Broccoli & Cheetos (a.k.a. My Life)
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Husband and I went out for dinner last night with friends who were in from Chicago. We went to the delectable Park Avenue Autumn (restaurant changes name and decor every season which is way cool if you ask me. Oh, and this gastronomical haven is owned by a fellow Dalton alum. Go Tigers!) It was a civilized dinner, stuffed with bits of proper conversation and measured laughter. The food was yummy. My absolute favorite part of the evening?
Broccoli and Cheetos.
I kid not. This was a side dish. And we ordered it. And when it came, I studied the little dish full of bright green and electric orange. And I smiled. I smiled because I am irrationally obsessed with broccoli and Cheetos remind me of childhood. I smiled also because that in that little dish, I saw my life.
My life?
Yes. My life. My life is not about consistency, but contrast. My life is about spit up and stilettos, Play-Doh and Plato, wrangling and writing, virtual community and virtual insanity. My life is part organic, part artificial. My life is part nutritious bounty, part delicious junk. My life is part serious, full of iron and folate and existential vitamins, and part silly, full of chemical-y goodness and ingredients I can’t begin to pronounce. This is my life. And I love it. It is quite yummy. (Except when it’s not.)
Broccoli and Cheetos. Genius. Yum.
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Quick. Describe your life with a dish. Or feel free to tell me that I am a bit dramatic to see my existence reflected in a small bowl. Just say something. I find your words (like broccoli and Cheetos) to be utterly delicious.
Yay! (Thanks for the linky love!) Last night, we went to dinner at our wonderful friends’ house. Kids and parents alike. It was delicious. The food, the experience (the wine). And we ate BROCCOLI. Deep-fried broccoli. It was amazing. Kid food and adult food all in one. I think I’m going to try to make it. And maybe I’ll add some Cheetos on the side. Yum.
Too funny! I’m a lover of broccoli, though I’d have to hand the cheetos off to one of my kids (who still loves them). And perhaps that shows that the metaphor for a mom’s life remains apt even years later.
We’d empty that plate, too! Only it would be a team (family) effort.
Happy Sunday!
I fully appreciate the metaphor of this post and could (and maybe will) later comment with my own metaphorical dish…
What I *really* want to know is how does the dish taste? As a food photographer, the Park Ave Fall Menu has been on list (mainly because I adore salmon tartare and really want to try the miso glazed lobster).
I must eat this broccoli and cheetos dish soon. When does the fall menu become winter?
I’ve been thinking all afternoon about an appropriate dish. I wish say I love cheetos and hate broccoli (bad, I know, I should love it). I don’t know that I think all of my various personae (fancy plural) can be encapsulated in a single dish. But perhaps in the kinds of things I eat in a day – gummy candy, brie, pretzels, swiss chard, coffee, wine.
I love metaphors for all of our various complexities and contradictions. This is a great one.
I am Cabernet and Cadbury chocolate with roast almonds. A combo that most would not imagine but is unexpectedly delicious. I like to think I pleasantly surprise people as they get to know me just like my aforementioned unconventional wine pairing!
This is too funny, I was just thinking earlier today about making a list of favorite foods and what they might say about you/the memories they bring up!
The dish I would use to describe myself is pasta with butter. Most people would probably find it too simple, too boring, but to me, if you eat it slowly, with good wine or good company or both, you can taste the nuance and it’s all you need. I think I’m the kind of person who can find pleasure in the simpler things, and I think that’s one of my luckier qualities: to be pleasantly surprised with what you have, rather than expecting the world (truffles, almond butter, and the like) and being too frequently disappointed.
I’ve never mixed broccoli with cheetos, but I admit I used to love them at college with that yellow plastic-y melted cheese stuff.
Food = nostalgia. I remember my mom making homemade meatloaf and mashed potatoes (back before I became a rebel vegetarian!) and then chocolate pudding with milk at the top of the dish for dessert. I remember holiday foods like brisket and hard boiled eggs, and the many “first times” for things like Mexican, Japanese, and Indian.
Food, like music, is a universal language. It’s many layers and forms and flavors and scents reflect our moods, our journey, and the very meaning of our lives. As always, love this post.
Oh, and by the way, I’m about to put up my new post featuring someone you know intimately. Thanks for that.
“measured laughter”?
Are you saying that my guffaws mean that I’m not civilised?!
;op
now that is an awesome idea! i love it too!
Broccoli and Cheetos- Um, that sounds like something I probably tried to combine when I was a kid.
One of my favorite reasons for not being a kid is that now I don’t have to eat broccoli. Not a big fan, although it is far superior to cauliflower or Brussel Sprouts.
Still can’t eat those.
I LOVE broccoli! If I could eat it every day, I totally would! I love all veggies actually.
I wish I could tell you I could think of a dish that describes me, but I really can’t.
While I don’t think I can find a recipe that would be quite as good an analogy, I love what you said. It is all so true!!
Hello again! I had to stick my 2 cents in here, because I have a childhood combo that our mutual very old, very best friend, M, introduced to me: Cool Ranch Doritos and cream cheese. You dip the chips into cream cheese like it was salsa. Even though it’s been decades since I ate this combination, I can still recall how awesome I thought “Cool Ranch and Cream Cheese” tasted…and how fun it was to say!
If it counts as food I’d have to say the food that best represents me right now is breastmilk. Natural and sweet and comforting and totally tuned into my baby. One of these days I might go back to more adult fare but that is definitely it for now!