Food is Love

There is no way to deny it.  No diet guru or "I-don't-like-to-cook" type or anyone else will ever convince me otherwise:  food is love.  Sometimes it's an elaborately expressed love, as when we prepare a holiday feast.  Sometimes it's a daily acknowledgement of our commitment to those with whom we share a table.  Sometimes it's a dutiful love that requires a trip to the grocery store even when we're tired and it's raining outside.  Sometimes it's an intentional, thoughtful love that stretches us to do the best we can with our budget, food allergies, likes and dislikes, and preferences.  Sometimes it's a grumpy kind of love that keeps going back into the kitchen, even when we're out of sorts with those we feed.

I am not a gourmet cook but I'm a pretty good daily dinner kind of cook. At right is a photo of my Thai Quinoa Salad with shrimp and microgreens grown in my deck box garden.  It was a tasty dish, I've got to say, and one I improvised using what I had on hand.  Part of my job as Householder is to prepare dinner Monday through Thursday evenings.  Friday night is Pizza night, with Aric as Master of the Pie, Saturday night is a "whatever happens" kind of evening and Sunday night, since Dwight is always working, I stay downstairs and have a quiet evening to myself, while Em and Aric take over the big kitchen and have some family time to themselves.  It's a pretty good schedule, but there are some challenges.

Here's the rundown.  

Aric's new BBQ

Aric is great to cook for.  He's an omnivore with a big appetite, tired at the end of the day, and happy to sit down to dinner.  Unfortunately for Aric, he is the only red meat eater in the house, so it's a rare day when he gets that itch scratched.  Last weekend we got a new barbeque and Dwight brought home a big steak from Trader Joe's so Aric could properly celebrate.

Mama and Baby

Emily is a great cook and shines on the weekends.  Her biggest strength is as a baker - cakes to die for.  The other day she made a vegan chocolate cake that was nothing short of amazing.  Now, initially I wasn't real excited about the 'vegan' part, but right now Em is not eating dairy or eggs.  This is because Kiyoko has developed eczema, and the suspected cause is dairy and eggs in mama's diet.  Em also doesn't want to eat any non-organic poultry, and because organic is so expensive, she's choosing to go vegan most of the time.

Eat! Eat! Eat!

Dwight is more fun than anyone to cook for.  His work schedule changes, so he is sometimes home for dinner, sometimes not.  When he is, there is constant chatter from his end of the table about how good the food is.  Honestly, it just makes a person want to do nothing but feed him.  Here is the Dwight challenge:  his job at TJoes is so physically demanding that he has lost about 25 pounds since he started and is having trouble keeping weight on (I hate him a little for that).  This has been great for his mild high blood pressure, which is now normal, and would be fine except that he has had to develop a whole new mindset about how much he eats.  He used to have to control himself, and now he has to make himself eat more.  For breakfast he'll eat a buttered bagel, 2 or 3 eggs, and half an avocado (that's after a breakfast appetizer of a couple of mini-biscotti).  Lunch is sometimes at home (and then it's a big one) or sometimes at work (then it's a PB&J, cookies, chips, fruit, with lots of snacks before and after).  Dinner at home and then a late night hefty sandwich or big bowl of something raided from the 'frig.  I'm always slipping him a handful of nuts to boost the calorie count.

PB&J with Goldfish Cracker Trees

Asaka is the classic picky eater.  This has been worrisome for his parents because he's also a little guy who has been slow to put on weight.  Now, that doesn't seem to affect his energy level (picture a small child who bellows out "watch out, Oma, I just have to run!!!!"), but his food repertoire is limited.  Put it this way:  we buy peanut butter in two packs and super-sized honey bears at Costco and go through them pretty quickly.  He does, like his Dad and his Oma, have a big appetite for chocolate and has trouble understanding why M&Ms are not breakfast food.  One sign of hope is that the other evening he actually licked a broccoli spear.  That's huge.

Kiyoko, at 6 months, is just beginning to experiment with solid food.  Carrots and sweet potatoes are a big hit, peas not so much.  She is such messy fun to feed!  Latest accomplishment:  mastering the skill of getting the teething biscuit in the mouth on the first try.  Her eating schedule does not, of course, correspond with the rest of the family, so in between the three meals there is baby food to cook and bottles to feed and a sticky, sticky baby to clean up. 

Is this me or Michelle?

Myself.  Oh boy.  I add to my own meal-planning 
 complication by going, as much as possible, gluten-free because I really do feel better without it in my tummy.  Also, I've been working with a personal trainer to get into better shape and along with the strength training have been cutting back on the calories.  A typical day is oatmeal with maple syrup and chia seeds for breakfast, plain greek yogurt with almonds and honey for lunch, and a small dinner without the bread, cheese, wine, and chocolate that seem to always appear (by my own design) for everyone else.  I'm not complaining!  My fat jeans are now at the bottom of the drawer and while I'm not really expecting Michelle Obama arms, I'm pretty pleased with my progress.

Wednesday is grocery shopping day, so each Tuesday I pull out my favorite cookbooks and binder full of favorite recipes and consider how I might  prepare four dinners for the upcoming week that satisfy the mighty-eating men, the vegan mommy, the gluten-free Oma, the picky eater three year old and make sure it's easy enough to prepare that I have time to feed the baby.  My newest cookbook loves are Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi and Vegetable Literacy by Deborah Madison.  Reading cookbooks is a joyful past time of mine and it's one of those things I wish I had more time for.  And while I'm at it, I have to say how much I miss my garden, and the dinner planning that began with a walk around the pathways to see what was ready to be picked, allowing that to be the starting point of dinner.  But that was then,and this is now,and the now is what I want most.  So. So. And so I cruise through recipes, imagining responses, seeking ways to nourish, finding a way to love. And like love, there are times when the the old and familiar is best.  Old standbys are like old friends you always want to come home to.  Tonight I prepared a dish we have been eating for years and which was a childhood favorite of Emily's:  Kusherie from the More With Less cookbook.  It's a simple lentils and rice recipe served with tomato sauce or yogurt and onions.  Everyone was happy, and, I hope everyone felt loved.