August is a time when many of us are trying to maximize the last days of summer. Food plays an important part of our summertime activities – family reunions, barbecues, maybe even a romantic rendezvous over sorbet and fresh berries. If you were at my Grandmother’s, you would find her serving up a large helping of hot homemade peach cobbler with an unapologetic scoop of ice cream. I can smell those fresh peaches now oozing out their juices and taste her homemade crust which is still my favorite part…I got in trouble taking the crust off of the pie…I still do this when I can get away with it. Think of your favorite summer time foods and the warm gatherings of family and friends to share in the feast. Umm Umm Good – the food and the fellowship. Now, I want you to bite into what feeds your mind, body spirit and soul with that same vigor
and excitement. Are you as invested and committed to getting your emotional and spiritual nourishment as you are to physically making sure that you don’t miss a good meal? In a few weeks, I will be in DC for a bi-annual fish fry that my friends graciously host. I love this event; hands down it’s worth the travel. I always look forward to going and chowing down on their
slammin’ fried fish. But it is not the fabulous fried fish and all the other delicious food that
keeps me coming back year after year and decade after decade. It is the love in their home, the open-hearted friendship of this couple, the gathering of a village from near and far, a tribe of old faces, and for me many new ones. That is the food I am hungering for…the “soul” food. Look, I’m all about great food but summer time is more than barbecues, fish fries and “gotta get you some more” cobbler gatherings. Summer is an opportunity to chill-out in warm weather and experience the breeze of authentic connection to feed and fill our stomachs and souls with what truly satisfies.