Spaghetti Dinner with Lindsay

If you want to treat somebody special, make them this meal: Spaghetti with a sauce that takes all day to make, garlic bread, a veggie on the side, and chocolate eclairs for dessert. This is what Lindsay’s mom taught her about how to show love through food. Lindsay is a beautiful human and dear friend of mine from graduate school. Those of us lucky enough to know her IRL (in real life) know her for her themed parties, her love of all things vintage and antique, her two calico cats, and her ability to have fun just about anywhere. This week we discussed the month she spent eating vegan, as inspired by a mutual friend of ours, as well as her favorite local spots to grab takeout during COVID. Lindsay mentioned this recipe for Soy Chorizo Dip - an entirely vegan appetizer that you will want to learn immediately! We explored specifically how cooking and eating in community elevates the experience: from cooking with her team as an AmeriCorps volunteer to ensuring that the elders that attend the program she works at have warm meals during difficult times. Lindsay shared about weekly dinners with friends and a special acronym that therapists everywhere are about to steal and use for themselves: PIES! Ask your friends and families to try out PIES this week, as you sit down to share a meal - share something physical, something intellectual, something emotional, or something spiritual from the past day or week. And see where that conversation takes you. Listening back to this conversation made me realize just how fortunate I am to have thoughtful people like Lindsay in my life to talk with, go to concerts with and share meals and life with. Things look a little different during the era of COVID, but we have known each other for 7 years now! Make sure to lean into the relationships that bring you joy and connection! PS: Our mutual friend, Sarah, whom you heard from several weeks back now has a website for ordering her salt in case anyone was looking for that.