Growing old but do we have to grow up?

What foods comfort you? What foods make you happy? What foods even make you sad?

Foods help to remind us of days long gone.  Memories of childhood can be conjured in a matter of moments when we decide what to eat.  Like for instance our favourites sweets. Or our first meal after falling ill. Or a dish by a favourite auntie .... But best of all is re-living the experience while eating such food.  A child-like sensation encouraging a playful, trouble free mind.  Sheer delight and relief at the familiar.

I know what I'd choose. Number one would be a buttered  baby chapati straight off the tawer hot and steaming.  My close second, cheese on toast.  A thick plank of bread overflowing with extra mature cheddar and a splashing of Worcester sauce.  Number three would be buckets of the best vanilla ice cream served in waffle cones.  Finally, I love home made rice pudding.

I remember my mother at the cooker finishing off the chapatis. With a her last bit of dough she made a baby roti just for me.    Just what I needed to see me through until lunch.  It made me feel special as it came from the top of the tower of  larger chapattis ready for the feast.

Ice Cream.  Mmmm.   I remember the days of the ice cream van driving up our cobbled back street and seeing everyone's faces light up..I would plead with Mum or Dad until they were persuaded.   I remember running through the kitchen with the pennies clutched tightly in my hand and out of the back door shouting to the other kids not to let him go as I was on my way,   My delight at the choices whilst standing in the queue.

Our monies never stretched to a flake or one of the super dooper lollies.   Instead we made do with double serving of strawberry sauce.   If "Mr Italyo", as we called him, was feeling in a very good mood he would give me a sprinkling of nuts too.  The trouble was that as soon as he saw me and my friends he knew what the order would be.  One cone.  One scoop.   No fancy bits.

I remember thinking that one day I would be able to buy a double cone with two flakes.   I would imagine him saying "Now are you sure you will be able to eat all that?" "No Problem, Mr Italyo.  It's easy peasy."   I'd say.

He was called "Mr. Italyo" because he owned the famous Italian cafe up the road.  I used to see him through the windows of the cafe where the full range of ice cream flavours was served. It was in truth more a transport cafe than a" ristorante or trattoria" and definitely not for kids.  I heard that he served the best breakfast in town.   The "Full English" sign in the window made me think that the cafe was exclusively for the English and that they would be full after eating all that ice cream.  

I still like to take my time in a sweet shop and find the child in me creeps back when marvelling at the choice and colour..The anticipation  makes me feel like it's time never to grow up even as I grow older.  

Films and Farhsan

Who loves a good movie? What type of movie is your thing? I am lucky enough to have the National Media Museum on my doorstep. Spoilt for choice with films to watch and auditoriums to watch them in! 

For starters, there is the Imax which is the first of its kind in the UK, showcasing some incredible movies. One of my favorites is an amazing documentary called The Hubble   

Then there is Pictureville proudly claiming to be one of the best-equipped cinemas in the world.  Actually, that was the city's old Library Theatre.  I used to dance on its stage - much against my family's wishes. Love to dance! Yeah!  

I love salsa and old Indian classical traditional folk dance from Gujarat and Garba Ras amongst many other styles.

Then we have the Cubby Broccoli cinema. Cubby Broccoli was famous for making Bond Movies. 

But I wouldn't take broccoli to snack on at the flicks though, would you?

My first ever experience of hitting the flicks was as a child to see Mother India in the early 1970s.  Bradford became very famous for its Asian picture houses and our local was The Arcadian. Not always an Indian film cinema but that's how I knew it in the '70s. The Asian cinema house was demolished in 1987. I cried as I  watched the building tumble, such a sad day for me. 

A few of my favourites foodie films are Fried green tomatoes, La Grande Bouffe Chocolat, and A Private Function really  appropriate for this year's Diamond Jubilee

                     

Gosh, it was packed most nights. There was dancing, hands clapping ..... Oh! And that was just from the audience ..... talking right through the movie and shouting out the plot as the audience got carried away. If mobile phones had existed. I dare say lots of colorful ring tones would have joined in too! Not that folk seemed to mind.   All part of the excitement and occasion. As they joyfully watched.

My mother thought the pictures were for those with nothing better to do with their time and money.   "A respectable reputation may be lost if seen there too often."   So the only time she went to see a film was when she went to see Mother India.    She made an exception for that film because it had a good, moral story and was thus acceptable. 

It was never a dull moment.  Fahsan ( snack food spicy and crunchy) is usually all homemade and of course, washed down by a glass bottle of Coca-Cola.  The food was amazing: samosa, fresh chapati rolls (biri),  Bombay mixes of all types and descriptions, a whole variety of Indian snack bites, and roasted peanuts with chili. There was no end to the variety and it was such a great social affair.   Like one big living room!   You would see rows of families and friends passing around tubs of homemade goodies and sometimes the bowl tub would get past all the way down the row so you would get a bite of someone else s food.   My Mum's food was enough to impress anyone. It was even being offered in exchange for cinema tickets. She never took them up on it, but I did!

My favourites had to be samosa.  A treat to which I never said no. I loved them so much that I learned so much about them.  They took the best part of a day to make - preparing the mixture, making the pastry, filling them, and finally cooking them.  
we only made them as a treat food and on special occasions because it came from another region and took so long in the process. Indian food varies from region to region as much as Turkish food varies from Spanish.  Subtleties that we in the west have yet to discover and understand fully. Next time I will take through my recipe....