If you look at each culture from around the globe, one common theme is food and how it brings people together. Large Italian families come together on the weekend to cook, drink wine and just be in each others presence. Koreans tend to venture out to their favorite neighborhood sikdang (restaurant) for special events with family and friends. Even busy, single New Yorker's host dinner parties within their inner circle. What's so intriguing about this to me is living that experience and being a part of something local... something driven by community.
Before I left for Korea, I flew home briefly to visit family and spend a few days in the Northwoods. Now, since everyone has gone from the house and the cooking is done for two, mom's cooking tends to be a bit removed from what I remember growing up. But when we all come together something magical happens. The smell of searing pork chops, the sound of kids playing in the living room, dad sitting in his chair patiently waiting for dinner to be served and mom, the way that she just knows how to bring everything together. Wooden spoon or a simple fork in hand, tending to the stove and always with a simple lesson for the days meal. She cooks more by feel than by sight, smell or recipe anymore. I love that!
I've had community gatherings of my own, though most came at a different time in life when I was a bit more "domestic" as Becca would say. Elizabeth and I would have a few friends over for a late breakfast complete with Mimosa's or a dinner on the patio extending late into the evening. This sharing of time, this venture into gastronomic community is what I want more of... I just don't fully know what it looks like yet.
