An Ode to Bolognese

It's Karen here, and I am going to end 2022 with a true story, and a couple of holiday wishes for you.

First, here is a true story:

On Saturday December 10th, I dozed off late in the afternoon. I awoke around dinner time and checked my email, still in a half-asleep daze. I saw an email from Bella Notte Restaurant (a local Italian joint I highly recommend) announcing the start of their seasonal winter menu. Then I saw it - the seasonal menu item I have literally been waiting for years to come back: "Bolognese - creamy veal, pork and bacon ragout with fresh pappardelle pasta and charred garlic bread." It was probably before COVID that I can last recall having this dish at Bella Notte. But it made an indelible impression on my taste buds and I have looked at every seasonal menu since, waiting for it to come back. So I promptly ordered it for takeout Saturday night. 

When it was time to eat, I was giddy. I put it in my special pasta bowl (fancy!) and ensured it was warmed up to the perfect temperature. When I sat down at the table, I looked at it and smelled it, and made a firm pledge to myself to eat as slowly as possible. My family was laughing at how happy I was eating this dish. It was pretty priceless. 

Now, here are my wishes for you:

I hope that during this holiday season and all throughout the new year, you experience the joy of food. And while food is a great joy in life, we need to ensure that it does not become THE joy in our lives. As we'll discuss in class this week, we cannot experience the joy in food when we use it as a bandage for unfulfilled needs. When food gets tangled up with our emotions, eating results in guilt. And that brings me to my other wish for you - that in times of shame and regret, you show yourself the self-compassion of which we are all undeniably deserving.