Food. We have so many emotions attached to food. Have you ever taken a bite of something and it transports you to another time and place? For me, it’s warm banana pudding with perfectly fluffy, toasted meringue.

Takes me right into my mammaw's kitchen circa 1990. I can hear her telling me it didn’t turn out very well, and I shouldn’t eat any, only to feign disappointment that I didn’t believe her. I can see the big hexagonal wood coffee table where I would place my plate and sit in the floor, my mammaw choosing one of the armchairs behind me. She liked to sit at the “kids table.” She would listen to me rattle on about whatever I was into at the time, probably New Kids on the Block or some such nonsense, and we would both eat too much dessert. Food takes us places.  


Preparing food is a beautiful art from the perfectly golden cornbread with crunchy edges my mom cooks in a cast iron skillet to the perfect layers of the chicken liver mousse at Chez Fonfon. 
Photo credit AmyMarie

I’ve had fantastically memorable meals at church potlucks and James Beard award winning restaurants. Don’t get me wrong. I realize that the ladies at the Glendale Church of Christ may not be in the same league as Frank Stitt, but all kinds of food experiences can be delightful. It’s like listening to music. You can thoroughly enjoy hearing your kid sing at their voice recital, dancing to Beyoncé, or listening to a Metropolitan Opera broadcast. Though different experiences requiring different levels and types of skill, you appreciate the passion that goes into creating the music. It’s the same with food. There are all kinds of different options, and it’s all about the whole experience. I’ve heard it said that you eat with your eyes first, but then you get the enticing scents, and the decadent tastes. It engages all the senses.  

And a great meal is never just about the food. It’s also about the setting and the company. When I was at Huntingdon College, I sang in a small Renaissance ensemble called the Huntingdon Consort. Every year, we would travel to a Renaissance festival just outside Atlanta, Georgia. We would be exhausted and famished after a day of performing, and we loved to eat at Maggiano’s. It was an Italian feast served family style. We would eat and drink and laugh until our sore limbs could barely carry our glutinous selves out the door. I think most people can identify with this type of food experience, whether it’s a gourmet meal or Thanksgiving at grandma’s, most of us can remember a time when we have sat around a table and communed and connected with our friends and family over a delicious meal.  

Photo by Spencer Davis

I do also want to acknowledge and honor the fact that not all food experiences are pleasant. Most of us have had bad experiences with food at some point. Anyone else had food poisoning? And I would venture to guess most of us have a relative that has made derisive comments about our weight by either insisting that we need a second helping of macaroni and cheese or suggesting that we don’t need dessert. Food can get all tied up with weight and body image, and it can be an uncomfortable subject. If you need to skip this section, jump back in with us in a couple of weeks. We’ll be painting or singing or something. But please know that I’m sensitive to the fact that food is connected to weight, body image, etc.  


Finally, food is nourishment. So, this is the whole point of food right – to nourish our bodies and keep us alive. I don’t plan to talk specifically about diet. Diet and exercise have become almost as controversial topics as religion and politics. A wonderful meal nourishes your body, mind, and spirit. That gorgeous meal can look different for each of us, but I think the best meals leave you feeling satisfied and, maybe after a nap, energized. Sometimes a pizza and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s sounds like a fantastic meal to me, but I'm lactose intolerant and pre-diabetic, so I know I'm going to walk away from that experience sick and exhausted. Not to say that I don’t sometimes eat this stuff anyway, but I try to stick with meals that contain a little decadence and a lot of vitamins and minerals to keep me fueled on my journey.  


Photo credit AmyMarie


The challenge this week is to enjoy a fabulous meal with friends or family. Get creative in the kitchen, find your grandmother’s recipes and dive into some nostalgia, or go enjoy some fresh air on a restaurant patio. Enjoy the process of deciding what to cook or order. Then use all your senses to immerse yourself in the experience of eating and connecting with your fellow diners. As always, stay tuned on Instagram and Facebook for my food adventures over the next week or so. I’m going to get in the kitchen and try some new things. We will inevitably eat some takeout. And hopefully, we can fire up the grill at some point.  


  

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