Eat em up yum

Food has always been the center of my family life or at the very least it is the kitchen where my family was FAMILY. As a boy my Dad would cook up some sauce when ever he was nervous (when my brothers and I were teenagers there was a lot of sauce) and when ever he was joyous.
The former calmed and centered him the latter was how he shared that joy.

Cooking brought us into the kitchen. He would have mom taste the sauce to see if it needed anything. Then we would all test it. He would have one of us kids assist him in making the meat balls The size of tennis balls) or what ever he needed. Mom would make the bread and the pasta. My parents always cooked as a team and it was fun to watch them share a spoon. Nearly every dinner was an event and did not end until the last dish was dried and put away. On weekends this event began shortly after breakfast.

No visitor ever left my dads house hungry.

Much of this model I follow today.

My dad also had a rule: You do not come to any meal with a frown on your face. (very Franciscan of him).

Of course we Catholics understand the importance of the shared family meal. And every sunday we say "Happy are those who are called to his supper."

Here is a priest that combines the joy of the family meal in the Lords house and the Domestic Church.