It’s always about the food

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maria main
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Written by Linda Hohnholz

Just picture a great big steak. Fried, roasted, or stewed. Oh, food, wonderful food, marvelous food, glorious food!

Just picture a great big steak. Fried, roasted, or stewed. Oh, food, wonderful food, marvelous food, glorious food!

This won’t come as a surprise, given the number of food-porn photos I have posted (visit Maria’s website www.mariaismyname.com to see all the photos), but I’ll say it anyway, I love food. I won’t say that I will try anything, because that would be a lie, but I am pretty adventurous in my quest to try new foods.

In our family, food represents a coming together of people. We gather around the table to celebrate happy times and mourn the sad times. Together. We join to stuff sausages, grill meats and fish, fry large batches of chicken, then share the bounty around a table, filled with high-tone voices all fighting to be heard over one another. It’s our way.

When I travel, the highlight of any trip is the food. I’m not a shopper, so please don’t ask me to visit the local outlet mall, nor the newest and largest brand-name store with the fabulous discounts. That will not do. But take me to a food market or even a local grocery store, and I’m quite happy to lose myself for hours taking in the various local specialties.

It’s those local specialties I’m after – conch fritters in the Caribbean, moose burgers in Newfoundland, alligator fingers in Florida, grilled octopus in Spain, oysters in Prince Edward Island.

Food and the people behind it are the reason for traveling. If you’re not open to trying the local foods and meeting the people who are cooking it, then what is the reason for pulling yourself up from the couch? There is none. That’s the answer.

Last fall, I spent three glorious weeks in Lisbon. Every day I meandered the cobblestone streets and back alleys, taking in the different neighborhoods and plonking myself down in a local restaurant, with the goal of trying all 365 different codfish recipes, famous throughout Portugal. Of course, that was not possible, especially since my favorite is Bacalhau com Natas, and for which there are several recipes. I opted instead to try various versions of that particular dish. As with anything, some were better than others.

There’s a contest running through the Portuguese Food Travel Association (APTECE), which, if by some miraculous intervention, I were to win, I’d have another go at trying 365 codfish recipes. I’m not certain how that would play out, as there aren’t enough days, but I’d give it a try. It’s a 16-day food junket through Portugal – I’d take jeans with elasticized waistbands if I were to win.

Although my roots are deeply Portuguese, I am very much Canadian (sorry, not during the World Cup #ForรงaPortugal). A foodie trip through a country I left behind as a child, and one that will remain in my heart forever, would be a gastronomical learning experience. Further educating myself on the food and culture of this wonderful country will perhaps make me a little more Portuguese? I can try. Promoting Portugal, its sights, food, and its people is something I engage in at every opportunity, and I would of course, be proud further do so, if indeed, a miracle were to occur.

So, since I still do believe in miracles, I’m entering the contest. And if by some wild and crazy chance I were to win, well: Have I died and gone to heaven in a velvety custard tart?

Wish me luck folks.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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