Bouillabaisse Against Bullies

Today I celebrate bouillabaisse! A fish stew from Marseille. The broth made of leeks, onions, tomatoes, celery, and potatoes.

I serve it with rouille – a mayonnaise of olive oil, garlic, saffron from India, and cayenne pepper from Asia.

I dip grilled slices of thick, hearty bread into the rich sauce full of the flavors of the world that make the tongue dance, the belly sing, and the heart purr like a tiger.

No pasty white bread without flavor, nutrition or fiber.

Marseille is where they sing the song that calls the community to rise up and resist the bullies.

Quiche of Liberty

Today I eat the quiche of Liberty. The Statue is French and so is the food, via Germany. Both are immigrants, like most of our ancestors.

I eat the quiche of liberty so that we may eat cheese and worship as we please.

I eat the quiche of liberty that we may live unfettered by racism, sexism, and the tyranny of self-serving rich politicians.

I eat the quiche of liberty with the huddled masses of the Emma Lazarus – with bacon, cheese, onions, mushrooms, spinach, and Gruyere, all held together in the crust of community.

I eat the quiche of liberty and believe there is enough to eat if we cut slices for each other and share.

Apple Pie of Freedom

Today I eat an apple pie of freedom. Not that freedom is here, but pie helps me forget for a moment my despair.

I eat a pie of freedom because the desire exists that one day freedom will come for all of us.

I eat a pie of freedom, because fascists, oligarchs, and power-hungry men will not win in the end.

I eat a pie of freedom, because caring for the suffering of others is never wrong.

I eat a pie of freedom because life is more than the falsehoods, half-truths, and made-up lies that people spread about everyone who is not like them.

Today I eat a pie of freedom so that one day we may all sit down and eat pie together — apple, cherry, pumpkin, lemon cream custard — and we will ask how the other is doing, and we will listen.

Next week I shall eat quiche.