Over the years I’ve gone on jags of cooking in particular cuisines, usually accompanied by cookbook purchases. Many of these jags have related to access to ingredients and restaurants in the area. Others have been fostered by acquaintances or travels. Three examples:
Asian. Chinese was the first foreign cuisine I wanted to explore. One of the first pieces of cookware I bought was a wok. Never mind that it was a round-bottom pan and thus highly unstable on the electric burners of my first apartments. I got interested in Southeast Asian cuisines when I was in grad school and had access to the right ingredients. Most recently, I’ve been on Korean and Filipino kicks. Julian bought some gochujang (Korean fermented chile paste) for one recipe, and we had to figure out ways to use up the rest of the package. Indian cuisine peeks in from time to time, especially when I’m in a more meatless frame of mind.
“Mediterranean/Middle Eastern”. This covers even more territory than Asian. I dated an Iran-born Armenian man many years ago, and my interest returned when I went to the Republic of Georgia with a friend from college. I also had access to good Greek and Middle Eastern restaurants in Dallas, Ithaca, and Greensboro. I like Provençal cooking because it’s lighter than other regional French cuisines. Our paella experiments have been courtesy of our friends at the Paris-Madrid Grocery (formerly the Spanish Table) in Seattle.
Caribbean. Blame this on Julian. We’d go to Cuban and Caribbean restaurants when we’d visit his parents in Miami. Our friend Beverly is from Jamaica and has made all sorts of goodies when we’ve visited her.
The answer to what my favorite cuisine is depends on what mood I’m in or what’s available to cook. So, yes, I’m a cuisine hopper. My taste buds never get bored this way.
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