Friendly Table

My Brazilian neighbors know how to have a friendly table. They toil all week and then on Friday and Saturday and Sunday nights it's a big release with singing, grilling meat and corn, drinking beer, and sharing. We could learn a lot from them. "We Brazilians cook our own food we don't go to restaurants," one guest said when I came over for coffee. I noticed two pressure cookers on the kitchen counter. Yes!!!

I am always disappointed by the attitude about food when we are invited to social events. Our culture views food as the enemy. I don't understand this especially as a person who loves to bake and cook and share. My quest is to put people at ease at the table. I was the child with severe allergies and stomach aches and emergency room visits. The family table was a terrifying place but it was where I wanted to be especially when my grandparents were visiting.

Now I am the one who puts my guests at ease.