Bargain Turkey Slices With Potato Flakes and Gravy (Final)

When I was young, living with my family at my grandma's house, I learned to enjoy bargain food. Knock-off Chef Boyardee and cereal were generally the best we got. Occasionally, if Grandma wanted to spend a little bit more money, she would buy these packs of turkey pieces mixed with gravy and mix it with mashed potatoes. It was the greatest food in our minds. If grandma was making the turkey pieces and mashed potatoes, you knew something good happened. It was nice. Family from all around the country came to Grandma's to celebrate weddings, new babies, birthdays, and Christmas.

That all changed when Grandpa was put into a nursing home. Grandpa wasn't a very loud man, but for some reason the house got quieter. Grandma became sort of an introvert. Everyone seemed noticeably more somber. I guess it probably had something to do with realizing the fact that Grandma and Grandpa weren't going to live forever. After Grandpa was gone, my oldest aunt took it upon herself to take care of everything for Grandma. She went shopping for Grandma, she paid the bills for Grandma, and she cooked for Grandma, among other things. She seemed to really want to help Grandma. It was almost like she was trying to protect her. She made the turkey, gravy, and potatoes combo much more often than Grandma ever did. We quickly realized that the only reason we liked it was because Grandma made it. Everything tasted like it was going to be preserved for a 4 year trip. Even the potatoes were filled with salt. When my aunt took over, everything seemed to lose its magic. There were less laughs, we talked less, and gossip began to run rampant. My mom and my aunts formed alliances. My mom and Aunt C. versus Aunt T. and Aunt L.

One night, after my aunt had made turkey slices with mashed potatoes and gravy, my mom came home, and she seemed pretty angry. I didn't know what was going on, but she just kept staring at my aunt. Confused, I asked, "Mom, what's wrong?" "Nothing, but I just found out why your aunt is helping Grandma." My aunt looked furious. She then threw down Grandma' checkbook. It was filled with pages and pages of balance sheets, showing payments of $2,000 a month, to my aunt. She didn't want to help Grandma, she wanted money.

Now, every time I eat turkey slices with potatoes and gravy, I'm reminded of the exact moment our familial bond shredded. I'm reminded of my aunt, shipping Grandpa off to a nursing home, 300 miles away. I'm reminded of my cousin getting put through film school on the backs of Grandpa's retirement money. I'm reminded of the 3 hour long shouting match between my mom, my aunt, and Grandma that I was physically in the middle of. I'm reminded of the hatred that had tinged the conversations between all my aunts for 8 years. I'm reminded of when, before Grandma and Grandpa died, Grandma getting convinced to put my aunt on all of her bank accounts. I'm reminded of, after my Grandma died, my aunt selling the paid-off house for $140,000 and giving her three sisters $10,000 of that. I'm reminded of my aunt putting $30,000 into her house though renovations. I'm reminded of my aunt, pawning off my grandpa's WWII uniform for $40.

Most of all, I'm reminded that it's really not all that great.

Bargain Turkey Slices With Potato Flakes and Gravy (DRAFT)

When I was young, living with my family at my grandma's house, I learned to enjoy bargain food. Knock-off Chef Boyardee and cereal were generally the best we got. Occasionally, if Grandma wanted to spend a little bit more money, she would buy these packs of turkey pieces mixed with gravy and mix it with mashed potatoes.It was the greatest food in our world. If grandma was making the turkey pieces and mashed potatoes, you knew something good happened.

That all changed when Grandpa was put into a nursing home. Grandpa wasn't a very loud man, but for some reason the house got quieter. Everyone seemed noticeably more somber. I guess it probably had something to do with dealing with the fact that Grandma and Grandpa weren't going to live forever. After Grandpa was away from the home, my oldest aunt took care of everything for Grandma. She went shopping for Grandma, she paid the bills for Grandma, and she cooked for Grandma, among other things. She made the turkey, gravy, and potatoes combo much more often than Grandma ever did. We quickly realized that the only reason we liked it was because Grandma made it. Everything tasted like it was going to be preserved for a 4 year trip. Even the potatoes were filled with salt. When my aunt took over, everything seemed to lose its magic. Playing basketball in the driveway wasn't as fun anymore. The swingset we used to love was just unappealing. It was really quite strange.

One night, after my aunt had made turkey slices with mashed potatoes and gravy, my mom came home, and she seemed pretty angry. I didn't know what was going on, but she just kept staring at my aunt. Confused, I asked, "Mom, what's wrong?" "Nothing, but I just found out why your aunt is helping Grandma." My aunt looked furious. She then threw down Grandma' checkbook. It was filled with pages and pages of balance sheets, showing payments of $2,000 a month, to my aunt. She didn't want to help Grandma, she wanted money.

Now, every time I eat turkey slices with potatoes and gravy, I'm reminded of the exact moment our familial bond shredded. I'm reminded of my aunt, shipping Grandpa off to a nursing home, 300 miles away. I'm reminded of the 3 hour long shouting match between my mom, my aunt, and Grandma that I was physically in the middle of. I'm reminded of the hatred that had tinged the conversations between all my aunts for 8 years. I'm reminded of when, before Grandma and Grandpa died, Grandma putting my aunt on all of her bank accounts. I'm reminded of, after my Grandma died, my aunt selling the paid-off house for $140,000 and giving her three sisters $10,000 of that. I'm reminded of my aunt putting $30,000 into her house though renovations. I'm reminded of my aunt, pawning off my grandpa's WWII uniform for $40.

Most of all, I'm reminded that it's really not all that great.

Chicken Mole (Final)

Food is important for us for innumeral reasons. Not only beacuse it is somethings that we need in life and to survive on. Food can leave many memories in us. It could be the texture of it, the thought we had in our minds when we ate a particular food at the moment and even the feeling we get when food goes straight to our mouths. My Family and I have so many memories everytime we sit at the table together for lunch or even when it is dinner time.

The minute my grandmother gets in the kitchen to get our meal prepared, it is like having your first candy bar when you were a little kid. My grandmother has a special recipe when she makes Chicken Mole. My grandmother passed on the recipe to my mother who now does a fantastic job of making Chicken Mole. Chicken Mole will forever be a specialty in our family history, culture and our everyday food choice that we can not get enough of.

When my grandmother is up in the kitchen and making us Chicken mole, she puts all her energy in to it. Chicken Mole is a special food that comes from a family history from long time ago.My grandmother's family always had Chicken Mole as their main dish when it was dinner along with Arroz Rojo which is red rice. This was truly a family history for many years, since my grandmother's family always had this as a main dish at the table when she was younger.

Chicken Mole is a dish that many Mexicans or Hispanic families have at their tables for lunch or dinner. This is truly a culture thing when it comes to food. Most families have this as an everyday meal or two days out of the week. Chicken Mole can either be spicy or mild. Some families when they make Chicken Mole even make it sweet. My family obviously makes our Chicken Mole mild since it is my favorite dish and I am not a fan of eating to much spicy food. My Mother is the one that makes it special just for me and just the way I like it.

Chicken Mole is so popular in our family that we cook it so often. We just can't seem to get enough of it when chicken mole is made by my grandmother or by my mother. I simply just love the texture of chicken Mole and the spicy, sweet, mild tase of it just makes me drool everytime I eat it. I dont think that there is any other food that make me crave it all the time as much as i crave this special dish.

Smooth Sailing (final)

When you think of a boat what do you see? A speedboat on Lake Powell perhaps. Maybe a paddle boat on Bear Creek Lake. Maybe you even imagine a large cruise liner off the coast of Cabo San Lucas. In my mind when I imagine a boat I see a small wooden one. It isn't able to carry much of anything. I would even go as far as saying if you tried to get it to actually float it would instead sink. Now you are probably wondering what is the point of a boat that small that can't even do it's job and float? That's because it's real intent is to hold food, one type of food in particular: Sushi.

Sushi is almost like an addiction in my family. My mother, sister and I crave Sushi always though our meals of it are rather rare due to the not exactly low rates of fish now days. But nonetheless we hold our Sushi in high regard. I have been told that woman begin craving things in intensity while pregnant. I have no idea if this is true or not but my mother says it is true. I have been told by some of my friends moms that they craved such food mixtures as peanut butter and cucumbers to just pretzels. My own mother's pregnant food craving was Sushi. Some doctors (and I am sure many other people) would say that while pregnant do not eat raw fish aka Sushi. Maybe my mother wasn't the smartest indulging this craving during both her pregnancies but I believe this is where the love began. We used to joke around that my sister and I were 'born with chopsticks in our hands'. We have been fans since birth. Back in 2006 my two half-siblings were in town for a visit. At the time both Wesley and Tasha lived on Galiano Island which is a small island off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. Living directly on the water and having a large city (Vancouver, my hometown) nearby Sushi bars and restaurants are in abundance. (Hint: Wes and Tash love Sushi). So where else would we all choose to go on a Saturday evening to celebrate their visit then one of our favorite local sushi bars: Kobe An. A friend of my mother's and his daughter joined the rest of the family that evening to bring the group to a solid 7 people. As soon as we were seated discussion started on what to order from the long detailed list of roll types given to us by one of the waitresses. Before we all knew what had happened our list of choices was completed and handed back with anticipation for the rolls to arrive.

I love spending time with my siblings and family. The table bantered back and forth about school, travel, business, etc. As soon as the food arrived though conversation was put to an immediate halt. The Sushi had arrived. I mentioned that our meal was long and I hope you realized I meant long. It would be like comparing a 3 sentence response to a 4 page paper. To fill such an order almost all the rolls had been organized onto what is called a Sushi Boat. It dominated the center of the table with its size and the eye catching colors of both fish and vegetables artfully placed along its surface. The overall affect was like a rainbow: electric orange from the salmon, delicate pastel pinks from the tuna cuts, murky purple from the depths of the ocean octopus slices, to the pure white of the particular sticky rice used in sushi rolls. The fresh scent of the cut fish, unique earthy undertone of the seaweed binding, strong nose-watering hot green wasabi to the bitter but juicy shredded ginger combine for one of the most mouth-watering scents I have ever had the fortune of smelling. As always the waitress began to name all the types of rolls we had gotten: Eel Roll, Rainbow Roll, Spider Roll, Rocky Mountain, Heart Attack and endless more.

Like any family we decided on having some fun while we ate. Meaning: Mom, "Let's time it to see how fast we eat it all". KD, "I say 12 minutes." Wesley, "No, more like 15 minutes or so." Daniel. "I'll go with KD." Me, "Can we just eat already?" To make an extremely rough estimation each type of roll had about 8 pieces. There were about 10-12 different types of roles. 8x12=96 sushi pieces. Everyone had to eat at least 13 pieces. Want to guess how fast we dominated that sushi boat? 7 minutes. Our waitress was amazed as were we. So when I saw we have a love know it is true. Food brings people together. Sushi is that food for my family. I love my family. I love food. I love Sushi.

For the Love of Food (final)

Russia is mainly a northern country with long-lasting cold winter, which lasts approximately seven to eight months out of the year. Because of that, the main components of Russian cuisine are the ones with a lot of carbohydrates and fats, rather than proteins. Some of the top ingredients of a Russian meal are potatoes, bread meat and butter. Russian cuisine is also rich with ingredients such as mushrooms, berries and various grains. In Russia, there are a lot of woods and forests, especially in the north. These account for the abundance of berries and various kinds of mushrooms. Gifts of the forest for the Russian table.

Throughout centuries Russian cuisine has evolved into what it is today, rich in history and character. In the ninth century the Vikings introduced herring and preserving techniques. In the thirteenth century Mongol-Tatar brought with them the samovar (a tea-making and serving vessel), various spices and other culinary techniques for meat and dairy. In the eighteenth century Russian cuisine was influenced by western European cuisine. At first German, then Dutch and Fhrenc. In the time of Peter the Great fashionable cooks became common in Russia. Also saucepans, straining spoons and other essential kitchen utensils were introduced.

In spite of all the changes that were brought in by foreign chefs and cultures, the basics of Russian cuisine remained untouched. The most distinctive national features, such as lavish amounts of food on the table, diversity of starters, adherence to bread, assortment of fish and mushroom dishes and extensive choices of sweets, were conserved for centuries. Combination of outside influences and colder weather have lead to the development of some wonderful dishes such as borscht, which is a heavy vegetable soup with cabbage, beet and meat, or pelmeni, which are made from ground beef, pork and onions wrapped in dough and served with sour cream.

A traditional Russian meal consists of three dishes. To start out, a meat soup with vegetables and grains, such as borscht, solyanka or shchi. Then a dish with fish or meat served with garnish such as rice, buckwheat, potatoes or stewed cabbage. And last, but not least, a beverage such as compote, kvas, kissel or juice. Meals such as lunch and dinner were strictly observed, and the whole family would gather around the table, where everyone had their own designated place. Such a big meal was required, especially for the working class to sustain energy during or after a hard day's labors. Although today the meals aren't as big as they used to be, in most households dinner and lunch times still remain an important part of a family's life.

Russian cuisine is very important to many Russian families, even more so to families that have immigrated to other countries. Today we can find all kinds of establishments that serve and sell Russian food. As a Russian native, I love the food and everything about it, where it began and how it got to where it is today. I love going to the store and getting ingridients for some of my favorite dishes, that I share with my family.

For the Love of Food (rough draft)

Russia is mainly a northern counrty with long-lasting cold winter, which lasts aproximately seven to eight months out of the year. Because of that the main components of Russian cuisine are the ones with a lot of carbohydrates and fats, rather than proteins. Some of the top ingridients of a Russian meal are potatoes, bread, meat and butter. Russian cuisine is also rich with ingridients such as mushrooms, berries and various grains. In Russia there are a lot of woods and forests, especialy in the north which accounts for the abundance of berries and various kinds of mushrooms. Gifts of the forest for the Russian table.

Throughout centuries Russian cuisine has evolved into what it is today, rich in history and character. In the nineth century the Vikings introduced herring and preserving techniques. In the thirteenth century Mongol-Tatar brought with them the samovar (a tea-making and serving vessel), various spices and other culinary techniques for meat and dairy. In the eighteenth century Russian cuisine was influenced by western European cuisine, at first German, then Dutch and French. In the time of Peter the Great fashionable cookers became common in Russia, as well as saucepans, straining spoons and other essential kitchen utensils were introduced.

In spite of all the changes that were brought in by foreign chefs and cultures, the basics of Russian cuisine remained untouched. The most distinctive national features, such as lavish amounts of food on the table, diversity of starters, adherence to bread, assortment of fish and mushroom dishes and extensive choices of sweets, were conserved for centuries...........

Memories of Food (final)

Memories of Food

Ever since I moved into the Nylund family eight years ago my taste buds have been spoiled with the knowledge of what home food made from scratch tastes like. Along with this fabulous verity of goodness came memories. Some of these where bad, most good, and all involved food in one way or another.
The first thought that popped in my head when on this subject of things eatable was how Gina, my mom’s, homemade mashed potatoes tasted like for the first time. They are always slightly lumpy, with an equally smooth texture to them. Don’t forget the butter and salt measured in by eye balling it and then the potatoes are done. Gina’s mashed potatoes are always every ones favorite, whether it’s for whole family at a holiday gathering, or for just the three of us at dinner time.
One of my dad’s and I’s favorite meals are meat and potatoes. Generally we enjoy are potatoes mashed more than other ways, like baked, but in the end they all work fine. Now as for a meat goes we don’t care what type is put on the plate next to those fabulous mashed potatoes, as long as it is not liver!
Next is the family gatherings, the types of food made depends on what occasion it is, but there are always the favorites that we can’t go without. These are: mom’s mashed potatoes; sour cream and onion dip with chips, some sort of treat from grandma’s cook book, and diet soda or lemonade to drink. My family is huge Diet Coke/ Pepsi drinkers I’m not sure why we enjoy this type of soda, but it must be present when we all get together. Family is a loosely used term because we have close friends that also join us for holidays and some of them even bring their families also so our gatherings are always huge events that bring people together.
Now comes Grandma Mavis goodies, for Christmas Eve when the whole family is in one location she makes sugar cookies. There are at least three decent sized containers full of them. Then in the fourth are the custom marked ones that grandma puts everyone’s name on their own cookie. Mavis also bakes up her cinnamon roles or coffee bread to be eaten Christmas morning at my dad’s house when it’s just our section of the family like my siblings, parents, and the grandparents. When consuming these two dishes the eater knows that they are taking in several calories of sugar, butter, and dough. They are always baked with care and love from Grandma too, and this is why we don’t care and devour her special dishes happily.
At thanksgiving my mom and Grandma bake four pies. One is pumpkin pie, two pecan pies, and the last one changes every year, but I remember it being chocolate some times. There are several other recipes that Mavis bakes but I can’t remember anymore right now. A funny event that happens every year after the turkey and get carved is; all the men and myself stand around the carcass and pick off the remaining meat. We also devour the chips and dip before the main course gets done. During the process of picking and eating we can hear the complaints of “don’t fill up on chips leave room for lunch.” I guess you could call the standing around and eating a weird family tradition because there is two-three generation of kids that participate in the “gathering around the island counter top.”
Birthdays are another reason for the family to get together. Where the party happens depends on whose birthday it is. Everyone always has a good time catching up on what has been happening with one another. As for food at these parties, there is always cake with homemade icing and ice cream. No, not all icings come from cans bought at the store Gina remembered one year at my birthday party my girlfriends were shocked to learn this. As a result my friends stood around the island counter and watched me make icing with fascinated looks on their faces. Along with that we usually eat a meal together before like lunch or dinner.
The food preparations and cooking can be divided in to two categories in my house. First, is stuff cooked on the grill, and everything else that is not fixed on a grill. In this family the men cook sometimes, when the eatable item needs to be done on the grill. Very rarely will you see them cooking on a stove top. The women are the ones who fix dinners, bake, and make sweets from a recipe. Now I really don’t fit into this because I am unable to cook much. Which if you think about it is sort of funny considering the family I live with.
The memories that surround my crazy family gatherings are great. The food is wonderful and nothing in the world will ever beat Grandma Mavis’s and Gina’s cooking. Along the way in my journey of life I learned a few things from food like it doesn’t have to come from a box, or that food can bring almost any set of people together.

Food and Family (final)

My family and food go together like two peas in a pod. We all really enjoy food to its fullest extent and maybe, a little too much at times, we tend to over indulge. When I think back to my childhood some of my most fondest memories are of all of us getting together for a meal. It always seemed to bring out all of thoses warm and fuzzy feelings in all of us , but I don't think that would have been possible without my grandma. When we do get together we make recipes given to us from my grandma.


My grandma used to live on a farm when she was little, she could talk about it forever and I love to watch her face as she talks about the food, and the way of life on the farm. She always closes her eyes and gets this beautiful smile on her face like as if she had been transported back in time and she’s with her mother again, eating her homemade cherry pie that she misses so much. Sometimes, I wish that I could be transported back with her and experience the life and food on the farm as she remembers it. The food today definitely is nothing like it was back then, all wholesome and fresh, everything made from scratch.

Luckily, we still have my grandma to give us a small part of that world and shares with us the memories of the past. We all love the food she makes from her childhood, it so delicious and the smell of it, when cooking gives me a feeling of home no matter where I am. When my family and I get together, to have my grandmas home cooked meals it brings out the best in all of us, it’s the only time it doesn’t feel phony or forced. It not only brings out the best in us but it makes my grandma very happy and that is something we all strive to do as much as possible.


When we get together to have a meal we all help in the kitchen, so it’s not too hard for my grandma or one person to do alone and we’ll joke and laugh as we go about cooking. When we finish with the cooking everyone will crowd into the kitchen to get a plate and then go sit at the table. We are not big on saying grace not sure why I think the only time we do say it is at thanksgiving I think we all thank god in are own way. After we are all done eating most everyone goes outside to smoke a cigarette and talk and that pretty much rap ups the night.


All in all, compared to most families, It’s really not to much when it comes to family get togethers but, I think its probably the biggest family traditions we have. So when it does happen and we all get together for a meal I am grateful for food and family and for the feeling of harmony with in my family for that small amount of time. I also feel very blessed when it comes to my grandma she is a very warm heart person and is always there for you when you need her. She alone is what really brings are family togather with the love she puts into the food she makes and into all of us.

The Ultimate Game Changer(Final)

There are not many places where you can walk in and feel like you belong. Sports bars have that unique quality. Whenever you walk in you see people smiling and having a good time. When I think of sports bars I picture a place to go and fit in with people that enjoy the same things you do, from the sports, to the food, to the social environment. The biggest reason why I go is to watch the sporting events that they have. They usually buy different events that cost more than what most people are willing to spend. For instance at my local favorite sports bar Buffalo Wild Wing, they purchase all the UFC fights so you can go there and watch it instead of buying it at your house and spending $50 for the fight. I have been going there since high school. It is right down the street from my house so it is convenient.

The most underestimated part of sports bars is the food. Sports bar food is kind of unique because it can be greasy and heavy, but it also can be healthy and light. They have everything from deep fried mushrooms to grilled chicken salads, so truly there is something for everyone there.

When you walk in you feel the atmosphere and know its the kind of place you will be able to be yourself at and have fun. There's beer flowing and the sounds of laughter and excitement. The other thing that you really notice is the different smells, from the hot wings to the smell of the burgers. With all the TVs having sports on it is really a sports lovers dream. If you haven't been to a sports bar recently I would recommend checking one out, you might find it to be your kind of place.

Pho Pho Pho!

The first time I have ever eaten Pho I was in the 10th grade. My friend Thomas had just learned of it from a Asian friend he had and decided that my friend Sabrina and I were going to go try it with him. So we all drove down to federal street where there happen to be about 40 pho restaurants which all seemed to be just be called Pho and then some number (ei: pho 33). So we finally decided on one parked and walked on inside. It looked like just a normal restaurant so we sat down and opened the menu, the only thing on the menu was pho all different kinds of pho, chicken pho, steak pho, and combinations. So we finally ordered and in about 8 min they brought it out, it is a kind of ramen noodle soup but with rice noodles. so we tried are first pho that day and it was the best decision I made that year!

Pho is a Vietnamese soup made of Rice noodles, a broth, and the meat of your choice. The broth is from whatever meat you choose to have in your pho and has a sort of sweet flavor. you can get your pho in 3 sizes small, medium, and large. A large pho is only about 6 dollars and the bowel you get is huge. before the waiter brings out your pho he brings out a big plate full of bean sprouts, lime, jalapeños, and some cilantro to add to your pho when you get it. I don"t usually add any of this stuff to my pho but what I do add is sriracha and this sweet berry sauce stuff that they have that makes the pho even better.

Going to get Pho with my friends has been a big part of my life sense then. Almost all my friends know and love to eat pho. One of the best part of pho is how cheap it is, instead of going to McDonalds or something like that you can go get a large pho for the same price! Another great thing is that you dont have to go far to eat pho there are pho restaurants all over the place and they are very easy to spot, because they are usually just named "pho" followed by a number. My personal favorite pho restaurant is called pho 555. it is my favorite because its large is really big, it has really good pho, and on weekends its open till 3am!

Ive tried making Pho at home a couple of times and it never seems to come out right. Here is a recipe on how to make Pho. Making Pho was pretty much a all day event for me it is pretty time consuming and and kind of expensive to make it yourself so I would recommend to just g out and buy it. But what you have to do is get a big pot and boil a whole bunch of different different ingredient like ginger, chard onions, and a bunch spices and you boil it for about 2 hours until the broth is done. You then pretty much cut the meat of your choice and then boil your rice noodles. You don"t cook the meat you add the meat at the end and it cooks in the hot soup. you then add everything together and you've got Pho. To bad I can never seem to get it to come out just right.

Pho is one of my favorite dishes and has been a awesome place for me and my friends to eat and hang out. My friends and I eat there at least once a week and It never gets old. The only bad thing about pho is that making it at home is time consuming and I can never seem to get it right. Thinking back having pho for the first time with my friends is one of my favorite memories and cant wait to go have some again soon.

Zwiebach: Grandma's Specialty (Final)

When I was little, my grandma always cooked for my family and I whenever we would visit her. Either we would visit as a family or one of us kids visited her by ourselves. My grandma was an amazing cook. One thing she would always cook was zwiebach. Zwiebach are little rolls that pull apart into two separate pieces, the name even means "two bread". They are sweeter and a little denser than regular rolls. These rolls are made with lots of fat, like butter, lard, margarine, sometimes coconut oil, or any other form of good grease. In a post entitled, "Christina's Bookshelf", she talks about etiquette involved with zwiebach, she says, "Proper etiquette states that zwiebach must not be spread with butter, for fear of insulting the hostess by insinuating that she didn't use enough butter when making her zwiebach.". I think that even if the cook used enough butter, a little more spread on top would not hurt anything. I love these rolls and request them whenever I know we are going to see Grandma. They are good plain or with butter, they are good with jelly and jam. Whatever flavor of topping you can think of probably will be good on zwiebach. You can even make little sandwiches with meat and cheese on them.
Zwiebach is a type of bread that was originally cooked by Mennonites, which are a type of Christian group that began in the 16th century, and is really popular and centers around the mid west, especially in Kansas. They were traditionally served on festive occasions like weddings and Sunday afternoon meals called faspas. They are even served at funerals, which sounds better and more thoughtful than the regular store bought rolls. Here, a woman named Ellen tells of how she learned to cook zwiebach and even has a recipe for it. I do not know how easy it is to make these right since I have never tried to make them myself, but my mom always said grandma's are the best. My mom did make good ones also, but grandma's really are better. I suppose it is because she has way more experience and I am sure she has perfected the art of zwiebach baking.

Zwiebach is something my whole family loves, even the extended members. I might be right in claiming it as a "staple" food in my family. They have been around for as long as I can remember and since most of my family are German, I have always believed zwiebach to be a German thing, but I have found out there are Russian types as well. I have also found a variety of recipes for zwiebach and each one was a little different. Some have eggs, some have a cinnamon roll option which I would love to try and I am sure it would be amazing. I do not know what all is in my grandma's recipe, but I would sure like to try some of these others and compare them, though I am sure my grandma's zwiebach would blow them out of the water (I suppose that's sort of a biased opinion).
I assume not everybody has heard of zwiebach before. It was surprisingly hard to find information on them or pictures of them on the Internet. If you are somebody who likes rolls, you should definitely check these out, they smell great when they are cooking and they taste delicious (best rolls out there in my opinion). If you pick a recipe and the rolls turn out terrible, do not blame me or give up, just pick a different one and try again. I believe the recipe I have provided a link for would be a good one to start with, or if you have a Mennonite grandmother or know any Mennonites, then you would probably be better off having them cook some for you as they probably have plenty experience.

Kabsa (final)

Food is an important item which presents the nation taste and culture of the country. Kabsa is famous all around the Saudi Arabia and is the national dish of Saudi Arabia. Kabsa can be found in many varieties depending upon its ingredients used for cooking. Mainly this dish is made by the mixture of spices, basmati rice, chicken and vegetables which are easily available to every community level in Saudi Arabia. The variety of meat used in making Kabsa is chicken, goat meat and cow meat. The most popular one is chicken Kabsa.

Our family, including my cousins, uncles and aunts, get together every month in our farmhouse which is about 60 miles away from my hometown “Alhafouf”. We usually get together in the farmhouse and stay there for several days. My first hand-made Kabsa by myself was when I was ten years old at our farmhouse. At the first day of our visit, me and my cousins asked grandma to make Kabsa because she was very famous for this dish in our family. She was hesitant because of age but got ready to cook it when we insisted, but she asked us to help her in cooking this dish. My aunt lives very far from our farmhouse and is expected to be in afternoon, so we decided to serve the Kabsa after her arrival. I was helping my mother and others in cleaning house, decorating and placing things which are necessary while living here. After that my duty with my brothers was to bring the chicken for Kabsa. We went to a nearby super market and bought the chicken.  

Kabsa can be cooked in various ways including pressure cooker, Mandi and Mathbi. My grandmother was an old lady who prefers the old ancient method for making Kabsa which is by using Mandi. Mandi is a deep hole in the ground for barbecuing of chicken. Lot of spices are used for marinating chicken including black pepper, cloves, cardamom, saffron, cinnamon, black lime, bay leaves and nutmeg. These spices are basically responsible for Kabsa taste and these are added with lot of care. My grandmother marinated the chicken and it was ready to be barbecued. We placed the chicken in the hole and sealed to be barbecued and to get the taste of the smoke.  

As our aunt was expected to reach later in afternoon, grandmother stopped working on the Kabsa until her arrival time comes closer. My cousins and I planned a soccer match. We played soccer match making two groups of six members for each team. I was not really any good in playing soccer, so they put me as a goal keeper. We unfortunately lost our match because the other team played really well in the match.

All were tired and decided to take a nap before my aunt arrives. I decided to go and help my grandma to make the Kabsa. Grandma started cooking the Kabsa and I was helping her, so I can learn how to cook Kabsa. At first place, chicken which was earlier marinated with spices and browned using some onions and spices are barbecued in the hole which is covered during the barbecue process. After the chicken is barbecued and it’s ready to be served, water is added and then liquid is drained off to add rice. Chicken is browned further to bring its original delicious taste and rice is cooked in meat stock using various spices like black pepper, cloves, black lime, bay leaves, almonds, pine nuts, onions and raisins. After the rice is cooked properly, Kabsa is ready to be served to everyone.

Everyone was hungry and desperately waiting for aunt to arrive so that we can have our traditional Kabsa. Thank God she arrived in time and after getting fresh, grandma was serving the Kabsa to everyone. The taste was so delicious that everyone was eating more than what they normally eat. I really enjoyed that day in the farmhouse with Kabsa, playing soccer and spending the day with my beloved relatives.  These are the best memories of my life and I always remind them to enjoy in my life. I wish to have such days again and again in my life and eat Kabsa cooked by my grandmother.

The Holidays (Final Draft)

Every time my family gets together for a holiday, there is only one thing that I can think of: the beautiful smell of food. The first thing that comes to mind actually, is the freshly cooked ham. I always remember though, when I first walk inside my grandparents house; the humid warmth from cooking all morning and the smell of a variety of foods swirling together. All of this always gets me excited when a holiday comes around.

Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Those are the three holidays that we get together at my grandparents house. It is always really hot inside house on any given holiday although I usually don't mind because it's almost always cold outside, at least on Christmas. It's often fairly warm on Easter and it could be either on Thanksgiving. Anyway, regardless of the temperature outside it is always hot inside. All morning my grandma is cooking well my grandpa stands around and annoys my grandma. My parents and I are always the second to arrive, proceeded only by my cousin Vanessa who is usually cutting turkey and ham when we walk in the door.

My grandma always prepares a variety of foods for everyone, of which I only pay attention to the ham and biscuits. They are always so super delicious. The ham is always so super juicy and sweet and the biscuits and crisp yet soft and are some of the best biscuits I've ever had. Other than my small menu, my grandma makes many other foods such as two types of casserole, chili, mashed potatoes and homemade gravy, and some other things that I either don't know the name of or that I can't remember.

As soon as everyone arrives we all rush for the food. The 'serving station' in the small kitchen means we have to form a small line to grab from our variety of food. When we all are done, if it's hot, we go outside on their patio to eat, while if it is cold we sit in the dining room inside that is just big enough for us all. We all chat and eat while passing around the biscuits and butter every couple of seconds to someone else.

My family has a knack for forgetting about dessert, in fact, the yeast year for Easter we completely forgot about it. I'm not really sure how it happens because there are always such tasty treats for everyone that we all love. It always happens though... My grandma makes pound cake, cheesecake, Jello, butterscotch cookies (my absolute favorite), Christmas cookies for Christmas, and she alternates between brownies and fudge. I never know how such a delicious variety can be forgotten, but it happens and we all have a laugh about it when we are packing leftovers to take home and realize there is a forgotten table of heaven sitting off it's lonesome in the same room as the dining table.

Three times a year, I get my delicious ham and biscuits as well as many other tasty foods well my family manages to forget (or nearly forget) about the dessert. We all laugh and have a good time and bid goodbye until the next time. It's always a good time when the holidays roll around.

Author's Note

At first I wasn't sure what I wanted to write about, and actually my original idea was completely different than my final product. I couldn't think of anything that I felt I could elaborate on for quite a while, but I finally settled on speaking about how Holidays are with my family. I'm slightly disappointed with my idea because I wanted to do something that was a little more creative, however I am satisfied with my final product.

After figuring out what to write about, I thought about the specifics on what I would like to talk about. I thought about what I remember from all the many holidays that I have spent over at my grandparents. I outlined the writing in my head and then I began to write.

The Day of the Dead (final)

Imagine yourself in a cemetery commemorating your great grandpa how creepy can that be?. The day of the death (el dia de los muertos)is celebrated in Mexico like one of the most important holiday there is. This day is somewhat similar to Halloween here in the United States. Instead of being celebrated just the thirty first of October is celebrated the thirty first through the second day of November. What is mostly being celebrated on this day is the death of peoples loved ones. Specifics of the celebration vary with regions, but one of the most important customs is the making of elaborate altars to welcome departed spirits home. Vigils are held and families often go to cemeteries and fix up the graves of their loved ones. One of the common foods that cannot be missed is the bread of the death (pan de muerto) that can conceal a miniature skeleton.

I still remember the first and last time I celebrated the day of the dead holiday. Back when I was seven years old, we used to live in El Paso Texas which is the just the border of Mexico and the U.S.A. Both my parents are from Chihuahua, which is located on the north side of the Mexican region. From El Paso to Chihuahua is just a five hour drive. So we use to go more often than what we go now. I remember that on that year November second was a Saturday so we left from El Paso Friday evening and arrived to Chihuahua Friday night . When we arrived to my grandmas house all my aunties were there with the food ready to prepare the best traditional Mexican food.

The next morning all of my of my aunties arrived very early, at my grandmas house to start the tamales, pozole, and of course the famous bread of the death. While my aunties were cooking one of my cousins and me were helping my grandma make a altar for our recent passed loved ones. We used two different size tables a big one and a small one. The small one went on top of the big one and we cover them with bright colorful table covers. Then my grandma took out photos of one of her sister and one of my grandpas cousin who had passes away July of that year. We put their pictures in beautiful picture frames that had colorful skeletons dancing all over the picture frames. Then we spread all over the altar bright colored marigolds, while my grandma brought us two big candles of the virgin Mary to put on each side. We also put about four skulls of sugar that were painted with beautiful bright red, yellow, and orange colors all over. Its said that when doing this altars, we are suppose to put something that the death people enjoyed when they were alive. For my grandpas cousin we put a bottle of tequila because he used to love to drink tequila. However for my grandmas sister we put a plate of homemade cookies because she use to love cooking. When we finish with the altar we went to the cemetery and cleaned their graves and put fresh marigold flowers mixed with red and white roses.

The evening arrived and the food was ready and so were we. All the family kneeled down in front of the vigil, my mom lighted the candles and we started praying the rosary. We fallowed my grandma as she lead in the prayers. When we finish praying all the family stand up and went in straight to the dining room and sat while two of my aunties served the pozole and tamales. Finally everyone was settled in with their food, we all started eating and talking about the good memories we had from the people that had left us already. While we enjoyed the homemade spicy tamales and the warm salty pozole. From the look of every ones eyes and expressions of their face I could see they really liked the food as much as I did. I would say this holiday and Christmas were the days that brought my family together the most that year.

At last came the warm spongy bread of the death. After eating dinner we all enjoyed a piece of bread with a cup of hot chocolate while other drank coffee. Even though many think this is a holiday to cry for the life's of the ones that are not with us any more its not. Its actually a holiday were its believed that departed souls come back to earth and spend some time with their families and leave the next day. Therefore the families celebrate and honor them with things they use to like when they were alive. To many people this holiday seems very weird, but to us is one of the most important one where we feel the presence of the ones that are not with us anymore.

final taco casserole

Food is always on my mind. I try to eat alot day in and day out, no matter where I'm at. All my friends growing up always knew the first place I go at their house is to the kitchen. Either the fridge or the food cabinets. Sometimes its weird because I can have the same things in my house as they do, but for some reason it seemed as if it tasted better from their house then from in mine, but I still eat it. But one of my favorite things to eat is taco casserole. Something my grandpa always cooked for us when I lived with him. It was fairly simple to cook with very few ingredients but had a flavor to me that seemed as if it had tons of ingredients to create this flavor.

Taco casserole is based up of four ingredients, maybe five, But not exactly sure. They are; Hamburger, doritos, taco seasoning, and lots of cheese. As I stood over my grandpas shoulder while he prepped everything, my mouth already started to water for what was soon to be an extravagant dinner. First, he fries up the hamburger with the taco seasoning mixed in until the meat browns. Then he lies a layer of the meat into the baking pan.He then blankets the beef in lots of cheese. Lots of cheese. And then the doritos on top. Then he does another layer of hamburger. Thats rite, more meat. Once again, another pile of cheese. Then last but not least, more doritos with a thin layer of cheese on top to hold everything in place. During this process, the oven is being pre heated at 450 degrees. So as he finished it up, the casserole was ready to go into the oven for a half hour atleast and then to be chowed down.

Ding! The sound of the oven letting us know that dinner was done. That was the longest half hour ever. He puts on the oven mitt and reaches into the inferno and pulls out the pan. The look of melted goodness is now ready to be devoured. He cuts the casserole up into sections to be served. I, already at his side with a plate and fork in hand, am ready to eat. He drops the piece onto my plate. The looks and smell are amazing. Everyone gets served and ready to digg in. I on the other hand, am already almost done with my first piece and just about ready for seconds by the time everyone gets served. They all digg in and are shocked by how good something like this can be with such few ingredients. Its amazingly full of flavor.

In the end, I know I am a little bit of a scavenger when it comes to going into friends houses, but none of their foods equal the flavor of the taco casserole my grandpa has shown me how to make. It seems so simple with such few ingredients that its on my soon to try and cook list at my place. I think I can accomplish this without burning my appartment down.I'm going to say maybe on that last statement. So now I am ready to eat like how I do every other hour, except this time, I want to make taco casserole. Now lets see how I do at cooking this meal.

Think before you eat. (Final)

One of my core beliefs is to respect the beliefs and values of others, regardless of weather or not they agree with or even respect my own. I’m not going to say you are wrong for consuming processed, synthetic, adultered and non-whole foods, that would be very wrong of me. As such I do respect your choices in life, and accept you as you are. What I am going to do is try and convince you not to consume those sorts of things. From the bottom of my heart I want this story to reach the innermost depths of your mind and heart and hopefully convince you to lead a healthier life.

Growing up:

My mom was, and still is for that matter, the sort of person based heavily in convenience. To her healthy, safe, moral and logical things are 100% dependant on the easiest and most readily available sources. If weapons grade plutonium was the cheapest and easiest way to fill me up and keep me quiet and out of her hair, then she would have fed it to me. (Yes she is a selfish person). So to say when I did live with my mom I had the most atrocious diet, so much so that it’s a wonder I stayed so thin. Mountain Dew, instant oatmeal, hamburger helper, LOTS OF FAST FOOD OF EVERY VARIETY, and TV dinners were the norm. There was virtually nothing fresh, whole, home made, unprocessed and so on in our cupboards. If it was not sugar coated and full of trans fats, or deep fried in high cholesterol animal fats, then we didn’t have it. There was no consideration for Acid Alkaline balances of the body or potassium to sodium ratios, which would be OK if she were all together ignorant of these principles. As it stands she was and is well aware and informed about them. My mom rationalized just like so many others do, that “it says heart healthy on the package”, “it says low fat”, “kids like sugar”, “salt makes it taste better”, "Its my house and my lungs, Ill smoke in here if I want to", and so on. (I am happy to report my family and I have successfully gotten my mom to quit smoking and she has not smoked for 4 years now). It wasn’t until I moved out on my own that I started making decisions about what I wanted to eat and what was an acceptable diet.

I paid for this with my health, for as much as I ate I was always Mal nourished, I was always sick, one severe cold after another, whooping cough that lasted for years, a yearly tradition of bronchial streptococcus and seriously life threatening bouts with the flu. I was a poster child for the over use of antibiotics and the ineffectiveness of vaccines. My little brother who still lives with my mom has much the same diet only with about 3 times the candy intake and new rationalizations; “bread has fiber in it”, “growing boys need meat”, “the microwave is so convenient”, “Splenda is better than sugar”, I limit his soda intake so he doesn’t get too much sugar and caffeine” – as I watch Nicholas, who is now 10 years old and 50 pounds over weight, suck down his fifth Pepsi for the day and is double fisting the gummy bears and snickers bars.

My grandmother who raised and had primary custody of me is another story. Though I spent several days per week with my mom and she lived with my Grandma and I after age 10, Grandma absolutely demanded I eat fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. Grandma also had a rule of no soda pop, no candy bars and no candied cereals, that didn’t stop my mom though. My grandma worked long hard days to be able to support herself and me; so to say I still had lots of microwaved TV diners as my meals. As such my diet and health remained poor until I was seventeen. Because of my childhood diet I developed an intolerance to processed sugar and processed wheat and there is no doubt in my mind that I am NOT an atypical case, I believe this to affect the masses of American society and the American food industry is responsible for a large portion of it.

It has been eight years since I started cooking for myself, and by cooking I mean COOKING, from scratch and using mainly raw/whole foods, not microwaving a plastic brick of anti-nutrition. For the last six of those eight years I can count three times I’ve been sick and of those three times, it lasted a whopping day each and I was back to normal. I have not had any vaccines in that eight-year time span, obviously had no need for antibiotics and am regularly around large groups of people and many sick people. For me this is irrefutable proof that diet alone contributes to a very large portion of human health and well being, never mind that the National Institute of Health says 90% of human health can be attributed to diet alone.

The Next Generation:

I have never had a problem with my daughters being picky eaters, I mean yeah the both of them refuse onions and/or mushrooms, though that’s pretty much the limit of what they wont eat. At the same time, I dislike onions with a passion so if that all my babies don’t like, then I can accept that. How would you like for your children to beg for broccoli every day, raid the fridge and eat all the carrots and ginger root, pick all the cucumbers and eat them before you have a chance to get some, or eat squash like it were going out of style.

Now maybe I should clarify the 'anything' that Shiori and Kiya will eat. The point was made to me that Shiori and Kiya are extremely pick eaters, and it makes good sense when you consider the context of their picky eating. My daughters will not drink soda, not because I said they cannot, rather because when offered some by my brother they were physically repulsed and spat it right out. (That is to say humans typically are trained to like carbonated and sugary drinks). The girls will pick at and not eat processed foods when they stay the night at my moms house. (As such, I have 'infiltrated her house' with fresh, whole and natural foods, as a causality of my mom wanting to have the girls visit). My babies go trick or treating for the fun of it and then give their candy away while telling other kids "candies yucky, candies hurt." So to say a duality plays out here, because like their daddy, my babies will willfully starve themselves before putting overly processed or synthetic crap foods in their bodies and still just like their daddy, they LOVE FOOD! Savy?

Perhaps this is because I do not short order cook anything, perhaps this is because I do not own a microwave oven or even allow the foods we eat to be microwaved, perhaps this is because just about everything we eat is home made from scratch using only whole food ingredients, perhaps this is because I do not allow any kind of processed sugar or candy, food coloring or heavily processed foods, or soda and so on in my house, in my body and most certainly not in their bodies. (In context, I have hundreds of pounds of candy in my office for my vending machines, though my office is my office where I work, not where I live so the candy really is not in my house.) I would venture to guess that all of these reasons bear significant weight when it comes to why my babies are such good eaters, after all it is the addiction to sugar and an overgrowth of candida yeast in the body that in general cause most of our (as humans) disliking and even repulsion of whole foods and healthy alkaline diets (fear of green things). As an aside, I always get comments on how well behaved Shiori and Kiya are, I mainly attribute this to proper nutrition and the ways in which I interact with them.

I think though, the most prominent reason why my girls will eat just about anything is I did not, and do not, treat them like fragile little children, I treat them like humans who happen to be smaller than me. That is to say when I have conversations with them, I speak to them as I speak to adults. (When Shiori asks me a question, I word it so her young mind can understand it, and still I am very up front and honest with her, I do not beat around the bush and I am not aloof with her. Kiya doesn’t talk much yet, so I dont really have conversations with her). When I play with them I take care not to be brutally rough and still I ‘bring it on’. When I renovate houses I bring them along and give them paintbrushes to go nuts with. When I garden I bring them with and teach them about the earth and the creatures whom we live with and why prayer and meditation are so integral to our well being and place on this Earth. When we eat I do not anticipate little taste buds not liking something foreign and I do not beg them to try it, instead what we have is what we have and I believe my daughters learned from day one that the world is full of flavor and each flavor is distinctly its own, each flavor is more magical than the last, and each flavor has power and meaning in every little bite. Two of the first solid foods I remember Shiori eating is curried rice noodles with carrots, cucumber, tomato, and grilled chicken (A.K.A. real sweet and sour chicken), and genuine Jalapeno and Anaheim salsa.

There is this wonderful little Thai restaurant close to my house simply called ‘Pad Thai’ which is located in the Mission Trace Shopping Center at Wadsworth and Highway 285. If you are faint of taste or cannot handle flavor, I would not suggest this place to you. If your Idea of quality Thai cuisine is those overly vinegary dollar a scoop places, you shouldn’t eat here. If your expectations are for it to be like going to ‘Tuk Tuk’ you will be sorely disappointed. Now if you like trying new things or like truly authentic Thai food, then I invite you to take a little journey with me. Never you mind that this little restaurant placed in the top 100 Thai restaurants in the U. S. and is rated the number one in Colorado, the family that owns and runs the place has to be the most wonderful and giving people I’ve met.

Imagine you are three years old again your favorite auntie has just brought you a wonderful desert new dish to try; you haven’t even finished stuffing your face with garlic pepper chicken. sweet and creamy whole coconut milk with a mellow undertone of mushroomy black beans, plantain bananas wrapped in rice and steamed or grilled to perfection, tantalize your taste buds with mango and deglazed garlic and curry sauce. Now imagine these are not available on any menu, rather you get these because your auntie loves you so much. That’s just a bit of what Shiori and Kiya eat when we do go out. No the restaurant owner is not their auntie. Rather in our family anyone whom we spend time with and know on a personal level is our family, that is to say we have a very large family. (Takes a village to raise a child/takes a village to build a society kind of mentality).

In my family, food is a central part of our mini culture on many levels. Food is fuel, food is another reason to sit down together, food is sharing, food is flavor, food is a journey, food is gratitude, food is abundance, food is wealth, food is a responsible choice, and food is an integral part of our lives. What is food to you?

I have made a deliberate effort to provide my babies with the best nutrition possible and to instill values with food that I hope will last a lifetime. I believe it to be the sacrifices parents are willing to make of themselves that better their children and prime the next generation for a better future than our own present day in age. Aren’t you worth the effort, aren’t your children worth it? Isn’t the future of this world worth your effort and sacrifice?

Authors Notes:

So I had a very difficult time with this essay, I wrote copious quantities of different ideas and random thoughts that popped into my mind and just couldn’t figure what to put on paper. Even after deciding what to write about I had a very difficult time describing my topic, I had a very difficult time thinking of ways to present it while still being engaging, I feel even now that I was too technical and preachy, personally I think this essay was not my best work. I know the best way to “woo” someone into a thought, is to speak to their inner self, to tell stories. Preaching and making technical argument usually end up turning people off. OK, so yes I put my authors comments in the main body, they would not fit in a comment box and I had other links I wanted to share, so that's why they are in the main body.

I do not know why some paragraphs are grey while others are black, I've tried changing the color, it wont change, I've gone over the HTML code several times and can't seem to find anything that would tell the lettering to appear as grey, so you have to deal with it. I did like 6 drafts of this essay before having it ruined by the HTML code underlining and striking through everything and make it all blue (like one big hyperlink), so I am quite done reading HTML and fixing problems.

My message in the essay is that “processed foods ARE KILLING YOU!” Obviously I am applying to emotion with both my childhood the bit with my kids. While the stories I tell are true I have used some empty rhetoric, especially with my childhood, to get the point across. Mainly alluding to how my mom was not around much during the earlier portion of my life, although this is true, the context in which I use it pulls on emotional chords while simultaneously attempting to link an association of processed foods and imbalanced diets to those very emotional chords. I am brainwashing you, yes I know this is not altogether a nice thing to do, and still it works.

I like the photos I used for this blog, I feel they are engaging as well as controversial, working well at catching your attention. As well the pictures of my daughters are cute and of course work well to pull you into the whole message of doing better for the sake of our children. The "Bush '04 pin on the t-shirt of the guy in the first picture is an obvious political stab. I do not follow any specific political lines and as such do not agree with the stab as the gross generalization that it makes. I find the picture with common foods and what's in them to be very informative, though I wish I could have gotten it to shrink down a bit more. The final picture is of Coconut Milk and Black Beans as a desert soup, I've never had it chilled like in the picture, though I would think even with differing characteristics, the dish would still be very good, you get the idea.

Eating a healthy and balanced diet IS NOT EXPENSIVE, in fact it is more cost effective (I.E. CHEAPER) than the alternative.

So to clarify, I read the labels of EVERYTHING my family and I put in or on our bodies, if they do not pass my stringent guidelines, I move on to something else, no exceptions. We do not have a microwave and we do not need one, microwaves are poisonous and hazardous to the human condition and I implore you to read the hyperlinks I have included throughout this essay on microwave ovens and other varying diet and health concerns. I believe that the general masses just don’t know because the information is not commonly spoken. That is, while the information is widely available, it is just not widely dispersed.

Another context to take into account: De Minimis Non Curat Lex - Latin for 'the law does not concern itself with trifles'. That is to say if a minor infraction should happen, somehow sugar/food coloring/synthetics/etc is in something we ate, its no big deal as tomorrow is another day. Though the Microwave is an absolute NO, no if ands or buts, I will make no exceptions for this one. If you are constipated or have serious IBS issues and use the microwave, I would venture to guess there is your answer. Microwave ovens change the chemical structure of foods with only one second of exposure, and you really truly are digesting a hard lump of plastic.

I felt it necessary to leave vegetarianism out of this essay because I felt it would ‘muddy the waters’ and make my point less effective. I get asked all the time “are you a vegetarian?” Anymore I just respond yes and leave it at that, I find it exceedingly difficult to communicate the principles of food combining, and eating limited meats and so on, so I just yes, yes I am. The reality is I do eat chicken and bison for no reason other than I like them, both of which disqualify me as a “true vegetarian”, even though the word in itself is so wishy washy that it has no real meaning. I do not eat beef or pork because of “industrialization” of cows and pigs as food sources and how horrible both meats really are for consumption. (Yes I realize that in general chicken and now more commonly bison as well are indusrialized). I will also point out, humans have absolutely no need at all in any way, in our current genetic structure to eat meat, so when the argument it brought up that its healthy to eat meat, NO ITS NOT, the level of uric acid (I really wish this site addressed the count of urics the body can process per day vs the count of ruics per 8oz serving of meat, none the less this is a wonderful site for general information on healthy foods) and cholesterol in every ounce of meat alone outweigh the benefits of protein and iron in meats. If someone wants to say they eat meat because it tastes good, Id call that a very legitimate reason. Id love to go on about other aspects of say calcium, iron and protein, and I feel this is getting lengthy, so Ill just implore again, research it, make an effort to learn about it, and if you want ask me about it.

On the vending machines: Call me a hypocrite of you want, the reality of the mater is, it doesn’t matter how much I preach to the people around me the value of proper nutrition. The mass majority of Americans, and other countries at that, are going to binge eat candy and other junk foods like they are going out of style, so it might as well be me who profits from those who choose to eat that shit. I do mean shit because that’s what it is, 100% pure pasteurized synthetically made and mass produced death in a colorful candy shell. ‘POINSONOUS SHIT’ going down the throat. And it tasted like SHIT too.

I am sure I come across a a bit harsh, especially in my writers comments. I have found that respect is give and results more commonly come from being honest and straight forward about words and intentions. I believe that too many individuals are exceedingly wishy washy and aloof about their words and intentions. I make a deliberate effort to be diplomatic and never cross, while still direct and to the point, sometimes that means I will offend or upset individuals, especially those who may be more sensitive than others. I apologize if I have offended you, that was not my intent, and still my goal has been achieved because weather or not you agree with me, I have etched an image into you mind that will last for an eternity.