FOODIES!

Biff's Bread

A quotation from the book I am reading THE SUBMISSION BY AMY WALDMAN, inspired today's blog as well as getting dinner ready yesterday for the Mc Clure's and Leonards.  Evie started with shopping on Friday, some cooking on Saturday, and spent a good part of Sunday getting various dishes ready. I had it easy----I made my bread.  The quotation struck me as being right on; I would be interested to see what others think:  As the main character Mo tries to fast during Ramadan, his mind is taken naturally to food, especially his colleagues obsession with food:

"He had not realized the degree to which food---planning for it, obtaining it, preparing it, eating it, wasting it, fetishizing it, creating it, selling it---made the twenty-first-century American (186)."

Ratatouille

I think Evie and I, whenever we have people over, when we visit our kids, even when we are alone, spend an inordinate amount of time talking about recipes, , the meals we are planning, the lists we make up, about what we need to buy when we go shopping.  All of our kids and most of our friends enjoy food in ways that perhaps some of the older generation did not.  For many, meals were just something to get through, fuel as it were, not an occasion, an experience, which we like to think of it as today.  I assume the change came as a result of increased leisure, perhaps interest in cuisines from other countries, especially France, I assume, as they seem to be the perfect example of a meal being an experience, something to be savored and enjoyed, rather than wolfed down, a brief hiatus in a  busy day.  I would think it also has something to do with wealth, education, as well as culture, as I cannot see welfare recipients settling down to a savory, multi coursed meal.  That they have food to eat is enough for them, and most likely, it's packaged, fast food, high in carbs and easy and quick to eat.

Butterflied Leg of Lam

Our dinner last night turned out well, as did the evening.  Rain threatened most of the evening, but we got our bean bag games in, Evie and Bill winning the tourney, I was able to cook the butterflied lamb outside, and though we had dinner inside, we were able to sit outside and enjoy the fireworks from three different sights, all within easy view, as we seemed to have the best seats on the lake.  They went on for at least 15 minutes, and many homes had flares illuminating the edges of the lake. We went in around 10:15, said good our good byes, and just about the time we got into the house, it started to pour, perfect timing.

Relaxing After Bean Bag

We had just about an inch overnight and it's cooled off appreciably, as it was 62 when I got up, to a cloudy gray sky, with highs in the 60's, quite a contrast from Friday's high of 90.  We love this kind of weather, cool during the day and night, great for walking or working outside and sleeping.