Now, I’m in a new city I’m still exploring, a city so far
from home, with (for now, and hopefully, not much longer!) a little extra time
on my hands. So, here is one thing I’d like to do in the New Year. (More of
them to come.)
Cook more interesting meals… for friends
I’ve always loved home-cooked food. Growing up, eating
dinner at home with my family was the norm. My parents cooked, we set and
cleared the table. Eating together was a non-negotiable, regardless of how much
homework we had, piano lessons, athletic practices. I have no memories of ever
eating at friends’ houses during the week. That’s because we ate at home,
together. (When I was younger I’d sometimes gripe about not being able to, but
now as an adult I understand why it was a non-negotiable, and I’m very thankful
for that.)
Occasionally, usually on Friday or Saturday, but never
during the week, we’d go out. Although I didn’t complain when we ate out, I
always thought my parents’ cooking exceeded restaurant-cooked meals. (I have to
say, though, my favorite take-out meal of all time—even as a kid—is rice and
lentils from the Indian restaurant on Main Street in downtown Binghamton.)
There is something almost invaluable about cooking food and
sitting down at a table to eat with loved ones. For most families—I know this
was true for mine—dinnertime is often the only time of day a family can truly spend
together—without distractions. No TV. No checking email. No answering the
phone. It’s a cherished time to eat and talk. Nothing else. How was your day?
What did you learn in school? How was practice? Anything interesting happen? It’s
time to connect over good food. It’s the most basic form of community. Eating
and preparing meals together creates togetherness, embraces a sharing of tasks.
It supports discussion, welcomes human connection.
We live in a society where people no longer eat at a table.
We eat while we walk. We eat while we talk. We eat while we drive. We eat on
the train, on the bus. We eat at our desks at work. We eat on our couches, in
our beds. Rarely do we sit down at a table, take 10 minutes to disconnect from
our devices, to eat and engage in real
face-to-face conversation with loved ones. I’m no social scientist, but I think
our society is worse off because of this basic loss of simple human connection.
This brings me back to my resolution—to cook more
interesting meals… for friends. Although I really enjoy sitting down to eat
with Lindsay (what could be better!), cooking for friends brings me great
pleasure. For my three years in New York, cooking dinner was often the only
time I had to think about something other than school, and I welcomed this
distraction.
Lindsay and I often cooked for my roommates and friends.
Everyone was usually responsible for bringing something to share—wine, beer, a
dessert, or just ingredients for the meal. We didn’t have a table big
enough for everyone, so we sat on the futon, bar stools, and other chairs. (It
was New York, after all!) After the meal, non-cooks would do dishes, and we’d
all chip in to clean up. Then, we’d talk, laugh, talk some more. I always
looked forward to these communal meals.
This week, I opened my Moosewood Cooking For Health
cookbook. I wanted to cook something different and more interesting. I chose curried red lentil burgers topped with a mango slaw. In total, everything took
about two hours to prepare and cook. (One
advantage of underemployment.) The burgers were delicious and extremely hearty.
The mango slaw was a perfect blend of sweet, salty, and spicy.
Yesterday, I made quinoa-stuffed peppers following another
Moosewood recipe. They definitely take some prep time—mainly chopping
vegetables—but they’re simple, tasty, and pretty light.
I’m excited to continue exploring new recipes and styles of
food. I’m also looking forward to meeting new people, building relationships
with them, and sharing conversation, laughs and tasks over home-cooked meals.
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