Building Food Bridges

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Is it just me or does this recipe for Smoky Grilled Eggplant and Lemony, Herby Quinoa Salad beg you not to put away the grill just yet? There’s something about the smokiness of the eggplant paired up with the lemony herby brightness of the salad that feels like this recipe is the perfect bridge between summer and fall.

I’m determined to try this over the weekend though there’s going to be trouble: my partner is not going to be wild about the meatless situation and will resent flipping eggplant when he should be flipping burgers if he’s going to flip anything at all.
 
The dinner table is so complicated nowadays. Some households are navigating wildly different diets based on religious beliefs, ethical beliefs, health beliefs, allergens, intolerances, sensitivities, preferences and trends. I want to say, with absolutely no validation beyond my own conviction, that there has never been a time where finding common food ground has been more challenging. Heaven help the food planner. In light of all the culinary separation, it makes me think that figuring out one food on the table that unites everyone is a symbolism worth going for. It’s food as a binding agent, like what cracker crumbs and eggs do for meatloaf. Like what children’s names all beginning with the same letter means to do for families.
 
Maybe a chicken burger crumbled up in the quinoa would bridge the divide. From my partner’s point of view, even better would be a cheeseburger on the side. Okay.
 
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