my Lenten intention

Ingrid Friesen Moser's words in Simply in Season have stayed with me since I first read them while standing in my parents' driveway. Titled "Imagining modern day dietary laws for right eating," her piece begins, "Food shall be washed, chopped, sauteed, stirred, and baked with a grateful attitude and with tender loving care. ...Whenever possible food shall be eaten in the company of others. When that is not possible, eat in the presence of the holy. Light a candle or place yourself in harmony with God's creation by eating outside, near a window or with a flower or plant."

This year my intention for Lent is to eat at the (or a) table anytime I have something to eat. Sundays, in celebration of the Resurrection, I'll eat anywhere I please, thank you very much (and thank you, Sara, for the suggestion). I've enjoyed keeping this discipline so far. Indirectly, it prompted me to make homemade ketchup from Laurel's Kitchen and to appreciate the beauty of that simple, honest food as I ate it with some homemade chicken nuggets, or "nugs," as my friend Leeala would say. I'm noticing that I keep reaching for that handful of chocolate chips or the sliver of brownie on the sly. I can still eat them, but first I must sit down at the table and be thankful. This intention led me to peel potatoes at the table Saturday afternoon, something I seldom do. Generally I save kitchen work for the kitchen, not the dining table in our living room. But that table (pictured in my 2/8 post) is a Sears Roebuck special circa 1900 that's undoubtedly held lots of peelings . So I sat at the table and placed myself in the beauty of the room that holds it to do some blessed, ordinary work. And then I threw the peelings in the trash, because they weren't organically grown potatoes...ah, the decisions and compromises of life. Which leads me to the last thing I wanted to say today. We bought milk from the Twig Family Dairy (Tecumseh, KS) to drink last week. At $7.00 a gallon, we probably won't be drinking it often, but I couldn't resist a try. It was so beautiful pouring milk out of those glass jugs.