Soap Box
I'm sitting in the "cafe" area of Whole Foods, the American homage to all things "natural" and consumer.
At most of the other tables, people are enjoying coffee drinks, soups, slices of pizza, bits from the shrimp bar, prepared salads, gathered salads, mediterranean salads, sushi, etc. People to the right of me, but the 20 check-out counters are buying copious quantities of the freshest meats, dairy, produce, specialty foods. In front of me is a huge, plasma-screen TV extolling the efforts of chefs of the Biscayne Bay area, as interpreted by Tyler Florence.
Here there is bounty.
Here there is also the Holiday consumerism that tends to take over our country and many others at this time of year. You can buy Gingerbread House kits, Valrhona chocolate santas, belgian truffle collections, bottles from Dom Perignon to Beaujolais Nouveau.
I don't go through the throws of panic that hit many of my friends and some family members at this time of year. My secular, nominally-Jewish-Christian family does a bit of this, a bit of that, and nothing of mass effort.
But what I miss from my childhood was the idea that the golden rule used to prevail during this time of year. Now fender benders and close encounters of the shopping kind seem to have taken over. I keep feeling that instead of madly buying, we should be madly helping.
My family has decided, in this year of Katrina and the tsunami, Iraq and suicide bombers, that we will give to the world instead of to each other. So I look forward to my holiday shopping for causes, and to opening the cards that show me what those dearest to me have chosen to support.
Happy Holidays. Merry Christmas, Hag Sameach, A joyous celebration for Eid, Pongal, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice and all the other winter holidays that I'm just to ignorant to list.
And please, please Peace on Earth.
What's Cooking
Sauteed kale with couscous and smoked trout. I'm still using up Holiday goodies. Speaking of bounty.
