the fat in the fat that makes us fat(ter)

There is fat, and then there is fat.  We all know about the prevalence of good fat (think fish!), but this concept was completely ignored by Moss.  Moreover, as GWU biology professor Dr. Jones once told me, there are different triggers that indicate varying levels of fullness within the body.  One of these is fat.  With this knowledge in mind, some people attempt to trick their body and will put a pat of butter on their tongue before they eat, and they feel fuller faster.  An interesting trick with seemingly ominous results. 
However, the fat that Moss focuses on is the kind found in CheeseWhiz (but who trusts cheese in an aerosol can as nutritious?!) and Bologna (its perfectly circular meat, clearly not a natural state or shape!).  Clearly we accept too many foods we shouldn't and reject too many that we should - but not all fat is bad, and that's an important delineation!

“Et tu, Brutus?”

For all of the 2139 pages of Pollan that we have reviewed this semester, we have heard him repeat his mantra: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."  Then came the "subtle" proclamations warning us of the big, bag corporations with their large eyes to watch our eating habits and their large ears to hear our cry for more Oreos and their impossibly large teeth waiting to rip our food culture hearts from our very core.  These corporations are truly made of straw with a brick facade that seem impenetrable to our small consumer selves.  But we the people are not powerless, as Pollan rallies us in a call to arms.  America needs YOU to join the real food movement.  By purchasing non-government cheese, we too can aid in the higher cause.  Be a forager is his final claim in The Omnivore's Dilemma.  And noble Pollan sets out with his trusty sidekick(s), Angelo (and co), to hunt his meat and journey to the center of the earth for a precious truffle.  Yet, a Benedict Arnold is in our midst as Pollan ultimately concludes that this worthwhile adventure is not practical.  His final words were, "This is not the way I want to eat every day.  I like to be able to open a can of stock..."  THE FOOD CORPORATIONS HAVE WON EVEN POLLAN TO THEIR COOKIE-LADEN DARK SIDE.  And because of our enjoyment of the convenience of even a can of chicken stock, we must regularly contemplate where our food comes from, because we did not forage for ourselves.  

"Do you want to see me breathe fire?"

Both culinary psychologists and food researchers have looked into why we voluntarily eat food that may elicit pain.  In fact, research suggests that those with an affinity for chili peppers like them for the same "high" effect as adrenaline-junkies.  Thus, the personality connection is that those who love chili peppers, do not feel the pain any less, but are more masochistic and merely enjoy it more.  This factors into personality as well, for those who seek intensity and those who seek novelty.     

The potential connection between spicy foods and personality transforms the whole, “do you want to see me breathe fire” question with all new meaning.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-12/love-spicy-food-built-your-personality

Abbasi, Jennifer.  "Love of Spicy Food is Built Into Your Personality."  Popular Science (2012):
 6 Dec. 2012.  Web.  11 Nov. 2013

Creole Lady Marmalade

Jambalaya.
Gumbo.
Alligator Kabobs.
Crabcake.
Pork Po'Boy.
Sweet Potato Bread.
Bleu Cheese Bread.
Croissants.
Pralines.
Poached Pear and Duck Confit Salad.
Shrimp Pistolletes.
Andouille Crawfish Eggs Benedict.
Traditional King Cake.
Muffaletas.
Beignets.
Dark Roasted Coffee with Chicory - Au Lait.

Seafood surely isn't just for cocktail parties anymore - though in New Orleans, neither is alcohol.  Have both for breakfast!  Somehow I am surprised I wasn't offered Crawfish Puffs with Vodka one morning.   However, the food experience we had during the nchc in New Orleans was definitely memorable!  Sharing and tasting such a smorgasbord of traditional NOLA foods was one of the many benefits of friends and honors!  Wandering the French Market, meandering our way through French Quarter, brunching in the Arts District - so many memories.  Who would have thought that for all the other things New Orleans is known for, such a variety of flavors and food memories would come flowing forth like the waters of the Mississippi River along which the city thrives.


Here are some links to some of our favorite experiences:

Beignets and chicory coffee:  http://www.cafedumonde.com/history
Creole-inspired good food and the best Gumbo:   http://www.originalpierremasperos.com/menu
The way food should taste: http://www.cafegiovanni.com/menu.htm

I can make your bedrock…

  The bed-rocking ability of the gun that we know prods us at our most vulnerable.  Such a gun isn't hidden, nor is it smoking, as Jeffrey Dunn (former Coca-Cola exec) semi-snarkily told Michael Moss as he remarked, "The gun is right there.  It's not hidden." And that, dear addicts, is how we are ensnared by legal addictive stimulants.  They know that we know.  We know that we know.  Yet, we choose to consume salt, sugar, and fat.  Enough to rock our beds, and not in a good way – with 22 teaspoons of sugar a day and 33 pounds of cheese per year.  As evidence of the horrors, these numbers are truly not appalling, for the very fact that we consume ¾ of a pound of cheese a week when we know we shouldn't  proves how our truths have become distorted.  However, Michael Moss flails his smoking gun at all of his personally identified perpetrators: Coca-Cola, Cheese Whiz, Kraft, Kellogg, Nestle, Cargill, and others.  With the trifecta of psychology, science, and our stomachs, a trap has been laid for the modern American.  However, the fact that Moss' book contains little more than a "food giant" history lesson and health facts that are innate to most, this too is a trap. 

Bottoms Up

Beginning gently with barbecue comparisons, Pollan lulls readers (practically to sleep) with expectations of garnering knowledge (not bias) throughout his book Cooked.  Continuing with the villainization of corn was slightly bombastic, albeit trite and unoriginal - but lines were drawn when bread baked by a machine, in home or otherwise, was enlisted as a daughter of the Industrial Food Revolution.  These tools that ensnare us with their impressively speedy results; and heaven knows that if it comes quickly, someone's going to pay the price somehow.  Now, we are treated to the horrors of pasteurizing away bacteria.  Scientific study means nothing compared to pockets of pop science, where people thrive on fermentation.  At least Pollan did not find appeal in 300 year old breadfruit, but even so, I don't believe flash-frozen foods are quite a detriment.
Moreover, its not bacteria vs. processed foods.  Perhaps neither are the best option.

Move aside, Luddite Pollan.

My post-Pasteurian world thrives not on bacteria and rabies, but on vaccines and processes that exist to protect - within reason and with balance.  But if Pollan wants to give rabies a try, maybe we'll get an interesting book on that experience!  Who knows, maybe food tastes different if its all topped with foam.    

Spotted Dick, Pearl Necklaces and No Regrets

We all have those pleasures, those things we learn to appreciate when they occur, but love them all the more for the missing.  As a friend and I went home for Fall Break, I was once again given the joy of eating food, real food as I know it.  Minestrone, Bourbon Chicken, White Chocolate-Apricot Scones, an adventure making Latkes, Almond-Date Scones, Colonial Bread, Molasses Cookies, Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookes, Homemade Chocolate Layer Cake, Pancakes, Blueberry-Pumpkin Pancakes, all of the food that we could fit into 4 days - and I regret it none.  Moreover, the family bonds that I cherish so dearly, are only strengthened as I remember how much time we spend uniting in our kitchen.  "Sneaking" raw cookie dough before my mother discovers the family thieving, late night coffee and tea tastings, recipe experiments, dueling matches with recyclable materials, all the things that make my family a cohesive unit (with a little sarcasm and commentary thrown to add a little flavor).