The Joys of Communal Cooking

After all the shopping and organizing in preparation for the cooking extravaganza, the cooking itself began on the Thursday before the wedding, and continued for three days.  In some ways, this was my favorite part of the whole affair--even better than actually eating the food, or being finished with everything.  This, sharing my kitchen and fresh food with most of my favorite folks in Madison, was gratifying in a deep-down kind of way that's a little hard to describe. Gratification this pure and this strong doesn't come often, and so I wanted to really savor it while I had it. Like with the hoophouse move that I was part of last month, I was once again left with an "overwhelming sense of hope in the power of community and what can happen when people band together"  (there I go quoting myself!)

I could never have cooked a fairly extravagant meal for 100+ people by myself, nor only with Justin's help. This was the kind of thing that required many hands, much enthusiasm, and a real desire to be a part of something bigger. And the fact that I had this collection of awesome folks to call on for help makes me feel like I've done a pretty good job on the friends front.


I love these people, through and through.


Whether they were peeling and chopping tomatillos, peeling hard-boiled eggs, dicing celery and peppers...

...appreciating Eddie Vedder the cat (who gave us all moral support with his pink nose and stripedy tail)...

...filling deviled eggs and piercing caprese ingredients...

...or rolling and topping enchiladas...

...this crew was so efficient, so independent while still being communal, so trustworthy, so fun, and such good conversation partners, that I want to jump and up and down with appreciation for them.

Couldn't have done it without you all...