon would fill the air and the family would just talk and talk and talk and talk.

Roast Chicken - Mummy makes the best roast chicken, EVER. Mummy would make roast chicken at least once a month. I always enjoyed seeing the chickens turn in the microwave oven. She would also make gravy and mashed potato from scratch. Whenever Mummy cooks western, she goes all the way. There will always be soup and rolls and we were never short of mustard and mint sauce. We would also always have proper table napkins for dinner. Be it western or dinner.

Butter Cake - Mummy loves baking. On a lazy Saturday or Sunday, while most of us would just vegetate in the living room, Mummy would bake her delicious butter cake. It was never a chore for her. Once the cake mix was put in the oven, she would call all of us to the kitchen to lick the mixing bowl clean. We always did a good job.

Black Chicken Rice - You are probably wondering what is black chicken rice. Basically, it's claypot chicken rice. We called it black chicken rice because, well, unlike the normal chicken, the rice was black and not white. It was probably easier for Mummy to explain it to her children. Black Chicken Rice was always a surprise, we never knew when it was coming but one day Mummy will just spring it upon us and we would enjoy every little bit of it. Best consumed with tomato sauce.

Chicken Casserole - everybody racing for the last scraps of burnt cheese on the Pyrex dish. Nuff said. Scrummy!

I must ask Mummy to compile all her recipes and turn it into a recipe book. If not for me, then maybe just for her kids.

Thanks for the food Mummy...but most of all, thanks for the memories.