If Dinner is Not Civilized.....

I've taken a bit of grief over the years over my candle obsession.

I hold that, barring technical difficulities, which I do experience from an exuberant fan during the summer, that dinner without candles, is not civilized.

My newest and most heart-felt quote is from a Nigella I've been reading: "if dinner is not civilized, then nothing (else) is civilized." Here. Here.

Please God, if you exist, save me from: eating standing, eating regularly in front of the television, eating "get'erdone" food, and anything that does not warm the hearts and soul of me and my family.

Please God, if you exist, teach my children that food is not fuel (well, it is, technically, but it is also so much more - psychic fuel), and that food is about civilized gatherings of our family to be together, to share each other's day over the food with which we nourish our bodies.

I've just come home from eating some pre-prepared "party" food, which means it made my stomach ache like crazy. It has something to do with preservatives, to which I react violently.

I had to fry some calamari and sprinkle it with some fresh lemon juice to calm my poor psyche and stomach down - talk it down - from the experience. Ouch. My poor stomach.

But, magically, when I went through the calming estate and routine of slicing squid, shaking it in the flour and cornmeal, and quickly frying and eating slowly with lemon and a bit of harissa mixed into mayo, I found myself feeling 100% better, calmer, happier and ever so much less sad and empty.

Home cooked food is the answer. Always. For any sort of happily ever after, cook it yourself.