Sandy Supposes....

Food Friends

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Day 2766: June 13, 2020
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Day 2766: June 13, 2020
Prompt: Write about your relationship with food.

         

         

         

         Ah, mmm, food! Food is intoxicating. It makes my mouth water and my stomach gurgle. There's nothing quite as pleasing and teasing than the aroma of food wafting through the air. Imagine a steak sizzling on the barbecue, or a batch of cookies baking in an oven. The initial bite of tangy citrus explodes on the tongue. Ice cream both numbs and electrifies. Yes, I enjoy a satisfying relationship with food.

         I'm an adventurous eater. I will and do sample anything. Once on vacation in Cuba, I astonished a vendor when I devoured a raw hot pepper that he had jokingly labelled as ' free chocolate.' I'll admit it had some zing, but my eyes never watered and I suffered no ill effects. I subscribe to the 'see food diet.' So far, the only veggie I dislike is the cucumber which is strange because I like dill pickles.

         Food has never turned on me. I've never known acid reflux, indigestion or heartburn. Perhaps my iron stomach is the result of conditioning. Growing up, my Dad relished his role as the family cook. He never measured ingredients and he loved to improvise/experiment. I never saw him consult a recipe. His day job had him toiling as a diesel mechanic and this stained his hands black. Dad never embraced stirring with spoons if his hands could do the mixing. Was there a transference of that motor oil? Perhaps.

         Food and eating figure in our language. How many times have I heard someone declare 'I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.' Who hasn't said 'I'll eat my words.' We slip in a 'chew on this' or a 'food for thought' when we speak. To engage in conversation is 'to chew the fat.' Strategizing is referred to as 'cook up a plan' or create a 'half-baked idea.' We explain our pondering and our travelling as a ' thirst or hunger for knowledge, adventure and truth.' Apparently, we are always considering food no matter what we do.

         I remember my Mom's edicts re home menu choices. Most likely I heard her spew these words when I balked at eating cucumbers which she loved and included in all salads. I resorted to picking them out and giving them to my siblings. This provoked her to say. "You don't like it? There are starving children in Africa. Take it or leave it. It's no skin off of my nose." Food has always been plentiful/abundant in my life. I cannot fathom never enjoying it. I am blessed with variety, too. There are plenty of veggies that taste better than yucky cucumbers.

         I suppose I really like baked goods and this could well be my motto. How do I like my eggs? In a cake. Actually, eggs are delicious in muffins, loaves, cookies and pies, too. This is true of many veggies, also, although I do find veggies to be delectable in their pure form as well. I must congratulate the genius who decided carrots, zucchini, potatoes, and more could be transformed/elevated into desserts. What an inspired wizardry! Never have I discovered a recipe for cucumber cookies though.

          Alas, these baked enticements come with something that alters my physique, calories. Calories are the ultimate buyer's remorse. They are insidious. They stick around, they cling, they refuse to budge. Oh, how can something that tastes so incredible and is but a moment on the lips metamorphose into a stubborn lifetime on the hips?

         Christmas time is my most tempting/alluring season. In an attempt to control my impulses, there are sweet treats I only create and inhaleer, um, sample during this holiday. I cannot resist them and I resort to dealing with my 'fondness' with words. I suppose I could say chew on this, or here's some food for thought.

         CHRISTMAS CALORIE REMORSE

         Christmas calories lay lurking all 'round the house

         stuffed into each nook and cranny, ready to pounce.

         They sweet-talked my will power, urged it to denounce

         the wiggle, the jiggle of my broadening bounce.

         Sigh. Writing about my glorious relationship with food has prompted my stomach to voice its displeasure. It feels neglected. My memory has shared that there are a plethora of homemade muffins in the freezer. The two of them are in cahoots. I must appease the rumbling. Perhaps once frozen calories are less effective?