Lately, everyone around me has a great blog..I tried starting one of my own a while back, then grew tired of it. Now that everyone is blogging again, I think I will try to update mine once in a while. For myself, no one else reads it right? :)
So...what's my angle? Let's see I I don't have a hobby, or a job, and I don't write poetry. So perhaps I'll try out a few book reviews.
I am probably one of the few people out there that reads food books. I read cookbooks before I sleep (I know, weird), chef biographies, food essays, articles, the New York Times Food Section, etc. I love all things food related, and reading about it only makes me happier (not to mention hungrier).
The bad thing is the more I read about food, the sadder I get. I realize most of what we eat is crap, and improving one's dietary habits is difficult. It takes a lot to eat right and eat fresh. This capitalism driven country we live in does not want us to eat fresh...there's no money to be made off it. So they make it annoying and expensive for you. It's dirt cheap to buy mac and cheese in a box, you can buy it at the supermarket, the pharmacy, the corner 7-11, or even the convenience store at the gas station. But if you want healthy fresh fruits/vegetables you have to seek out a farmers market and put down a good chunk of change for it.
It's especially hard to eat well when you're out, which is quiet a bit for most people. That's a whole other post.
So one might be thinking how boring it must be reading about food. What can possibly be interesting about it? I can see how food is a fairly dull topic; most people just eat what's in front of them. They don't realize how much more is out there, how many frontiers they have yet to explore, how rich and plentiful the world of food is.
For me, food is a religious exercise. I'm not a very spiritual person, yet every time I taste something new and incredible I think Subhanallah, Allah has created such perfect and excellent foods. If you only knew how a strawberry off the field really tastes, or how delicious garlic can become by simply roasting it, or what fresh fish should taste and smell like, you would be shocked. Then perhaps you could appreciate it as much as I do. Or you can continue to sit back shaking your head, thinking "Man, Sameera is such a glutton". I know, I know, gluttony is a sin.
I've discovered so much through my reading about it, and I am constantly surprised. Do you know making homemade chicken stock is a piece of cake? And speaking of cake, making one from scratch is as easy as using a cake mix? And yogurt has 2 ingredients: milk and bacteria; so what is all that crap in the cup of supermarket yogurt?(I won't mention company names to avoid any potential trouble). And organic is not always better.
In my next post, I'll start with my latest read: Around the World in 80 Dinners by Bill and Cheryl Jamison. You can find it on Amazon.
Of course I didn't buy it. My library and I have a great relationship, Alhamdulilah. We're practically BFF (no offense Moustafa or Rehab). But that link is in case you want to see what it looks like, or read more reviews.
Until then, Bon Appetit :)
