I do not sit well with contradictions. What this means: I am one of those people who tends to make discrete categories. I am also one of those people who freaks out when things don't fit into my discrete categories. Honestly, if I'm going to the trouble of making discrete categories, you (insert element here) should fit! Because I am a thorough person, and the world should be nice and neat. (My room is not an excellent example of this principle.)
So since I've come into my own at Berkeley, I've definitely become more aware of my preferences regarding food, and they've definitely grown more upscale since high school. Some foodie interests include absolutely anything produced by Cheeseboard , Peet's coffee (Mocha Java, thank you Lisa), chic cupcakes from Love at First Bite. I disdain things like "secret sauce"; that stuff is usually trashy. What can I say; my palate is continually refined by the wonderous paradise that is Berkeley.
But this is the weird part; this is the part that creates unrest and tension within myself. Sometimes I have cravings for the most terrible things, awful non-ritzy things like Jack in the Box tacos, a bowl of Cheerios with whole milk, Planters cheez balls (apparently these things are discontinued...ugh). I feel as though these urges are so contrary to my passion for the gourmet, so I usually try to ignore them or satiate them quickly so I can continue on my way to food actualization. (I don't know if that is an actual state that one can reach, but I can hope.)
Two days ago, we had these for lunch at the house:
You know what you're looking at? Happy face fries. That's right; these things are the most processed potato product you can get. The exterior is hopelessly greasy and crispy; the inside warm and mealy. They really are your ideal fried potato product, but LOOK AT THEM! They're the most low-brow food item to ever exist. And somehow I enjoy them as much as my 70% Scharffen Berger chocolate bar. I try to make this work in my mind, but it doesn't. I think I'm learning to be okay with that because I might kill myself otherwise. Also, it's kind of fun and freeing to let contradictions be. It means that I am letting go and refusing to let my control impulses get the best of me.
5 comments:
i think you're just a confused college student who's been smitten by the adorable potato smiles.
I have to say, I heart your guys' blog. It makes me happy.
One day, ya'll should write a book with the same title (heck, you can probably just compile all your posts, stick in a few recipes and slap a witty plot summary and I'd be sold). It'd end up on my coffee table, for sure.
Slai, Your and Lisa's cooking blog is most awesome I must say. Haha, you're so funny. Heck yea greasy tacos from Jack in the Box are amazing! And I actually have this serious theory (seriously) that whole milk is good for one's body...better than skim milk!
Those potato things are so funny looking and they look delicious.
I too get cravings for the horrendous, low-class junk out there in the world, but I think it is good that we enjoy these simple treasures because they are tasty and cheap, and they also represent enjoyment at a level perhaps more fundamental than gourmet foods: it just plain tastes good. So don't get too concerned about having cravings for these "untouchables."
I call my satiation of these urges "grease-feasts" which makes them sound as awful as they really are. But hey, we're young, we're in college, and we live in the United States. How are we not supposed to crave this stuff?
I call my satiation of these urges "grease-feasts" which makes them sound as awful as they really are. But hey, we're young, we're in college, and we live in the United States. How are we not supposed to crave this stuff?
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