Blog Post #1

Food is so much more than just something to eat for nutrition. Food provides a vast medium that joins and yet defines different cultures and ethnicities. It unites friends, families, and even strangers in an almost invisible bond across tables, blankets, laps, grass, and pavement. Food is a language, even an art I would say, that everyone understands and appreciates. Food also presents a portal to the past, to memories and comforts, to recollections and joys.

Food is one of my most favorite things in life. I have never been a picky eater, and love to savor and compare different tastes and flavors. Food is something that is always around, it is required for living, but yet it means more than that. It is one of my most favorite means of joining with people, and I really find socializing with people over a meal to be a delight. It helps span the sometimes awkward distance between me and others I am not familiar with. Differences in cuisine and tastes can provide an amazing topic of discussion when getting to know someone and where they came from, or food may just offer a friendly, relaxing medium for conversation between friends. I also love to seek different kinds of international cuisine when I have the opportunity. I feel it helps me to connect with others who come from other cultures and expands my worldview.

This aspect of food has pervaded nearly every stage of my life. As a young kid eating with friends was fun and adventurous sometimes, and it brought us together quite a bit. I also grew to know many people in high school just by having a conversation over lunch. Lunch was a great time to connect with others in school. It was a time set aside for eating, yet it was much more. It was a time where everyone became an equal and shared their opinions, thoughts, concerns, and lives. I enjoyed making friends, helping friends with problems and drama, and the general conversation. Dining hall here at Tech has also been a hub for getting to know people. It is where during the beginning of my stay, or rather career, at Tech I grew to know my Caldwellian floor mates and other students better. It is still a common place for us to gather when we are not busy with our school work or classes. I am sure everyone can relate to just hanging out, grabbing a bite to eat with friends, and talking. Those are some of the most fun times I can remember. Some other instances are sharing a meal with strangers at a paintball field, sporting event, or elsewhere and having a good time of fellowship, making good friends over a couple hotdogs and chips or such. When I took German in high school my amazing teacher, Frau Janine Zahuczky, whom I am really close to, provided me a bunch of German recipes. I really enjoyed cooking some of those dishes, and one of my favorites is the Schokoladetorte, or German chocolate cake.


Schokoladetorte:
4 oz German sweet chocolate
½ c. boiling water
1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
2 ½ c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk ( I usually use 1 cup of regular milk curdled with some lemon juice. I think it tastes a lot better.)

Melt Chocolate in boiling water. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy(I usually do this by hand with a wooden spoon). Add egg yolks, vanilla, and chocolate. Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk(this is where I like to use the mixer to make sure it is good and even). Fold in egg whites(I never quite got this one mastered so I often ask my mother for help with this part). Pour into three 9” pans, lined on bottoms with wax paper. Bake at 350’F for 30-35 min. Let them cool well before removing carefully. Frost tops with coconut pecan frosting, leaving sides unfrosted(I personally like the sides frosted, which I did once after I accidentally nearly doubled the frosting recipe).

Coconut Pecan Frosting:

1 c. evaporated milk
1 c. sugar
3 egg yolks
½ c butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 c. coconut
1 c. finely chopped pecans.

Combine all except coconut and pecans in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 12 min. When mixture thickens, remove from heat. Stir in coconut and pecans, then let cool.

As far as family and memories go, when I was growing up my mother rarely cooked us breakfast, but when she did it was amazing. Breakfast would vary from bacon, eggs, hashbrowns(hers are very good) and toast, to crepes, or French toast. One of my favorite things growing up was dinner together nearly every night. Not many people I knew had regular dinner with their family and I feel it is something they missed out on. My mom cooked so many different things, and still does, that are so good. Nothing beats home cooking made with love. We enjoyed helping in the kitchen with preparing and cooking, but of course not the cleaning. Some of my best memories are with family and friends eating some of my mother’s fine foods. One of my most particular favorite meals (next to sushi, shrimp, and steak) is corned beef. It is probably my Bohemian blood calling out that dish, which I believe is actually Irish…

Corned Beef Brisket:

To make this dish, first put a beef brisket in a crock pot, then put seasonings on it, we usually use the seasonings it is packaged with. Fill with water until just covered. Break up and distribute about a head of cabbage in the crock pot. Let cook on auto (usually goes from low to high heat over time) for about 8 hours. Halfway through cooking, put in 4-5 medium sized red skin potatoes, halved. Then, voila, you have a very simple but very tasty treat. FYI it will smell kind of bad. This is one food that comforts me and makes me appreciate and remember home.


These embody just two of many ways food has had a significant impact on my life and I hope others may relate to them as well.

Images:
1st: My own picture of one of the German chocolate cakes I made. Not the prettiest one, however.
2nd: A picture of corned beef similar to what my mother prepares. citation:p.http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art55784.asp