the history of food

somebody once came up with the idea of cooking at least one meal together every week.

and by god, if we haven't held true to that.

it started simply enough.

tired of fighting the dollar beer crowd to vie for the attention of the hottest bartender in town on a tuesday night, opting for a quite evening of pbr and board games.

was it august when we started dinners?
was it august when we still enthusiastically drank pbr?

have we successfully gathered together, more or less, every tuesday since august?

unbelievable!

has it been that long?
has it only been that long?




tuesday dinners vary so greatly from week to week. jean's birthday and the casserole extravaganza brought a huge crowd and at least one face that was to become a permanent fixture in the family. election day had take and bake pizza, out of town strangers and only a few regulars. often, it seems, dinners transform into dance parties or a similar loud after-bar kind of hoopla. perhaps an attempt at making the evening last as long as possible.

strange, how much the outcome changes from week to week.

not strange at all that this weekly ritual of sharing food has brought more wonderful people into our lives, has morphed strangers into the closest friends. these tuesdays have seen us through all the dramas, happy and sad, that have influenced our family over these past months.

last tuesday, we were still recovering from the weekend of farewell fiestas and sad departures. but we still sat and ate, together. united, as seperate as we may have felt.

it was a quiet evening, only a handful of the family, a couple stragglers. spaghetti and meatballs and a hell of a salad. leftover wine from saturday's rager. quiet, gentle, almost polite, conversation. the kind that you envision cigar-smoking, chess-playing men to be having while they gather at the park. the end of the evening punctuated by the late arrival of a verbose and expressive actress. concluded with physical and emotional distance between the remaining house dwellers. not awkward, based only on the distinctly different taste in bedtime movie watching habits of the two.

this week. who knows what will become.
jackie's presently cooking up an enchilada feast. and chocolate chip cookies.
i'm gonna try to roast a plethora of root vegetables and kick back with a beer before the host of family, strangers and old friends start pouring in the door.



zoe is back in town, coming to dinner (perhaps with friends) and preparing to move into neighborhood. zoe is the perfect example of the kind of friendship family dinner makes. i've only met zoe a handful of times. yet she called me before she even got back to town to see when i wanted to hang out. she's beautiful and spunky and i look forward to getting to know her more and more.

today, while inviting the masses, i received a mystery phone call from a friend (moe) of an old colorado friend (sexy betty). moe just moved to portland with her girlfriend, is moving to the neighborhood in a month or so, and is (according to betty) fucking awesome. i think i met her once a long time ago. she's from new york. i'm gonna love her.



happy dining, folks.

love to all you.