Family Dinners

I love to cook and I love to eat. Sadly, due to my ongoing health deterioration the list of foods that I can eat without suffering consequences is growing longer. Salts, and carbohydrates both complex and simple are what give me the most problems. Salt for obvious reasons if you have or know of someone with heart issues, carbohydrates are not quite so obvious.

Carbohydrates are converted to glycogen for the body to store and use later. For each gram of glycogen the body needs 3 grams of water. Also carbs in solution, i.e. the bloodstream, help the body retain fluids. So both of these components of carbohydrates mean that a salty carbohydrate meal such as pizza will cause me to maintain fluids at a much higher rate than just salts alone.

I mention pizza because a couple years go I built a kitchen cabana in my back yard that has a wood fired pizza oven as the centre piece. And anyone who has had the pizza that I turn out tends to say it’s the best pizza they have ever had. Consequently family and friends are prompting me to make pizza with frequency. My sister in law does not even ask anymore, she just plans evening at our house where I cook pizza.

Please do not get me wrong, I love cooking for others, of course I like it better when the foods I cook I also can eat, but never one to pass up an opportunity to use my toys and gain gratitude from others I fired up both the smoker and the pizza oven, cooking ribs and pizza. The ribs ended up being a tad dry, although it was not the cooking. There were ribs on sale recently at a local grocer that we snapped up many packs of, sadly they are not that fatty so there end up a bit dry. The pizza however received rave reviews.

I think one of the easiest way to have someone rave about their food is to have them participate in the creation of it. When we have the big family gathering most everyone brings something to add to the meal. And of course it’s that persons favourite part. Another of my sisters in law will bring a dish she has agonized over for hours after considering for weeks what to make. Then reminds up all through the meal just how delicious it is. It is very funny. While at the same time she is not wrong that what she brings is very tasty.

I love the cooking and feeding as already mentioned, what is best about the family gathered about the table is the conversation and the styles of dialogue that accompany the individuals. Personally I really enjoy a true conversation with both side being able to present ideas rationally and support them without becoming defensive. I love to point out challenges with others points no matter the side of the issue.

A new dynamic in the family repartee has emerged recently, my wife seems to despise political conversations around the table. Other than she is embarrassed by my side of the spectrum I am not sure why she shuts it down. Really though that does not matter. More often than not I am better amused by just listening to the left wing nut jobs in the family than by engaging. It’s not like I am going to change their minds. I can make them look silly but they would not recognize it so there is not much fun in that. The favourite response to the progressive who cannot win an argument is ‘well I guess we will have to agree to disagree.’

I personally would never agree to disagree. It is difficult though when one side of the discussion is from a facts basis and the other side is all about feelings. Of course you can agree to disagree. You can not make your argument.

I will illustrate with two topics from last night. The first was a discussion about visiting China, one would think a discussion that does not engender passion other than that about seeing the Great Wall or the forbidden city. Personally I would love to spend time in Hong Kong, Macao or Beijing. Eat the food, meet the people see the sites. Tons of history and at the same time a revolutiuon of new.

But that was not where the conversation ended, nope, it was all about how wonderful the government wasin helping the people. What an environmental wonder they were, how happy and rich the people were becoming. No talk of slave labour, coal powered electricity or the disappearance of political dissidents. The dialogue was about what a wonderful democracy China has become. Of all the terms that could be used to describe China, democracy is not one of them.

And then the other discussion that made my radar was that regarding MAID. Or medical assistance in dying. Alternately know as assisted suicide. Which here in Canada has grown to remarkable numbers compared to anywhere else in the world that you can get it. The defence of MAID was that we should be ale to make our own decisions about our bodies. This is the same argument used for abortion. My body my choice. The challenge for me is not simply that I find it morally wrong, but it just seems a further indication of the cheapening of life.

A conversation about spirituality and religion had one of the progressives make the point that the biggest issue was the ramming of dogma down their throat to which I pointed out that the government does this incessantly with the dogma of atheism. This of course was to no response.

The evening finally came to a close with no hurt feelings and with those attending having a good time. And I was eminently entertained. A good night all around.