Food is good,
Food is sex,
Food is love.
Food can be one of the greatest pleasures to man. Once I came to find that food is more than a substance to shove into our empty bellies until the next meal - like filling up a car at a gas station - I was in love with good food. It is meant to be enjoyed and savored, like a glimpse into your lover's eyes...why not? We lust over food every day, from when we see it on a commercial or smell it from a street side vendor. Our mouths water involuntarily at the mere smell of food or subtle thought of a delicious meal in front of us.
If I could only describe the way some foods make me feel I think it would not be right to tell you...unless you were eating that exact dish at the exact moment of reading, but fuck it. I don't mind a good tease every now and then. Ok...
A fresh roast duck, in house like any other from a cook like no other. A woman, a mother, that has been perfecting the art over her life, serves you quickly hacked slices of duck breast only minutes out of the oven. you sink your teeth into the delicate meat and the crunch of the caramelized skin. Now your are experiencing true magnificence and extraordinary pleasure time and again as each of your taste buds are consumed with all of the amazing flavors. They first feel the sweet and savory taste of the skin, then air, then fat -- only managing to maintain it's corporeal for the short moments inside your mouth until it melts into a liquid and spreads like a chill through your body. Juicy, sweet yet savory, and a ever so slight gamey taste. These tastes and textures can only come from a cook that has been cooking the same dish hundreds of times over and perfected it, just as a craftsmen perfects his own work.
Early one morning, with a hangover so bad, you dare not even look anyone in the eye, knowing all to well you did something truly awful the night before and one of those poor souls around you were there for it. The never ending supply of beer? No, the fucking moonshine...(who's brilliant idea was that anyway) Whatever the case, you are oblivious to the view of the river or the sights and sounds around you. You are focusing on the cup of steaming coffee coming your way and you are sure it is the best, well, you have been here before. After the first sip, the warmth is felt all the way to your bowels and it is like a kick start from the inside out. Immediately after comes the light and flaky butter biscuits. To trump the experience of the first bite with sausage gravy, jams, or jellies would be a feat. But now the wonderful, rich and hearty, perfectly seasoned sausage gravy is poured over the top of the biscuits---you fell the clunk of the complimented combination and the feeling spreads all the way to your pineal gland. The feelings of home, warmth, and rest are all there, you are satisfied.
Why is it that most of us take our food for granted. The majority of our people do not even know how to cook a simple dinner. Hell even if they do, the Applebees down the road or a takeout from McDonald's seems like a better choice to them. It is a proven fact that eating at home is cheaper and in many ways healthier for a family. healthier not only physically, but emotionally. The truth is, there is a inverse relationship between the frequency of family meals and social problems. Bluntly put, little Johnny is less likely to start the local meth lab, stick up a liquor store, or blow the top off a public building...if he only had a little more chicken pie when he was younger.
But that's not my point at all, I believe cooking should be integrated into the lives of all the young kids. Not to compare this to the basic and regular physical fitness test of schools now. Where you are called up in front of your class to conduct pull-ups, sit-ups, and so on. When the physical fitness test were introduced, kids were assumed to maintain a reasonably healthy lifestyle. With this encouragement came the flip side, negative reinforcement and at worst teasing and bullying.
With this I am not saying we should teach cooking and throw all of the kids unable to catch on like others into the corner. I believe they should be taught the virtue of cooking. The satisfaction of cooking a small meal for yourself and a few others. It is something that should be fundamental and vital to every young man and woman growing up. Like learning to read our wiping ones own ass.
We are progressing though. Cooking is now becoming "Cool" and more of the young generation are seeing this. It would be nice if a roommate in college could whip up a nice meal for friends when funds are running low and maybe even admired. From the 60's, when cooking at home had almost come to a standstill, America has made progress. Food is now coming forth once again...a love....a passion.
If I could only describe the way some foods make me feel I think it would not be right to tell you...unless you were eating that exact dish at the exact moment of reading, but fuck it. I don't mind a good tease every now and then. Ok...
A fresh roast duck, in house like any other from a cook like no other. A woman, a mother, that has been perfecting the art over her life, serves you quickly hacked slices of duck breast only minutes out of the oven. you sink your teeth into the delicate meat and the crunch of the caramelized skin. Now your are experiencing true magnificence and extraordinary pleasure time and again as each of your taste buds are consumed with all of the amazing flavors. They first feel the sweet and savory taste of the skin, then air, then fat -- only managing to maintain it's corporeal for the short moments inside your mouth until it melts into a liquid and spreads like a chill through your body. Juicy, sweet yet savory, and a ever so slight gamey taste. These tastes and textures can only come from a cook that has been cooking the same dish hundreds of times over and perfected it, just as a craftsmen perfects his own work.
Early one morning, with a hangover so bad, you dare not even look anyone in the eye, knowing all to well you did something truly awful the night before and one of those poor souls around you were there for it. The never ending supply of beer? No, the fucking moonshine...(who's brilliant idea was that anyway) Whatever the case, you are oblivious to the view of the river or the sights and sounds around you. You are focusing on the cup of steaming coffee coming your way and you are sure it is the best, well, you have been here before. After the first sip, the warmth is felt all the way to your bowels and it is like a kick start from the inside out. Immediately after comes the light and flaky butter biscuits. To trump the experience of the first bite with sausage gravy, jams, or jellies would be a feat. But now the wonderful, rich and hearty, perfectly seasoned sausage gravy is poured over the top of the biscuits---you fell the clunk of the complimented combination and the feeling spreads all the way to your pineal gland. The feelings of home, warmth, and rest are all there, you are satisfied.
Why is it that most of us take our food for granted. The majority of our people do not even know how to cook a simple dinner. Hell even if they do, the Applebees down the road or a takeout from McDonald's seems like a better choice to them. It is a proven fact that eating at home is cheaper and in many ways healthier for a family. healthier not only physically, but emotionally. The truth is, there is a inverse relationship between the frequency of family meals and social problems. Bluntly put, little Johnny is less likely to start the local meth lab, stick up a liquor store, or blow the top off a public building...if he only had a little more chicken pie when he was younger.
But that's not my point at all, I believe cooking should be integrated into the lives of all the young kids. Not to compare this to the basic and regular physical fitness test of schools now. Where you are called up in front of your class to conduct pull-ups, sit-ups, and so on. When the physical fitness test were introduced, kids were assumed to maintain a reasonably healthy lifestyle. With this encouragement came the flip side, negative reinforcement and at worst teasing and bullying.
With this I am not saying we should teach cooking and throw all of the kids unable to catch on like others into the corner. I believe they should be taught the virtue of cooking. The satisfaction of cooking a small meal for yourself and a few others. It is something that should be fundamental and vital to every young man and woman growing up. Like learning to read our wiping ones own ass.
We are progressing though. Cooking is now becoming "Cool" and more of the young generation are seeing this. It would be nice if a roommate in college could whip up a nice meal for friends when funds are running low and maybe even admired. From the 60's, when cooking at home had almost come to a standstill, America has made progress. Food is now coming forth once again...a love....a passion.
Julia Child 1963 The French Chef
