the friday feed: playing with food

What does it mean to play with your food? I think the answer depends on the stage of life you’re in.

I’ve watched my children feed my grandchildren. For the littlest one, food is placed on a tray or plate and explored with small hands. Sometimes it makes its way straight to the mouth. Other times it squishes through his/her fingers or lands dramatically on the floor, followed by a glance toward Mom or Dad to see what reaction it causes. At that age, playing with food is part curiosity, part entertainment, and part discovery.

As a child myself, I remember “playing” with food in a different way. I pushed vegetables I disliked around my plate, rearranging them to make it appear that I had eaten more than I actually had. I also remember chewing bites and spitting them into a napkin when no one was looking. Childhood can turn the dinner table into a stage for negotiation and strategy.

These days, playing with food has taken on a more creative meaning. Since Todd and I are heading to Chicago this weekend, I’ve spent the past week using what was already in the refrigerator rather than buying more groceries that could spoil while we’re away. A leftover chicken breast and a bunch of veggies became a stir-fry. Fruit was cut up for fruit salad or else stirred into overnight oats. By the end of the week, both the fruit and vegetable bins were empty, which was a relief. Mission accomplished.

Photography can be another form of playing with food. A couple of weeks ago, Todd and I toured the Wright-Dunbar neighborhood, where the Wright brothers grew up and where poet Paul Laurence Dunbar once lived. On the way home, we stopped for dinner at a restaurant with patio seating. When the server brought my glass of wine, I immediately noticed the reflections, refractions, and the way the light shined through the glass. Before long, I was taking photographs instead of sipping wine.

As chef Emeril Lagasse once said, “It’s OK to play with your food.” Cooking, eating, arranging, photographing, and even improvising with leftovers can all be acts of creativity and joy. Food nourishes us, but it also invites us to explore, experiment, and sometimes just have a little fun.