vegetannual, locavore, and sweet edible pick-up line
so anyone who knows me well knows how much i love food and cooking. i love the taste of an ingredient on its own, mixed with others, and the very unique culture that surrounds growing, preparing, and eating the food. i was raised with very strict consciousness for nutrition and appreciation for every edible thing that went into my mouth. i was taught never to leave a grain of rice behind on my plate because a farmer spent his life growing that one grain of rice for me to eat. as an adult, i now use home cooked meals to seduce women, and i flat out refuse to date anyone who does not find joy in food.
perhaps this utter joy and passion for food bloomed from the fact that for about a half of my life i've eaten dormitory food - mind you, some of them were GOOD - often coming from the same place that supplied prison meals. i tried to be creative in those years by mixing different food that was available to me and make peculiar concoctions to suit my taste. now that i have my own kitchen and i have the freedom to excercise my own food beliefs and ideals, i've been going all out with my commitment to feed myself and my guests well.
i recently began reading kinsolver's animal, vegetable, miracle, and i bought omnivor's dilemma to read next. as i began the vegetannual journey with kingsolver, my pre-existing desire to want to change the way i purchase food has increased 10-folds. not to be snotty, but the most things she writes, i knew already. especially growing up in japan, seasonal eating was almost a given, for the most part. i was used to hearing my mother and our home helper talking about meals and how such veggies and fish are in season. and i knew from experience that off-season foods tasted not nearly as good as those in season. it was a common sense for me to know that watermelons are for the summer and pumpkins are in the winter (as a matter of fact, japanese calendar designates certain days to be the time to eat pumpkins, called "to-ji"). the sanma fish i love so dearly came in the fall, and so did the crisp waterly asian pears. japanese people also bring/send fruits, grains, fish, and veggies in season as gifts for celebratory occasions. i guess in a way, food is a very much considered an asset, something that is integral and priviledged to be able to have. it is a culture that is deeply connected to the "japanese-ness" that i hold so dearly in my heart, and i think this is precisely what it lacking from the fast-paced, competitive, you-earn-what-you-get philosophy of the american culture that makes food taste like sh*t and making us die from it.
even when i look back to the first few years i lived here, i was certainly flabbergasted by the american abundance and convenience of the mega-grocery stores, but eventually i became desensitized and for a while, i did enjoy the luxury of being able to eat citrus that's not winter-clementines you get in japan in the dead of the winter, and have a perfect bananas whenever i desired.
then i became more socially aware. i learned of the pesticides and genetic modification, and about livestock maltreatments and exploitation of foreign laborers. then came the carbon footprints, genetic patents, and oversubsidies of corn and soy farms, over cultivation, overproduction, over fishing... the list goes on. so i began the slow transition of becoming a socially responsible eater, although it came with other side of the equation: the recognizing it is a priviledge to be able to practice socially responsible eating habits. although technically, purchasing from local farmers at farmers' markets and preparing meals at home is economically favorable, it is chronologically much more efficient to buy packages of TV dinners and frozen pizzas. a lot of people are not only economically deprived but time and effort are also an essential part of their food system. especially for those who live an honest life. this includes young professionals and students whose lives are controlled by the paper deadlines and conferences with minimal work-study wages.
what i began to realize, is the mere fact that people need to be reintroduced to food not as something that comes three times a day so that your stomach doesn't go grrrrrrr, but something to take time to enjoy and appreciate. this is certainly something easier said than done, because i myself is often forced to gulf down whatever i have conveniently availale in a matter of 15 minutes in between classes or meetings or whatever i'm up to. but i guess my point is this - it was unthinkable for me to discover as a young person that sometimes in the US, the lunch for children is a penut butter and jelly sandwitch and a handful of carrot sticks, and dinner is mac and cheese and may be 3 stems of steamed broccoli. WTF. of course americans don't know what food tastes good! even children have tastebuds, and appreciation for "tasty" foods. i think american adults often underestimate that and are unbalancingly stressed out about feeding children vegitables. well, i say if you want kids to eat vegitables, make them taste good. and the same goes for adults. i think a lot of people will recognize the joy of eating (not just about the taste, but the whole experience of it) once they learn to see food as means to enjoy life.
here is what i do to make sure that i enjoy my food:
1) cook as much as i can (don't worry about cooking for one person - leftovers make wonderful lunch the next day and save you few bucks!)
2) when i cook, i try to be as creative as i can using different spices and ingredients, and not afraid to be experimental
3) purchase produce that are local (my current goal is east coast only)
4) purchase prudece that are in season (which sort of comes with number 3)
5) carry "fish" list that tells you which fish are over fished and only eat ones that are either abundant or raised in a sustainable farms
6) DO NOT WASTE ANYTHING - often times you can still eat slightly wilted vegitables especially if you just throw them in soups, etc.
7) avoid products with corn syrup
8) only drink brewskies from the northeast
these i've been practicing for a while now and it's very doable. and i make good meals - ask any of my friends, ex's or dates. ;)
now, these are the next step i want to take especially when i move back to california and my life is not tied down by the due dates of academia:
1) start my own garden that could supply some of vegitables and herbs
2) can and dry-preserve some produce that will not be available off-season
3) only purchase produce that come from the central coast up of california
4) sign up for the farm share
5) never buy lunches
6) stop eating meats unless i am part of the sacrifice process
7) brew my own beer
these i think will definitely take some more commitment, but i would like to try it. besides, california is much easier place to excercise sustainable food culture anyway. i mean, chez panisse was practically my neighbor when i lived out there. if alice could do it commercially, i should be able to do it at home. may be i'd finally be able to find a woman who will fall for me for this commitment to good eating...
perhaps this utter joy and passion for food bloomed from the fact that for about a half of my life i've eaten dormitory food - mind you, some of them were GOOD - often coming from the same place that supplied prison meals. i tried to be creative in those years by mixing different food that was available to me and make peculiar concoctions to suit my taste. now that i have my own kitchen and i have the freedom to excercise my own food beliefs and ideals, i've been going all out with my commitment to feed myself and my guests well.
i recently began reading kinsolver's animal, vegetable, miracle, and i bought omnivor's dilemma to read next. as i began the vegetannual journey with kingsolver, my pre-existing desire to want to change the way i purchase food has increased 10-folds. not to be snotty, but the most things she writes, i knew already. especially growing up in japan, seasonal eating was almost a given, for the most part. i was used to hearing my mother and our home helper talking about meals and how such veggies and fish are in season. and i knew from experience that off-season foods tasted not nearly as good as those in season. it was a common sense for me to know that watermelons are for the summer and pumpkins are in the winter (as a matter of fact, japanese calendar designates certain days to be the time to eat pumpkins, called "to-ji"). the sanma fish i love so dearly came in the fall, and so did the crisp waterly asian pears. japanese people also bring/send fruits, grains, fish, and veggies in season as gifts for celebratory occasions. i guess in a way, food is a very much considered an asset, something that is integral and priviledged to be able to have. it is a culture that is deeply connected to the "japanese-ness" that i hold so dearly in my heart, and i think this is precisely what it lacking from the fast-paced, competitive, you-earn-what-you-get philosophy of the american culture that makes food taste like sh*t and making us die from it.
even when i look back to the first few years i lived here, i was certainly flabbergasted by the american abundance and convenience of the mega-grocery stores, but eventually i became desensitized and for a while, i did enjoy the luxury of being able to eat citrus that's not winter-clementines you get in japan in the dead of the winter, and have a perfect bananas whenever i desired.
then i became more socially aware. i learned of the pesticides and genetic modification, and about livestock maltreatments and exploitation of foreign laborers. then came the carbon footprints, genetic patents, and oversubsidies of corn and soy farms, over cultivation, overproduction, over fishing... the list goes on. so i began the slow transition of becoming a socially responsible eater, although it came with other side of the equation: the recognizing it is a priviledge to be able to practice socially responsible eating habits. although technically, purchasing from local farmers at farmers' markets and preparing meals at home is economically favorable, it is chronologically much more efficient to buy packages of TV dinners and frozen pizzas. a lot of people are not only economically deprived but time and effort are also an essential part of their food system. especially for those who live an honest life. this includes young professionals and students whose lives are controlled by the paper deadlines and conferences with minimal work-study wages.
what i began to realize, is the mere fact that people need to be reintroduced to food not as something that comes three times a day so that your stomach doesn't go grrrrrrr, but something to take time to enjoy and appreciate. this is certainly something easier said than done, because i myself is often forced to gulf down whatever i have conveniently availale in a matter of 15 minutes in between classes or meetings or whatever i'm up to. but i guess my point is this - it was unthinkable for me to discover as a young person that sometimes in the US, the lunch for children is a penut butter and jelly sandwitch and a handful of carrot sticks, and dinner is mac and cheese and may be 3 stems of steamed broccoli. WTF. of course americans don't know what food tastes good! even children have tastebuds, and appreciation for "tasty" foods. i think american adults often underestimate that and are unbalancingly stressed out about feeding children vegitables. well, i say if you want kids to eat vegitables, make them taste good. and the same goes for adults. i think a lot of people will recognize the joy of eating (not just about the taste, but the whole experience of it) once they learn to see food as means to enjoy life.
here is what i do to make sure that i enjoy my food:
1) cook as much as i can (don't worry about cooking for one person - leftovers make wonderful lunch the next day and save you few bucks!)
2) when i cook, i try to be as creative as i can using different spices and ingredients, and not afraid to be experimental
3) purchase produce that are local (my current goal is east coast only)
4) purchase prudece that are in season (which sort of comes with number 3)
5) carry "fish" list that tells you which fish are over fished and only eat ones that are either abundant or raised in a sustainable farms
6) DO NOT WASTE ANYTHING - often times you can still eat slightly wilted vegitables especially if you just throw them in soups, etc.
7) avoid products with corn syrup
8) only drink brewskies from the northeast
these i've been practicing for a while now and it's very doable. and i make good meals - ask any of my friends, ex's or dates. ;)
now, these are the next step i want to take especially when i move back to california and my life is not tied down by the due dates of academia:
1) start my own garden that could supply some of vegitables and herbs
2) can and dry-preserve some produce that will not be available off-season
3) only purchase produce that come from the central coast up of california
4) sign up for the farm share
5) never buy lunches
6) stop eating meats unless i am part of the sacrifice process
7) brew my own beer
these i think will definitely take some more commitment, but i would like to try it. besides, california is much easier place to excercise sustainable food culture anyway. i mean, chez panisse was practically my neighbor when i lived out there. if alice could do it commercially, i should be able to do it at home. may be i'd finally be able to find a woman who will fall for me for this commitment to good eating...
posted by rikitikitembo at 3:18 PM
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