The answer - food. I have been asked a number of times if I know how to cook on the ranch. I always take the question as being odd, because in my experience one generally asks if a person likes to cook or if they can cook well. Of course everyone can cook. Apparently that's not the case here.
So to prove myself I have offered to cook some meals. I had my loving mother send me some of our families classic recipes, as any young cook is apt to do, and then went about translating the ingredients so that I could prepare my meals.
Unfortunately many of the classic staples of the North America kitchen do not exist here. Sour cream...never heard of it; salsa in a jar...can't get it; fresh mint...not likely to find it.
I have found this process very perplexing and limiting. In my disbelief, I have been challenged that I would likely not find many ingredients native to Argentina in Canada; a claim which I have scoffed. Instead I have accepted the explanation that because our country is founded on the immigration of so many foreign nations, all of whom have brought with them their culinary traditions and ingredients, other than some tropical fruits, you can find almost any ingredient in Canada.
The global food system at its greatest.
No comments:
Post a Comment