Tasting Lab writing activity.
Week 1 Tasting Lab Writing Activity:
I was raised by a single mother who worked full time as a teacher. I’m not sure if she ever excelled at cooking, it’s not that should couldn’t cook, but it always seemed like a dreaded task for her. She always made sure there was something to eat, but meals mostly consisted of raw foods like greens or nuts, the occasional pasta or couscous, and on special occasions a peace of filet mignon always seasoned with the same shaker of pre-blended spices. And you know what? As I reflect upon the meals of my past, provided by my mother, those were the best times. I forgot to mention, her and I made a great breakfast team, she was the head chef, I, her sous chef. We made the best pancakes. I still think about those moments regularly, in fact I think it’s impossible to take a bite of pancakes and not think about my mom and I sitting on the counter laughing as we mixed our batter, or the time we forgot to put the eggs in, and that one time we had determined that our spatula was the best spatula ever, which led me to kiss the almost red hot utensil…. lesson learned. Those are the memories that put a little extra pep in my step in the mornings. My dad is always cooking, never a crazy repertoire, but he has his staples. I would see him on the weekends, he wasn’t a stranger, but he also wasn’t familiar. As a child seeing my dad was a source of excitement, anxiety, and uncertainty. But as I write this I remember always wondering what we would be having for dinner, I genuinely enjoyed his cooking, and remember now, that as we sat eating our dinner at the table or on the couch, my anxiety and uncertainty’s about everything would lessen with every bite. Its funny how food can do that. Tensions would fade, conversation would begin to flow. I’d have to say the feminine vs. masculine paradigms of cooking were reversed throughout my childhood, my mom then and now still seems to view cooking as a burdensome task, and when it comes to my father and the ever revolving door of stepmoms that I’ve had, he always seems to take on the role of cook. I somehow managed to teach myself a few tricks in the kitchen, but my current partner blows me and anyone I’ve ever know out of the water, she was raised in a kitchen, and I’m sure she was holding a knife before she ever held a toy, but I will say that I thoroughly impress her with my pancake and salad preparation skills… thanks Mom!
Week 2 Tasting Lab Writing Activity:
I think its inappropriate to be sitting in Washington state and claim your eating a local pineapple. I mean take a look around, have you ever seen one growing in Washington, besides as a house plant or in a crazy heated space. But that doesn’t mean if you consider yourself a locavore living in Washington state there should be any loss of virtue for eating a citrus, chocolate, or drinking coffee/tea/wine. What if I want to consider myself a locavore of many locations all around the world? The term terroir comes to mind, and for me there is so much encapsulated within that term that I could spend hours writing about it…. It’s important for me to note that the term terroir was invented by agrarian farmers trying to hold onto their land… they said, “hey if you like this wine you’re drinking, you better let us stay on this exact field because it will never taste the same anywhere else” and thus the AOC’s were born. Isn’t there something to say about supporting these artisan/farming community’s from around the world? It certainly seems silly to me to say “I only eat Washington grown foods.” Truly being a “locavore” would be to deny yourself the opportunity to support as well as experience the gifts provided by communities as well as individuals from around the world. You wouldn’t know the wonders of a Burgundy wine, Ethiopian coffee, Peruvian Cocoa, Indian teas, Switzerland gruyeres, the list goes on and on. So yes there is a certain virtue to eating locally, but there is also virtue in supporting the farming/artisan communities the world over who practice the art of growing and processing these unique products. Its also important for me to note that just because something is local, doesn’t mean its sustainable or ethical. For instance, you consider yourself a locavore and you happen to enjoy wine, so you’re going to try and only drink Washington wine. Well eastern Washington is a desert, and these vineyards are pulling water from aquifers at rates in which they will never be replenished within our lifetime, ultimately adversely effecting the ecosystems and the surrounding communities, where is the virtue in that? Just some food for thought!
Week 3 Tasting Lab Writing Activity:
When it comes down to eating food that has wild-crafted ingredients in it, there certainly is an element of trust involved. Questions and uncertainty may arise especially when ingesting various plants for the first time. The eater most definitely puts trust in the person preparing the food, but I feel like it ultimately comes down to the trust that the chef puts in themselves. No one wants poison a classroom full of their peers, and it comes down to trusting your knowledge of the plants and ingredients you are using. Having that in the back of my mind, I don’t really worry when eating wild-crafted ingredients prepared by others, and if a question arises for me, I don’t hesitate to ask. For instance I asked about how the morels were prepared because I personally know someone who, just a few days prior, hadn’t cooked his morels enough to let the toxic compounds render out, ultimately leaving him and his partner very ill. Knowing that, it’s natural to wonder how someone cooked their mushrooms, but ultimately, when I hear someone voice their knowledge of the ingredients, and their ability to discern edible plants from their poisonous look alike’s, any concerns I may have fly out the window. Our culture certainly puts an automatic faith in the edibility of grocery store products. The chemicals and toxins of our modern world are making their way into our produce and animals, and ultimately into the humans consuming said products. I personally feel that we put a misplaced trust into the major retail outlets selling these products. Not enough research has been conducted, and sadly I feel that the adverse effects of prolonged exposure to these chemicals has yet to come out, partly do to major corporations like Monsanto trying to suppress studies and data, but also, enough time hasn’t passed to allow for all the side effects to surface. Researchers at MIT just published research indicating how symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, and glyphosate poisoning are eerily similar. They’ve found concentrations of it in mothers breast milk, as well as in the children, and they have gone so far as to say that by 2025 ½ of all children born will be on the autism spectrum. Now I’m not saying glyphosate is the sole cause of the autism epidemic, or a cause at all, because I believe in the full cup effect (meaning that its multifaceted and that the technology and chemicals of our modern world, amongst many other factors such as early childhood development contribute to the epidemic). But shouldn’t these links be fully examined before the FDA gives it the go ahead for public consumption. When corporations are spending billions to fight labeling laws, or fight scientific concerns regarding their products, something seems fishy. And sadly a large portion of the public does put blind faith into the food they buy at grocery stores mainly due to naivety and misplaced trust in the corporations running our food system.
Week 4 Tasting Lab Write Up:
Glenn Tippy
SOS Commodification Week 4 Tasting Lab Write Up
5/1/17
I have spoken to this in a previous tasting lab write up, but will elaborate on it more. There are so many life experiences that weave their way into my being, I’m reminded of these traumatic, happy, sad, anxiety inducing memories throughout my day, and that’s okay. These memories and feelings are what make me me. A bite of food, the smell of smoke, other people’s stories, and countless other events trigger these emotions and memories within me. These Proustian thoughts take me back to different times. A bite of pancakes, takes me back to the times I spent with my mom, laughing and loving, how hard a worker she is, how she always made sure I had nice, and how no matter how hectic life was, she always took the time to have some fun with me. A pancake reminds me of how much I look up to my mom. The mornings spent putting on makeup with her, only to wipe it all off before heading off to school. A pancake reminds me of the old picnic table we had in the dining room. A pancake reminds me of my friends and the countless mornings we would go to the dinner in an attempt to recover from the night before. And I can’t help but to think now, every time I make a pancake for someone, even though I don’t share these memories, that I’m letting someone in on the very things that makes me me. A secret insight into the substance that has shaped my life. Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor spoke about a house fire, and that triggered a memory within me. I instantly go back to a time where I’m inside a burning house, opening my bedroom door to a wall of smoke, jumping onto my bed to open the window beside it, only to land on a pile of mattress springs. Her story brought me back to laying in the driveway, crying, overwhelmed, helpless, as the whole neighborhood stood by oohing and ahhing while they snapped photos on their phones. Sure a story of a house fire brings back those memories, but it also has to power to evoke within me all the positive memories tied to that duplex. The revolving door of next door neighbors, and how exciting it was to meet the new renters. The times spent riding my bike up and down the driveway. The countless hours of manhunt we played on that block. Waiting for the bus with my friends. And so on. I remember telling my mom how said it made me that the place where all of those memories had occurred, was now gone. She told me it’s okay we’ll make new memories wherever we end up. And you know what she was right. We do go on to make new memories, but that doesn’t lessen our previous experiences. I find a sense of peace knowing that the power of food, story, and our senses will always be there to bring it all back to life with a bite of pancake, or a whiff of smoke.
Week 5 Tasting Lab Write Up:
I think that reverence should be paid where it is due. The amount of energy held inside a seed is remarkable. The question do plants possess any sentience of their own, in my mind, deserves a simple answer, yes. When eaten by an insect plants will communicate to their neighbors that such an attack is happening. Studies have been conducted where someone has picked two sprigs from a tree, they left one on their nightstand, and the other in the living room . Every morning she would wake up and spend a few minutes looking at the sprig on her nightstand, thinking positive thoughts about it the whole time, and the one in the living room she completely ignored. Weeks later the sprig on her night stand was still as fresh as the day she picked it, and the one in the living room, completely dead and dry. Mind you it was the same temperature in both rooms, same humidity, etc etc. The one she thought positively about stayed fresh for months. That type of test has been conducted countless times. Other tests where people hook EKG’s up to plant and have noticed that if someone who is thinking ill thoughts about the plants enters the room, the electrical signals inside the plants begin to react, as opposed to if someone is thinking kind thoughts about them, in that case no response on the EKG. People have been trying to make sense of it all for quite some time now. And the majority of the scientific community outright reject these tests and finding. But they have proven the existence of plant sight. Plants time their flowering as a result of sunlight, they all don’t just randomly bloom at the same time, they measure and sense the amount of light and time their blooming accordingly. They can also sense color, and actually have more photoreceptors than humans. Scientists have also proven that plants can smell, when an incoming herbivore is approaching they will send chemical signals to its neighbors. Or use chemical signals to entice certain pollinators. They have also proven that plants can communicate when they are connected underground by mycorrhizal fungi, when one plant is attacked it signals to the other plants connected by the hyfe and they begin to produce defense chemicals. Maybe the people conducting those plant sentience tests were onto something? Principles of biodynamic farming recognize the interconnected relationship between plants, other animals, and celestial events. Who’s to say that a sentience isn’t responsible for these plant actions. Just because it’s hard to imagine the consciousness of another non human living being, does not mean that it’s less worthy of our compassion, or that their sentience is non existing. I want to end this response with a quote from Peter Tompkins, author of The Secret Life of Plants, when he said, “[children]can thus learn the art of loving and know truly that when they think a thought they release a tremendous power or force in space.” I think that quote speaks volumes in regards to the material we have been covering, in regards to animism. Just because it’s hard to comprehend the life, emotions, or consciousness of another being doesn’t mean it’s any less deserving of our love, compassion, and reverence.
Week 6 Tasting Lab Write Up:
This was a fun tasting lab for me. Of course I would like to be in the realm of chefs that I see on chefs table or any other cooking show, but at times, my skills, utensils, or ingredients may be lacking. I find myself being drawn to rustic meals, traditional meals. While I’m Irish, I’ve been surrounded by Italian family’s my whole life, and as a result I have found that the best flavors, recipes, and meals are always the simple ones. And that’s what has shaped my culinary interests/ability. Not that I don’t enjoy other styles, because if you ask anyone who knows me, they would say there isn’t a food Glenn wont consume. And its true, I cant think of any food, what so ever, that I can say I dislike. When you hear people like Julia Child, Mario Batali, Rene Redzepi, or Ina Garten talk about the food and the history of the meals their cooking, they come from meager beginnings. There is something so simplistic and effortless in the way the cook and prepare ingredients, that I’m sure only comes with years and years of practice and learning, but at the same time they let the ingredients do the talking, and they bring a reverence to the traditional ingredients, as well as the traditional preparations. You could really say that they listen to the vibrations, you rarely hear them talk about measurements, but more about the history of the food. And that gets me going. Knowing that someone did their homework. So the kitchens of my childhood, as well as the chefs I’ve listed, are the people I look up to in regards to their culinary work, they are the ones who have shaped my ability. How many times do you want to cook a meal, look up a recipe, only to find out you don’t have such and such ingredient. You ask any of the chefs I’ve listed, or step foot into the Italian kitchens of childhood and adolescence, and you would be told, okay so we don’t have that, lets just use this instead. Its resourcefulness, a resourcefulness that can only come from trial and error, that can only come from an understanding of the ingredients, as well as an understanding of the people who traditionally cooked those meals. It that ability to veer off recipe all the while keeping the integrity of the meal, that to me, marks a great chef, and is something I strive for. I also want to point out how serendipitous it was to have the power go out while we were trying to prepare our root vegetable hash, I couldn’t have asked for a better example of making due with what you have, situations arise, and you could say screw it, there goes that, or you can keep it moving, play it by ear, and make due.
Week 7 Tasting Lab Writing Activity:
Glenn Tippy
SOS Commodification Week 7 Tasting Lab Write Up
5/21/17
Do you have a specific comfort food? Is there a specific memory associated? What is comfort food?
When I think about comfort food, my mind drifts back to Japanese food. I always smile when I hear stories from my mother or father about how I was the only three year old they’ve ever known who could use chopsticks. There is a Japanese restaurant that my mom and I would go to multiple times a week, everyone knew us. We would go for every special occasion, holidays, birthdays, graduations, whenever family was in town, pretty much any excuse we could find to go. For instance my mom would say something along the lines of, “I don’t feel like making a big thanksgiving dinner, wanna to get sushi?” and off we were to Sho Win. I still think about those times frequently. Every time I eat at a new sushi restaurant, I think to myself, “my mom would love it here.” Growing up, the friends I surrounded myself with happened to also share my affinity for all things Japanese cuisine. Once we all had good jobs, and some money in our pockets, we too, were off in search for the next best bite of fish. We would hear about new chefs in New York and adventure out to their new restaurants. I’ve had life changing experiences in Japanese restaurants, and in my opinion, the best seat in the house is always at the bar, where you get to interact with the people preparing everything. I remember having the omakase from Chef Nobu Matsuhisa that, it seems, I think about daily. From that moment on my friends and I would travel around trying to find the best omakase in the state. There is an intimacy in not knowing what you will be served, and intimacy knowing the chef is giving you something that they actually feels like making, something that they themselves find to be exciting culinarily wise. I find comfort in those memories, every important milestone or holiday in my life has been celebrated with a cup of nice tea, and even better seafood. I’m also reminded of the delis of my childhood, adolescent, and adult life. I don’t think anything can compare to a bacon egg and cheese sandwich with salt, pepper, and butter from the right spot. Every single day of my life I think about egg sandwiches…… every single day. I think from the time I was born to the time I moved out to Washington (a place that knows nothing about egg sandwiches) I’ve had at least 4 or 5 egg sandwiches a week. To this day the first place I stop when I get off the plane at JFK airport is straight to an egg sandwich. The deli is somewhere where you can guarantee and high school reunion every time, everyone’s there for an egg sandwich, and a half and half. It’s a staple, it’s simple, and to eat an egg sandwich is to taste all the memories that have shaped me into who I am today. A breakfast burrito is not the same, a $15 egg sandwich from Hearts Mesa is not the same (the thought of someone charging that much money literally makes my stomach turn). Its supposed to be cheap and simple, and that’s the beauty of it. The beauty is in the simplicity. I guess you could say the same for a a lot of life’s pleasures.
Week 8 Tasting Lab Writing Activity:
Glenn Tippy
Week 8 Tasting Lab Write Up
5/28/17
Do you have a distinct memory of food and music together? Does the music, the food, or the environment stand out more in your memory? Can it?
I have countless memories of food and music together, but I can’t say for certain if the food, music, or environment stand out any more than the other. I think they compliment each other, rather than being separate, they make for a more rounded experience. I grew up surrounded by music, in its many forms. Music and my everyday life were, and still are, intermingled. As a result food and music, come together quite frequently for me. When I think about food and music, my first thought is the kitchen. The most fun and exciting kitchens always have music on, and I actually think it’s disrespectful to the workers if an owner or head chef doesn’t allow music in the kitchen. Music spices everything up, it lifts spirits, and makes a long shift easier. One of the women who raised me always had Bruce, or Billy playing in the kitchen. An old partner of mine would always play Etta James. When someone spends a lot of time in a kitchen I notice that music more often than not is involved. And why wouldn’t it? But I find it interesting that while music is involved in food preparation, it doesn’t play the same role while you’re actually eating. I can’t recall how many times I’ve heard the words, “turn it down or off while we eat”. The same person who was just grooving in the kitchen now wants quite. I think it’s possible to overwhelm your sensory system, too many things going on to really be able to focus on the meal in front of you. Maybe its because we want to talk and catch up while we eat? I’m reminded of all the psychology of consumerism. Food stores will play certain ethnic music, and people end up buying more ingredients and food linked to that ethnic cuisine. Produce sections will have sounds of thunder or lightning when the misters come on, to provide customers with the sense of being outdoors in a field. Eating is a sensory experience so it only makes sense to me that our auditory system is involved in the process.