While preparing the dressing for the Shrimp Salad whose recipe I have included here, my mind wandered from the food I was preparing to another type of food.
We tend our vegetable gardens, weeding, watering and feeding the vegetables with the very best fertilizer we can find. We lament when the pesky gopher pulls our string bean plants down his hole, vowing to rid the garden of this varmint.
We watch cooking shows on TV, buy cooking magazines, and then rush to that grocery store we have chosen to find the ingredients for that night’s meal.
And when we have found that perfect recipe, we invite friends or family to share this wonderfully prepared dish, basking in their compliments, and when the door closes behind your guests, you happily clear the table and put your kitchen in order. You feed your family dog, filling his bowl with leftovers, and, wandering off to bed, you are filled with a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. Ahh, another evening with friends. We have fed our bodies well, and another dinner is now over. You climb into bed and fall into a satisfying and deep asleep.
But wait, wait a minute here, stop and think. What have you missed here. You have fed your family and/or friends, and yourself and your dog…but when have you actually thought about… ‘feeding your soul’? I am not talking about those dishes inspired by African Americans which began in the south such as fried chicken, collard greens, okra and macaroni and cheese and watermelon which have become known as soul foods…I am talking about “feeding one’s Soul”.
You may be thinking OMG, we are going to be held captive here, having. to read a religious sermon. Not true. However, there are good reasons to think about food for the soul as well as food for the body.
Food for the body is easy…food is necessary in order to stay alive. We go to work, we earn money, we go to the store, pay for the food, come home, cook the food and eat it. Simple as that. But food for the soul, that’s a different and a more complex matter.
I have a friend, let’s call her Mary for privacy’s sake, who wears the latest fashions. Mary’s home and garden are beautiful, but Mary is unhappy. Her husband supports her in every way possible; Mary is unhappy. Her children are loving, healthy and happy; Mary is not. Until Mary begins feeding her soul I believe she will remain unhappy for the rest of her life.
As children in Sunday School or Catechism we were taught the seven corporal acts of mercy. Simply by practicing one of these acts of mercy toward our fellow man, daily, Mary would be on her way to feeding her soul which, in turn, would lead her to a much happier life.
How simple food for the soul can be…a gift of a smile, a hug or a kind gesture. Cooking a meal and taking it to a family in distress or volunteering your time at any one of the many charitable organizations here in our valley will feed an unhappy soul immediately.
I know about feeding ones’ soul for I have forced myself to fill every waking hour I have with thinking of someone other than my own sad self, and believe me as I tell you this, this has led to great peace and happiness for me.
Since losing my Hubby I have been on the receiving end of so many selfless gifts of kindness… gifts of a phone call, a card in the mail, a visit, a small gift left in the mailbox, or just last week…a huge paper butterfly tied to my mailbox by an unknown friend which lifted my spirits immensely and reinforced my belief…Feed your Soul, Mary, the rewards will be endless!
Shrimp Salad in a Tomato Shell (4 servings)
2 cups cooked shrimp lightly diced
1 cup petite frozen peas uncooked AND unthawed.
½ cup thinly sliced celery
3-4 thinly sliced scallions
½ tsp. dillweed
S/P to taste
½ cup Best Foods Mayonnaise
2 cups each diced Iceberg and Romaine lettuce
4 firm whole tomatoes
1 avocado sliced
4 hardboiled eggs quartered
Cut tops off tomatoes and clean out seeds and membranes.
Lightly salt inside of tomatoes and turn upside down on paper towel to drain for 1 hour.
Mix all ingredients together and chill for at least 2 hours.
Fill tomatoes with shrimp mixture and set on bed of diced lettuce and garnish with avocado slices and eggs. Sprinkle with paprika.
