Process Writing, Food and Travel

            Writing success for me has always been tied closely to my mood.  When I am in the “writing” mood I can knock out any length assignment in a short amount of time and it generally turns out well.  However, when I am not in that place, it can be like biking uphill to crank out even a short reading response.  As I grow as a writer, I am finding out ways to get myself in the place where I can really put in effort without it seeming tedious and impossible.  I feel as if this class has pushed me closer to breaking this mental boundary altogether. 

            Topic is one thing that makes a huge difference in how real and conversational I can make my pieces.  For the memoir piece, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about and it was really important for me to get out my feelings about my close friends passing.  In the end, my grade reflected the amount of passion and personality I let come through the piece.  However, when it came to the restaurant review, I had a little more trouble.  I was frustrated because I knew that I could do really well, but I just had no drive to really push out a quality piece.  It’s not that I didn’t want to make Marin happy or that I don’t care about grades, but my mind was not in a positive place to really make the piece light up in the way my first one did.  For this last piece, I felt the same kind of personal connection that I did with the memoir and I think it turned out really well.  I hope that at some point I can find a way to create a good piece of writing even when I don’t feel a connection with the topic.  This is one of the things I need to continue to work on as I grow as a writer and continue to take writing intensive courses.

            For me, the process of writing works best if I just sit down and write out the piece fully as it comes to me.  Then, after I have out a general framework, I go through a more intense editing process and put in the finishing details.  I’m not the kind of person who sits and contemplates each line, if I did all of my pieces would suck.  I overthink almost everything in my life, but writing is one thing I have accepted works best for me if I just let it happen.  My revision process is very much like my original editing process, where I will look at specific areas first and then read over the piece as a whole and see if it still flows well with the changes I made.

            The workshop portion of the class was a really great learning experience for me, maybe even playing a bigger roll in my growth than the actual writing of the pieces.  I feel like I got most of my ideas for my own revisions from reading my classmate’s pieces.  I would read someone else’s writing and see that I didn’t like the way they did something.  Then I’d notice that I had made the same mistake in my piece and change it.  Its often really hard to objectively revise your own writing, so by noticing the mistakes in other people’s pieces it was easier for me to see what I had done wrong.  In terms of comments on my own pieces, I would most often look at the areas that the class had said didn’t work and then change it in my own way rather than taking their direct instruction.  I know that sometimes comments that are made on structure or style can be personal preference and so I wanted to make sure that the pieces remained my own while also listening to the class’s advice. 

            This class really helped me to become more open with my writing and appreciate the workshop tool in a new way.  I was really nervous when opening up that much about my friend’s death, I am generally a very private person, but everyone was really great and being able to write about my experience in this way was awesome.  I also feel like I am learning more about the types of writing that work for my natural style, generally more conversational, and which do not.  I hope that when it comes time to graduate I will be comfortable with all types of writing; this class has gotten me even closer to that goal.  Best of all, now I know my study abroad blog will be epic, at least when I’m talking about food.

Perfect Meal, Harmon style (final draft)

           When I was a child, my favorite meals were often ones eaten away from the regular dinner table, whether this meant on trays near the Christmas tree or outside in our screened patio.  Even now when I go home, I demand a few meals away from the confines of the dining room; it gives a simple meal such a celebratory quality.  My birthday dinner has always been outside, as it is in June, and most often I demand that we have hamburgers or sweet potatoes.  So for my perfect meal I decided to prepare avocado burgers, sweet potato fries and a simple salad.

I was a little worried about how my preparation of the meat would go, since most of my cooking experiences were with hamburgers on the grill.  I was also nervous about making sweet potato fries from scratch, and doing all of this in the “comfort” of the Harmon Hall kitchen.  A call to my mother and a Google search later, I was feeling a bit more confident about my meal choices.  My most reassuring thought was that this was the ideal night to host the perfect meal because I had just received my acceptance to study abroad in Australia for six months.  Even if I lost a finger or burnt the food, it would still be perfect to me.

As I went to Meijer to pick up the ingredients for my dinner, my mind was focused on preparing a meal that was substantial but not heavy.  My family has always followed the mantra, “everything in moderation” and so for this meal I didn’t make it my priority to buy everything in an organic form.  I did snag a box of Earthbound’s well known Spring Mix and organic vinaigrette dressing, simply because I knew that the pairing would be simple and delicious.  Luckily, my roommate is an avocado expert and was able to pick one that was just ripe to top the burgers.  I can only assume that the Meijer meat I purchased came from a factory farm but it was lean and cheap enough so I purchased it.  Lastly, I grabbed a bottle of natural Simply Lemonade to complete the atmosphere of a summer picnic that I was trying to recreate.

I planned to begin preparations at 5p.m. on Friday in order to serve my guests at 6p.m.  I started the process by cutting and peeling my sweet potatoes.  This was probably the most terrifying part of my cooking experience, the one time where I could have lost a finger, or five.  Uncooked sweet potatoes are surprisingly woody and hard inside, with my little upper body strength I had a bit of trouble splitting them into fry shaped pieces.  What I ended up with were a bunch of similarly sized trapezoidal, rectangular, and circular pieces of sweet potato.  My execution rating on a cooking show would have been very low.  Following the online recipe I had pulled up on my I-Phone, I put the potato bits into a bowl and tossed them with olive oil, paprika, salt, pepper and sugar.  Then I laid them out on a pan and stuck them in the oven.

At this point, both of my guests arrived and pulled chairs into the kitchen in order to make sure I was doing things correctly.  They apparently had very low confidence in my cooking abilities.  Intimate gatherings are always the most meaningful to me, occasions where you can discuss non-superficial things.  With this in mind, I kept my party down to only two guests, my old roommate, Raven, and my best friend, Katherine.  Katherine is leaving for spring term study abroad so I was very aware of the few opportunities I had left to see her.  Raven and I don’t see each other very often now that we no longer live together, so I was excited to catch up with her as well.  These are two people here at Kalamazoo College who I think know me best, and it was vital that they both be at the meal in order for it to be perfect.  Katherine and Raven had met each other a few times but I was interested to see how they would interact with each other in such a personal setting. 

As Katherine and Raven settled into their chairs, I mixed garlic, onion, salt and pepper into the ground chuck and shaped them into patties.  Then I threw the patties into two small heated pans and let them sizzle.  As I was cooking the burgers, my friends helped by setting the table and cutting the avocado.  By 5:45 I was ready to settle into my armchair at the table when Raven reminded me of the fries I had stuck in the oven almost thirty minutes ago.  Rushing to the oven, I pulled them out and to my surprise they were not yet burnt, in fact, they were perfectly cooked!

We sat down to eat in the lounge and decked out our burgers with avocado, ketchup and mustard.  The burgers were juicy and hot, but the whole-wheat buns were much too big.  The sweet potato fries were soft with a sweet taste, not too much of any one spice.  The avocado and salad were fresh and provided a nice compliment to all of the starch.  It was raining outside, but the room was cozy with a fireplace going at one end.  It wasn’t the same as the summer picnics I yearned for, but the feeling of contentment and relaxation was there.  Raven and Katherine bantered back and forth; taking turns teasing me about boys and all the awkward situations I might find myself in during my time on study abroad.  It felt pretty close to perfect.  The three of us talked for well over an hour and then, after the table was cleared, we said our goodbyes.

This meal was something I needed after the toughness of the quarter and the difficult situations going on in my life.  It reminded me that I do have a real connection with people here and that it’s important to take an hour or two to enjoy the company of friends, even with tenth week looming ahead.  I think that even if I had received a rejection letter for study abroad this meal could have consoled me, but with the future opening up in front of the three of us it meant a lot more.  I am so happy to have been able to share this learning experience with two of my closest friends.  Spending time with them, no matter what the occasion, will always be perfect.

Pictures!

Perfect Meal, Harmon style

           As a child, my favorite meals were often ones eaten away from the regular dinner table, whether this meant on trays near the Christmas tree or outside in our screened patio.  Even now when I go home, I demand a few meals away from the confines of the dining room; it gives a simple meal such a celebratory quality.  My birthday dinner has always been outside, as it is in June, and most often I demand that we have hamburgers or sweet potatoes.  So for my perfect meal I decided to prepare avocado burgers, sweet potato fries and a nice salad. 

Being a very scant meat eater, I was a little worried about how my preparation of the meat would go.  I was also nervous about making sweet potato fries from scratch, and doing all of this in the “comfort” of the Harmon Hall kitchen.  Most of all I was thinking that this was the perfect day to host the perfect meal because I had just received my acceptance to the Australia long-term studied abroad program.  Even if I lost a finger or burnt the food, it would still be perfect to me.

As I went to Meijer to pick up the things for my dinner, my mind was focused on preparing a meal that was both substantial but not heavy.  Luckily, my roommate is an avocado expert and was able to pick one that was just ripe to top the burgers.  I snagged a box of Earthbound’s well-known Spring Mix and organic vinaigrette dressing.  Unfortunately, I can only imagine that the Meijer meat I purchased came from a factory firm but it was lean and cheap enough so I purchased it.  I bought to packs of meat seasonings, each with six different spices to choose from and whole-wheat buns.  Lastly, I grabbed a bottle of natural Simply Lemonade to complete the atmosphere of a summer picnic.

I planned to begin preparations at 5pm on Friday in order to serve my guests at 6pm.  I started the process by cutting and peeling my sweet potatoes.  This was probably the most terrifying part of my cooking experience as it was the one place where I could lose a finger.  Uncooked sweet potatoes are surprisingly woody and hard inside so with my little upper body strength I had a bit of trouble splitting them into fry shaped pieces.  What I ended up with were a bunch of similarly sized trapezoidal, rectangular, and circular pieces of sweet potato.  My execution rating on a cooking show would have been very low.  I put the potato bits into a bowl and tossed them with olive oil, paprika, salt, pepper and sugar.  Then laid them out on a pan and stuck them in the oven.

At this point, both of my guests arrived and pulled chairs into the kitchen in order to make sure I was doing things correctly.  They had very low confidence in my cooking abilities, and I don’t really blame them.  Intimate gatherings are always the most meaningful to me, places where you can really discuss non-superficial things.  Due to this, I kept my party down to only two guests, my old roommate, Raven and my best friend, Katherine.  Katherine is leaving for spring term study abroad in Spain so I was very aware of the few opportunities I have left to see her and now that we no longer live together, Raven and I have a hard time finding time to see one another.  These are two people here at Kalamazoo College who know me best, and it was vital that they both be there in order to make it perfect.  Katherine and Raven had met each other a few times but I was interested to see how they would interact with each other in such a personal setting. 

As my friends settled into their chairs, I mixed garlic, onion, salt and pepper into the ground chuck and shaped them into patties.  Then I threw them into two small heated pans and let them sizzle.  As I was cooking the burgers, my friends helped by setting the table and cutting the avocado.  By 5:45 I was ready to sit down at the table when Raven reminded me of the fries I had stuck in the oven almost thirty minutes ago.  Rushing to the oven I pulled them out and they were not yet burnt, in fact, they were perfectly cooked!

We sat down to eat at a table in the lounge and decked out our burgers with avocado, ketchup and mustard.  The burgers had cooked all the way through and I relaxed into the atmosphere.  The sweet potato fries were soft with a sweet taste, no too much of any one spice.  The burgers were juicy and hot, fitting perfectly with the soft whole-wheat bun.  The avocado and salad were fresh and provided a nice compliment to all of the starch.  Even though it was raining outside, the room was cozy, with a fireplace going at one end.  Raven and Katherine bantered back in forth and it felt pretty close to perfect.  The three of us talked for well over an hour and then they helped me to clean up the table and we said our farewells.

Reflecting on the experience, this meal was something I needed after the toughness of the quarter and the things going on in my life.  It reminded me that I do have a real connection with some people here and that they are here for me.  I think that even if I had received a rejection letter for study abroad, this meal could have consoled me, but with the future opening up in front of us it meant a lot more.  I am so happy to have been able to share this learning experience with two of my closest friends and the fact that no one got food poisoning and I still have all of my fingers made it just perfect. 

CYOA: Food Museums

Hello, everyone!

     With Shelby's post we sort of talked a little bit about food becoming a spectacle and in some restaurants it is not being associated with a form of entertainment.  I want to take it even farther and consider how food can become a part of a country’s history.  It was news to me that there are actually food museums commemorating different regional foods and also some food brands.  This is something happening here in the United States and around the world, from a brand new pizza museum in Philadelphia to one memorializing Ramen in Japan (not the 20 cent Ramen we eat here in the U.S.).  Some museums house memorabilia commemorating the foods, and others actually have dining areas so you can go, learn about the food and then eat it.

     While reading, I'd like you to think about the implications of food museums, how does this change food from being a necessity to a spectacle?  Would you ever go (or have you ever been) to a food museum or do you think its weird?  Do you think it’s important to have places like this so that we can keep in touch with the history of some of our most loved foods?  What does this say about the possible correlation between the view on food of the United States and the rest of the world?  Can’t wait to discuss.  Hope you enjoy!

Pizza Museum, Philadelphia
8 Bizarre Food Museums

America's Eating Disorder

            Reading the final section of Omnivore’s Dilemma brought a lot of clarity to the ideas and worries that have been spinning around in my head since I began.  The idea that American food culture is so much about fads and trends is scary to think about, but also totally accurate.  It is the biggest irony that we are so concerned about having “healthy” diets and yet have a large number of people with eating disorders and yet we also have such an issue with obesity. 

            The impressionability of the American people seems to be deeply rooted in our capitalist culture, as Michael Pollan briefly mentions.  We are constantly bombarded with the marketing strategies of hundreds of companies attempting to differentiate their product.  In turn this leads to a trust in the media that can end up being very dangerous when it comes to a constantly changing diet.  As a business major and, I thought, a supporter of capitalism, I have a hard time figuring out what to say about things like this.  While I do realize that this type of free market and unlimited media provides a lot of American jobs, maybe the implications aren’t as positive as I would like to think.  However, even though I am questioning, I’m glad I am finally thinking about these things.

            After reading this book I cannot help but notice that my habits are a little bit embarrassingly main stream, I buy into the fads a lot.  I am all about buying soy milk, organic cereals and even organic frozen dinners.  I really didn’t begin this until I was able to purchase my own food; this isn’t the kind of food that my parents buy.  I picked up this behavior from friends and also my best friend’s family which was very much my own.  Now, I continue to eat these foods mostly because I like them, but also because I think they are better for me, though after reading the second section I’m not so sure.  This is power of corporate and word of mouth marketing, making us see things from only one side, all pros.

I think there are positive ways to use the power of trends to make positive and healthy changes in our country and we should explore these.  This is the kind of thing that has fueled the “green” movement that, while it might not be fully understood by the people who participate, is a good way to follow a fad.  I can only hope that at some point, though I’m not sure how, we will be able to return to a food system that makes more economic and social sense than political.

Rustica Review final

          Rustica introduces itself as the home of “Rustic European Cuisine,” citing influences from France, Italy and Spain.  Open only for dinner and located in the Kalamazoo Mall, the small restaurant certainly displays a simple decor.  The dining area is set up to exude a sense of intimacy, with low lighting, beige walls, and candles on every table.  The walls are hung with several paintings of European country homes and dark metal light fixtures.  Quiet, instrumental music plays in the background, making it necessary to talk in hushed voices so as not to be over heard by the next couple sitting only about a foot away. 

The atmosphere is somewhat disrupted by the close quarters in which the tables are squeezed.  It could be due to the large kitchen that takes up about a third of the dining area.  It is quite entertaining to watch the food being prepared but slightly awkward to be so close to the high-paced action of the kitchen in an otherwise calm and intimate setting.  A small bar hidden away in the back corner of the restaurant also confuses the atmosphere to a certain degree.

Rustica’s fourteen tables are normally packed, and as they do not take reservations it would be wise to participate in their call-ahead policy, or arrive promptly at 5 pm when they open.  The wait staff is helpful and knowledgeable, especially with regards to the wine list that covers the entire reverse of the menu.  The clientele consists primarily of middle-aged, upper-middle class regulars, who the owner sits with in turn, chatting about business and family.  It seems that these are guests of honor and everyone else is simply a guest.  The wait staff also seemed to follow this mantra, why waste time at a table when there will be better tips at another?

The menu at Rustica is quite limited, with a number of appetizers but only four pasta dishes and eight main courses.  Appetizers range from about $6 for a bowl of chicken soup to $13 for the Prince Edward Island Mussels.  The mussels are served in a large crockery dish and are quite numerous, plenty to share with the entire table.  Each mussel was soft and the sauce that came with it was not enough to overpower the unique taste of the product itself.  Several of them even smelled like the ocean, a sign of their freshness. 

Main courses at Rustica range from $17, for one of the four vegetarian pasta dishes, to $22 for the Seared Salmon and Diver Scallop.  The salmon dish came on a large bed of cannellini beans and a tomato-based sauce.  The salmon was well executed, with a bit of a crunch on the outside and softness on the inside, but the overall flavor was not satisfying.  The whole thing tasted of salt, with no punch of sweetness in the salmon to provide a counter balance.  The amount of beans made it seem more like a chili than a fish dish, and it became difficult to stomach all of the starch towards the end.  The scallop that the salmon was paired with had the texture of a big gummy candy and had very little taste, as though it was unseasoned.

One of their well-known dishes, the Grilled Duck Breast, was slightly better.  The duck itself was a bit stringy but full of flavorful fat and a pleasing dark color.  The duck was paired with a helping of barley with pomegranate seeds intermingled.  The pomegranates provided both a pleasing visual contrast and also a burst of freshness to the otherwise heavy meal. 

To finish off the meal, there is an array dessert for under $10 and several coffee drinks.  The red velvet cake was presented in a very charming manner, a round cake with little dots of chocolate and vanilla icing on top.  Unfortunately, the icing turned out to be very high in oil content and the cake very low in moisture.  The only saving grace of this dessert were the warm preserved plums that, when eaten with a bite of cake, added the moisture necessary to swallow it down.  A better choice would be the Tiramisu, which had several towering layers of espresso soaked ladyfingers and Kahlua mousse.  The alcohol flavor definitely made a strong appearance, but this could perhaps be positive for those diners under 21. 

The best dessert, and possibly the best dish on the entire menu, is the Callebaut Chocolate Brownie.  Served with a scoop of the “gelato of the day,” the brownie is served warm and presumably only half cooked.  It is more of a half-pudding, half-brownie, with a sweet chocolate ganache seeping into the fresh brownie.  This is a must have dish at Rustica and not one likely to be shared once it’s tasted. 

Overall, this is not a place college students will want to go to on a regular basis, a meal for two can easily run about $80, including tip.  The high quality fresh ingredients and unique meal options make this a location to visit.  With a college budget in mind, this could be a great place to schmooze your parents or take someone out on a nice date.