Growing up in an environment that doesn’t use microwaves nor carry out pizza, which does just fine without AC (air conditioning) and where McDonalds and the lot are not part of the vocabulary throughout youth and teenage years, well, you could say that growing up like that must have been happening behind the moon or some other, strange planet.
Myself, on the other hand, I would say this was quite fortunate.
I grew up mainly with German nannies (some British, Finnish and Norwegian short intermezzos), my mom is from Cape Town, South Africa and my dad’s heritage is partially French-Swiss and partially German-Swiss. He always showed great interest in America and as my mom enjoyed cooking and experimenting and next to that we all spent many vacations in different parts of Europe, for these reasons my growing up with food was definitely multi-national.
Of course I went through the phase of refusing to eat anything else in a Restaurant than a Riz Casimir (a Swiss chicken curry with fruits) or a Züri G’schnätzelte which drove my mom almost insane, but next to these incidents I was quite accustomed to trying different styles of food and to eat whatever was served which was not punishment (my nieces would probably disagree) but rather adventure.
After moving to the USA 10 years ago, I was hit with everything of this fast food nation. And for a while I settled into the ease of it, and, I admit, one CAN get addicted to fries and fish sandwich while sipping on an oversized Coke. But after putting on too much weight from this new diet (next to sitting too many hours at the computer and no longer walk to a bus but driving everywhere), I finally realized how much I actually miss GOOD tastes.
Cut fresh mozzarella cubes into slices and a tomato into slivers, arrange alternating on a plate. Tear (not cut!) fresh basil all over it and drizzle with a drop of Extra Virgin olive oil and some good balsamic vinegar, lightly add salt and pepper. Eat and let the tastes melt in your mouth, feel their marriage and enjoy.
This is what I am passionate about and want to share with you. Some of the simple ways to make food that tastes good and which is not what you find all over this country in the nation wide food chains. Don’t punish yourself with what is labeled to be a pizza which in truth is nothing more than soggy dough with an overload of tomato sauce, cheese and pepperoni, if you can have good, stone oven baked authentic (Neapolitan) pizza, which a good restaurant, like for example Spin, offers. Rather eat less but better and enjoy it. Your waste and your health will be grateful too.