food Archives - Diana Derringer

Potluck

February 27, 2023 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

Do you enjoy potluck meals? If you grew up in a large extended family like I did, you understand potluck. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends from everywhere bring food. Lots of food. Stick to your ribs food.

Attend church potlucks, and you get a little taste of heaven on earth. Dishes that weigh down tables, plus fellowship with other believers, fill both body and soul.

Friends, co-workers, and neighbors also create great potlucks. Food and fun abound.

Potlucks may be inside, outside, or on a hillside. We once invited neighbors to a potluck picnic on top of the hill behind our house. A farm wagon served as our table. Everyone enjoyed the scenery as well as multiple plates of country cooking.

Potluck refers to a shared meal with dishes brought by those who attend.

You bring whatever dish you desire. Although unplanned, the meal usually includes plenty of everything. No one stresses, because the meal is casual and everyone helps.

Potluck (sometimes written as pot luck) means to take a chance on an uncertain outcome.

Of course, if you attend a potluck meal, you take your chances on what you get to eat. However, this also refers to other unknowns, including:

Shopping
Travel
Work
Any situation with little information but high hopes

You have one certain outcome available to you.

If you trust Jesus as Savior and Lord, you never have to guess. You never have to face unknowns alone. Plus, God has planned a banquet for you and other believers in heaven.

“Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 14:15 NIV).

Thanks to Brad Leverett for the suggestion. Photo courtesy of Pexels.

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Putting on the Ritz

December 5, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

During Christmas, we see examples of putting on the Ritz all around us.

Elaborate decorations
Rich food
Lavish gifts (and lots of them)
Lovely lights

Those of us who usually live simple lives go overboard in December.

Putting on the Ritz refers to the Ritz Hotels.

Those hotels offer a life of luxury. Only the wealthy can afford them. Occasionally, we may save enough money to enjoy that lifestyle for a few days. Sadly, some of us charge now and pay much more than the original cost later.

Fred Astaire made the Irving Berlin song, “Putting on the Ritz” popular.

When we put on the Ritz, we act rich and stylish.

We may not be able to afford to live high on the hog. Yet, we pretend we can. We like special treatment. An occasional splurge may lift our spirits.

However, let’s never forget those who need the basics.

Many in our world don’t have enough food, heat, shelter, or clothing. This Christmas and throughout the year, let’s brighten their lives by sharing with them.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20 NIV).

Thanks to Lindy Pierce for the suggestion. Image by Annette Meyer from Pixabay

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Make Groceries

July 25, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

Have you ever made groceries? I have many times. However, I did not know it until recently.

To make groceries means to shop for groceries.

I have been to the grocery store all my life. I would never have called that trip making groceries. Yet, the expression is common in New Orleans.

According to New Orleans.com, “Old-timers in New Orleans ‘make groceries’ at the store. This is another one that has French origins, as a rough translation from “faire son marché,” which means to do one’s grocery shopping. Since ‘faire’ means both ‘to do’ and ‘to make,’ making groceries came from a slight error in translation from French to English.”

Whatever we call it, we need food.

If we have never been hungry for long periods of time, we are richer than many. Millions have nothing or slim pickings. If we say we are starving, we usually mean only that we hunger. Yet, starvation remains a harsh reality for our world.

When we make meals after we make groceries, let’s give thanks.

Thank the farmers who grow the food.
Thank the stores that stock the food.
Thank the cooks who prepare the food.
Thank our Creator and Savior, the everlasting Bread of Life.

Then, let’s put feet to our prayers.

Share with others in need.
Donate food or money to local food pantries.
Give to reliable agencies that help feed the world.

A little food for thought.

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’” (John 6:35 NIV).

If you have been to New Orleans or have heard this expression, I would love to hear from you. Please comment.

Thanks to Laura Lee Leathers for the suggestion. Image by Gabe Raggio from Pixabay

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Eyes Bigger than Our Belly

February 21, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

Many times, our eyes are bigger than our belly. We see good food and want it. All of it. The more we see, the more we want. This happens frequently at:

Buffets with endless choices
Thanksgiving feasts
Potluck dinners where everyone brings food
Family meals with all our childhood favorites
Cookouts with piping hot food from a grill

Eating small amounts at such events takes more willpower than many of us possess. Instead, we fill our plates to the top and eat until we feel like we will pop.

The taste is wonderful. The misery later, not so great.

Eyes bigger than our belly means we take more food than we can eat.

Eyes bigger than our stomach means the same.

We love what we see. We want to eat everything we see. Yet, we cannot possibly digest all we pile on our plates.

Rather than eating until we get sick, why not share our food with others?

Most communities have food pantries or crisis centers to help the hungry. Churches frequently sponsor food programs. We may have neighbors who would enjoy our extra.

Instead of eyes bigger than our belly, why not hearts bigger than our hunger? A little food for thought for all of us.

“If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday” (Isaiah 58:10 NIV).

Thanks to Carole Fite for the suggestion and to Diann Paxton with Caterpillar Crossing for the photo.

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Piping Hot

May 18, 2020 Diana Derringer Comments 5 comments

I love the piping hot sound of chicken fajitas fresh off the grill. Like high-pitched musical pipes, steam sizzles and rises from the skillet, music to my ears. I want to eat immediately, if not sooner.

Anything piping hot is very hot.

Other piping hot favorites include:

Taco soup
Chicken casserole
Roast beef with potatoes, onions, and carrots
Grilled fish

Yum! As a friend used to say, “Those are good groceries.” They stick to the ribs.

I put any leftover food in the refrigerator, so it will not spoil. Too long at room temperature could cause food poisoning.

Spiritual appetites also need to remain piping hot.

Pass It On, a favorite song from my youth, declares that one small spark gets a fire going. It encourages singers and listeners to share God’s love with the people around them.

Each day, I choose whether to spread the fire of God’s love. So do you, dear friend. Warm is not good enough. God offers and expects the best. May that message spread like wildfire.

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16 NIV).

What is your favorite piping hot food? Please comment below.

Thanks to Kristy Robinson Horine for the suggestion. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

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Food for Thought

June 10, 2019 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

Food for thought means something to consider.

What we consider may come from:

Our own minds
Something we see or read
An event
Another person (They offer information, or we pick their brain.)

All make us think about an idea.

Much like we digest food in our stomachs, we digest food for thought in our minds.

The digestion process may be easy or hard. We enjoy easy thoughts. However, we probably gain more from the hard ones.

Food we eat may give us food for thought.

Most of us enjoy food. It fills our stomachs and takes away our hunger. In addition, food offers:

Fellowship
Comfort
Fun
Learning opportunities

Some people have slim pickings in food. Others of us enjoy more food than we need. Rather than keeping it all for ourselves, perhaps we should consider giving more away. What better way to show an attitude of gratitude?

By sharing with others, our thoughts become action.

Please comment below with your ideas for putting thoughts into actions.

“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8 NIV).

Thanks to Carole Fite for the suggestion.

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Stick to the Ribs

January 29, 2018 Diana Derringer Comments 10 comments

Stick to the Ribs--platter of roast beef , potatoes, carrots, onions I recently said I thought gravy was for the birds. J.T. Henderson commented, “Now gravy I like – ‘stick-to-the-ribs’ food.” My dad often said the same thing.

We usually like foods that stick to the ribs.

We describe them as:

Good to taste and good for you
Long lasting
Energy giving

They keep us going, even on cold, snowy days. They offer comfort. Sometimes they make us think of home.

Foods often described as stick to the ribs include:

Chili or thick soup (especially in cold weather)
Biscuits and gravy (even if I disagree)
Steak and potatoes

My favorites include:

Roast beef with potatoes, carrots, and onions
Corn from my garden
Coleslaw
Cornbread
Chocolate covered almonds (or almost anything chocolate)

Many favorites are not really good for us.

We simply like to eat them.

We know we should eat whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
Yet, we say, “Forget the salad. Give me something that will stick to the ribs.”

Perhaps a better description for them would be stick to the belly. Getting food to stick there is easy as pie. However, when we try to get it off, we have our work cut out for us.

“Therefore, whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).

Thanks to J.T. Henderson for the idea. What is your favorite stick-to-the-ribs food? Comment below.

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