It was early January, and I had just walked across the street and through the neighbor's yard to her house just cater corner from my own for an impromptu gathering in the early afternoon. I joined another friend, Melissa, Jenny, and her husband, David, for a cup of tea and the fleeting opportunity to try English Christmas pudding, David's masterpiece and a family tradition.
As I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that food has always been an obsession for our species, primarily for survival. Now, some of us on this planet are privileged enough to obsess about food in search of the freshest ingredients to make the most tantalizing recipes, using the finest techniques. Somehow, the juxtaposition of our plenty with the food desert so much of the world's population still experiences puts me to shame.
Yet, sitting with my friends, I was reminded that in our modern, technological era, food serves a most primitive purpose. It connects us to cultural histories, familial traditions, and some of our fondest memories. As David sliced his Christmas pudding, moist and dark with dried fruit soaked in port and served with custard, he shared a piece of his English heritage.
The original family recipe hung on the wall above us, typed, matted, and framed, a family heirloom proudly displayed. David showed us the pudding molds with lids, large for gatherings and small to gift at the holidays, and added that coffee tins make excellent substitutes. Of course, the shared experience led to discussion about our parents and childhoods and holiday traditions.
I absolutely loved the pudding, and hope to try my hand at it, too, next December. More importantly, I will remember the gathering, the friends who extended the offer and shared so openly, and the reason food is one of my obsessions: the gatherings. The conversations and connections at the table with food in hand nurture relationships and cultivate learning in exceptional ways.
So, I hope you will join me as I divide my efforts in the blogosphere between two blogs. First, I will continue A Measured Word as a vehicle for me to write reflective pieces about my life and life in general on the better side of 40. Second, I am launching Gatherings and the Culpable Cook to focus on recipes, all things culinary, and the art of hosting the simplest gatherings at home with friends, old and new. As I contemplate my hand at beginning my own business in our new hometown next year, I hope to use these blogs as a springboard for things deeply personal, my internal, and daringly public, my external persona. If you like what you read and see, subscribe and join me on the journey.
