A friend called yesterday, and she had her feet knocked out from underneath her. We have all, including myself had bad days or weeks. Many people have called this the “wolf”. The “wolf” that sniffs at everyone’s door and comes in with different forms. It may be in the form of losing your retirement that you have worked so hard for 50 years, it may be that your air-conditioner has stopped working and it is 98 degrees (feels like 110 degrees with humidity) and no cash or credit to fix it. Sarah Ban Breathnach coined it beautifully in her book, Simple Abundance. Sarah wrote about M.F.K. Fisher and how she kept her “wolves at bay”. She says “Poverty is always experienced in the soul before it is felt in the pocketbook.”
We all want it~ a full belly, a heart overflowing with love. Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher, a wonderful food writer who lived during the depression said it best.
It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others. So it happens that when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth and the love of it and the hunger for it… and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied… and it is all one.
― M.F.K. Fisher, The Art of Eating: 50th Anniversary Edition
How many times have we been around a table, and the memory of it fills our soul? The ritual of “breaking bread” with our loved ones is such a soul lifting experience. Afterwards, full from eating, we linger at the table because the company is so wonderful and we want to continue the conversation and laughter.
When friends come over, it is such a pleasure for me to make a wonderful meal for them to show my love to them but I also get to share in conversation to solve our small but very important life problems. The combination of food, wine, and deep belly laughs are all I really need to persevere through a really difficult week.
This action need not be expensive. This recipe of Tomato, Mozzarella, and Basil Linguine isn’t expensive at all and is not difficult to make. During the summer, taking a walk to your local farmers market if it is close by will only add in the wonderful experience of the preperation.
Surrounding myself around those I love with a great, but simple meal is exactly what I needed this last week to remind myself of how much I am loved. I encourage you to do the same. As Sarah and M.F.K said, “rely on your own innate sense of what you must do with the resources you have to keep the wolf from sniffing too hungrily through the keyhole.”
Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Linguine
Ingredients
2 Pounds Organic Tomatoes, diced (if they are not in season, use cherry tomatoes cut in half)
2 12 ounce container of Ciliegine Mozzarella (fresh bite size mozzarella)
1 cup fresh basil leaves chiffonade
3 cloves garlic finely minced
1 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 Pound Linguine
Directions
In a large bowl, combine, the tomato, basil, mozzarella, garlic and oil. While that sits, heat your water for the pasta and cook your linguine as the directions say on the package (usually 7-8 minutes). When pasta is al-dente, drain and add the warm noodles to the tomato mixture. Mix in salt and pepper. This can sit out for a bit at room temperature or serve immediately.
Cheers to wonderful friends around a lovely meal and to brick houses that can’t be blown down!