Foodie blood

Just when you think you've grown up and become your own individual, sometimes little things happen that remind you just how much you are a product of your environment. In this case, of my family...

Having spent a fair bit of time pouring over cookbooks in the last couple of weeks, I became mildly obsessed with a plan to acquire some figs. Figs with yoghurt and honey, baked figs with masala sabayon, fig tart... Just as well my mom is in Sydney this week and back tomorrow. So I sent her an e-mail a couple of days ago asking her to bring some figs back, if they're in season in Australia. And surprise surprise, this was her exact answer:

"Do you know I already had intended to get a box of figs back! They are lovely and I also will be bringing back some zucchini flowers (which were not available on my last trip) but I saw some the other day and hopefully they will still be around by Friday morning. I will also be bringing back a leg of lamb and you are all having dinner on Sunday night... Menu will be figs with proscuitto and yoghurt as appetizer and roast lamb with zucchini flowers and potatoes or whatever I can find here."

Not just figs, but zucchini flowers!!! I had my first taste of zucchini flowers at La Lucciola in Bali, where (if memory serves me right) they were stuffed with ricotta cheese and served with a gorgeous spicy salsa accompaniment. Since then, they've been stored in the back of my mind as a Must Try One of These Days, but never quite made it to the forefront whereby I actually make any progress towards acquiring them. And now my mom has beat me to it!!!

What to do aside from sending the humble reply:

"I want zucchini flowers too! I thought of them first! I ate zucchini flowers way before you did!!!"

Sigh...

Similarly, was having a conversation with Tam the Second Sister yesterday, when she suddenly mentioned that she had tried recreating the lamb chops we had at Azhang a few weeks back (link). She then recollected the dish in detail, the same way chef-owner Patrick had described it, and went on about the differences between the lamb chops at Espirito Santo vs. those at Cold Storage. And I felt a pang of jealousy because I'd actually forgotten the recipe! Even though I too had made mental plans to recreate the dish at home. Aren't I the Official Family Foodie?

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized I'm not... Aside from my mom and Tam, there's Sai Momo, Sook Por, my cousins, Sam Ee Por in London...

Sigh again...

And that's when I realized that all my efforts at being a dedicated foodie were for naught - I didn't become a foodie, or work hard to be at the cutting edge of foodie-dom. Rather, like the rest of my family, I WAS JUST BORN THIS WAY. And I am simply a slave to my foodie blood.

Oh well. At least I get figs and zucchini flowers for dinner on Sunday! And I WILL make those lamb chops, dammit.