Monday, January 23, 2012

Food tradition

It's been an incredibly busy time. Cooking and cleaning require more time and effort than I can remember. I am absolutely knackered but at the same time, I am glad I did it.

Although I chose to go fusion for lunch today, I madly created a menu that required a lot of prep work. I am thankful things turned out fairly well (so glad my sister-in-law offered her services today despite being under the weather).

Cooking is, for me, one of the most visible acts of love I can bestow on those I love for cooking was a major expression of love for my father who had a extremely refined palate and it is now a family tradition I like to honour, especially during festive seasons.

There is also a sense of continuity in cooking special dishes my grandmother prepared for the family that I first tasted as a child. This was especially so when I could offer my Fifth Aunt from England a soup she had not tasted in years, one that represents our Cantonese heritage.

As you may have caught on by now, food is so much more than mere sustenance to me for the art of eating well is not just about dining on exquisitely prepared cuisine, but it's equally the sense of occasion in every meal, enhanced by the sense of intimacy and union that comes from eating together food that was lovingly prepared from scratch, something that is often overlooked and not cultivated.

Just as we come to the Supper of the Lamb with reverence, we would do well to find the sense of sacred in every meal by inviting Jesus to sit and dine with us as He did in the past with prostitutes and tax collectors (we are not any better).

As such, I give thanks for having had the opportunity to sit down with family this Lunar New Year and celebrate our lives together.

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