The Life In Food
She informs us that, ‘we are shortchanging our tastebuds and ourselves when we don’t put the best in what we eat, cook, or how we live!”
“Smells gggoooooddd in here,” Gracie comments as she enters Lorraine’s kitchen. “What are you making?” glancing around. A few feet ahead, in the center of the tigerskin granite countertop island, was a delicious Jamaican black rum fruit cake sitting comfortably on a single-tier cake stand. Begging to be eaten. Gracie grabbed a plate from the dish drainer nearby, took a knife from the rack, and handed both of them to Lorraine.
Nodding, Lorraine cut her a slice. Watching her as she tasted a piece, her facial expression screams, ‘Yuck!’ Lorraine eyed her, furling and unfurling her brows.
Gulping down what was in her mouth, handing the plate to Lorraine, Gracie argues, “I know you want to lose the baby fat. But you can’t cut down on the amount of sugar the recipe asks for and expect your cake to taste good.” Lorraine took the plate and tasted her delicious smelling and looking cake.
Gracie went on, “girl, you were a science major in high school. Don’t you know that sugar is hygroscopic?” “Damn,” she said, swallowing a tiny piece. “I forget that sugar attracts and holds onto water molecules, and the right amount helps to give a moister cake.” “Less sugar, a denser cake,” Gracie reminds her, easing closer to her, then leading her towards the cake in the center of the island.
“Do you remember what Mrs. Gooden, our Home Economics teacher in high school, always says before we start cooking? “Girl, you expect me to remember? That was more than twenty years ago,” Lorraine declared in disappointment staring at her cake. “You remembered the science part about sugar,” Gracie defends. “Yea, because I love Science then,” she confessed. “I can’t believe you recalled her exact words.”
“Yes,” Gracie asserts. “Because it’s one of the mottoes I use to improve and live my life.” Lorraine’s eyes shot towards her in shock, then unconsciously, she repeated, “You really remembered what she said?”
“We need food to sustain life. So, when preparing meals, it’s like planning our lives,” Gracie reminds her pulling her back to Home Economics class. “She demands that we find and add the best ingredients to the recipe. No substitute because it will diminish the taste, texture, and flavor.” Lorraine’s mouth was agape, shock flowing from her eyes as she was forcibly dragged down memory lane.
“She encouraged us to add the best habits, principles, ethics, and morals to our lives because our lives are like making a cake. The better the ingredients we add, the more we will enjoy what we created or made. She informs us that, ‘we are shortchanging our tastebuds and ourselves when we don’t put the best in what we eat, cook, or how we live our life!”
“Yes, I wanted to lose weight,” Lorraine fought back. “But simply adding less sugar, that has spoiled my cake?” “You weren’t listening in Home Economics class years ago, and you still aren’t listening now. And you wonder why your life is often plagued with one disaster after another,” Gracie chastises. “Boy, you make it sound so easy,” Lorraine throws back. “Think of your life as the cake you just baked. You reduced one of the ingredients. To you, that’s not a big deal. Your cake isn’t enjoyable for both of us. You don’t want to share it with anyone, so it goes in the garbage as a mistake. Wrong decisions, big or small, come with a cost.”
Sighing heavily, Lorraine shares, “You are right. I have been cooking all of my life, and it never occurred to me that my wrong or right ingredients/decisions would have such a significant impact on my life. I am not ready to be a single mother, Gracie,” she moaned sadly.
Hugging her, Gracie encouraged, “None of us are. Whether it’s for food or our lives, our decisions affect our families and us. You will have to raise that child alone, so your decisions must be carefully thought out. You can throw your cake away and make another one. But you can’t get rid of your. . . . .” “I get it!” Lorraine said quickly, easing away from her embrace. “So that’s why they say Food is life.” “Sorta,” Gracie said, hugging her again. What you put into your life, food, relationships, job, bank account, etc., is what you will get back in return. Your actions, choices, and decisions often aren’t as simple as the ingredients for a cake. But the wrong ones, whether it is a cake or your life, will have an impact.
Thank you for reading this piece. I hope you enjoy it. Please enjoy more from other writers on this platform.
https://thisisanneliselords.medium.com/subscribe
https://medium.com/me/settings/promote-memberships
https://thisisanneliselords.medium.com/list/the-yellow-hibiscus-chapters-e77651e40adb
