I have a weekend ritual that revolves around food... Perhaps a lot of my life revolves around food, now that I think about it.
Sunday morning I wake up early to see the cooking shows on television. There are several to choose from, one after the other from early morning to mid-afternoon. I like to watch. I can't touch, & I sure as hell couldn't eat.
I also love these & other shows like Come Dine With Me or reruns of Man V Food when I'm fasting or cleansing. There's something about them during these times in particular that I really enjoy. I suppose it's something in the line of discipline. I like to know that I have control over how I sustain my body. & I like to know that I have control over myself.
Yesterday Goliath & I were talking about food; I was off to make a mulligatawny, a curried Anglo-Indian soup. He decided that this was a potential blog subject & that I should write something "semi-vegan"... I suppose I could if I had a notion as to what to say.
So instead you're just reading as I blather on the subject of...
Recently while reading articles online about nutrition, as is my want, I came across a new word (to me): thinspiration. Its web definition describes it as: 'Photographs or other material intended to provide inspiration for anorexia nervosa as a lifestyle choice.' &, well, that's not good!
On further investigation, I discovered that a lot of the food related habits, restrictions, & rituals I have are eating disorder related... & yet I don't have one myself... & my soup was delicious.
My father suffered from an eating disorder, however, as I was growing up. He seemed to pinball back & forward between anorexia & bulimia. Starving, fasting, cleansing, purging, judging, weighing, & measuring. He did them all.
These things I do are clearly all just learned (& somewhat parroted) behaviours. & I don't like that one bit. I am all for making up my own mind on things. So I've decided to work on changing them one by one until they replaced with habits that my more sense... 'Cause I'm a stubborn little thing & I refuse just to follow blindly in any area of my life. (Rawr!)
But for now I'm off to make more soup. Celery today. Goliath's favourite. ;)
[All complaints with regard this somewhat pointless &/ or half finished
Blog post should be addressed to Mr Tree. It was his fault.]
Nothing pointless at all about it. In fact, I will save a nice thick ribeye steak from my own stock since you plan to change! The donors name was Meatloaf because he was fat and could Beller with the best of them. Earlier in his life, he provided oysters!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure meat still tastes of ming though.
DeleteTo see your face as the stout carnivore host of Man v. Food eats a year's worth of steak in one sitting. Shoveling it in while spectators cheer him on.
ReplyDeleteAbout changing habits and behavior.... recognizing the reasons when it is necessary and mounting the energy to do so.... that was a powerful statement.
Rawr! (& et cetera)
DeleteVeering into the kitchen, spurred on by the thought of a steamy bowl of combined-deliciousness (I googled Mulligatawny.... Indian and all things curry are just not common-place throughout most of the U.S.), I made an escarole soup, fast, easy and wonderful, last night after a long drive home.
ReplyDeleteIt's base was store-bought vegetable broth and a fat diced tomato from the garden added to sauteed onion along with garlic, rosemary (redolent shoots of the stuff grow wild around the fence) and a dash of cayenne. Tiny turkey meatballs and white beans came next and then a full head of chewy escarole in the final minutes. A heaping spoon of grated parmesan topped the bowls. Served six but the two of us left barely a cup or so which I see my early riser inhaled before I woke. Good inspiration.
Please v-e--e-r me somewhere else.
Sounds delicious. For me there is nothing more comfort food than a big pot of soup or stew simmering on top of the wood stove in the middle of winter. Remind me to move the oxtails to the top of the freezer.
DeleteThat does sound delish indeed.
DeleteThe thing with most soups and stews too for some unknown reason is that they always taste better the next day and the next day after that. Could it be anticipation? They're mighty fine in warm climes as well. They indeed warm the heart and soul.
ReplyDeleteSoup is possibly my favourite thing in the world. There's so many options it's impossible to get bored.
Delete