There is something amazing about a feast. Is it the sheer volume of the food? Is it the variety of the food? Is it the community that gathers around the food?
I don't know.
But I know that when I see a table laden with food, a room filled with trays of food, and the expectant chatter of people as they prepare to gobble everything up, it is a nice feeling.
This morning when I went out to put birdseed in all the feeding stations (and grape jelly and oranges for the orioles), I smelled the aroma of fresh food on an outdoor griddle. My neighbor was making a special breakfast. Those aromas wafting in on the slight morning breeze were heavenly. It made me want to start a fire in the firepit and cook anything that came to mind.
The excitement of a big feast, or an outdoor cooking event, or a special planned dinner, this excitement is a great feeling. Too much of the time, it seems to me, people just consume food without enjoying the planning, the preparation, the presentation, and certainly even the taste. We consume at the expense of truly enjoying our food.
It's nice to bask in the excitement and expectation and the eating, if we can. And by doing so, we slow down the pace of the world, even if only for a hour.
If you publish a cookbook, I would love this photo for the cover. The lighting makes it look a bit retro, but I really love the shot!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's also a picture that I love. I stayed up all night making all the foods in that shot. And there were more foods that were outside the shot. That photo was taken by my daughter-in-law who is an excellent photographer, assisted by my son (her husband) who helped with the arrangement.
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