Delicious

Food is not medicine. I recoil every time I hear it defined that way. And I most certainly want to avoid eating any meal prepared by someone who thinks food is the equivalent of a prescription. The only people who eagerly look forward to taking medicine are called addicts, hooked on oxycontin or other drugs.

Medicine is used to cure, not nourish, and should be used wisely and sparingly. Food, on the other hand, is the fuel of life and a feast for the senses. If we decide not to eat (by going on a fad diet for example) our bodies send us hunger pangs and cravings, reminders that something essential is missing.

I look forward to every meal, every day, and I view cooking as an edible art project. Authors who write about the pleasures of the table, such as M.F.K. Fischer, Ruth Reichel and Julia Child, are among my favorite writers. Sample a few of their words plus those of Michael Pollan:

“If you’re concerned about your health, you should probably avoid products that make health claims. Why? Because a health claim on a food product is a strong indication it’s not really food, and food is what you want to eat.”  Michael Pollan

“I think one of the terrible things today is this deathly fear of food: fear of eggs, say, or fear of butter. Most doctors feel you can  have a little bit of everything.” Julia Child

“Anyone who feels they’re too sophisticated or too grown up to eat caramel corn, is not invited to my house for dinner.”   Ruth Reichel

“A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins.”   Laurie Colwin

“Giving someone a taste of something delicious at exactly the right moment is a fail-safe way to start a good relationship.”   Kim Severson

Food is a purveyor of pleasure as well as sustenance. No spoonful of sugar is necessary to make it go down.
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4 thoughts on “Delicious”

  1. Love it…..and now I’m headed home to eat fresh veggies from my CSA and a slice of homemade bread with real butter on it.

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  2. Again, I make scrambled eggs using real cream and generally put real cream in mashed potatoes, too. God bless Julia Child! With respect to gluten, Phil has had severe indigestion problems when eating many wheat products, especially bread, so we have eliminated it. No trip to a doctor or diagnosis needed in order for us to take action.

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  3. As a food lover, I loved this post. You left out the latest current fad, the gluten free diet baloney. Most people are not allergic to gluten, only those diagnosed with celiac disease.

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