Friday, March 22, 2019

Blending

When I began cooking and eating foods I enjoy (instead of eating everything), I found that the common thread (or line) that tied everything together was the Tropic of Cancer and/or Equator. While I initially followed the methods of French cooking as most Americans do, I quickly found
such strategies to be as outdated as the view of Europe at the center of the universe. Whereas the "traditional" form of cooking may have jived with more "traditional" lifestyles (read: women who have time to make Coq au Vin), the new guard of cuisine seems to be changing as quickly as our geo-politics, meaning that with new trends in populations and/or women in the workplace, our flavors and methods of cooking are changing to become increasingly sustainable to our evolving culture and needs.

I was a Social Science major in college (as opposed to a "hard science" major.) And, as a pretty unsocial person, I ironically enjoyed the social aspect of such a topic, what with it's emphasis on human behavior. Additionally, I enjoyed the fact it wasn't very difficult (like a "hard" science). But I learned a lot through my classes. While referred to as a "soft-science" through its lack of hard evidence, I found that human behavior often follows just as many rules as the physical universe, particularly that of Newton's First Law of Motion which basically states that an object in motion (or at rest) will follow its given path until acted upon by an alternate force. Similarly, within the Social Sciences, we learned that the status quo will often roll on unquestioned unless worked with by opposing forces. And through structural discrimination, it was apparent that such a "quo" often worked to benefit men of European ancestry. And while this often seemed to incite a sense of sensitivity, to me it was always about making modifications to old traditions so that more people could feel at home. In a small way, this might mean requesting a greater variety of food options to meet a more diverse breadth of cultural needs or, as we've seen in recent years, it may be working to disassemble a culture of sexual discrimination in some (or all) industries. However, just like the universe, opposing forces are always acting on eachother and there are some who seek to counter this new found knowledge and change. And so, as it stands, this soft science has seemed to create a soft war between those who seek change and a merging of cultures and those who oppose it (called republicans). And the one thing cooking seems to synthesize at the moment is this dynamic between attachment to old ways vs. openness to the new. Conveniently, while my tastes have run south towards warmer climates, we've seen an influx in our population of folks from this region who have brought with them a rich culinary repertoire of food which is ironically less "rich (a.k.a. more healthy) than the old foods of Europe and a little easier or quicker to make which works well for women with that busy schedule. In short, opening up and blending our cultures is mo' better.

So, what this post was originally about is spice blends! We're better when we work together just as food tastes better when flavors fuse. And so embracing unique flavors and allowing ourselves exposure to the cuisines which feature them is a good thing! And as we look perhaps both actually and symbolically away from Northern Europe and its accompanying traditions and diets, we find ourselves viewing cultures where spice blends abound. Below are some blends that move in popularity from East to West. Enjoy!



Change gonna come.

Chinese Five Spice Blend: Whereas the flavor of European foods seemed to be based off fat (butter in France, oil in Italy and/or lard in Germany), flavor in the East seems to be more spice-centric. In this regard, Sichuan cuisine has its center of gravity squarely around the peppercorn. The Chinese Five Spice blend takes it one (or four) step/s further by adding star anise, cinnamon, cloves and fennel seeds in a combination that is not only tasty but healthy as well.

Curry Spice: Part of my cultural exposure began when I was young as my parents liked to take us to restaurants which ran the diaspora of world cultures (and my mom didn't like to cook). But while we went to Malaysian and Korean and Vietnamese restaurants (which was much less hip in the 90's), we mostly ate Indian food. Ironically, when my mom stayed home, and cooked, we ate more in the European tradition with a (bland) vegetable, a (bland) starch and a (bland) meat. But after my father became a vegetarian and my mother went back to work, two meals were (literally) not on the table. So, as opposed to meat and potatoes, we essentially go to eat meat and potatoes in a thick sauce or curry. So, as the mere mention of curry recalls my culinary awakening, I like to use it a lot.

Advieh: Earlier this year, I bought Persia off Amazon. It was a great and beautiful book which exposed me to a type of cuisine with which I was not too familiar. And I was happy to find that Persian food contained its own spice blend... if only for the consistency of such an element among cuisines on the Silk Road. Advieh, much like Chinese five spice and curry, contains cinnamon and cumin, respectively, however, adds the unique element of rose petals which makes it as interesting as it does inconvenient (but worth it ;)).

Taco Seasoning: Tacos are easy and this blend is delicious (on anything). From cauliflower to hummus, taco seasoning is a great, easy and healthy way to add (literal) spice to a dish, thus making it an exemplar of the reason we use spice blends in the first place.

So there you have it, a few blends that add flavor to dishes and perhaps symbolize the new dynamic of the new world order in which we will hopefully blend and complement eachother's uniqueness in one big, happy pot of stew. Whatever, it's (taco) Tuesday.

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Basic Beauty

My dad used to tell me that, "every circumstance holds good and bad [elements]." But when I was younger and less prone to abstract thinking, I basically thought he was full of sh*t. However, as I age, I've found his words hold sound meaning as any sage advice would with the addition of maturity. Ergo, while I often find my small paycheck and it's limited applications to be frustrating, there's often a silver lining in the end.

While I've come to understand my father's words as I age, I've also become increasingly like him, meaning that I try to save coin and avoid other's company whenever I can. And while I always thought that my father was a little cheap, it's true that we buy a billion things we don't need. There are those stupid circles we put on the back of our phones and then there are more abstract products which make the promise of happiness down the road. 

Both the beauty and pharmaceutical industries are billion dollar ones and, in a sense, they're not too dissimilar. Both employ chemists who whip up what's not there in nature... be it a bright, red lip color or a stable brain chemistry. And yet both offer products that more or less remedy issues which could otherwise (and cheaply) be stemmed by changes in our diet.

Suffice it to say, my medical "difficulties" range from the rather benign (dandruff/ yucky skin) to the rather severe (which we won't talk about). But I've found that, too an extent, food is the first line of defense in the fight against said maladies. Whereas the beauty (and sometimes medical) industries offer a salve to problems which have already begun, it turns out that (at least in the cosmetic sense), most of these artificial products can simply be avoided when we don't eat artificial food. So I set out to research some foods that might aggravate and/or remedy my ailments and then worked to find some recipes to which they might be applied. Enjoy! 

Clear Skin: When I was in high school, I had bad acne and when I was in college, it went away. But a few quick glances at photos made me cringe at the red complexion left over from the heyday of my youth. I tried to correct it with green powders and antibiotics but nothing worked... pretty much my first indication that most commercial products are some bullshit. And when I began to eat an intentionally healthier diet, I noticed my complexion begin to clear... pretty much my first indication that natural remedies work. And so when conducting a search of, "foods to eat for a clearer complexion," a few stood out:


Nuts (Specifically Brazil and Almonds): Throughout my research, nuts came up a bunch as remedies for a cacophony of issues. Indeed, nuts are high in protein... delivering the nutrient without the added load of hormones that can show up on our skin in the form of acne, redness, etc. And for a few recipes regarding the ingredient, I'll direct you to Mylking It for ways to use it well.  


Stuff High in Antioxidants: When bad things do enter our systems, antioxidants are able to catch such free radicals before they're able to wreak havoc on our skin and other organs. As such, fruits and veggies such as (blue)berries, tomatoes and kale are able to catch such culprits in order to have a positive net effect on our bodies. 


Stuff With (Good) Oils: As stated above, nuts come in handy for a variety of maladies. Most of them contain healthy oils as do sardines and avocado. I'm not sure why but I think the Omega-3's in them also serve as antioxidants, thus, we've come full-circle on this topic. 


Dandruff: As stated above, while my acne began to disappear in college, all the oil from my T-zone seemed to "head up" to my scalp where I've dealt with dandruff for awhile. While I mostly assumed the condition was due to my thick hair which wouldn't let a whole lot of shampoo touch my scalp, I quickly realized it was more likely the product of putting stuff in my body I didn't need which was digested and basically excreted out in other ways. Thus, cutting down on sugar and dairy can help manage your skin "up there" while eating foods like which have Omega-3's like the nuts and avocados featured above (along with peanut butter, eggs and olive oil), can help your cranial region look and feel fab-u-lous.


Anxiety: I used to think I had innate anxiety. Now I've realized that I just get stressed about not doing anything with my life. This being said, I do have a bit of genetic nervousness which has likely been passed down the genealogical tree from time immemorial. Yet I have noticed that when I've changed my diet, my anxiety levels have changed with it. As with dandruff, a healthier diet might not cure the condition, however, I've noticed it definitely helps. In this sense, similar to the remedies for most ailments it seems, foods such as eggs (for their zinc), Brazil nuts (for their selenium) and avocados (for their vitamin-B levels) along with asparagus and cashews and oysters all work to lower anxiety levels. 


So when it comes down to it, nuts, avocados and some fruit and eggs (most often the Cadbury mini ones) have made it into my wheelhouse when I'm not stuffing myself with adult beverages. They're relatively inexpensive and have somewhat alleviated the need for expensive face washes, shampoos and other elements which have the capacity to deal with the aftermath of a gross diet. If we need to eat anyways, we'd might as well eat well.