‘Proof’,… Please.

Add to the conversation instead of making people more confused by just ‘proving’ a point with research that is now obsolete.

I am here endearingly referring to this article on Slate’s “green” section of their online publication.
(sent to me by simon, and linked to me on facebook where ppl don’t want to hear me politically soap box about food.  But herr, hahahaha — this is where jloeats it all up… ;) Thanks,  by the way, for keeping me on my toes friends.)

entitled: Beware the Myth of Grass Fed Beef – Cows Raised on Pasture are Not Immune to Deadly E.coli Bateria

My initial response is two fold.

a) Hmm, who wrote this article?  Seems like he’s already picking a “side” to the argument that’s for or against an issue that isn’t black and white.  It isn’t even giving the idea and philosophy of grass fed beef a chance.  (umm, aren’t cows naturally designed to eat GRASS?!)

b) DUH! that’s like arguing that humans won’t be completely immune to swine flu after the H1N1 vaccine even if they’re are completely healthy.  — E.coli has become a SUPER BUG. it’s a virus that’s getting stronger by the day.  That’s the problem.  People are just trying to attack the problem in different ways, find a quick fix to the system, and then mass produce it so it applies to everyone.  Am I the only one seeing red flags here?!

Ten years ago, advocates started pointing out this problem of grain fed vs. grass fed on all sides of the issue before e. coli was that prevalent of a problem.  The fact of the matter is, that it’s getting worse, and costly recalls are happening more and more frequently.  All sides of the issue need to be looked at in terms of beef production here  – health of consumption, health of the environment, health of the animal, health of the economy with government grain subsides, etc… The movement was mainly advocating for awareness and change, and today, it STILL IS.  We are at a cultural turning point now because it’s not enough for people to just “know” where their food comes from.  What are you doing about it? is the question when you find out how messed up it all is.

Food ‘fads’ that most people react to so strongly against “calling them elite” have developed from this movement, which I believe is what this slate article is really doing since his main point in the end is ‘watch out for these foodie fads that could kill u– “foodie” here used as an against “them” term mentioned at the end.  Sorry but the last time I checked, people respond to people with money, people with resources, and people who are educated.  Isn’t ‘elitism’ in the food movement just another form of ‘glamour’ and stardom’ spun into spaghetti?  A celebrity chef’s recipe mind you…

It just seems so emotional, like he just wants to be heard, that he’s not happy with a counter cultural movement that he doesn’t understand.  (Most slate articles I’ve noticed lean very conservative and always play devil’s advocate for the conventional side – which is great for freedom of choice / freedom of voice, but is now becoming an obsolete argument that just confuses consumers even more about what to eat, since current food education advocacy is all about EQUAL access to JUST food nowadays.  The author has a very “see it’s not better for you argument” instead of stating an alternative, or discussing why beef is a “green” issue right now to begin with.  He also doesn’t mention why conventional beef has been spurring E.coli problems in the recent past, why it’s such an issue of food safety now, which leans towards the huge issue of FOOD SAFETY REGULATION and the sustainability of MASS PRODUCTION, which are the REAL problems in the system, instead of “foodies” trumpeting about grass fed beef.  Simply stating that the other side of the debate as bad, is not a good argument.

And the NEW message for beef? — Whether you eat grass fed or grain fed, everyone should try eating less meat in general.  Both consume tons of energy, both have environmental health costs which subsequently affect all of our health as a meat eating society, and either way you spin it, there are problems in the system that are starting to kill more and more people.  Come on man, get on the bandwagon if you’re going to be dogging on beef.

Also, of course the cows that eat grass fed beef are susceptible to disease (who isn’t?!)

He doesn’t even link any evidence that the recalled meat were pastured cows, only that “research shows” blah blah blah that cows that eat grass can get sick too – well Duhhhh!

Fact of the matter is that the system that humans have practiced for years has now bred superbugs that are immune to our own quick “fixes”, and that the real problem is still finding a soultion to how cows are raised from the demand for feeding so many mouths with meat everyday in this country.  Also what the cow eats, is what we eat.  GMO corn, soy, and other crops are leaking into the system more and more everyday, which decreases the biodiversity and immunity of nature to fend off superbugs through natural selection.  Radiation is killing off any sign for us to identify when foods are going bad.  Short of the long, we are killing all the clues that help us naturally defend against evolutionary changes that are inevitable, and there’s nothing that the average consumer can do about it unless they use their buying power to shift the demand for better meat or demand alternative practices.  Meat has always been a luxurious item, and demands for meat have increased since the beginning of time, since man starting hunting.

PS — His cooking temp argument is also only half correct which again frustrates me because it confuses consumers – all hamburger meat should be Well Done. Any Chef can tell you that. hamburger or “ground meat” is all scrap meat and chances of E. Coli contamination are of course higher since that shit is or has been touching shit literally since slaughtering.  Other parts of the cow butchered for steaks is when you ask for different colours or cooking temps under 160 degrees (well-done).  So whether grass fed or not, considering the average guest at steakhouses ask for 135 -145 degrees (medium-rare), I’m pretty sure that steakhouses order all conventional meat from feedlots unless otherwise noted and the customer is charged for the ‘better’ meat.

again, sure there haven’t been any major recalls for grass fed beef yet – but a return to the grass fed philosophy and practice also calls for better treatment of the cows, their farms are naturally smaller, and where conventional practices lack in regulated checkpoints for E. coli testing is currently where the problem is leaking out into the markets… I can only say that Costco, right now, is the only major business that voluntarily does checks their meat shipments for E. coli contamination.

So…What if this bug keeps mutating and getting stronger? What if it gets worse, because it’s getting worse, and people are still choosing to be blind to it.  What if other viruses haven’t been discovered yet?  What can we do about our practices now that expand our knowledge of food safety for everyone and how do we implement changes in a sustainable way?  Fuck the quick fix.  I want my kids to be able to enjoy food the way I do, and I want them to be smart about it too.  Don’t you?

Let’s work together, for grass fed or not, who cares, the real problem are these superbugs that we’re making stronger.  For food safety and health for all, my goodness.

Choose better beef,

xoxo J xoxo

– here it is royboy.

In my food policies class:

What makes me sad –

“Why do people spend so much time, energy, resources, and money, keeping people sick, uneducated, poverished, and demoralized in this country?! Why does Capitalism Rule?”

“That’s like blaming the victim” — the fact that there even is a power/victim relationship constantly in the structures of this society, is exhausting.

What makes me angry –

“Why a public-private partnership to end the global health crisis without focusing on its central problem first: POVERTY?”

– Because when it comes down to it, Capitalism keeps the poor people in their place, demoralized and angry that they have to fend for themselves,
and tackling the problem of poverty in the greater sense starts with deconstructing the whole value system in which America was built and breeds on.  I feel as though this country needs to re establish it’s core values of abundance, consumption, and american exceptionalism, when clearly our generation is finally feeling the consequences of a ‘crash and burn’ repetitive economic hegemonic society.

As Donald Worster states in Dust Bowl (reading from the FS 1:Agri class, but overlaps perfectly, and talks about the three main tenants of Capitalism, “in pure capitalism, the self as an economic being is not only all-important, but autonomous and irresponsible”, “the social order should permit and encourage this continual increase of personal wealth, and capitalism is an intensely maximizing culture, always seeking to get more out of the natural resources of the world than it did yesterday”. -pg 6

Hence large corporations don’t have to take responsibility for their actions, and neither does the government or policy makers who act on their own self interests, i.e. “revolving doors” concept in Nestle’s Food Politics, on recycling of the same representatives and food industry power structures in place.

C, a classmate, also argues that, “corporations do not know the needs of the global poor world, especially their health problems” — No, I think they know, they just don’t care enough to put health as the company’s number one priority, because it’s a matter of survival and quality of life for themselves and the company.  And since the responsibility can be diverted to government policies, the medical industry, on health insurance policy, and even blame bad parenting and lack of education, (don’t we hear these arguments over and over again ALL the time?) why would the company change their money making ways to care for a society of people that they’ve been repeating the benefits from, and if the company goes under and all of a sudden the companies employees are all laid off, who’s going to protect them?

It’s sadly a fend for yourself world, which makes everyone think — where do i start in trying to change the system? In wanting to make new laws that actually “protect” people’s quality of life instead of protecting their pockets, since quality of life is bought with money in this country (unlike places like France, Canada, and England — i.e. where more ‘Socialist’ systems are in place.  I am Canadian, but have lived here for 7 years, sorry if it seems like I’m ‘bashing’ American values, but I’m only offering a personal point of view in critiquing and comparing two vastly different systems with slightly similar cultural values)

Pretty much asking these huge economic hegemonies to take some responsibility is asking them to shell out their cash to change their comfortable lifestyle supported by a corporate system.  To change a system that has already been in place for so long that gives them their sense of food security, in order to care for the poor, the poverished, and the under educated is definitely a challenge to say the least.

What i want to know is WHAT DO THESE EMPLOYEES EAT? What do they feed their children at the end of the day? Where do they buy their groceries? Do they consume their own products? If these health problems are highlighted to each individual employee of these corporate companies, made relatable in their terms, will they start caring? or will they just give us the same age old response of self responsibility, that they’ve worked so hard to get to where they’re are now?

– In arguing the other side in class on wed. — for changing the corporate system from within (as i hope someone like Dr. Yach (former World Heath Org President, HAA!) can somehow influence some sort of change in a company like Pepsico, it’s not as black and white as if you’re not for us you’re against us, because that’s binary oppositionary american thinking too — there is lots of GREY — he needs to survive too, and who doesn’t need more money? sure he compromised his integrity…etc.)

I guess I am trying to find optimism in believing that people are trying to re educate and change capitalistic values from within, because how else do we tackle these core values that uphold the whole idea that nobody cares about health and other people when they have to fend for themselves?  And when powerful money does all in its power to demoralize and keep you quiet, (ex, sugar industry fighting back to take away WHO funding) is re-educating our young even possible within our lifetime??

How do you make money care about humanity?
How do you make business PERSONAL? — ohhh TABOO…
I believe our generation is learning to fight for Quality of life again, which inherently builds true equality amongst class hiearchies — it’s cultural revolution time! Do we start with education to empower choice? Or do we start with policies that limit irresponsible freedom? Or do we make Healthy food FUN?

i leave you with this beatles song “Help! i need someboday…HELP!”

Love your world, take care of you,

on my journey to find “self sustainability” (thanks evan!) not only with survival, but with integrity, a lifetime of risky business, through food, and lotsa lotsa love.

xoxox

-JLo

“the food was good, not too expensive, but the service was &%($%!”

i am almost tired of writing and saying it. because it’s the same thing over and over. there’s a lot to be tolerated, but why should i put up with rudeness at any sit down service place? it’s a different story if it’s a take out place, or a whole in the wall, i just don’t understand the lack of business sense. happy guests = more business = more money!!! isn’t that a given?!

i was at Lemongrass today, (i can say this without any privacy issues since there are a million places that aren’t chained together called “Lemongrass” in Toronto) and i was with my parents. “want to try a new place?”
“sure!!” i’m always down for new places. why not right?
we drive twenty mins, we park, we walk in. (this alone means that places in t.o. are so spread out that new developments and new establishments are popping up everywhere, and because of this, you’d expect some level of competition and excellence, no?)
no. i almost laugh to myself as i walk in and it looks the same as many “recently new” asian restaurants popping up all over toronto do. (there must be one interior designer and architect who is making BANK in this city, because all these places loooook and feel the SAME! as if a design warehouse had a shipment of the trendy new materials for a contractor to use (lately it’s been dark wood and beige walls), you can almost track down which restaurants in the city have been remodeled by whom and at what time period in the last few years…hahahaha)

so we scan the whole place which is empty except for two tables,
and stand there awkwardly waiting for someone to tell us where to sit.
finally, my mom walks towards an open random table cuz the doorway is cold
and we sit down without any assistance or greeting.
the server is standing next to us chatting with the other table on our right,
the table to our left has not been busted yet, and the two dollar tip is still sitting on the table
“excuse me”, my mom says. but no answer.
the waitress finally turns around, like she’s annoyed that we interrupted her conversation
“i’ve been here before, and i know this dish takes longer to cook, so can u put in this order (1/2 cornish hen) while they decide what they want?” says my mom.
the server looks at her, confused, “ugh, ok” and walks away.
my dad looks into his tea cup, it’s dirty. there’s a ring of red around it and some solid crud. yeah, yum. it looks like someone just poured out the left over tea in it the last time and ran it through the washer if any – very briefly or upside down.
five mins pass,
no tea…
my dad is thirsty.
he signals me to grab a clean cup from the table next to mine
i grab the cup from his hand and say, “let me give this back to the server, they need to know about this, it’s gross”
another server comes by, i show her the cup, and she reaches over to the table where i grabbed the clean one from, also confused as to why i switched them already.
i look at the menu
another two mins pass,
i look up from my menu for a second and another server lady is hovering over me. dead panned. looking washed out.
“anything u want?” in chinese.
“umm, the ginger honey tea please”
“that’s it!? you’re not ordering food?”
“well i didn’t know you were taking my order now!”
“what do you want” annoyed.
“i’ll have the lemongrass chicken vermicelli/lunch special 1″
she grabs my menu
“wait, and the mango cranberry juice”
“and you?” signaling to my mom
“we already put in her order, but she wants a mango juice too”
“what?”
“we already put in her order for the 1/2 cornish hen, and it also comes with a juice”
“oh” and starts to walk away
“hold on! my dad hasn’t ordered yet”
“what do u want”
“i’ll have the yellow curry chicken please”
“so two cranberry /mango juices, one lunch special 1, and a yellow curry chicken” and begins to walk away again. (man she couldn’t wait to run away)
“and a ginger honey tea!” i scream after her. “geez”

“how do ppl do business like this?! i don’t get it.”
our drinks come after another five mins –
one tea, one mango/cran juice.
the guy who brings it to our table throws it down and walks away –
“excuse me”, he walks away, “excuse me!” his back is facing me now, EXCUSE ME!” (my voice gets louder and more annoyed each time)
he finally turns around after my third and final plea and looks at me.
“we ordered two juices please”
“ok”
i knew i was yelling after him because if i didn’t i would never see that other glass of juice.

our food came, all at different times, and we ate it. we carry a pretty awesome conversation, and we manage to have a good time. the food turned out pretty good for a bargain price — $6.99 for my lunch meal!
and eventually we finish and naturally want to leave.
the girl is chatting again next to us at this point,
and we look at her and signal for the check.
she looks up at us and once again agrees but mouths “one moment” to us, and keeps talking.
why is it that you can never get out of restaurants like these faster? either that or they throw you the bill when you’re still eating. why do i want to stay in a crappy service place?

I sigh and remember my revolutionary idea at this point —
IF WE ALL BAN TOGETHER WE CAN CHANGE THIS —

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE try this the next time you go out to eat:
when the check comes,

write on the final bill:

TIP THE COOKS PLEASE.
or TIP IS FOR THE COOK
or PLEASE TIP THE COOK
or at the very least, PLEASE SPLIT THE TIPS WITH YOUR COOKS

either one.
and seriously, leave the tip for the cook.

how is it fair that COOKS bust their asses 3 times as hard as servers do, and yet servers good or bad ones can walk out at the end of their day with shorter shifts, with more breaks, and with MORE MONEY IN THEIR POCKETS?!?!

and how many times have i left a one cent tip for a very notoriously rude rude waitresses. (–Ten Rens, yonge & empress, y’all know who i’m talking about, and there’s no way around it, in high school we as underaged kids had no where else to go and lots of allowance and excess money to spend! and recently, my baby sister went there, spotted a major hair in her food, pointed it out to the waitress and she said “sO?”. went to get the other waitress to which also replied to my sister with a “and?”…
how bout them apples. you have choices as consumers ppl.)

and i’m sorry your JOB is to bring the HOT FOOD to the TABLE. at the VERY LEAST. you don’t deserve good tip if you do nothing on top of that. and if you’re rude, that’s where your ten percent starts to diminish, REALLY FAST.
legally i only have to pay the tax and the cost of my bill.
legally, i have the right to walk out of the restaurant before i order any food or drink.
and if the server asks (which has happened to me many times at the end of the meal, some have even chased me out of the restaurant) –
umm, “you forgot the tip!”, or “was there anything wrong with the service?”
you can say -
oh no i didn’t forget, i’m sorry,
the tip if for the cooks in the back who cooked my food.
and yes, there was something wrong with the service. it was shit. and you were rude, and the fact that you have to come running out to ask me if there was something wrong really means you don’t give a shit about your job and you have no idea how it works. in which case, how much you’re making directly reflects how hard you’re working.

it’s simple, your job is to make the customer happy.
food makes the customer happy, esp hungry clients/guest who walk into a restaurant.
the faster your service, the better,
the more attentive your service, the better,
the more observant you are, the better,
and it’s a meal, it’s when people feed themselves, it’s when people relax, it’s when people celebrate, it’s when people are eating alone and it might get you more money if you to talk to them like humans!

i am all for tipping BIG when i think a person deserves it, in fact there have been many servers i’ve made really happy with my 20% b/c they were absolutely exceptional.
i understand how this industry works b/c i work in this industry.
and when i have servers giving me attitude when i’m on the line, or hostesses complaining to me about how hard it is to deal with customers and be on their feet all day long –
i just look at them, usually sweaty, hot, and exhausted and say — hmm, try working on the line for one shift ten to fourteen hours straight. it’s 100 degrees back here. so i’ll trade places with you. i have hostessed and waitressed before, so if you can stand my job for even one shift, and still think what you do is harder, then you can keep your tip, in fact, i’ll give you my tip that i made that day in your shift. deal?

hahaha, i may be sassy about this, but i’m fed up because it absolutely sucks that waiters/tresses will walk out of the restaurant at the end of the night with more cash in their pockets than cooks do.

and aren’t you essentially walking into a restaurant because you don’t want to cook that day/night? or you want to be fed, taken care of, and that you’re essentially paying for the FOOD?!

so please -
try this next time
let’s start a revolution:

write it on your bills, with a giant smiley face:
“TIP THE COOKS PLEASE!”

and maybe that’ll make waiter/tresses work harder, if their tip is being split or taken away from them, that it’s not a given, and maybe (one could only hope) that TIP will become something of an incentive and a reward for hard work again, and not taken for granted.

hats off to the chef, so
how bout some more cha-ching? :)

speed, consistency, heat, speed, consistency, heat, and FOCUS.

if you ever want to see how the food industry really works,
jump into a kitchen.

for one night, time will stand still and time will fly,
for one night, you will see what it feels like to FEED the masses and feel the pressure of performing at your highest,
for one night, you will feel what it’s like to work in a TEAM, with nothing but trust, and respect, with fire, knives, and a mad hustle.
everyone’s frantic energy has one goal in mind,
GET THAT FOOD PLATED, HOT, and OUT with a lil side of pizzaz please.

pick it up pick it up pick it up!!!

sure, you can pick up a book like “kitchen confidential” by anthony bourdain and read about it,
but once you see what you see, and experience what it’s like to be elbow deep in food,
it’s no wonder how one can truly muster up some mad respect from the entire industry who all sweat it out every single day.

props to all those who work in the kitchens,
i have endless respect and appreciation for y’all.
it is the most humble place to be.
everyone has to eat,
and everyone can cook, if you put in the patience, time, energy, and passion into learning the art. :)

time to pump out those brunch covers tomorrow!!
wahooooo!!!
eggs, eggs, eggs!! :)
ppl always say, (or rather french cooking traditions say)
you’re not a true master of cooking, until you master the EGG.

let’s do this!
xoxox

A) It was certainly an event, yay for a banquet!
i hadn’t had one of these in a while! and in toronto at one of the fancier upscale chinese restaurants near YYZ. all my mom needed to say was “office lunch tomorrow. shark fin. u in?”
“umm, hell yeah! wake me up!” (boy does mom know me well…hmm shark fin, haven’t had that in ages… always did make me feel special.*smirk*)
i was groggy and still in bed when my mom barged into my room that morning and gave me the one hour warning (usually these office parties are dinner banquets) but none the less i rolled out of bed and put on my town pants, some fancy heeled boots, and braved the below freezing cold weather. man, canada sure makes a girl jump in and out of a car! brrrr

i felt like the different one for once all grown up and sitting at a big round “adult’s” table with ten realtors sharing a 3 hour 10 -14 course chinese banquet meal. well, to be honest, nothing was really that new to me this time since i grew up going to these office parties and being gawked at by all the “aunties” and “uncles” oooh-ing and aghh-ing all my life (what did i have something on my face?) But it sure was a good year the time i moved from the “kids table” to the adult table where the FOOD WAS and IS ALWAYS BETTER. (don’t rip me off with the sweet and sour pork mom, like the rest of the kids, gimme the goood stuff!! what you’re eating over there?!)

So this was another chinese banquet to add to the books as one of those many and countless chinese banquet meals — from weddings & xmases, birthdays, one month old baby birthday celebrations (“moon yuit”s), to my grandpa’s 90th, chinese new year, and etc….
so it was interesting to actually be able to critique it this time, as a chef, as a cook, and as someone who’s pallet has changed. yay! excitement! let’s see what this chef is doing to put a spin on this wide spread traditional lengthy meal. bring it on baby! bring it!… i didn’t eat a thing or even drink any water before i left the house. (one must prepare for these lengthy meals… yeah you know what i’m talking about winston – one word – manna’s in LA – all u can eat kbbq. lol.)
mmm, so new things i noticed that was unique to this upscale T.O chinese chef:
- round cut and shaped daikon stuffed with a dehydrated rehydrated sea scallop, and a plop of what i called “tow fat” as a kid cuz it actually looks like black hair – i believe it’s some sort of seaweed – nothing new about the flavours really but the presentation was cool and clean.
- a take on the “birds nest” dish with a fried whole flat fish that served as the bowl/nest to the sauteed/stir fried fish and leeks, (again awesome presentation)
- stuffed “curried” conch shell, portion was a bit much, but it was fun to dig out the tiny what seemed like small diced / bruinoised mushrooms and conch sauteed and baked in the shell
- the shark fin “soup” was thick and gooey like it should be with a heaping portion of the fin itself (nice). mmm pass me the red vinegar.
- roasted baby piglet (head included in presentation of course) was perfection – with home made hoisin sauce that was grainier but subtler than usual (nice)
- sauteed conch and aspargus (i think they had left over conch)
- “hong jo” /red jujube stewed chicken – with the pan chicken juice/soup/gravy…
- fried rice at the end as usual, with orange coloured tobiko to be extra fancy
- red bean dessert soup with seasame glutenous rice ball “tong yuin”

B) I need a whole new vocabulary to describe chinese food – western/french cooking techniques just won’t do here

C) IT WAS SO NICE NOT TO HAVE TO DEFEND MYSELF for ONCE for choosing a non traditional/unconventionally asian female career path. I AM A COOK, i am a FOODIE. and i LOVE to talk about food. “hallo!”
and my parents were so proud to announce that i was trained in new york and worked for the food network last year ;) awww. go mom and dad!

but since i was defenseless (my two other sisters are usually with me, and B is the cuter one) during all the “in between course” real estate & economy talk, i jumped into whenever i could on conversation that wasn’t about real estate.
“hmm, vacations, where are you going? oh back to china? cooL…”
“yeah have you been?”
“yeah! sure! when i was younger,”
“so the last time i went to china with my daughter, we were walking down the street in quang zhou and saw a meat shop that was displaying two skinned and hanging dogs in the window”
“they look revolting”
“omg, i can imagine”
“so gross, so wrong!”
“yuck”
just then the waiter walks out of the kitchen doors with the plate of chicken, places it down on the turn table, and spins the lazy suzan so we can “admire” it first before he portions it off in the corner table behind us. he had done this to every course so far. we look at the plate, admire, and my dad being the rebel and provoker that he is — says,
“ok, so let me ask, what is so wrong about eating dog when you will eat other animals?
“because they’re domesticated! they’ve been pets, or can be pets, and they can be part of the family!”
“so can cows, pigs, and chickens! what’s the difference in seeing a cow carcass and a dog carcass? both mammals, both dead and bloody, are we just used to it and desensitized to the picture of eating meat!?”
“yeah but they look so gross and uglier hung up in the window like that all skinned and bloody”
“umm, have you seen slaughter houses in america? in canada? in europe? — that stuff is hidden on purpose”

OPPP WHAT HAVE WE HERE?!?! all of a sudden,
— A conversation about how wrong it is to eat “domesticated animals” vs. traditionally “farmed” animals.
JUMP IN JLO JUMP IN!!!!!

let us first define what ppl’s concepts are of domesticated animals:
hmm, animals you can have as pets, that live with or life like humans and that humans have put at the same level as themselves?! …. maybe we’re getting somewhere here.
to which i link you to george carlin’s “why is it when it’s us it’s abortion, but when it’ a chicken, it’s an omlette?!”
(i for one do not want to put animals below humans, or see them as anything less — cuz all animals are animals. we are animal too – like the song, ‘i like to live, like animaL, careless and free, like animaL…” -SG, oh i wish they were careless and free…)

so do domesticated animals include:
dogs, of course
cats…
hamsters?
mice?
rabbits?
a pet monkey?
a pharret?
a canary?
a snake?
a baby?
(i can go on…)

versus the camp of ‘traditionally’ farmed animals — i.e, i’m going to go with how children books categorize animals since this is what we’re teaching them in the media, literature, and ideas of food/farm culture (and by observing my baby cousin niece’s books and toys and dvds this is what i’ve gathered as food and farm animals:
cows,
horses,
chickens,
pigs,
sheep,
roosters that cockadoodledoo in the morning, eat corn and hop around talking to spiders

so i leave you with this:
Q. Do you think it’s wrong to eat dog? if so WHY? and do you eat other forms of MEAT?
Q. Do you think animals are below humans since we eat them and we place them below us in our food chains?
Q. And If you eat meat, would you still eat meat if you had to learn how to kill it, de-gutt it, de-feather/shave it, clean it, butcher it, age it, store it, and cook it yourself each and every day or as often as you want to eat meat?

Welcome to my Gastro Heaven.
I have decided to start blogging about the thing that makes my world go roundy round, what floats my boat, and what my gutt talks to me about each and every day; and that is precisely – FOOD
I grew up learning to listen to the conversation between my head and my heart, and i have finally realized that at the ripe young age of 25 (yes, a pretty monumental year don’t you think? ;) ) – that my gutt has been feeling oh so left out.
so here,
in this space you will find:

new foods, new nutritional wonders, properly written recipes (yes there are a lot of not so good ones out there – and that’s a mouthful to say at which i am ready to challenge), and a daily blog of what i’ve eaten. sounds familiar? maybe. that’s for you to judge.
this is how i roll. jlo styles.
cuz
jlo eats.

i live to eat / i eat to live

and i LOVE to write about it.
and that is my motto in life.

except let’s make this fun shall we?

Food should be fun, food should be orgasmic, and food should be everything you’ve ever dreamt of.
Why shouldn’t it be?
Food can inspire you, food can sustain you, & food needs to FEED YOUR body mind and soul.
Why can’t it?

scared and confused about what to eat? about what is safe to eat anymore? and most importantly what is – dun, dun, dun – HEALTHY?!?
me too!
so talk to me, walk with me on my lifelong journey to discover
what should jlo eat today?!
and the question that is always on my mind and minds alike -the same question that will always always be asked every single day of your life whether you know it or not -
What should i have for BRUNNER- (BReakfast-LUNch-dinNER) today/tonight/tomorrow?
(and what the heck did i have yesterday!?)

my stomach loves to hug yours :)
-Jay