So today, Superbowl Sunday, is the second biggest eating day of the year in the United States after Thanksgiving Day. The average American will eat over 1200 calories in just snack food before getting to the pizza, chili or other main dish. Over the years we have done our fair share of eating at Superbowl parties, but today we kept it simple. Oh, we indulged in some pizza, but that was more out of convenience than anything else. It just gets harder to justify gorging ourselves on junk food and empty calories for a game we don't really care about in a world in which others, our neighbors far and wide, go without.
What I did make tonight was simple food to the extreme. A wild fruit pudding, Menotse Inhino, is a recipe from the Cheyenne people of America. It is simply dried fruits; I chose apples, prunes, apricots and berries, which are simmered in water, then thickened with a little cornstarch. The recipe gave sugar as an option, but I left it out, preferring the pure sweetness of the fruit. We all ate a warm spoonful tonight, and in the morning will stir the pudding into our oatmeal for a hearty breakfast.
Sometimes the food we eat can be a cleansing experience. I'd like to think this recipe will cleanse my soul of a little of the consumerism that takes over my nation for a football game. I'd like the warm fruit melting into spiced oats to remind me that while advertisers spent 3.5 million dollars for 30 seconds of airtime during the game, a family down my city street street, in the suburbs, on the reservation, went hungry and I have to work harder. To reach out one more time, to offer one more meal or hour or dollar towards fighting world hunger. That tomorrow is a new day, but the mission doesn't change.
Now you can be reminded, too.
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