I was reading an article on the works of mercy which starting off with the woks of mercy, which, as an editor, I recognised straight away as a typo error. (Life as an editor can have its scary moments.) I told a friend about the funny error, and she said: “I was thinking of mercifully good food for a split second!”
I must admit that I have never thought of good food as a work of mercy, though I did become interested in making food taste good for people who have chronic conditions. Bland and uninteresting food don’t help people who need nutrition more, but have dietary restrictions. Sometimes it is not the food, but the person’s own taste buds that perceive the food as unappetising. I had a friend who said everything she ate tasted extremely salty. It was hard for her to enjoy the food at family celebrations when they went out to restaurants.
In some cases, it may still be possible for people with health conditions to indulge in good food, but in small quantities or in moderation. There are big hamburgers and baby hamburgers. (I discovered recently that hamburgers are also called hambaobao in Singapore.)
There are some people who don’t like hamburgers because they are made of minced meat, but will happily eat minced meat in other forms, like minced meat in nori rolls or as basil leaf chicken.
When people have to eat salad regularly, it’s good to dress the salad up differently each time. A salad dressing of water, lime juice, a bit of sugar, finely chopped lemongrass and a bit of fish sauce is a good alternative to oil-based dressings.
A big occasion doesn’t mean that you have to have a big and complicated meal. A light meal is just as good, like Cecille’s salmon dinner and Brenda’s sushi dinner.
Brenda had a lot of fun making sushi with her family on Father’s Day. Active participation and teamwork go a long way when it comes to making a family celebration meal a success.
The joy of cooking is worth spreading. Food is a necessity, but when it is good and healthy, it is also a joy (and sometimes a work of mercy).
By Chayo, HomSkil Editor 1, 1 July 2021
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