Potluck

 

Food was her language, her poetry.  It didn’t have to be fancy or complicated, but it had to come from the soul and speak to the people who ate it.  Something as commonplace as chicken was perfect because it was relatively inexpensive and readily available.  There were hundreds of ways to prepare and serve it.  Since about a month after this lockdown commenced, she’d been documenting her recipes and sharing them with friends and relatives.  The unforeseen result was that she was now also on the receiving end and the word was spreading.  To her surprise there were many people asking her to demonstrate how to create these meals from her own kitchen.

The ironic thing was that she really didn’t love chicken.  She discovered that when it came to poultry her taste buds were in the minority.  She selected it for its widespread and universal appeal.  It was a popular choice for both lunch and dinner due to economy and versatility.

The most undeniable thing about chicken was how multicultural a main dish it was.  What made it intriguing was the overwhelming amount of ingredients including spices, sauces, condiments, herbs, fruits and vegetables that were used in combination with it whether roasting, frying, grilling, stewing or making soup from it.  Then there’s what one can do with the leftovers:  croquettes, salads, tacos, rice, sandwiches and more.  As she posted the last episode of this season and breathed a sigh of relief, she knew she’d saved the best for last - eggs – the wonder food!

It had been fun, but she hadn’t expected it to be so much work and the fans so intense.  It was something to do when everyone was stuck indoors but she never imagined it would last a year.

“It all started as a lark.  I began creating projects to keep busy and decided to share them online.  My first demonstration was decoupage.  I realized it was inspiring some people to begin similar projects.  I even tried watercolor and Ikebana arrangements and all of those endeavors were met with a surprising amount of interest but food trumps all of them.

Now I realize the reason for the continued success of these podcasts stems from a basic need we, humans, have to communicate and interact with one another.  Mothers and their children did a lot to promote the sessions and when I announced that I’d no longer be doing them, I was approached by several members of this online community wanting to take it over.  So, I am very happy to hand the reins over and have every confidence that it will continue to grow by leaps and bounds.

 

Yvonne A.

March 2021