Feed the love, starve the hate

As the news of Charlottesville rolled out this past weekend, I, like you, was dismayed to see the horrifying display of hatred. People parading around with such anger, yet so open and proud about it. It was disturbing on many levels. I was angered, saddened, and filled with a sense of helplessness to do anything to stop it. What can I do, one person all the way across the country, to stop this group of hateful people? In the end, I decided that all I can ultimately do, is try to live my life in a way that helps others, and promotes peace and love, wherever I am. It might not be much, but it's better than nothing.

And then I had another idea, today. I always look to food to cure what ails the world. We all need food. We all love it. It unites and unifies us all. So, why not use food to combat this hatred? Here is my proposal: Every town and city in the United States that ends up the victim of one of these rallies, should host a potluck in response. Everybody from near and far who can get there, should go. Bring foods from your unique cultures and regions, and help make the "melting pot" narrative real. So, bring your Scottish shortbread, your bbq skills, your pho, your vegan tacos, your spaghetti, your potstickers, your Halal curry, your matzo ball soup, and anything and everything else you can think of, and share it with your friends, your family, your neighbors, and complete strangers. Break bread with one another, and make the haters drool.

And while we're at it, let's fill the food banks of these communities with food for those who need it. Food heals, food is love, food is life. Let us combat hate and anger with the very basics of life. Making us all stronger will allow us to keep fighting harder and longer. I don't know about you, but being angry on a full tummy seems nearly impossible to me.

Pizza Nachos

So, what do you do when a coworker gives you all her leftover tortilla chips and all you have is pizza-type ingredients at home? Well, you combine them, of course! I didn't measure anything, I just threw it all together. Here's the before:

The ingredients I used are: tortilla chips, Italian blend cheese, Italian seasoning, and pepperoni that's been cut into smaller pieces. Layer them just as you would any other nachos and stick them in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes and they look like this:

I topped them with some chopped olives and ate them with a bowl of spaghetti sauce to dip in. They were amazing!!

The only thing I'd do differently, is put foil or parchment paper on the bottom of the sheet pan because the cheese did stick pretty badly. But flavor-wise, I wouldn't change anything!

The next time you're in the mood for nachos, but want something a little different, I highly recommend this!