Sharing A Good Meal=Magic

There is "no greater inducement to conversation than sitting around a table and sharing a good meal."  Thank you, to the late, great champion, author and teacher of home cooking, Marion Cunningham.

I had the good fortune of having Marion's wisdom illustrated once again for me and my family the other night when one of my daughters cooked us a feast of Chinese-inspired food. Based on some terrific, inventive recipes using ingredients one might already have on hand. (Grace Parisi, "Food and Wine," February 2013).

Yum, yum, yum. In body and soul.

What is it about having someone cook delicious food for us?  Needn't be fancy or expensive or elaborate.  It just requires a few good ingredients, a little time and thought, mixed with the ineffable spirit of the cook.  Presto!  Magic.

Of course, our taste buds and olfactory sense are dancing joyfully, along with our bellies.  But the alchemy of the chef's soul and generosity mixed with some tasty edibles never fails to deliver deep senses of connection, comfort, contentment. That's my experience, anyway.

Time and again, whenever we create meals and invite others to tuck into them, we end up with many of our lives' most memorable moments.  Moments of deep meaning.  Moments that shimmer with laughter, pleasure, conversation, sensuality, community, joy, love.  Possibility.  Deliciously gleaming moments that waft on and on in our memories.

Perhaps at some primal level we appreciate that, through cooking, someone has just given us life.  Vibrant sustenance and joy for both body and soul.  And we are deeply grateful for that.

I often think much hope for the world lies in these moments we share, eating together around the table.  Making room for others.  Inviting them to dive in and connect through the meal's comfort.

Here's wishing you that sustenance and joy...and that hope. Bon appetit!