Good food is, and always has been, a big deal in my family. So much so that it’s equated with love. It’s all because of my dad; he was an incredible man. He’d been orphaned very early in life and was raised by family members. When he was a young teenager, he left the Philippines with an older brother and went to Hawaii.
The story is that my uncle, who went to work everyday on a sugar plantation, gave my dad money for lunch. But my dad went to the pool hall instead and used the lunch money to bet against other pool sharks. If my dad won, he ate very well. But if he lost, he wouldn’t eat at all. He would later go on to tell his own children—my brother and me—that we didn’t “know what it was like to be hungry” every time we complained that we were, as kids sometimes do.
My dad eventually became a really good cook, and I’m grateful he did!! In fact, he cooked our every meal; somehow my mom never learned to cook despite being one of 10 kids. We never went out to eat; there was no reason to. Both my parents worked blue collar jobs so I know our family didn’t have much money, but we ate like kings. When it comes to good food, I was spoiled.
My dad eye-balled measurements, so I gave up asking him for recipes. His specialties were chicken chop suey, green pepper steak, fried chicken, and steak. He’d ask you how you liked your steak cooked, and not only grilled it to absolute perfection, everyone’s steak would all be done at the same time, no matter the number.
The subject of food is always a safe subject to discuss whenever we get together with our kids and grandkids…food is the main event around which all other activities are planned. My father-in-law used to love to talk about where we’d go for the next meal while we we’re still eating the previous. I sometimes even recall obscure places we’ve been to because of a restaurant there—and at my age, recalling anything is a blessing!—like Juliette, Georgia, where we ate at the Whistle Stop Cafe, featured in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. Good food will always be a passion of mine.
I’m grateful for all the good food that has nourished my body over the years, the grocers, farmers and ranchers that provided it, memories that’ve been made over breaking bread with special others, the joy of cooking, fabulous grocery stores that make shopping for it fun. I’m grateful for everything about it!
And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. ~Genesis 2:6
