Soul Food

When my aunt died several years ago, I fell off an 11-month vegetarian wagon during the whole grieving/funeral process. The frenzy of it all made eating the way I had gotten used to very difficult and inconvenient, and so during the repass when there was not much else on offer, I had some chicken and my career as a medically-prescribed vegetarian was over.

When my grandmother died last week, it was just as harrowing but cooking was necessary - both as a distraction from the grief and as a means to avoid falling into a fast food trap during the same post-loss frenzy. With the exception of too many finger sandwiches after the funeral yesterday, after a long day, and a long week, I managed to stick to home cooked, fresh and healthy meals and a lot of fresh fruit.

I especially loved my lean chicken and mushroom meatballs, which were nicely seasoned, baked and then cooked in fresh tomato sauce (home made - I am done with store bought sauce), with lima beans. I have some leftover for lunch tomorrow when I return to work.

My gran was amazing in so many ways and has left a huge void in our family unit. She taught us so much, and we are so awesome in part because of the huge role she played in our lives. She was, among other things, a great cook and her house was a central hub for family get togethers and soul-food. I am glad I can at least follow in her footsteps in the kitchen and maybe start my own foodie traditions. She will be missed forever.