Dinner

Some of us are creatures of habit, finding comfort in the familiar. I am not one of those people. I think I dropped my cozy relationship with the routine when my dad joined the Army in the late 1980s. We left family, friends, and almost a decade of New Jersey norms when my father transfered to his first duty station at Ft. Eustis, VA. Pretty soon after coming to Virginia, my parents separated and two out of three of us kids followed my dad halfway around the world to South Korea, Panama and eventually Germany. In that short span of eight more years (until I graduated and came back to the US to go to college), I had sampled everything from kugogi (dog) and squid jerky in Korea, to ceviche, plantanos (plantains), and empanadas from the mystery meet cart in Panama. I even picked up an affinity for Hefeweiss bier (unfiltered/naturtrub bitte!) weisse spargel (white asparagus) and rabbit stew in Germany, as well as wienerschnitzel, fries with gravy, apfelrotkohl (apple flavored red cabbage), and white brats on brötchen with Kühne senf--mittelscharf (damn-good mustard). Of course, on my numerous trips to France with both my family, my school, my friends and later my husband, I picked up a love of Yoplait's Yop (think a thinner version of drinkable yogurt that I've been drinking since our family's days in Montreal, Canada). Orangina, chèvre, good bread, La Vache qui rit (Laughing Cow)...this list could go on forever. Anyways, lest I start listing ALL of the countries I've lived in or visited extensively, I'll just stop there and say that all of my travels have inculcated a pernicious thirst for global cuisine. Not a day goes by that I will ever be satisfied with mac and cheese or skillet hamburger meal kits. Give me variety any day and I'll show you a happy gourmand.