Basics

A solid culinary foundation, I believe, would build a lifetime of meals, which are now being prepared for family and friends. Having multiple guests over several weekends and with increasing pressure to have more over the winter season strikes fear in my heart. I’m on a search for easy-to-prepare fall and winter meals. Some can still be cooked outside on a small grill. I know, it’s only August but it gets cold at night.

I’ve shared some of my family recipes with you and hope if you have a favorite, especially an ethnic winter recipe, that you’ll share it. I hope to make it to the outdoor market tomorrow as I saw some chanterelles I know I need to have for risotto, or perhaps sauteed chicken breasts with sherry vinegar and butter and… chanterelles. I could tell they were fresh-picked and clean and gorgeous and only hope they’re there tomorrow.

Dinner guests are one thing, overnight guests quite another. Ideas are forming and they will become menus, grocery and to-do lists and it’ll all work out. It always does, I just get butterflies. I’ve been looking at things to do and have a few lovely things to plan in advance, depending upon the guest. Seasons are changing, as are guests and our tenure here.

In the past, dinners were planned regardless of diners’ wishes or dietary requirements. Today the pendulum has swung so far as to make a cook quake in her boots (cowboy, probably, as this is The West) and you end up with no wheat, gluten, cheese, meat, fish, dairy et al. If there were to be 12 for dinner and one was allergic or didn’t want to eat carbs or was vegan I might make one dish but I’m not going to change the entire dinner to satisfy that person. That’s not because I’m selfish, it’s because I’m catering to the other 11 as well and they don’t want to eat what you want to eat!

All I can say is that as a very rich nation with people who tell their hosts they won’t eat wheat or dairy or meat or fish we look at countries whose people are starving and would literally die for any of these ingredients. We are a nation that can’t afford healthcare yet throws our money at banks and car manufacturers. Ah, yes, I digress to politics. Food is politics.

Back to basics, we need food, water and shelter. Hopefully some of the food will provide clothing for warmth, one will live next to a stream or river, and will have enough branches or hides to make a shelter. Then comes companionship, communal living and organized hunting and gathering. One thing I don’t remember from my history books is when they killed the buffalo or picked the corn and people said they were maize-intolerant.

I don’t believe we need to protect babies from every germ that may come their way. Placing babies in a bubble makes them more available for opportunistic diseases. No, I’m not a doc. I had both kinds of measles and the mumps as a kid. Keep your house clean and wash the toys but babies put things in their mouths, always have, always will. You have a puppy and it sees a cigarette butt. Picks it up automatically, pfffft, will never do that again.

If a hostess asks me if we’re allergic to anything I must say that my husband is allergic to fish and seafood. But ordinarily today menus are geared toward meat or fish and vegetarian. He’d be more than happy to choose meat and if only veg is available, he’ll eat it.

Note: I didn’t finish this. When I wrote it I knew it had to stew for a while as it might be too strident, too political. But I’m sending it out to you early this morning with a good feeling in my heart. Cheers, Dee