For the Love of Condiments

On a recent trip to London, I rediscovered an old love -- chips (or French Fries, as we call them here) with salt and vinegar. There is something magical about the combination, the greasy salty crunch with sour vinegar, that makes me swoon.

We are home now, and I'm back to my old lover, roast vegetables, but sometimes even I get tired of them. The other night, I roasted brussel sprouts with olive oil and salt, a "sometimes" favorite with my kids. And then I remembered London and had a craving for those salty sour oily fries, so I put out a bottle of vinegar for the brussel sprouts. Well, the kids were curious and each wanted a taste. I brought out some small bowls, and a few other bottles of vinegar (apple cider, rice and white balsamic...turns out I have alot of vinegar, and I didn't even get to the balsamic!). We set up a tasting bar and suddenly the brussel sprouts were just the vehicles to dip and taste and try a variety of vinegars.

Turns out, everyone had fun. I can't say everyone will always love brussel sprouts, but changing the focus from the brussel sprouts to the vinegar made me remember that it isn't always about the food.