Everyone loves a party

One of my final diabolical schemes, which I absolutely enjoyed, was the Slow Foods Gathering that our class did as our collective protest against fast food. Despite the fact that we all had a lot on our plates (pun intended), I thought that it would be a meaningful exercise to make a favorite dish from scratch and bring it in to share with the rest of the class. As usual, there was a mixture of responses. Some students were excited; others whined “But we don’t eat anything at our house.” Despite it all, we prevailed and gathered together on a sunny morning with our offerings.

I was amazed by the dishes that people brought in. There were family recipes several generations old as well as some newly invented ones. Ukrainian crepes and frozen pink jello shared a table together. Pineapple upside down cake, cherry cheesecake, and anisette cookies broke my resolve to not eat sweets during Lent. But it was worth it. The stories about what each dish meant to the person, their family, or culture really just brought home the fact that food is so central to our beings and that we shouldn’t squander our lives away on fast food only. We had such an abundance that we asked strangers to come in and share in the wealth.