Isn't food a funny thing? We've transformed something we need into an art. Since I work in the environment, I often wonder why we don't positively transform our air! But that's another subject...
When I was in Peace Corps, we would torture ourselves with things we couldn't reasonably acquire, given our place and station. Why did we do this? I have NO clue. But I remember that I could forget the amoebas and mosquito bites for a while and just float on this cloud of comfort and longing. It was always ephemeral; for me, those self-induced hallucinations shouldn't last. Otherwise, dissatisfaction and its henchman, disillusionment, would quickly set in.
And you know what? Those food fantasies made me a better cook. I learned to make caramel corn, grasshopper pie, sweet and sour pork, ketchup, beer-battered onion rings, yeast rolls, exotic bread puddings, and, like, 50 types of chutney. Basically, I focused on things I could make, and by the end of my service, I had a host of foods I loved and prepared like it was nothing. Fantasy became reality. Whoa!
No comments:
Post a Comment