Luxury
I’m thrilled I raised a daughter who identifies with the
“great comfort” part of the definition of luxury more than the
“extravagant living” part.
A warm cup of cocoa on a chilly night, quiet time with friends and an early bedtime
could be luxurious for us. We both hear stories of people not quite satisfied
with the size of their diamond earrings or bummed about toting last year’s
designer handbag.
She called to say a giant bag of crushed
red pepper would be a luxury item for her gourmet Christmas basket and I ran
out to a Vietnamese store for one. Guess we ran through the bag we shared two
years ago. Neither of us can go without hot pepper too long, say three meals in
a row.
The next day I texted her to ask if she agreed that Dawn dishwashing liquid,
noted for grease-cutting power and cleaning oily birds, was to be considered a
luxury item. She sent back a yes and a smiley face, so I sent her a photo of
Dawn in New Zealand scent, which is where she would have liked to go on her
honeymoon. We decided to share a bottle. I refilled my pump bottle and handed
her the rest when I saw her. She suggested I put it in the gourmet goodie
basket, still under the tree. Crazy, but I like living in a world where two
women can be happy with a half bottle of dishwashing detergent.
Korean pepper shreds
My plan was to fill little jars of Korean pepper shreds I
found at a Houston market and give them to foodies I know. Pepper power is
subjective, but I didn’t find these hot at all. I did love how the thin red
strands formed a little nest when sprinkled over a dish. They’re an edible
conversation starter.
When a friend gave me jars of every combination of
orange, lemon, pineapple and ginger marmalades I could imagine, I wanted to
share pepper shreds with her. The next day she texted me an image of her
strands over an omelet and how they added a sweet, smoky flavor.
No comments:
Post a Comment