FOOD

    I waited for the appropriate moment to make a food post - Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is such a beautiful holiday.  We are sitting down with family and friends on a Thursday in Autumn to thank God for feeding us.   It's such a basic celebration.  Every ancient religion and culture has a festival or three dedicated to the harvest and hopeful future harvest.  Here in modern America when so many people have no idea what happened to the crops this year or what soil most of their food was grown in, we still sit down to a table covered with food and say thank you.  Modern man has become very removed from nature and growing seasons and the importance of rain etc. ,but he does know one thing - food keeps him alive and delicious food keeps him happily alive.

    Preparing food for the people you love is a privilege.  Making it tasty and beautiful and satisfying is a joy.  Knowing there are rumbling stomachs out there waiting to be called to the table is inspiring.  And finally setting down plates of hot, healthy, lovingly prepared food is a satisfying part of motherhood.  It's also a satisfying job for waiters and waitresses, cooks and chefs, caterers and anyone else with the job of feeding people.

    It seems to me that living in this modern world with all  it has to offer that eating animals is not at all necessary and in fact rather barbaric.  There is a long, long list of reasons why it would prolong the life of every human, as well as the life of the planet, to eat a vegetarian diet but eating meat seems to be closer to a heroin habit than even a heroin habit.  With all the facts staring them in the face ( as well as the sad eyes of a cow ) millions of meat eaters refuse to change.  So, we carry on.

    That said, I have had no problem adapting meat recipes to non-meat recipes with delicious results.  I also am fond of saying that I could live on bread, olive oil and red wine but that is a bit of an exaggeration.  Although...

    Food is important to the prettyluckygirl.  Thanksgiving reminds us how lucky we are to have it, and the proper diet insures us of staying pretty and healthy.  The pretty presentation of food is also important.  All the senses are involved in a good meal.  It should look gorgeous, smell exciting, incorporate various textures, taste marvelous and be accompanied by good conversation and/or  music.  A full experience is available every night if we choose to make it happen.

    One final note - don't be afraid to experiment!  Some of my very best dishes have come from a lack of ingredient and I was forced to improvise.  Also, when trying to recreate something from a restaurant, try, try again.  They probably took years to perfect that dish so don't give up.  Cooking is such a fun experience and cooking with family or friends helping in the kitchen just creates bonds and memories that will last a lifetime.

  Bon appetite, buon appetito, enjoy!

 ( I cooked all the food pictured, plus 6 dishes for the recipes tab,in one weekend.  So... have fun! )