Importance of Eating Local

To me, eating local means eating food that was grown and produced organically, and close-by, and supporting local businesses. Growing up, I was surrounded by freshly grown fruits and vegetables, but only now do I understand the importance of buying and eating local. On the first Sunday of every month, my hometown hosted a farmer’s market on our main street. I always waited in anticipation for the farmer’s market each month for the fresh strawberries, watermelon, and apples. Initially, the most special part of the farmer’s market was all the fresh food, but over the years of perusing the food at the farmer’s market, my mom taught me another reason why going to the farmer’s market is so important: supporting local businesses. She and I believe that supporting local businesses is important because they provide the freshest, tastiest food, and buying their produce helps them to stay in business.

Now when I go to the farmer’s market, not only am I there to buy fresh produce, I also go to play a small role in my town’s economy. I can be an eye-witness to the growth of small, local businesses, and see how hometown support means everything in the start of a business.

Compare and Contrast Types of Evidence

In both India's War on Biryani Mixes Caste, Religion, Cow-Avenging Vigilantes,  by Sandip Roy, and Here's Why Salads Feel Feminine and Nachos Seem Manly, by Tanya Basu, the main source of evidence is interviews. While the first uses quotations from a social scientist and locals, and the second quotes a social psychology researcher, they are both interviews that support the author's claim or idea. Since each of the interviewees is speaking from first-hand experience, both of the articles are secondary sources. 

Basu, Tanya. “Here’s Why Salads Feel Feminine and Nachos Seem Manly.” Time, September 11, 2015. http://time.com/4021781/food-marketing-gender/.

“India’s War On Biryani Mixes Caste, Religion, Cow-Avenging Vigilantes.” NPR.org. Accessed September 14, 2016. http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/09/12/493645849/india-s-war-on-biryani-mixes-caste-religion-cow-avenging-vigilantes.

How does food relate of my experience as a woman?

Even in our equal and democratic society, there are still many stereotypes about women and their roles in society. Many people still believe that a women’s place is in the kitchen, preparing meals for her husband and children. I am proud to be a women, but I do not want to be a women who lives up to that stereotype. 

I am a terrible cook. I know lots of people claim that, but I can barely toast a bagel without burning it. And baking is out of the question. 

Freshman year of high school, I took journalism. In an effort to practice writing review articles, every student was to bake cookies and bring them into class for everyone to taste and review. Being the terrible baker that I am, I knew my cookies were bad. The rest of the class agreed with me, but I was okay with that. I have no plans to be a professional chef, so making a batch of bad tasting cookies was not the end of the world for me, but one of my classmates thought otherwise. “Did you mom not teach you how to make cookies?” he said. 

Both my mom and I have busy lives, and baking is not on the top of our priority list. Our lack of baking skills do not make us any less of a woman. To us, being a woman is about being smart, compassionate, driven, and proud, despite occasionally baking bad tasting cookies. 

Every Year - Revision

It’s the same tradition every year. A few days before each of our birthdays, my mom would ask, “what you you want to eat for your birthday dinner?” My three siblings and I would each always respond, “I want Dad to grill steak, onions, asparagus, and bread”. It is a family tradition that whoever’s birthday it is can chose the dinner for that night, and we all pick the same delicious meal. 

For each of our birthdays, we have family over to celebrate and share our favorite dinner. Even though we have it very frequently, my family never gets tired of our favorite meal.

The meal is laborious to make, since food is being cooked in so many places: on the barbecue, stove, and in the oven. My mom, the self-proclaimed head chef of the family, is charged with watching over everything in the kitchen while my dad focuses on the barbecue. Year after year, playing the many challenging roles of head chef, host, and mom proves to be too much during these hectic family gatherings. 

About an hour into dinner preparation, my family and I are all enjoying an appetizer of tortilla chips and homemade salsa in the backyard when we smell the faint scent of smoke. One of my family members exclaims “I smell a fire!” Since fires are relatively common in California, we don't think anything of it for a moment. But when we all see my mom sprinting across the lawn and into the kitchen, it all dawns on us: the bread! My family and I all rush into the kitchen to watch my mom open the oven. Plumes of smoke escape, making everyone blink and cough profusely. Once all the windows and doors are open and the kitchen is almost fully cleared out, we finally examine the loaf, or what’s left of it. 

A big black lump sits in the oven, completely unrecognizable. What once held so much promise of garlicky, buttery goodness is now an inedible block of coal. With not enough time to re-bake the bread, dinner is served without it. Everything is still tasty—with expertly seasoned steak, caramelized gilled onions and flavorful asparagus—but lacks the delicious garlic bread. 

This dinner is not our favorite because of the taste, though the dish is pretty good. It’s our favorite because it serves as a memory of time spent with family. Every time I have grilled steak, onions, asparagus, and bread, I am reminded of my extended family gathered around our kitchen table, fighting over who gets the last slice of steak. I remember all thirty of us singing “Happy Birthday” to my brother and watching him blow out the candles stuck into my sister’s homemade cupcakes. I picture the endless games of tag my cousins and I would play in the backyard with the smell of the barbecue wafting through the summer air. The meal is a reminder of a carefree time, where dinner started off rocky, but ended with family coming together and making new memories. It’s the same tradition every year. 

Introduction: Feeding an Identity, Gender, Food, and Survival - Summary

Introduction: Feeding an Identity- Gender, Food, and Survival, by Norma Baumel Joseph, is an introduction to a book of individual essays and short stories that focuses on the importance of food in religion and gender studies. Joseph begins by stating that not only is food necessary for survival, but it is significant in defining cultures. 

The introduction focuses first on religion, specifically Judaism. Joseph discusses that food is at the core of every Jewish ceremony and celebration in the form of rituals and dietary restrictions. The author mentions that in studying the effect of food in religion, the focus is on the rabbis who direct eating restrictions, not on the women who cook and prepare the food. 

In the past, it was believed that women belong in the kitchen, and caring for children, so they were all the same. Therefore, it was unimportant to write about them. Now, with women being equal to men, the study of food includes women and their important roles in the process of food production. Joseph explains that women “control and maintain Jewish life through food”. 

After explaining the importance of food in religion and gender studies, Joseph begins to introduce the essays and stories compiled in the rest of the book. He states that there is a variety of essays about a variety of topics that reveal new insights on old ideas, or new ideas about an old topic. The author explains that the essays focus on topics such as women’s importance in the past as compared to now (in relation to food), food in a biblical setting, and food’s importance in religion, specifically Judaism and its evolving food customs. 

Dutch Baby Pancakes - In Style of Eating the Hyphen

Normally, when one thinks of pancakes, he/she thinks of thin, golden brown, and fluffy batter. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, thats exactly what a normal pancake is. It is “a thin flat cake of batter, fried on both sides in a pan”. Dutch Baby Pancakes, however, are very different. Made in a casserole dish instead of on a pan, Dutch Baby Pancakes taste and look more like a custard with a crust than a normal pancake. My mom—the official Dutch Baby Pancake maker of the family—learned how to make the breakfast dish from my grandma, who pioneered the recipe in our family. While the ingredients are reminiscent of cookies, the final products is deliciously unique. 

Place 3/4 cube of butter in casserole dish and place in oven at 425F until melted.

In blender, combine:

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

1 dash sugar

1 dash salt

5 eggs

Pour mixture over butter and bake at 425F for 17 minutes.

Serve immediately with syrup.

Every year, my mom makes Dutch Baby Pancakes when we go on our annual trip to my favorite place, Montana, over the summer. Waking up the morning, the small cabin is always filled with the scent of melted butter and the sound of pots banging together. Even though my siblings and I love so sleep in over the summer, the promise of syrupy goodness is enough to get us out of bed before nine. 

Each time I have Dutch Baby Pancakes, not only am I reminded of my favorite place, but my mom and my grandma. I never met my grandma, but when I take my first bite into the gooey goodness of the Dutch Baby Pancake, I feel connected to her, because the pancake was made using her special recipe. The custardy breakfast helps bridge the gap between my grandma and I because we share a love for these unique pancakes, and we share a favorite place.

Credit for photo:

Jui, Tina. 2014. The Worktop. By Tina Jui. Web. 8 Sept. 2016. <http://www.theworktop.com/breakfast-brunch-recipes/german-pancake-dutch-baby-recipe-pancake-day/>.

Review of review of Tuscan Dairy Vitamin D Milk, Gallon

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1WQS8H0LTDF9B/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00032G1S0&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=16310101&store=grocery


Normally, reviews for products on amazon focus on the product and its functionality, appearance, or usefulness. The intended audience for these product reviews are other people interested in purchasing this product and who want to determine if the product is worth the price. Usually, reviewers know their audience and explicitly state their opinion on the product and if they were happy with their purchase. This review is very different.

This reviewer is reviewing Tuscan Dairy Vitamin D Milk, Gallon and instead of commenting on its taste and quality, the reviewer tells a story about him trying unsuccessfully to bring the milk onto an airplane. 

""Sir, you can't take this on the plane," he said.

"Why not?" I asked."Because, if you have more than three ounces of a liquid you could use it to blow up the plane," he said.I was astonished. I had no idea that Tuscan Whole Milk was so powerful."

After describing his encounter with airport security, the reviewer produces to chug the gallon in the line for security. This review is not even in the review genre. This review is more of a story or satire than a review. It also has a very different audience than a normal review. This man's audience is his friends, or other people looking for a laugh. This review would have been better posted on his personal blog instead of as an amazon review.