my Grandpa, my Inspiration.
“Aghhh GOOOOOONGGGG!!!!”
I walked into the living room of my grandfather’s bachelor pad, he’s 98. a trooper and the ultimate hero in my books to say the least.
the docs sent him home from two surgeries earlier on in the month, and with a giant crystal apple in one hand, which represents a lot more than the bain of my travels in the last 24 hours, and leftover xmas turkey in the other, i bust open the door to his apt, and proudly announce my arrival.
he giggles about the crystal apple, and places it on top of his tv, where my high school graduation photo used to stand… yea… of the 14 plus grand kids and 7 great grand children, my face made it up therrr. HAAA. me and my shameless pride. ;) everyone else is on the wall. :)
with no microwave, i steam heat the leftover turkey in the wok like he taught me how eons ago with two chopsticks and a ceramic plate. I promised my grandpa i’d bring him turkey this year, being the third year in a row since i graduated from culinary school where i’ve been making christmas dinner for my family.
“sick duck la!”
and the best part of my day, hands down, was seeing grandpa race to the table with his lil walker, and slam that bowl down.
gramps killlllled it. and then sat back in his chair, smiling, and holding his belly said: “mmm, ho may!” :) :) :)
“yee mui’s turkey is the best” in chinese.
omg. that made me so warm and fuzzy and giddy all up in herrrr…hahahaha and it just made me realize, that my foodie life is soooo guud.
and as tryptophan is infamous for, i curled up next to my grandpa and napped beside him like i used to do when i was 3 years old. i still remember vivid memories of waking up next to him and being wrapped in his fruit blanket – for realsies, the fabric was printed blueberries, strawberries, and bananas patterned on a white duvet cover. and i used to trace the outline of the fruit with my little finger when i woke up marveling at its warmth.
My grandfather is actually the first one ever who taught me how to garden. and he was the one who inspired me to cook. He was a chef himself, and used to cook for a living in China, Venezuela, and when he first moved to Canada, in Kingston, ON.
My sister and I used to run around grandpa’s backyard while my parents were at work and play hide and seek through all the plants while my grandmother hung the laundry out to dry on hot summer days.
I asked him where he learned how to garden, and he said that his great grandfather taught him back how when he was a little kid back in the village he grew up in when every family used to grow their own food in the what I assume to be communal lands of the village. Either that or it was private. My grandfather was orphaned twice, so I’m not sure who that father figure was exactly. But either way, my roots run deeper than I thought ;) …which was always hard to track as a kid, and even now in trying to trace my own family tree and dig for survival stories.
He began with grafted sweet potato roots, split off into three sprouts, and placed them into the ground. “Like this one?” as i lifted one off the kitchen counter that my uncle was apparently saving to look at. He was taught how to build bamboo vine structures to hold up vines for plants like tomatoes and winter melon, just like how he used to do in his own backyard when I was young. He would teach us how to dig holes in the fertilized soil, which I always remember as a stinky experience while I covered my nose and ran around screaming “ewwww, it smells like poo!” HAHAHAHA…
I always just thought my sister farted and ran away…
Gramps also showed us how to use a rice bowl to scoop soybeans into the dug out holes that I would then cover with dirt and pat down, every other year (which I now understand was to fix the nitrogen into the soil, ahhhh Unagi!!)
So only now do I realize how awesome and cherished these memories are, and how I will and must carry this knowledge on with me to my kids, and the kids I teach about how to grow good food. I can’t wait to get my own garden and practice! :) hahaha, you know, turn these words into hard earned self grown fruits of labour myself someday, in order to have my food and eat it too :)
Awww, Goong. I luff him so much. What an incredible man.
So cheers to family this holiday!
…and having the time to spend to get to know my own roots a little bit deeper has been incredible. :)
May your night be full of good food for thought too.
xoxo J xoxo
