The doorbell rang with an old fashioned “ding dong.” Molly let the pair of young lovebirds in and gave them both a big hug.
Belle looked radiant, as always. She had brought the Maca-roons to take to the ballet for her friends and had a separate dish for their dessert. “Have you got room in your food cooler for these please? And this dish is for us.” Molly popped one in her mouth while she put them all in the cooler. “Never could resist eating dessert first,” she admitted. “These are delicious!”
They sat round the kitchen bench for a while talking. Belle chatted about the new micro-school projects and the fun she had during the week at college. Molly thought she was avoiding saying anything about Linorio.
“It’s been a good day in the Maca-roon department. I’ve finally got the recipes down to my favorite six.”
Belle was a great cook, and she earned good tokens selling her snacks at college. It helped to pay for all the extra education she had chosen to do. Molly was impressed with how she fitted everything into her day. Belle went out to the balcony to look at how the little garden was going, and Jonathan took the chance to check how Molly was feeling.
“Are you OK? Did you get some rest?” he asked.
“A little. Had a chat to the bees,” she smiled. “There are already so many comments on the Notice Space and ideas for what we can do.”
Jonathan nodded. He too had looked at the comments on the Notice Space and had started to piece together other small snippets of information.
Belle came in with a tiny sweet chili she had picked. “Rub it round the inside of the salad bowl. See what you think, Molly,” she said as they put the finishing touches to the salads.
“OK you two, let’s eat. There’s only a little time before the ballet,” and they sat down at the table to eat. Jonathan was back in historical mode.
“Tell us about what people used to eat, Molly. You know how much Belle loves talking about food.” he said.
“You have an unquenchable thirst for history, young man! Well, the vast majority of people ate very differently to how we do now. Nowhere near the same amount of fruits and vegetables that we eat, and a lot more cooked foods. So much fried food, and processed food that was usually full of preservatives. Many people had even forgotten their traditional dishes and ways of eating.
“Only a small percentage of people ate whole grains. Wheat was cheaper to mill without the bran and germ, which got sticky under the high-speed rollers, and white flour had a longer shelf life. So, they threw out the good parts and people ate only the starchy bit. Same with rice. Never could understand why so many people liked white rice. It was so tasteless, but it was the staple diet of millions. The world had got a taste for pappy foods. It was lighter and easier to chew. And white sugar, too. They took out most of the nutrients and left only the sweet bit. Anyone who wanted to eat the whole foods was considered some sort of health fanatic.”
“It’s impossible to imagine it, Molly. I love eating the foods we do now. You know, this macambo is 25% protein and has loads of fiber. Great energy food. I always carry a little for snacks. Caigua is brilliant for cholesterol, and you know about my love of maca. This meal is super, Mol.”
Molly laughed.
“Super indeed. You know, things like the caigua, maca and macambo were called ‘superfoods’ years ago. It all became very fashionable. You would have been right into it Belle, you knowing so much about food.