Redneck Sushi

I believe you can learn much about a person's personality, history, and preferences by what they choose to eat. That stated, I guess you could say I am having a bit of an identity crisis because I think that Popeye's Famous Fried Chicken would be right at home on a serving tray with a fresh Greek salad and some steamed asparagus with creme brulee for dessert. Homemade creme brulee, made extra special delicious from the dozen egg yolks and the heavy whipping cream, not a jello pudding cup spooned into a buttered ramekin with a sugared top crisped from a kitchen torch. I saw that on a cooking show once. The "cook" LICKED the aluminum foil lid before he spooned the mayo look alike into his serving cup of choice. SACRILEGE. And I know Julia Child was spinning in her grave at that one. I don't make creme brulee often, but I do recall a dinner when a certain Vicar from the SOUTH came to dinner at our house and I served him creme brulee for dessert. And I torched it in front of him. As far as I know, he still talks about the time I set his food on fire. I can also recall a time when my brother brought home a girlfriend who liked "the pudding." I could have served her the JELLO pudding cup and she would not have known the difference. Know your audience, people, know your audience.

Today, a church member dropped off some fresh yellowtail tuna he caught this weekend. He gave us a long strip of the belly for sashimi and four steaks. We didn't bother with rice or vegetables, instead, we just wrapped pieces of the tuna in bits of seaweed, dipped it into soy sauce and shoveled it in. You don't want that stuff sitting out at room temperature too long. I added a little avocado to mine, but The Rev. was happy to eat the fish straight off of the cutting board. One of our cats went absolutely nuts from the smell (which, because it was fresh, I couldn't smell, but you know animals...), and he was treated to a few scraps. He kept licking his chops and coming back for more. I offered a bit to the other cat, but he refused. He only eats junk food cat treats, and in keeping with a certain munchie stereotype, only after he has eaten catnip and has rolled around outside for a bit.

So tonight I quelled my inner food snob and didn't worry about not having wasabi or having the right tea brewed to accompany the tuna. I stood in my half demolished kitchen, ate standing up (but not over the sink), and shared a meal with my family. I did use chopsticks. Some things just don't change.