I love food; but, I don’t always like it. I mean I really do love food; it is one of the foundational aspects of my life. I eat food to live. I make food to earn money to live. Food is my favorite way of showing affection; it can be done for anyone without the possible complexity and awkwardness of a hug or a kiss. Through food, I am able to show love to thousands of people each month, most of them having no idea that I exist. Through food I can love anonymously.
I say that I don’t always like food because it is necessary to life. I must eat just to keep breathing in and out. I have a very high metabolism. I have to eat a lot of food every day or I get terribly thin. When cooking for myself, I am not overly imaginative. I eat the same breakfast every day before work (four eggs scrambled with heavy cream and cooked in–for most– too much avocado oil and butter, and a bowl of oatmeal–also cooked with heavy cream replacing about a third of the water and with a tablespoon and a half of butter–with some berries; all of this is followed by a protein shake). My lunch is either a Thai inspired ground meat “salad” with two boiled eggs diced into it–this lunch weighs in at just at a pound of food–or, on days I feel like going light, a couple of boiled eggs, a couple ounces of cheese, six ounces or so of cold sausage and a couple of plums or whatnot. Dinner, when I eat it, is whatever I care to scrounge up or my roommate has cooked–I rarely feel like cooking after spending ten to twelve hours working in a kitchen. This gets very monotonous. Some days, I resent fixing breakfast or packing my lunch. To me, cooking is special only when I am doing it for another person’s nourishment and pleasure.
So, what is food? Food is defined as “any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support.” I suppose this truly covers it; but it feels so inadequate when viewed relative to the relationship humans have with food. Society has always been centered around the production, storage and sharing of food. it is much more than just that which gives us “nutritional support.” It also gives us social support and emotional support when used judiciously; it causes disharmony and can lead to insidious emotional problems when not. Perhaps we may amend the Wikipedia definition by saying that, for humans, food is any socially acceptable substance consumed for nutritional and emotional support.
Perhaps my favorite aspect of food is that aside from the potential social aspects–which may be considered “natural”–there are no rules around food other than those imposed by nature. You can do whatever you want with food, mix ingredients in any manner you wish, cook them in any manner you wish, serve them and eat them in any manner you wish. If Nature has a problem with it, I assure you that you will know. Raw meat is a terrible idea (unless you really know what you’re doing). If you want to eat raw meat, you can. Just be prepared for the potential consequences. This idea is the basis of Anarchy–you may do what you will so long as you are willing to accept the consequences.
As this blog develops, I will add many thoughts on food and its preparation. I will share stories, pictures and recipes. Stay tuned, dear reader.
May you experience much love, peace and good food.
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