Food, Glorious Food

There are a lot of people from every era of my life who think of food when they think of me.  And rightly so.  I’ve always & forever used food to convey a sense of  “I see you, I care about you.”  

It started in elementary school, making Krazy Krunch for classroom parties, expanding into nibbles for Glenn Hall, then dinner parties for college friends, full-blown soirees as a young adult, my 30s saw Mom et moi as the "Muffin Ladies" of the college, my 40s ushered in whipping up monthly goodies for "Class of '70" dormies & adopted" classes, and now I bake for my Friday morning stint at the Bryn Athyn College alumni office (dropping by a plate of whatever to the Theological School). 

Ah, but will I ever top my crowning glory?  With the exception of the tea sandwiches & whimsical wedding cake, I baked all of the various nibblings served up to guests at our cathedral wedding reception. Still not sure how I managed it, but I did & had a swell time doing it.  

What brought all these food memories to mind?  I’m fending off a cold, loading up on liquids & sleep to elude it.  And I’m heating up one of Maddie’s cheese rolls, the cheese rolls I made sure I was well-stocked with before she hightailed it off to Singapore for almost a month.

In about 15 minutes, I will settle down with a big glass of fruit juice & tear apart the crisp crust, revealing the soft insides, laden with cheese & Maddie’s special touch.

Nothing brought home to me the power of food than realizing the pure comfort of having something to eat that was made by a friend.  My guess is that’s one of the reasons a bowl of chicken noodle soup served on a bed tray by Mom, crackers to the side of the wide bowl, always made me feel better right off the bat – the hot soup tasted wonderful, but the genuinely healing part was Mom. 

Food has a power to connect like nothing else.  For millennia, people – even enemies – have broken bread together as a way of closing a deal, settling an argument, sealing a truce.  Food has power. 

Right now, food – a piping hot cheese roll & a steaming cup of tea – will help me fend off illness as I wallow in the comfort of the couch, a kitty by my side & thoughts of Maddie all around.