Food - specifically preparing food - is a subject dear to my heart. Today I discovered why. The school where I work is the land of casseroles, thrift, and carbs-to-fill-in-the-cracks. Now that I've been here for about a year and a half, my attitude toward the available food to cook with is resigned. Sometimes I even think I feel a subconscious duty to love the school food, maybe, but in the end I don't love it.
My discovery was this: I love food. By food, I mean food in its elemental form as opposed to food soaked by oiliness, draped with cheese, and daubed in a suitable condiment, all in the name of marketing. *do you sense a soapbox?* I'm sometimes culprit numero uno in this tragedy, I'm afraid. The reason is that I also love to give people what they want - cheese on top to hide the vegetables. I want them to like my food, and me. It's called marketing.
What I do love to eat are green beans still fuzzy and warm from the vine in summertime, sweet and crunchy Dubliner cheese by itself, and yams roasted until the edges are caramel. Elemental food that can be eaten alone. Food that demands my attention instead of doping my senses. That makes me exclaim, "Wow! This sweet potato tastes like heaven. Who needs Fritos?" Good eats make eating fascinating.
I could elaborate sheets and sheets about beautiful, quality food (and the evils of making casseroles); I won't, because I want you to actually read this post. The point is this: Begin with foods that can stand on their own and prepare simple combinations of these products - then is real cooking and the reason why I love food. The end.
PS. Call me if you want to hear my full and varied disclaimer: all about how I don't always practice what I preach and how I really ought to buy a thesaurus to find synonyms for the word "food".
