The Kitchen Table

Where does the best conversation take place? 

When do we find the best opportunities to sit, talk, laugh, open up, be honest? 

Where can we truly learn? 

Where do the most life-changing moments in our lives happen?

Around the Kitchen Table.

You can sit in a classroom all day. You can hear lectures all semester and have loads of new information deposited into your mind....

But there's something different about the intimacy, vulnerability, genuineness, and openness that happens during personal conversation around delicious food.

It's where you truly learn, because you're truly listening.

It's where relationships are built.

It's where wisdom is shared.

It's where laughs come from the belly.

It's where the hard work put into a meal is appreciated, enjoyed, and savored.

It's where we indulge.

It's where life takes place.

Here at G42, we spend a lot of time around the kitchen table. Unfortunately, taking time at meals is a lost art in American society.

We hurry from one activity to the next… school, work, meetings, practice, church, parties…

Always something to do that is important and that needs our time and attention… reasonably so.

But we miss the delight of slowing down,

talking,

laughing,

just hanging out,

Spending time with our families, friends

and enjoying deliciousness

Before coming to G42, I spent time around the table with people, but as soon as the meal was over, we’d all get up and go on our way, each back to our own individual thing.

Here in Spain, meals never last less than two hours.

We eat. We savor. Then we sit.

And we live.

And the conversations that ensue, the wisdom and laughs that are shared

have changed my life.

Not only that, but in the process, we’ve gotten to enjoy some really good food.

In fact,

I’ve gotten to cook some really good food.

If we’re going to spend so much time around the table, why not make sure there’s something good to enjoy on it?

So, we all take turns cooking each week.

To be honest, at the beginning it was quite an experiment.

I came here knowing how to cook two things:

1.     Lean Cuisines

2.     Hot Pockets

Probably not exactly a tasty meal to put on the table for a group of people…

Nor is it the best way to ensure success in attaining a future mate ;-) 

Thankfully, practice makes perfect!

And there’s been lots of opportunity for practice here,

with people who are gracious and patient…

and who like to EAT.

So to show you a little of my progress from my humble beginnings of Lean Cuisines, Easy Mac, and sandwiches, I took a few pictures of some of the dishes that my cooking partners and I made this term.

*You might be hungry by the time you finish reading ;-)

Salad Bar - Romaine lettuce with toppings of chicken, garbanzo beans, boiled egg, carrots, broccoli, cucumber, corn, croutons, cashews, bacon bits, tomatoes, mushrooms, and cheese, served with our house dressing - Balsamic Vinaigrette mixed with berry jam.

Chili - Red kidney beans, beef, tomatoes...basically just your standard chili, but it sure was tasty!

I even included my special secret ingredient... but I can't tell you what that was ;-)

Greek Chicken Pitas - Mediterranean pitas with hummus, homemade tzatziki sauce, cucumber and tomato salad, pickles, and cous cous

Chicken Parmesan (actually made almost entirely by my cooking partner, Nate) - breaded cheesy chicken on top of spaghetti noodles, served with a side salad with oranges, walnuts, and feta

Thai Red Curry - chicken, peppers, carrots, green beans, homemade red curry sauce, served with rice

Chicken Cordon Bleu - ham and swiss rolled inside chicken, served with sauteed veggies and rice

 Cream of White Asparagus Soup - German-style soup with white asparagus, potato, and thyme, served with crostinis topped with cream cheese, bacon, and fresh roasted green asparagus

  French Bread Pizza - pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, salami, chorizo, and pineapple on top of toasted french bread, served with salad with pears, candied walnuts, and Gorgonzola cheese

Spinach Artichoke Pasta - spinach, artichoke hearts, cream cheese, parmesan, white wine, chicken, and tagliatelle pasta, served with garlic bread and a delicious fruit-filled salad that I had absolutely no room for

Meat-Stuffed Eggplant - Roasted eggplant stuffed with beef, goat cheese, pine nuts, cranberries, tomato, and onion, served with pita and hummus and rucola/spinach salad with cherry tomatoes and Gorgonzola cheese

Sweet Potato Black Bean Quesadillas - Sweet potatoes, black beans, onion, feta cheese, tomatoes, onion, and fresh cilantro baked in a scrumptious quesadilla, served with tortilla chips and a fruit and walnut salad

Needless to say, we like to eat! And fortunately, after a few months of cooking, I think I can finally say with confidence that I have actually learned how to cook!

We work hard, we eat, we savor, 
and we live :)

Surprises

After a late night out with my friends on Saturday night, I woke up with a start early on Sunday morning when my door burst open. Before I had time to squint and try to figure out who it was, two little arms flung around my neck and I heard a tiny voice cry out, "Sarah!!" It was Cesare, prancing into my room either to look for his toys, or just out of sheer excitement... I can't remember very clearly considering the sleepy state I was in. Either way, I really didn't mind so much. Zoila ended up shooing him out of the room so I could get a few more hours of sleep (which I ended up being very thankful for later), and I woke up a little later to Zoila telling me lunch would be ready soon :) 

It was a lazy Sunday morning - the whole family was still in our pajamas at noon - but we had exciting plans for lunch. For weeks we have been trying to plan a chili day (some good all-American food) and today was finally the day. The grandparents came over, the cousins and aunt and uncle joined, and we all sat down to plates of steamy, spicy, red-hot chili and cornbread. This was true American chili - not Italian style chili (we can leave out the fact that there was a little olive oil included), and everyone loved it. I squeezed the last few bites from my bowl into my overstuffed stomach, pushed away my plate, and thought, "I am quite satisfied." As everyone else finished their second helpings and I started on the dishes, I was summoned back to the table. "There's more!" they told me.

I sat back in my chair wondering how I would fit anymore food in my stomach and a plate with a quiche-like tart was placed in front of me. It looked delicious and was cooked by Zoila's mom with artichoke, cheese, and prosciutto, so there was no way I could pass it up. I kept wondering how I could it more food in me, but I just kept piling it in. I followed up the tart with a nice big piece of Italian style cheesecake.

In the afternoon I really took it easy, because it's been a busy week and I just wanted to rest. I spent some time in my room, watched a movie with the kids, and danced with Maria Vittoria. I also had a nice conversation with Shaila on Skype, but she got off in a hurry when she realized she still had to do some cleaning her mom had asked her to do. At one point in the afternoon, Zoila asked me for Andrea's phone number because he was having lunch with Patrizia who didn't have her phone on her, and Zoila needed to get something to Patrizia. I gave it to her and went back to doing whatever I was doing. 

Zoila told me I didn't have to eat dinner later, but she called me up to join the kids and hang out as they ate. I wanted to eat, but my stomach still felt so full that I just couldn't even fit a snack in. I decided I would wait until 9:30 or 10 to eat because I would probably start feeling hungry around then. In the meantime, we all hung out together and laughed and played. Zoila mentioned that she heard a strange sound and thought my cell phone may have rung, but I was too lazy to go check. A few minutes later, I saw that Aurelio had brought my cell phone upstairs to the kitchen from my room. As I was looking at it, the doorbell rang. I glanced over at Zoila and Aurelio to see if they knew who would be knocking on our door at 8:30 at night, but they looked just as surprised as I was and they asked me to go check and see who it could be.

When I went to go look at the monitor to see who was waiting outside (we have a video camera to see who is outside the apartment building), I was shocked to see all of my friends standing there, looking up at me and smiling. A huge smile then spread across my own face, and I excitedly asked them what they were all doing over at my house. When I looked over at Zoila to see if it was okay if they came in, it finally all clicked. They had all been planning this the whole day, and everyone had been in on the secret except me.

Andrea, Shaila, Martina, and Martina's cousin Eleonora came up into the house and patiently waited while I hurriedly got ready to go out to a surprise location. Luckily I hadn't gotten ready for bed yet, even though earlier in the evening I had decided I was too tired to try to plan anything for that evening. I knew I should have taken advantage of my last weekend night in Foligno, but I hadn't communicated with any of my friends so I figured it was too late to try to make something happen. It was a good thing I didn't plan anything, because they all got together and planned it for me!

As I got ready, I got a chance to talk to Martina and catch up with her. We haven't seen each other in about a month, because she went to New York with her dad for 10 days and when she got back my family was in town, so I was really really happy to finally get to see her again and hear about her trip. When I was ready, I asked everyone where we were going but all they would tell me is that it was a surprise.

They ended up taking me to a nice restaurant in town, and right as we walked in, I got hungry. Everything had worked out perfectly. Complete success in surprising me and perfect timing for everything! We had a really nice dinner (although of course I ate way too much), tried lots of different food, and laughed a ton. I kept smiling the whole night because I was so touched by all the planning and organizing that had gone into a special night just for me. Throughout the evening I kept having lightbulb moments realizing all the suspicious things that had happened during the day that I never picked up on. Maybe I'm a little clueless for falling for everything... or maybe they were all just that good! Sometime during the meal, the guys got up and went outside for a minute. Once again, I thought nothing of it, but sure enough they came back with another suprise... a big package just for me. I excitedly opened the gift to find a big cardboard cutout of a man holding a book. A few weeks ago, I told Andrea that one of my lifelong goals is to learn how to play piano. Therefore, they got me a teach-yourself piano book (in Italian of course) presented to me by Jim Brickman himself. I asked Andrea how I was supposed to learn if it was all in Italian, and he said, "You can learn two things with this book: piano and Italian." Looks like I have some work to do ;-)

 

The sweet night left me beaming and feeling quite blessed when I got home, but the contentment and joy were slightly overshadowed by an unfortunate fact: the last days have begun.