1. My experience with food writing is very limited. I have read novels and memoirs in which the narrator describes food, but I don't know if that counts as real experience. As a big fan of the Food Network, I am familiar with the idea that food says something about us and that we can learn about people based on the food they cook and eat. When the judges are critiquing the contestants on The Next Food Network Star, they are always asking them to tell a story with their food.
2. I constantly think about food. I think about what I want for dinner when I just finished breakfast. My biggest complaint when I am on vacation is that there is not enough room in one's stomach for seven meals a day so I could try all the food a particular city/country/region has to offer. My husband and I bond over food. (Disclaimer: I feel as if my comment about my lunches and co-workers jealousy was taken out of context and came off as weird. That was completely unintentional. My point was that I think my co-workers are impressed that I have the time to make the food I do...but then again, I always make time for food!) Anyway, my husband and I often joke how boring our lives would be without food. What would we do?! We love cooking, going shopping for food, and going out to eat.
I feel as if food is simple when it is done out purely out of necessity. My cereal for breakfast. My peanut butter sandwich for lunch because there is nothing else to eat at the moment. It is more complex when there is more of a purpose, story, or experience associated with the meal.
3. I have always been a good eater. Some people had a mom who would cook separate things to please the pallet of the various family members...my mom was not one of those moms. And I am completely okay with that. Plus, I don't think she needed to be one of those moms. My brother, sister, and I have always been good eaters. We ate every vegetable put before us and everything from liver to shrimp to hot dogs to swiss chard. I think I have become an even more adventurous eater as I grew older. Part of it is where I lived and the people I lived with. Living in Chicago and Los Angeles offers a more diverse selection of food. Now that I live in Gurnee, I have to say it is something I miss about the city.
4. I have a co-worker who is very out-spoken about her hatred for vegetables and salad. She insists it is a texture thing, I say it is a maturity thing. So, I guess I believe food can categorize people as immature or mature. I think you can say something about a person's age based on the food they eat. Over half of the students in the cafeteria eat pizza and french fries everyday for lunch. That seems like something a teenager might eat more often than an adult (sometimes...maybe I too have had pizza and fries on a rare ocassion). Socioeconomic status plays a big part in the food we eat (or don't eat). And some of it is not by choice. I remember reading about food deserts in urban areas where people do not have adequate access to fresh fruit and vegetables. If you didn't have a car and the only close place to buy food was the gas station, you would be forced to construct your meals from what the convenience stores have to offer. I went to a presentation by a principal in my district who has done a lot of work impoverished schools and he broke down the way different social classes look at food. (the article did this as well, but I think this way is a simpler way of saying it)
* The upper/wealthy class wants to know if the food looks good.
* The middle class wants to know if it tastes good.
* Those in poverty want to know if there is enough food.
5. Every Christmas Eve, my mom's family gathers at my aunt's house (that used to be my grandparents' house) with the purpose of maintaining the traditions my grandparents brought with them from Italy about eighty years ago. There are thirteen dishes, one for Jesus and one for each of his apostles. We don't eat meat. I am not sure of the reasoning behind this one and no one can really tell me either. My aunt tries to recreate this broccoli and fish soup. I will probably write about and talk about my maternal grandmother a lot in this class. A lot of our traditions involve the food she made and perfected that few can replicate because she was unable to pass down the recipes. She didn't know how to read or write. So, when you asked how much salt to put into something she would say, "This much," and hold up a pinch of salt.
But yes, food can also divide people. Trying to decide on a place to eat with co-workers can be challenging given the girl who hates vegetables and the guy who eats only tan food. Personal taste plays a big role in how food separates us. I know I have had experiences with vegetarians and vegans that have occasionally caused a divide, but I can't think of one right now, so the experience must not have been that bad.
A friend of mine recently developed a gluten intolerance (I don't know if that is the correct medical term), and that has to interfere with her social life in some regard. No pizza...no pasta...no bread. How horrible.
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