Food Feeds the Soul

I have been very fortunate to have been exposed to many good cooks. My mother is a good cook, she learned most of what she knows from her mother, who though she was not a gourmet cook, could do wonders with a pile of chicken bones, a few veggies, water and flour. The resultant concoction would be chicken and dumplings. When you had twelve (yes, twelve) children, you made do with what you had, there was no waste in anything she cooked. My grandmother made chicken a hundred different ways. Baked, fried, chicken in soup, chicken and dumplings, the list goes on and on. No matter what way she cooked it, it was delicious, soul feeding food.

One of my favorite foods that Memere (that's what I called her..) made was something she called "gallettes". It sounds extravagant, doesn't it? Picture this: a smooth, golden brown puff of sweet dough, glistening in an amber syrup on a gleaming white plate. What "gallettes" were, quite simply, was fried dough drenched in 100% pure maple syrup (not that overly sweet fake stuff), gently warmed. Tender and sweet, they were like heaven itself.

What I wouldn't give for my Memere to be in my kitchen making "gallettes" for my daughters and myself as she did for my mother and me when I was a child. It would truly be a memorable experience. Today, we are so concerned with fat and calories that we have forgotten how to enjoy food. I believe we should strive to enjoy food again and once in a while indulge in a "gallette" to feed our bodies and our souls......

Till next time......
~T