There are many different tastes and textures added to the foods that we eat, and they can be paired with a great tasting Wine!
Life could not be imaginable without food. It is part of every aspect of my life. Recently, I have noticed how much I truly depend on food and forced to think deeper about the foods that I eat, and the work put into creating such masterpieces. My teacher, Dr. Kells was not lying when she said, “We are able to cultivate relationships with each other with food”. This is something that I have really been trying to wrap my mind around because I had never understood the power of food. I think we all place different values on many things that come in and out of our lives but, none of it can compare to the foods that we eat.
Food is celebrated differently across many different cultures. If there is one thing that we have in common, it is that when final preparations have been completed you will find every member of the family sitting around the table ready to eat. The food creates conversation and allows people to admire both the chef and the chef’s dish. To hear forks and knives tap against the plates and your family scrapes their plates for every crumb is a sound of satisfaction. We can cultivate stronger relationships and have a better bond over the course of a nice home cooked meal.
When I think of all the holidays that I celebrate with family and loved ones in a year, it's always planned around a nice cold drink and uniquely cooked meal based on the season. During football season, hot wings and chips with sour cream are a must. When you walk into the house you can smell the aroma of the spicy jalapeno poppers cooking crisp in the oven, wrapped in sizzling bacon. In the cooler, there is almost any cold beer you can think of, it complements the meal nicely. During the Fourth of July, you can expect hamburgers and hot dogs from a nice hot outdoor grill. For Thanksgiving we see turkey, with fresh cranberry sauce, complimented with deviled eggs that make for the perfect appetizer. Finally, at Christmas we see smoked honey ham topped with pineapple served with homemade mashed potatoes and gravy. We cultivate feelings and relationships through food during specific moments that we are celebrating in our lives.
These meals really enhance the relationships that I have with the ones that are closest to me. It creates unique conversations, shared recipes and cooking methods, plus a good laugh when things don’t come out just how we intended. Although families don’t always see eye to eye and often times share differences, when it's time to celebrate, we make time to cook and spend precious moments with each other. I think one thing that I have learned this year that has meant so much to me is to be thankful for those moments because life is too precious to worry about things that we will never be able to control no matter how hard we try.
Meals with these people are irreplaceable. There is so much that you can both learn and teach about when it comes to the food we eat and the meals that we prepare. No two meals are ever prepared the same and there is always a unique touch added to make them our own. We choose to drink wine with interesting people that influence us in our everyday lives and share our time with one another. Food helps us cultivate these relationships and come closer together.
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