I would bet that this is the most raised question everyday with most families, “what’s for dinner.”  Is it dreaded, feared, ignored, or welcomed?  How much attention is it given, or better yet, how much attention does it deserve? Families all across the nation have to attend to this everyday.  Whether you cook or not, dinner in some form will be provided.  I know of families where mom almost hates hearing this question only because the later part of this question is followed by ” not this again…I don’t like this!” They cringe anticipating it.  Hearing this over and over again would not do wonders to the creative eagerness needed in planning the menu to feed the hungry souls.

How does each family attend to this question?  Some plan a menu for the week, others do it day by day depending on schedules, or is this fundamentally essential human need answered depending on what take-out correlates with the day of the week.

How did our parents, our grand parents and their parents deal with this.  How many choices did they have on their plate?  I guess the bank accounts ( or lack there of) is a determining factor as to how to answer the question, but ironically, some of the best foods came from the times where there was less abundance. There wasn’t the conveniences of prepared food, fast foods, or gourmet take-out. So how can we answer this question where all  parties (family chefs and diners) are happy?  With the all the endless choices of cookbooks, cooking channels, how can this question still be a dread, a inconvenience, a burden for so many?  What does it take for us to be able to integrate this potentially celebrated part of the day into our daily lives.  Maybe we are bombarded with too many choices (many of which shouldn’t exist).  Perhaps we would benefit from less,…going back to the times of “this is what there is,lets enjoy it.”  Simplifying may be the key, eating from the earth’s bounty always sounds good, but is it applicable in today’s life style?  Yes it can work, more importantly, for today and tomorrow’s generations, we can not afford it not to work.  Lets start thinking for ourselves, thru our past generations and our own cultures. Not soley thru the voices of our environment, food manufacturers or our media. Lets bring back the true celebration of eating something that tastes so good, very basic, chock full of nutrient, and recognizable as whole real food.  Allow present and future generations to experience the beauty and importance the very basic and magical time at the dinner table.