I also look forward to Sunday lunches afterwards. That said, preparing them is a labour of love, even when you use all the shortcuts going; such as only washing and not peeling the veg. I tell the guests (often students who are grateful for a free lunch and so allowing me to feel less guilty about not peeling) that the roughage of an unpeeled potato is good for them, (although admittedly I don't apply that principle to every area of my culinary repertoire e.g. banana in a fruit salad). In truth, the real reason for avoiding this ritual is that I find the process about as appealing (no pun intended) as the prospect of having to manually operate the blinking of my own eyelids. So will look for any excuse to get out of it.
This week, along with washing up, the students showed their appreciation by building a snowman, or rather, Big Snow Mama in our back garden. It was a sterling effort to say the least, although I'm now nervous that the neighbours will think I'm a member of some strange Aztec Fertility Cult! :-SI remember back to my own student days when Dorothy, a godly widow with a thick Lancastrian accent and brilliant sense of humour used to feed us almost every week! The meals were varied and delicious, but the one constant every time (apart from the fruit jelly moulded in the shape of a racing car for dessert) was her warmth, love and genuine concern for our welfare. There was comfort in her consistency.
My menu will never be as varied as hers, as those who have been here more than once will testify. But her warmth, love and genuine concern for the welfare of others is something I want to emulate.
It's funny, I feel like a weirdo that when asked what I did on Saturday night, I'll say I stayed in to cook. But in truth I love it, I can listen to my audio bible or a good audio book, sing or even pray whilst I'm working, and moreover, I am convinced that relationships fostered over food change the world. If Jesus could humble himself to that kind of task, then who am I not to...
Postscript: If you do ever get peeled veg from me - then know you're someone who's really special (or who petrifies me ;-).
2 comments:
Ah, it was a good snow-woman! Thank you so much for lunch - it was delicious and very very much appreciated! You appear to be doing an excellent job of passing on Dorothy's influence!
Richard, why feel a wierdo when you're doing something you love, to provide fellowship and hospitality to people you love and while doing it praising the one you love? Sounds like a great night in to me!
And as for the veggie peeling, I was always led to believe the best nutrients were just under the skin, so to peel and discard was throwing away the goodness.
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