Round Table Discussion

I love to eat. I love eating my cooking. I love eating others’ cooking. I love eating at fancy restaurants where you might get a small piece of Arctic char on a plate drizzled with avocado mousse. I love eating at diners in small towns where you might get a huge piece of meatloaf sitting on top of a mound of mashed potatoes. I love eating Mexican food. I love eating Italian food. I love southern cooking. I love hot dogs, hamburgers, gyros, pizza, fried chicken, barbecue spareribs, fish sandwiches, salmon on a cedar plank, tandoori chicken, and falafel. I could go on and on. You get the point.

Well, you get part of the point anyway. For me, cooking and eating are partly about putting food in tummies -- providing nourishment and primal satisfaction. But even more important, at least to me, is the connection that can be made around a dinner table or a picnic table or a card table.

Yesterday we had lunch with my father and stepmother, my sister and one of my adult nephews. The meal was very good, but largely uncomplicated. We cooked hamburgers on the grill. We served them with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, some of my homemade pickles, and yellow sweet corn. We sipped on beer and iced tea, and sipped coffee while we ate a yummy cinnamon crumb cake made by my stepmother.

But while the meal itself was fairly forgettable (though very good), the camaraderie was not. We sat around that table for probably two hours after all of the food was gone, and yakked. We didn’t solve world problems. We didn’t come upon a cure for cancer or the common cold. But we talked about things that were important to us. We told our father about our trip back home, and how highly regarded he was with people he rarely thinks about but never forgets. My sister told us funny stories about the interesting people with whom she deals regularly, reminding ourselves that all people are unique, but often very familiar. We talked about existing and upcoming grandchildren. We talked about hobbies. We laughed. We gossiped. We praised God for food and family and good health.

Food unites us as a human family. It nourishes our bodies, but it also nourishes us emotionally. It is the thread that weaves us all together. You can roast a turkey most any day of the week, but Thanksgiving dinner is about the people who are sitting around you at the dinner table.

So, cooking really should be, and largely is, very simple. Enjoy the preparation, the serving, the eating, and the sharing with family and friends.

Oh, and have cinnamon crumb cake as often as possible.