Passion in Food

(photo from toyohara's flickr page)

After watching Tampopo, it struck me how serious people were about their food in the film. It was a pleasure to see how much work went into creating the perfect noodle, the perfect soup, the perfect dish. To Tampopo and Goro, along with the others in their group, nothing would do until they were able to turn Tampopo into a true noodle chef. This quest was one that brought an unlikely group together and created memories that each of the characters would carry forever in their memories. Another example of food bringing people together!!

One thing I enjoyed seeing in Tampopo was the science of cooking. Each component of the bowl of noodles was vitally important and took careful planning and measurement. Cooking and baking are sciences - there is so much measurement, preciseness and care that go into each one. I actually learned this awhile ago since my mother-in-law was a rocket scientist before she decided to go to culinary school. She always said that her science background helped her tremendously when it came to measuring, timing, temperatures and the like. To serious chefs and cooks, creating a meal out of love, passion and care is key to making it great.

Can you imagine how amazing our food would be if we all put so much care into preparing our food ? Instead we live in a culture that is all about saving time and using as little of it as possible for such things. Microwave dinners, quick skillets, fast food, stores that prepare and package weekly meals for the busy lifestyle are all perfect examples of what food has become to the majority of our society.

While Tampopo is, in essence, about a fast food culture as well, I feel it is much different than what we experience here. The love and care that goes into preparing a good, fast meal in the movie is exponentially greater than what we find here. I can't tell you how many times I have gotten fast food and been greeted, if you can call it that, by a bored, unimpressed person who could care less what I want to eat and if what I receive is what I ordered. The efficiency and attention that Tampopo learns from Goro is refreshing and inviting.

My observations from Tampopo bring a question to the forefront of my mind. How do we as a culture reconnect with our food? It seems like such a natural thing to do since it sustains us and allows us to do all of the things we love. Since we are in a culture that thrives on fast and easy, how can we change our society to bring back the appreciation of a nice, slow meal shared with others?

Oh boy Obento!!!

When I found out we would be making Bento boxes for our classmates to enjoy (hopefully), I was nervous. I didn't know how to make a Bento box, I didn't have a good grasp on what foods complemented each other, and most of all, I was afraid of making a very unattractive Bento.

Once I started making my Bento, I was still apprehensive, but I soon found myself enjoying the process immensely. Since I still didn't have a good grasp of the individual tastes of foods, I concentrated on the aesthetics of my Bento and hoped for the best. The entire time I was curious as to what my partner's Bento would turn out like- would I be able to eat all of it? Would I enjoy the foods? And would he enjoy the Bento I was putting together for him?

One thing I had on my mind the entire time was the fact that Bentos, according to both Andrea Arai and Anne Allison, are such an important part of the Japanese culture. The time that mothers spend on these lunches are incredible. The pictures we have seen look more like works of art to me than actual food items. Because of this I felt a lot of pressure to create a somewhat decent Bento, but my hopes were not high.

Once my partner Luke (a visitor to our class from Andrea's class) and I sat down, I found out that he was actually born in Japan, both of his parents native Japanese. While he didn't grow up in Japan, he was extremely familiar with the food and customs. I felt like I had won the lottery, especially when he started telling me more about each of the foods and I felt comfortable asking questions and learning more about the Japanese culture of food.

One thing we touched on, which I found extremely sensible and felt that it spoke to the importance of food in the Japanese culture, was the way rice balls are made in Japan. They are always made with the hands. The Japanese believe that the more love and effort you put into making the food, the better it will taste. This was something that I got out of our readings and discussion in class as well. Making food with your hands is the ultimate symbol of love- creating nourishment for your family can only be done with your heart, and therefore your hands. Luke shared with me his experience of working in a Japanese restaurant where one of his jobs was making rice balls by hand. He never could get them quite right until his boss told him that he had to put a part of himself into it, that he couldn't make the rice balls casually and without being connected to the food. That helped Luke immensely and he could instantly see the result of the difference in attitude when preparing the rice balls.

Before we began eating, Luke and I shared our strategies for preparing the Bento boxes for each other. While I focused on the aesthetics of the Bento, Luke's familiarity with the foods lent him the ability to pair foods according to taste and to separate them into two main groups- those that were already seasoned and flavored, and those that would need soy sauce. After giving me another run down of the foods he had chosen, he shared a bit of Japanese custom with me. As I was ready to dig in and get started discovering new tastes, Luke stopped me and told me that before every meal, Japanese say "itadakimas" which means "I will eat". It is a way of honoring the food and honoring the person who prepared the food.

We honored each other and started sharing our meal. The experience spoke to me of everything we have been talking about so far in terms of the social aspect of sharing a meal and sharing cultures. Luke and I learned a lot about each other and formed the beginnings of a friendship. Here I was, with a person I never met before, who I didn't know anything about, and by the end of our time together, we had made enough of a connection that I invited him to keep in contact and to share a meal with my husband and me. He is not from this area, so I am looking forward to preparing a home-cooked meal that he can enjoy as opposed to the school and fast food he is living off of currently.

This experience has been such an amazing one. I am so excited about what I have learned, and I am inspired to create more Bento boxes for myself and my husband. Uwajimaya, here I come!!!

Creating Family

I come from a small family. Growing up it was always just me and my parents. Our extended family lived hundreds of miles away, so we didn't see them very often. It was rare that I experienced the family holidays that were filled with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. We created our own family experience though. My mom worked as an English professor at the local community college. Her loving, compassionate nature led our holidays to be shared with students from the college. Most were international students who had no family here and no where to go for the holidays, but some were American students who couldn't make it home to spend time with their own families.

Sharing our food, our traditions and our love with others made our holidays incredible. I remember the love and passion my mom put into the food she prepared. She was so happy and excited to share our family love and give people a place to be for the holidays, to give them a family to be with that she put everything she had into her food. We usually had our guests come over early in the day. Sometimes they spent a few nights at our house and really became a part of the family. The day of the big dinner, we would sit around relaxing and enjoying each others company.

Soon Mom's kitchen would be filling the house with luscious smells that made all of our stomachs rumble in anticipation. She always made sure there was plenty to snack on, so we weren't completely tortured by the scents saturating the house. When it was time to sit down, we were so enticed by the food, we practically raced to the table.

The dinners themselves were like feasts - beautiful table settings, candles, plenty of food that was welcoming, delightful and satisfying. The ambiance the dining room had was inviting, comforting, and relaxed. I remember the smiles, the looks of gratitude, and the general sense of bonding, creating incredible relationships, and expanding family. As we ate the room filled with light conversation, laughter, comfortable sighs, and most importantly - love.

These holidays were always my favorite and will remain etched in my memory forever. I know that these meals bonded my family with our guests forever. Even if I never see or speak with these people again, we will be in each others hearts and memories forever because of gathering around food.

Memories in Food

Food has always been a big part of my life, but I haven't realized it until recently. Taking this class has brought back a lot of lovely memories of my childhood, my mother's cooking and all of the wonderful experiences that I had. Reading about Nigel's experiences with his mom in the kitchen and her attempts at cooking brought back many memories of my mom's cooking. While she wasn't able to cook as often as she wanted, she did cook an awful lot and was very good at it. Now, as an adult, I really miss my mom's cooking. Not only would I love to come home to a beautiful home-cooked meal, but I simply don't seem to have the time to experiment in the kitchen like she does. It is something that I dream of, and one day I will get the opportunity, but for now daily cooking is not a viable option.

I am lucky in the fact that when I do see my parents my mom loves to cook for me and my husband. In fact she spoils us rotten, especially me since she knows all of my favorite dishes. One of my all time favorite dishes is something we call Spanish Rice. It speaks to me of comfort, home, love, family and mom. The feelings it evokes in me reminds me of MLK Fisher's peach pie experience. It is a warm, delicious comforting food that fills you up and leaves you smiling, happy, sitting on the couch with your pants unbuttoned for comfort. I am proud to say that I now have my husband addicted to this dish as well.

Mom actually got the recipe for Spanish Rice from her mother. Over the years she has improved it with various spices that my grandmother wouldn't have known what to do with. My mother greatly prefers her own version since my grandmother's was a little too bland. The dish itself consists mainly of hamburger, bacon, rice, kidney beans, tomato sauce along with an array of spices that I can't remember off the top of my head. The meat and rice are cooked and then mixed with all of the other ingredients. An hour or so in the oven baking and out comes a delicious Spanish Rice casserole. The smell is heavenly and always makes my mouth water with anticipation. I love opening up the oven to see the juices of the casserole bubbling and creating a tasty, crusty top layer.

My mom always makes sure that my favorite dish is on the menu when I visit, and I usually end up with a container of it in my freezer when my parents visit. I have a great mom! She knows that Spanish Rice has always been one of my soul foods, and probably always will be.

Forever the experimenter in the kitchen, Mom recently made a creative change to her recipe and came up with a new version of Spanish Rice. Instead of the hamburger, bacon and kidney beans, she has included chicken, corn, and a few other southwestern type foods. She is coming up with a new name for it since it isn't Spanish anymore. While it is very tasty, I still prefer my old standby- Spanish Rice. I hope that when I have children, they will appreciate the dish as much as I do. Perhaps they will pass it to their children as well and it can become the family recipe passed on through the ages.