Rice
We just wrapped on our second Virtual Potluck, and I couldn’t be more pleased at the turnout and enthusiasm for the event this year. Seriously, I cherish everybody who takes the time to cook up a bit of food and send it in; it was a bit of a silly idea, but you all took it and ran with it and I couldn’t be more grateful.
The one thing about the potluck I try to convey is that it isn’t a cooking show or a competition or anything like that. I don’t set requirements or limitations of any kind. We added a theme this year, but it was entirely optional. I might give out awards at the end, though I invent frivolous categories because I’m not interested in judging quality. Really, if you’re submitting a dish, I’m only looking for two things: that it tells me something about you, and that you’re proud for having made it.
And sometimes, that second one is hard! Feeling good about what you’re making can seem impossible if your food budget doesn’t stretch as far as you’d like, or if even boiling water for pasta requires too much effort some days. I understand why folks might be intimidated by an event like this; it’s difficult to avoid the feeling that you’re being compared to everyone else.
So, a couple shout-outs today. The first to Emma, who submitted Low Energy Loaded Rice to this year’s potluck—I have so much respect for the honesty here, and if “low energy” is the best anyone can bring themselves to give, I truly appreciate that more than anything else.
The second goes to brachypelmide, who posted a dish called “The Heathen” yesterday—white rice with sweet-and-sour sauce packets and a side of boiled cauliflower. Half-meant as a joke, I think, and sadly too late for this year’s potluck. Were the event still going on, though, I’d say: if that’s what you eat, then I don’t care, send it in. It might not be fancy, but a meal is a meal; if it fills your belly and keeps you going, I don’t know what there is to be ashamed about. Also this one is worth reading for the amusing write-up.