We hosted another IPG (Intensive Phase of Growth) here over the weekend, with Baha'is coming from Colorado to partner and learn from those in our cluster.I offered to cook lunch for Saturday, and spent much of Friday cooking and cleaning. I'd done my grocery shopping on Wednesday, and did my prep (that mountain of vegetables that has to be chopped for salad and crepes) on Thursday.
Well, I got an e-mail, a ' heads up' to watch out for wheat products, and there'd be another diabetic. In the past we've accommodated lactose intolerance, wheat and gluten intolerance, vegan and vegetarian preferences, raw food devotees, macro or micro preferences, George's diabetes, and the salt restrictions for older folks. I had to laugh - it is almost an insurmountable job just to 'break bread together'. A friend brought spelt bread as a substitution for my rolls, and we made it!
But, it made me wonder, that we in the West have accumulated so much abundance that it is not sufficient to just eat, as is the case in other parts of the world. We acquire preferences and suffer restrictions, some of them not medically warranted but just a lifestyle choice. I felt grateful that I've had a healthy appetite throughout my life, a love of hard physical work, and limited finances so I could just enjoy the basics - a garden and the enjoyment of cooking. And, as I age, there is a fascination with outcomes - the American diet, diseases of affluence, the strategies of marketing, and the addiction to 'cheap fast food'.
On Saturday I served Tarka Dhal, an east-Indian mung lentil combination that is mashed with spices.
It is like hummus, very subtly flavored, and wonderful warmed in a vegetable crepe. Cilantro is the prominent garnish here, and is used abundantly.
I made a 'chop' for the cornmeal crepes, using red chilies and leeks from my garden - these are laid out in the fry-pan before the batter is poured, to tenderize the vegetables. 
While the bottom is cooking, I sprinkle the top with seasoned breadcrumbs before I flip it over. That gives the crepes a crispy texture. The crepes are medium sized, filled with the lentil mixture, folded in half, then topped with cilantro.I also made corn/hominy chipotle soup; broad bean soup; tossed green salad with mandarin oranges, walnuts and huckleberries; a peach-pumpkin bread pudding and potato rolls. I think, given my enjoyment of these foods, that I was the one that was the most satisfied. I cooked what I love!
