Food is more than fuel. Food is more than filler so our stomachs don’t growl.  There’s something to be said for a salubrious lifestyle but life is to be enjoyed and celebrated and so should be food. I’m not talking about gluttony or extreme and expensive meals or exorbitant preparation. I’m talking about creativity and love.

Food as love? Yes, food as an expression of love. We all have memories of our mother making a grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch, and the recollection of having the same meal at a friend’s house and it not tasting quite the same even though the ingredients were identical. The difference was the love that was attached. They didn’t have to be gourmet meals, simple and plain but coming from a cherishing hand.

My mother was not an accomplished cook; her meals were mostly meat centric and built around my father’s tastes.  Scottish cooking, meat served well done with simple accompaniments but created with devotion.  I remember them fondly and they contributed to my exploration of other culinary worlds.

I feel sorry for mundane palate. There is so much to explore and experience in the world, why stay the course with the familiar. Food is like music. Different tunes, different styles, different composers make it an ever evolving affair to be experienced.

In my life, the BBQ is not a mechanism for heating up burgers or grilling a steak. It’s an oven, a smoker, a wood burning tool to bestow additional flavor to add another element to a meal.

Enjoy food, enjoy life, be well and eat well!

Scott