An Introduction: the table
Currently while slicing:
eating: popcorn
drinking: iced tea
entertained by: Manchester By the Sea
As I'm writing this and setting up my blog for the 2017 Slice of Life challenge, I'm sitting at my wonderfully over-sized dining table munching on some popcorn, getting in a quick viewing of Manchester By The Sea before the Oscars tonight, and flipping through one of my favorite cookbooks to get some inspiration for dinner. I purchased this table in time for Thanksgiving two years ago off of request from my mother who reminded me that we "simply cannot eat a Thanksgiving turkey on TV trays while sitting on the couch". My small one bedroom condo barely calls for the space a table that could seat at least six can fit, but knowing how important the ritual of family dinners at a physical dinner table means to my mom, I obliged, rearranged my furniture, opened a credit card with Art Van, and made it work. For the first few days of adjusting, I resented this massive object that I figured would just take up space and collect junk mail and old magazines rather than be something I would actually use more than once... maybe twice a year. I intended to use this table as the platform to hold the epic feast from my first crack at hosting Thanksgiving, and after that, I couldn't see how it would fit within the life of 30-something, single female me.
I think I needed that holiday dinner to reshape my apparent unconscious loathing for dinner tables. Perhaps some part of me believed as someone who is on her own and who has yet to have a family that having a piece of furniture such as this would reserve "table-for-one" vibes on a recurring basis. On the contrary, the table provided me an opportunity to redefine a place of togetherness. It has hosted impromptu brunches, family dinners, date nights and girls' nights (as I finish this sentence, I just felt a champagne cork that I missed while cleaning from last weekend's spur of the moment "mimosas and a movie" Sunday!). My closest friends are always willing participants who try new recipes or help me chow down on entrees from a cookbook I'm working my way through (I'm sure I'll bring this story to the blog at some point this month). The table has also been the base for game nights, wine tasting parties, and has served as a Starbucks-esq work station for when I need to save on the dough and brew my coffee from home. I thank it for the many innovative and wild ideas for work that have come from hunching over its farm-style wooden top and also for the conversations among friends and family that seem to linger pleasantly longer in the seats that surround it.
Although I'm not one to make goals centered around diets and trends, I have decide to embark on a month long blogging experience to share my daily journey with food and the variables that accompany it - from the memories evoked to my adventures in the kitchen and beyond. As you read, enjoy each post with some music on, pour a glass of wine or open a cold beer, and enjoy. I want this to be a way I can share insights into my style of cooking, eating, and gathering, but I also hope it inspires you to think about how food lets you taste the slices life has to offer in ways far beyond just what you are eating.
See you all March 1st!
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