Fish, Fish, Fish, and Beef.
These were the stars of the show at the El Salvador TSD last Wednesday night. The food was spectacular. We got to eat pupusa, bacon wrapped shrimp, yucca, pork, guacamole, rice, hot chocolate, and seasoned chicken. The meal was great and the hot chocolate was delicious with hints of chili and cinnamon. The atmosphere was great with the small privately owned restaurant and the head chef came out to our table after the meal and asked how it was...obviously we said it was great and we would need several to-go boxes. The pupusa was something I had never eaten before and was very interesting, a combo between tortilla and flatbread while stuffed with cheese. I would definitely go back to this restaurant.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Kathmandu Cafe
I recently went to a Himalayan cuisine restaurant in Asheville, NC and was
surprisingly pleased with the food. This connects with our reflection
about modern food overtaking ethnic food traditions.
The aesthetic atmosphere of the restaurant was visually enticing and brought me into the foregrounds of landscapes within the Himalayan countries. The utensils much like at Meskerem in Charlotte were common utensils to that area of the world, metal forged plates and cups. The owners of the restaurant are from the Himalayan area, particularly Nepal, and carry on the traditional cooking of which they were privileged to grow up with. They want to share their food customs and preparations with as many people as they can and this is how I think traditional cuisines can out mask the modernization of food. I also made note that the main entrees were about the same price as the chain American restaurants like Olive Garden and Outback.
People who are aware of their surroundings as well as the world around them will be more adept to try new traditional cuisines. However like we mentioned in class, many people aren't aware or educated and that demographic may never change. There may always be a population of people who remain completely in the dark about their food selections, not knowing the difference between 10 calories of broccoli vs. 10 calories of french fries.
http://cafekathmanduasheville.com/
The aesthetic atmosphere of the restaurant was visually enticing and brought me into the foregrounds of landscapes within the Himalayan countries. The utensils much like at Meskerem in Charlotte were common utensils to that area of the world, metal forged plates and cups. The owners of the restaurant are from the Himalayan area, particularly Nepal, and carry on the traditional cooking of which they were privileged to grow up with. They want to share their food customs and preparations with as many people as they can and this is how I think traditional cuisines can out mask the modernization of food. I also made note that the main entrees were about the same price as the chain American restaurants like Olive Garden and Outback.
People who are aware of their surroundings as well as the world around them will be more adept to try new traditional cuisines. However like we mentioned in class, many people aren't aware or educated and that demographic may never change. There may always be a population of people who remain completely in the dark about their food selections, not knowing the difference between 10 calories of broccoli vs. 10 calories of french fries.
http://cafekathmanduasheville.com/
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Pre-Sugar
Fat, Sugar, and Salt is our newest read and I have to say that so far this book is scaring me. Even though I know that I rarely eat any of the foods that are being discussed in the first part of the book titled Sugar, it still makes me nervous and I regret foods that I haven't even eaten yet. Hopefully as I continue reading this chapter for class, my fear decreases somewhat.
On a different note, I do think that people can educate themselves on what they are consuming. As we have found out throughout this course, most people rely on convenience which is what confuses me. Convenience to me means that a recipe is already written and I just follow it while cooking. To others it means drive through fast food. Recipes generally passed down or researched are quite easy to follow and healthier than fast food restaurants. With the healthier eating comes less need to exercise which is less time taken out of the day. To me, that is the formula for convenience, saving time but still eating what you like.
Back to Sugar, manufacturers aren't lying when they write food labels because food labels must be approved by the FDA. Therefore it's quite easy to pick up a box turn it around and read about how much sugar is in the product you are about to buy along with the daily amount of sugar in the product. But most people don't read labels and eat whatever they want in the end.
On a different note, I do think that people can educate themselves on what they are consuming. As we have found out throughout this course, most people rely on convenience which is what confuses me. Convenience to me means that a recipe is already written and I just follow it while cooking. To others it means drive through fast food. Recipes generally passed down or researched are quite easy to follow and healthier than fast food restaurants. With the healthier eating comes less need to exercise which is less time taken out of the day. To me, that is the formula for convenience, saving time but still eating what you like.
Back to Sugar, manufacturers aren't lying when they write food labels because food labels must be approved by the FDA. Therefore it's quite easy to pick up a box turn it around and read about how much sugar is in the product you are about to buy along with the daily amount of sugar in the product. But most people don't read labels and eat whatever they want in the end.
Reflection on Fermentation
After reading Pollan's Fermentation chapter in Cooked, and the discussion in class, I realize that I skimmed over what some people found interesting. For example, on page 330, the argument for children born cesarean vs. children born vaginally is quite interesting. I had never really heard of this argument before but it does make sense with the amount of flora that is housed within the female's vagina. Although, within my family, my sister and I both were born cesarean but neither of us have any allergies. Perhaps on a larger scale the trend he mentions in the book would become more prevalent.
The documentary, How Beer Saved the World, was mentioned in class and I watched it a few days later. The documentary was very cool and interesting that how beer was made from fresh barley hundreds of years ago was actually beneficial to your health. Fermentation was actually quite important for humans hundreds of thousands of years ago and that is very cool that we are still doing the same processes today, albeit for different reasons. The documentary showed how diseased ridden water could be fermented into beer which could be consumed safely and had several health benefits.
A question in class was brought up, "is fermentation important to you." I was surprised at how many people said no. It could just be my northern European descent coming out, but I love cheese, cabbage, and ethanol isn't bad either. So that would be a resounding yes, I love fermentation and its byproducts.
The documentary, How Beer Saved the World, was mentioned in class and I watched it a few days later. The documentary was very cool and interesting that how beer was made from fresh barley hundreds of years ago was actually beneficial to your health. Fermentation was actually quite important for humans hundreds of thousands of years ago and that is very cool that we are still doing the same processes today, albeit for different reasons. The documentary showed how diseased ridden water could be fermented into beer which could be consumed safely and had several health benefits.
A question in class was brought up, "is fermentation important to you." I was surprised at how many people said no. It could just be my northern European descent coming out, but I love cheese, cabbage, and ethanol isn't bad either. So that would be a resounding yes, I love fermentation and its byproducts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)