Since I was a graduate student in Ann Arbor, when I began cooking seriously, I have relished the time I spent entertaining my friends and family, especially during the summer. I love experimenting with recipes and shopping at the Farmer’s Market for the freshest, ripest, most mouth-watering vegetables and fruit. Picking apples and peaches at the local orchards, making pies and fresh applesauce for the holidays ahead. What could be better?
Nearly fifty years later, I still round up family and friends in the summer and entertain. Today, I might be referred to as a foodie, a fan of Ina and other favorites on the cooking channel, embracing seasonal foods and breaking bread, with those I cherish. Instead of fancy restaurants, my typical parties involve experimentation with the newest crazes, including kitchen appliances - from Cuisinart’s (in the 70s - remember when food processors were a new thing?) to sous vides, emulsifiers, outdoor pizza ovens, smokers, and whatever else is popping up in the food world. I pick a new food to master every summer - gazpacho, icecream, granola, lemon pound cake etc.
But this summer is different; every event has been like an episode from The Outer Limits. This summer has been the Olympics of Ozempic. It's frustrating, to say the least. Practically everyone I know, no matter their age, is striving to regain an 18-year-old body, albeit for different reasons. Some are health-related, and some are simple vanity. Whatever the reason, and quite frankly, I don’t care why, it’s killing my dinner parties. Until this fad is over, I may disband cooking for company entirely.
Once upon a time, I worried about preferences like gluten-free, vegetarian, Kosher, Keto, and vegan. I could generally deal with all that, especially during the summer when fruits and vegetables peak. But Ozempic, a stomach that never empties, guests who don’t have an appetite? That’s crazy land - a whole different galaxy. What do I serve?
Once able to judge how much to buy and prepare, I am lost, conjuring a party with little to no food. My kitchen has been brimming with leftovers no one wants to take home. Why take them? They'll just get thrown out in a different garbage pail! What happened to eating as an integral part of a community? It’s no longer fun. The joy of sharing a meal with loved ones is getting overshadowed by this trend, and it's disheartening.
And what if this trend never ends? Suppose the future of weight management relies on drugs rather than self-restraint? What will replace the fantastic chemistry when we join in a feast? In the future, will we ask who is eating anything rather than asking if one prefers chicken or fish? Would it be polite to ask ahead? What would Emily Post say if she were alive today? For those non-eaters, perhaps I’ll merely serve a fresh radish as an appetizer and gazpacho for the main. Hum, I do have a pretty mean gazpacho recipe.
AND MORE! Follow my Event Page for upcoming events!
Keep checking the Events Page for talks, tours and book discussions near you. Also, I have space for Zoom-Ins to book clubs if you'd like to 'Ask the Author."
Don't have plans tomorrow or Thursday evening? I'd love to have you join me at...There's room for a few more! Sept 19 is in Morristown, NJ.
Columbia Park
113 Columbia Rd, Morristown, NJ 07960
Maison Sisley Paris
652 Hudson St, New York, N
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