Dear Jane

Dear Jane,

I was so sorry you couldn't make it to dinner at my apartment last night. We missed you.

It’s been a long time since the bunch of us got together. Remember all those wine soaked, hilarious meals we used to share? We ate anything in sight as I recall. Chili and pasta, slabs of bread and butter, and those incredible chocolate-chocolate desserts? And white wine. How we loved our cheap white wine

Well, things have changed.

I know you have developed diabetes so I decided at first to serve steak and salad. Since you couldn't make it I switched to a wonderful Burgundy ham recipe I’ve been wanting to make. Then I remembered  ham was out of bounds for religious reasons.

Next I dug out that old chili recipe everyone liked. Well, Carole called and mentioned  she had become a vegetarian.

I considered vegetarian chili but scrapped that idea as just too full of beans.  Couldn't help thinking about the campfire scene in Blazing Saddles.

I thought everyone would remember my dad’s meatballs and spaghetti. The vegetarians could choose to eat the meatballs or not. A big salad and everyone would be happy. A baguette or two? With butter. Butter is good for you since trans fats have been exposed as the evil fat.

Sarah mentioned she was on a diet and all that fattening food would be too tempting.

So how about nice low calorie fish baked with olive oil and whole wheat breadcrumbs? Vegetarians will usually eat fish.

The breadcrumbs were out after I talked to Sue who is on a gluten free diet. In addition  Gail and Claudia are total vegans, which means no fish at all. I googled vegan recipes and was totally depressed so I decided to prepare brown rice with vegetables and cashews which would serve as a main dish as well a side vegetable.

Guess what? Cynthia has peanut allergies.

Teriyaki tofu any one? 

I thought it would be nice to at least have a great chocolaty dessert like we used to share. After all, dark chocolate is actually good for you. But not chocolate cake or chocolate ice cream. There’s that flour again. And sugar and fat.  

Maybe a Hershey bar. But not the milk chocolate kind.

Decaf coffee.  With a little soymilk on the side.

There was sugar free sparkling lemonade.

And white wine. Only a few of us drank it.

I was one of them.

Love, Paula