Food, in the end, in our own tradition, is something holy. It's not about nutrients and calories. It's about sharing. It's about honesty. It's about identity.
- Louise Fresco -
I've eaten meals of dry crackers spread with liquid cheese from a tube and washed down with tepid water whilst sitting in the dirt. I've also eaten at the finest establishments and just about everything in between those two extremes. There's always a constant though, that being: I was alive to eat that food and showed gratitude for having it to eat.
I like to share food with great company, I'm a private man though, so it doesn't happen all that often. I'm of the opinion that great company can make bad food better and good food great though, and sometimes I sit around and share food with a few special people and relish the opportunity. You know, alive and have food.
Those meals I ate in the dirt...Being surrounded by the company I was in made it better, the sharing, honesty and the identity, the close similarity or affinity I shared with those people, transformed the most basic of meals into...well, into something better. I recently did it again, but there was no dirt, we were at my cave house.
I recently got a few of those people I mention above together for a BBQ - It was a relaxed gathering of like-minded people and whilst we've all taken different paths now we have so much in common - A bond as such.
I did the cooking of course, it's a rare day on which I allow someone to touch my BBQ, and made a selection of salads and some other things as well. I generally follow a pescatarian diet only eating meat a couple times a week if even that...but grilled lentil burgers weren't going to go down well on this occasion so I added some meat. For the record I also made tuna patties but managed to get no photos of them - They were scrummy though.
Wagyu beef burgers, smoky chicken skewers, wagyu beef garlic and rosemary sausages and wagyu beef smoky chipotle sausages - My serving dishes don't match. Get over it.
We weren't a big group so I didn't make too much although a BBQ at my house just isn't right unless everyone has enough to eat - Fortunately the fellows, myself included, eat less these days though. Something about not being quite as active maybe? Still, I had left overs for the next day which is always welcome.
That's my plate below and yes it's plastic...it saves washing up you know. The salads are pasta salad, a green salad with cubed feta and French dressing; this had cucumbers, tomatoes and baby spinach grown by me also. The last is coleslaw, or slaw I guess some call it. It was very tasty.
The burger got slapped between the bun with some slaw and smoky barbeque sauce and eaten caveman-style, with hands, but I used cutlery for the rest. I'm cultured after all you know.
The food was well-received and everyone was satisfied. Afterwards I brought out that fruit platter in the main image and people picked off the watermelon, pineapple, cherries, strawberries, apricots and grapes as they desired.
Speaking of pineapple, there's an experiment I'm going to try one of these days...I'm looking forward to it but that's a whole different post. This pineapple wasn't for experimental purposes though, just to eat, and it was scrumptious!
The conversation flowed and the lies abounded; it's amazing how magnificent a tale retold years later can become. Deeds become more heroic, danger more deadly, funny events more outrageous and the ridiculous more...well, ridiculous. Many lies were told, many laughs were had and a few more good memories made. That's pretty much the essence of a BBQ at G-dog's house - A relaxed time, average food made with love and good company.
I'll be honest, I'm not one to go in for a lot of fancy things; I'm simple. That's what people get when they come to my cave house. Simplicity. I rarely invite people in, I'm so private and prefer my space to be mine, but sometimes I do and I like to think they leave content. My guests arrived at 12:30 for an early-afternoon BBQ and left around 21:30 that evening, after a toasted cheese sandwich session around 19:00. I tried kicking them out earlier but they refused. So, I think they had a good time.
My cooking and presentation is simple; I don't try to get too fancy - Decent food presented well is about it. The company makes simple food memorable and I think that's how it should be.
Anyway, that's about it. What do you think? Would you come to a BBQ at my place? What would you want me to make for you and what might you bring to contribute to the table? Let me know in the comments below, or just leave a general comment if you like.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind
All images are mine
