Music of Accompaniment

If there was a song to best fit my blog it would be this. We never really know for sure, and this blog is a column of discussion. So eat what your heart desires…

Am I What I Eat?

Ever since he was a little boy his great Aunt Jane cooked the most delicious dinners. She was always there to provide him with energy before the long day, or before one of the many sports he played. Or maybe even just after school when he was hungry. As part of the family, aunt Jane was indeed Lebanese too. And she assembled incredible Lebanese meals; unlike the meals he would eat at his friends house. Leaving home would be hard for a number of different reasons. Jean Brillat-Savarin once said “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” Would this change to cafeteria food, and the struggle for food as a college student forever change who he was?

So there he was in a different state at Chapman University, away from his community, his friends, and family. Away from the food he knew for so long. There was always regret he didn’t learn more of the great recipes that Aunt Jane had mastered. However, soon enough writing became his favorite leisure thing to do. This writing, mostly about food, was becoming a new way to cultivate his mind and escalate his energy, food wise of course. Killin’ two birds with one stone…  At eight in the morning in the grass, pen and paper in hand, with ninety percent of the student population still asleep, there was no where but the beach he would rather be.

Besides the lack of food, he was excited for the new semester. The atmosphere on campus was warm and inquisitive, a friendly face or two but the rest full of opportunity. The good vibe from the music playing was short lived, interrupted when the professors told him how much work he’d be doing. He wouldn’t have time to write about food! He would have to earn his health with every new sentence, while simultaneously studying for all his courses.

Practice does make perfect though, and he knows multi-tasking can be very rewarding.

Everything came down to a decision he needed to make; should he stay in the school or not? Well, the cons are that there would be a lot of juggling, weekends would be workdays, and projects can always be intimidating. Pros included his teachers looked like they could keep the class interesting, he would be outside of his comfort zone, and possibly that projected he wanted to do could be incorporated with his writing about food and family somewhere down the line. Oh, and not to mention there were some cute girls all his classes.

He had a vast image of himself leaving freshman year. Able to multi-task with new acquired techniques and boundaries, writing in his future classes would decease to faze him. He would wonder if dropping out of college was really worth writing and eating healthy for the rest of his life from the comfort of his Aunt Jane… Some say you are what you eat, he would learn to say you are what you make of it. Cavemen didn’t have gluten free…

American Childhood, Lebanese Recipe

Finally it ceased to snow. We were creeping into March now, where the whether is exponentially warmer and the flowers come out. The sun warmed the skin on my back, birds who seemed to have disappeared were back chirping louder than ever, not to mention summer must have been right around the corner. Spring was a time of utter joy in Salt Lake City. And a time for Mjaddarah.

But as us humans often say, nothing is perfect – kind of like the appearance of Mjaddarah ( shju-du-(d)rah). On sunday morning when it is still cold and my comfy, soft, warm bed is impossible to part from, mom was there to nuzzle me out for church at 8 AM. We would learn the Old Testament and New every week at my grade school. My great Aunt Jane who helped raise me went to church every sunday. And when we had family reunions with my grandma’s six sisters and all of their offspring, I was surrounded by catholics. Growing up, there was no skipping church on sunday.

Some advantages were held to being catholic. One had to do with the delicious meals Aunt Jane would make. Lebanese dishes on Lebanese dishes were made throughout my childhood, and I have to say, they were much better than your average American food. Not to mention the crazy weddings we hold, but that’s another story for a different day. Do you know how big the US army is? The answer is roughly 600,000 people. Every time Aunt Jane cooks, she cooks for an army, whether my brother and I have five friends, just my family is sitting at the table, or my five billion first, second, third, fourth, fifth, fourth twice removed… I have a lot of close cousins.

The most memorable times of Aunt Jane’s cooking, however, came when just my brother and I, and generally a couple friends were around in the Spring time. Lent always comes in the Spring, and is a time of fasting for catholics. When I say fasting I mean we don’t eat meat on Friday’s. Be not struck with fear, this is where Mjaddarah comes in, providing all the protein and essential goodies one needs. So on Friday’s when we finished school at 12:15 and the new Spring sunshine awaited, Mjaddarah would be waiting for us on the stove in a large pot; fit for two armies. The plan was simple: fuel up with Mjarddarah, and proceed to the front yard for some good old fashioned football. When Mjarddarah and football are in the same sentence, thats the part of american culture I love.

Nothing was more frightening than playing football with the fifth graders at recess. They were bigger, stronger, louder, and fiercer than us fourth graders. One year made the biggest difference at that age. Jake lived behind me and we had hung out plenty of times; playing Fifa on playstation, creating tin foil boats for when it poured rain, or even driving to the hospital after a formidable game of frisbee. But his friend Jackson I didn’t know. So when he came over after school one friday, I wasn’t too sure.

A nice big bowl of Mjaddarah is a great dish to use when warming up to someone! It is not the best eye candy, nor is like anything most Americans have ever seen. When first placed on the table neither Jackson nor Jake were sure about the Majaddarah. And I wasn’t too sure about Jackson. Neither one of them should be judged by their cover.

Now I can’t really speak for Jackson, but when the first bite of Mjaddarah nests in the tongue, the soft, savory rice and lentils dwindle down in the mouth, and there is no looking back before the stomach has reached full capacity. Even then wanting more is not unusual. Jackson went from looking timidly at the Majaddarah to finishing off the entire amount Aunt Jane put out!  After our first encounter it was impossible to keep him out of my house. We became good friends and still talk to this day.

“Muslim, Christian and Jewish families of the Middle East all savor it, and there are versions of it with South Indian and other spices. It is endlessly versatile.”http://open.salon.com/blog/emma_peel/2009/02/10/mjaddarah_lentils_caramelized_onions_and_rice

While catholics aren’t the only people in the Middle East who savor Mjaddarah, I will describe some unique ways my aunt made the recipe. I have a few of my own personal ways even, one in which I simply add greek yogurt. Everyone can personalize the recipe for themselves.

Credit – Aunt Jane

You know those days when you don’t feel like moving at all, but maybe sit in front of the TV or meander around the house all day long? Or maybe your feeling spicy and you want to go clubbin’ until the AM. My personal favorite way of eating Mjaddarah goes better with the first mood I mentioned. Lebanese, or Syrian bread, most often known as pita, is rather simple to find at most markets. Or you could be lucky like me and know someone who makes it, OG style. Either way, using your hands to wrap the Mjaddarah with a blanket of Lebanese bread provides a mouth-watering taste. It’s like a burrito, only safer, healthier, and more comforting.

If your feeling more up for the ladder situation, there is a way to eat Mjaddarah that fits the party life as well. We will use a fork this time, but still bring a compliment to the table. This extra can be done in different ways, but the general idea is using lettuce or coleslaw on top of the Mjaddarah. Aunt Jane uses a nice lemon and oil sauce on thin slices of lettuce. The sudden and provocative taste of lemon counteracting with the Mjaddarah suits most people quite nicely.

Like a marine without a gun, the taste of Mjaddarah on it’s own can be equally as dangerous; don’t be thinking the recipe needs additives. The meal will swoop an average joe of his feet with nothing but its unarmed self. This method can be recommended for any given day of the week.

I provided the recipe above in Aunt Jane’s hand writing. I will have to say the best way to make Mjaddarah is in the photo I took above, and if you click on the photo, it should blow up in another screen where you can easily read the recipe. If unable to figure this out, I have provided a very similar recipe below in typed writing from a recipe book called The Lebanese Kitchen. No promises this recipe is as good as Aunt Jane’s, so you’ll just have to do a little bit of work for the legendary, homemade version.

Credit – The Lebanese Kitchen

Here We Go… Current Food Issues

It deeply saddens me to bring my audience the fact that California has filed suit against Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, an other food retailers and manufacturers. Unfortunately in this day and age, it happens whether just or not. It is part of the job of the government to insure the safety of the population and the rights of the people, and this affects everything we do, and eat for that matter. As for the details on the reason I am sad…

I couldn’t care less about Whole Foods and the other food companies. What I do care about, however, is Trader Joe’s. Ever since I can remember my mom was always going to Trader Joe’s when we came to California. I didn’t even know what this supposedly awesome store gave to their customers that my relatives we’re so fanatic about. I mean I knew they sold wine.

The big attraction, specifically is the ginger candies. When one put’s those solid, sweet candies into your mouth, you get a rapid array of ginger moving throughout the creases of your tongue. Before you place them in your mouth it already starts to water! I could eat ten of these candies in a single day. And in fact, my mom and me probably did a number of different times.

So if you haven’t figured it out yet, there is something wrong with these candies, or at least so the California government says. “Under Proposition 65, a product that contains even small amounts of lead or other chemicals identified by the state as harmful to the human health must carry a label warning to consumers.” (Democrat Press) And in the government’s tests, this candy contains lead. They ran a series of tests, filed suit, and have since verified lead is contained in the ginger candies as well as a number of others.

As far as the candy goes, I don’t believe we will see them for a while. As far as Trader Joe’s goes, they will be fine, though will probably have to pay a large fine. “If found to be at fault by a judge, the candy makers and retailers could be fined up to $2500 per day for each violation.” (Press Democrat) This adds up very fast when I think about how long I have been consuming these candies.

Who would have thought that these candies would be banned before anything else? After all, the famous contributor to lead isn’t candy, but paint.

Because I have been biased, I will talk about Whole Foods as well. “At Whole Foods, the suit named the market’s “bulk ginger” and The Ginger People Baker’s Cut Crystallized Ginger Chips as not complying with the law. The suit did not identify which company manufactured each specific product sold at each store” (Press Democrat).

This current food event relates to a larger issue than crystallized ginger candy. Do you think all products containing trace amounts of lead should be labeled in every state, as they are required to be in California? Or should GMO’s be labeled on all foods sold in the grocery stores? Some would argue that California or the United States have too many laws requiring labels for different ingredients. Others would say that we don’t have nearly enough of these labels. Just recently, Proposition 37 was widely being debated in California over whether or not food manufacturers should be required to Label GMO foods. While this didn’t pass, it is only the beginning stages of a long fight over GMOs and their alleged harmful effects on human health.

Even people on my Instagram feed get involved with issues like these. Kelly Slater posted a picture checking yes for Prop. 37 along with “Why would Monsanto and other chemical companies spend $41 million to defeat a food labeling bill? What is there to hide in food? Plenty. “ Check out his Instagram to see all the fun comments, and the issues we will see debated widely in the future.

What makes a good food writer?

Nothing makes for a more kick ass food essay than incorporating a bomb recipe. However, after looking at a few essays from expert writers, I realized that it takes more than bacon to draw in the reader. Sure, they see the title of the recipe first. But once they start reading the introduction, solely mentioning the greatest food on the planet won’t keep the reader intrigued.

Possibly the most cliché tip a writing teacher can give is “start your essay with a question.” While this method often seems juvenile and cynical, I was drawn in to Ernest Hemingway’s birthday recipe by a series of questions. “Were you expecting a stiff cocktail? Fresh marlin? Braised wildebeest? Ernest Hemingway has become such a legendary character, it’s hard to think of a recipe that could match his macho reputation.” Yes Mr. Author, I was in fact expecting something from your carefully chosen gourmets. So what could the recipe be? After counting these off I didn’t know what the recipe would entail, allowing my easily distracted mind to finish the essay.

I’m sure Manhattan is a really cool city. You see things in magazines and many other forms of media. As ignorant as this may sound, I’m not from Manhattan and I’m not interested anymore after hearing endless stories about the history of someone’s life in Manhattan. “Born and raised in Manhattan, he would run errands with his mother to Washington Market, where farmers unloaded their produce onto the Hudson piers.” How many stories do you think have started out like this? When Mr. Author starts his story out this way, I start playing x-box. I guess this means… create a unique and relatable intro.

Incorporating culture is something I thoroughly enjoy when talking, reading, or writing about food. America is built on not just the generations and generations that have existed in the US, but family’s from around the world as well. Something special that these immigrants bring to American culture is the food they sit down to throughout the day. I guess I’m biased for foreign recipe stories since my ancestors are from Lebanon. Sorry Manhattan natives!

I was going to start this paragraph along with my essay “coming home from grade school to a warm and delicious meal is one of the greatest things ever.” Then I noticed this sentence is similar to sentences in the past. In any case, this meal I came home to, and my personal favorite Lebanese dish was called Mjaddarah. Every friday during Lent we would eat this meal, but also on random days throughout the rest of the year. Out of a number of delicious meals my great Aunt Jane would make for me, Mjaddarah has the greatest background and distilled taste in my mind. I will use this for my family story and recipe project. While it is just a meal, I plan to paint a small picture of my childhood and the Catholic/Lebanese foundations I grew up on. Truly amazing happenings can be told through something as small and simple as food.