Monday, April 2, 2012

Broadening

They say that travel is broadening.  My hips agree.

We were on vacation in Florida last week. I didn’t count a single Weight Watchers point. Nor did I do any serious exercise, so I figured even if my general well-being didn't necessarily get any broadening,  at least my hips would, which is unfortunate, I guess, as I am already pretty broad in the beam, as my mother used to say.  “There’s someone who’s pretty broad in the beam,” she’d say. She might have included herself in that comment, but reserved it instead for individuals who really excelled in this category, such as Kate Smith who sang “God Bless America” regularly on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Mom often hinted that I was headed in that direction in the beam department.

Anyway, for the last two days of our trip, I tagged along to some events at the conference that Ken was attending. We sat with a couple at dinner one night and I noticed that both he and she looked like they had lost weight since last year’s conference. As they turned down the dinner rolls and ordered the pasta dish, without the pasta, I remarked on their resolve to make wise food choices when away from home. At this point, she whipped out a Weight Watchers’ Points Plus calculator from her purse and asked, “Don’t you have one of these?” I said, “No, but what a great idea.” I didn’t mean it. What? Am I going to use it standing in front of the potato chip display in the supermarket? I don’t think so.

Some people are determined to sustain their diet even on vacation, but I’m not one of them. A salad is a salad just about anywhere. So what’s the point? In fact, I’d have to say that our trips are mostly ALL ABOUT the food. Some of our best vacation memories are meal-related. Some people might say, “Remember our assent on Kilimanjaro?” Not us. We say, “Remember our seasoned, cheesy hash browns at “The Diner” in Yountville, California?”

So, instead of telling you about dolphin and alligator sightings in Florida, although very exciting, let me tell you about our gustatory adventures.

The dear friends we stayed with in Naples recently acquired a Big Green Egg. If you haven’t been keeping up with the latest culinary equipment, a Big Green Egg is a large, highly durable, ceramic cooker in the shape of a cauldron. It fires up quickly and keeps consistent high temps. It’s the ultimate in outdoor grills. The steaks were excellent, of course, but the appetizer pizza grilled in mere minutes was totally remarkable – thin, crispy crust, slight smoky flavor. Oh, yum!

At a bistro in Tampa, we sampled a tapas-style, Southern-cooking menu including  a “pork tasting.” Unbelievably good.  Especially the "lardo" bruschetta – a little slab of pork fat on a sliver of toasty French bread. Fat and carbs in one glorious bite. Oh, and the grilled shrimps with creamy grits. And the cheddar biscuits with pulled chicken. And the roasted cauliflower with walnuts in brown butter. Oh, my.

If a salad turns your crank, fine. But if the local cuisine includes shrimp and grits, or other tasty items, then count me in.  A trip is no time to count points, calories or carbs.

Food aside, I suppose the old saying is really meant to refer to the broadening of mind and spirit. As in, “What you need is a change of scene,” or “A change is as good as a rest,” or “Get over yourselves, the world is bigger than your dinner plate.”
But as I said, for me, a trip is mostly about the food. I might even frame a menu or two as souvenirs. And count Weight Watchers points this week.

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