by: Anna Frost
I am never more struck by the weather’s effect on my appetite than when it rains. There is some magic at work that shifts my gastronomic desires completely in one direction or another when the sky opens up and floods the world around me – and it even varies depending on the type of rain.
When it rained here on the Vineyard a couple weeks ago, it was bright, chilly and lightly sprinkling. As I could walk in without becoming soaked, I ended up wandering around Edgartown with a cup of Mad Martha’s chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in my hand – to the complete and utter shock of my Michigan-raised housemate and everyone else who encountered us in the streets. Though I could just smile and state that I’m from California, where we ignore weather we dislike and eat ice cream indiscriminately through the year – I am still shocked when I see an ice cream store closed for winter on the east coast – I’m convinced that my geographical upbringing has little to do with this bit of eccentricity. It’s just good weather for ice cream.
But then when the skies go completely gray as the clouds gather densely above and my Target brand flats fill up with water with every step, suddenly my appetite is a child. Only a bowl of soup alongside a grilled cheese sandwich will do, preferably enjoyed while huddled under a blanket with a book or a movie. Though, of course, my tastes have changed from plain cheddar and white bread to a variety of cheeses on top of wheat or sourdough bread, preferably fried in duck fat, the sentiment is fundamentally the same.
Today’s rainstorm definitely brought out the latter scenario. The rain and the deep cold that comes with it made me sleepy, which was followed by a yearning for a simpler time. Food is one way to transport myself back to those years, where a day wasted hiding from the weather didn’t mean more work for the next. Maybe a decadent, cheesy sandwich or that hot bowl of split pea soup is our lotus fruit for a day, allowing adults to relax during as the world darkens around us, lulling us into a peaceful daze.
Or maybe a grilled cheese sandwich is just a grilled cheese sandwich – either way, it’s delicious. I missed my opportunity today and instead relied on soup to sooth my rainy day cravings. Now, just to find a good grilled cheese for tomorrow, unless of course the sky decides to be sunny.
