Shrimp

This past week in class Yu Huang came and spoke to us about the development of shrimp aquaculture in Southern China. She is doing her graduate research on this topic and she gave us some insight into the whole process.



Some of the pros of this type of aquaculture is mass production done in one location, it can reduce fishing pressure, and it can help cause income growth for developing countries. However, the con’s to this type of aquaculture are that they use bad antibiotics and the process could destroy the ability of survival for wild species if they were to breed with the shrimp in the aquaculture. It also is destroying the mangrove forest and they release the waste of the fish into the ocean.

As it was made clear to us, there are many good things as well as draw backs to the development of shrimp aquaculture in Southern China. In my mind, the shrimp all tastes the same to me so as long as there are no shrimp that are being hurt in the process I think it is not that bad of an idea.

Agriculture of the Future

What is the future of agriculture? Many Americans are confused about what is going on on our farmland across the country in regards to genetically engineered crops. To be honest with you, I am quite confused by it all myself. Large corporate businesses are making patents on their crops that they have genetically engineered, and small family farmers are paying the price for it.

Some plants are genetically engineered when they are a seed to be exactly similar in some way. For example, some plants are engineered to be resistant to week killer such as “Round Up”. When a company patents these genetically engineered seeds, a farmer must buy the seeds from the company that produces them if they want to grow this type of plant. However, this can cause a large conflict with farmers. The seeds can easily be blown by the wind or transported on a bird onto a farmers plot of land and begin to grow there without the farmers knowledge. The genetically engineered plants look identical to the non-genetically engineered plants. If the company who has made the patents discovered that their seeds are growing on the farmers land, they can sue them for illegally growing their patented seeds. In this type of situation, the farmer is helpless. There is nothing they can do or say to get them out of the fine they have to pay for illegally growing the seeds even though they have no previous knowledge that they were growing. It is these large, corporate companies that are causing small landowners that have been farming for years, to go bankrupt or be forced to change their crop.



I think that genetically engineered crops are not a good direction for our world of agriculture to be headed. What happened to the days when farmers farmed their crops from the land and didn’t get their seeds from a science lab? It upsets me to hear that small town farmers are being taken to court for something they had no knowledge over. They have lived their lives in the fields, and that is being taken away from them. Plant seeds should not be patented because they are from the land, and everything from the land should be shared with everyone.

Food Not Bombs

Have you even jumped into a dumpster behind a grocery store, retrieved food, and then eaten it? “Food Not Bombs” does exactly this. The main idea behind this group of people from all over the country is to dumpster dive to get food from the garbage that a grocery store has just thrown out. The food is sometimes still unexpired or it is just expired, but still edible. The group them brings all the food together they gathered for the day, cook it, and then give it away to the less fortunate in the society. This group shows how much food goes to waste in the United States simply from over production.



When I heard about this idea that the group is presenting, I began to think about the people all over the world that are dieing of hunger. It amazes me that our country can throw away so much edible and delicious food while many areas of the world are barely or not even getting by with enough food. It is our job as citizens to make sure no food goes to waste until everyone has enough food for themselves and nobody is hungry.

One way I help to save food is by always bringing home my leftovers. It kills me to see a big, perfectly good meal go to the garbage just because someone was not very hungry. I think that even if you are not going to eat it, you should still get it to go and give it to someone less fortunate who is homeless or needy. These types of people would love a fresh meal from a restaurant.

In order for our countries malnourishment to go down, we need to step forward to not let so much food go to waste. Whether we are joining “Food Not Bombs” or simply giving away leftovers, any little action is helping the hungry be fed.

Comfort Soup

This week in class we went into the HUB kitchen and made one of the best meals I have had since leaving home. We broke up into small groups and made lentil soup from scratch. Soup is a great comfort food that makes me feel like I am right at home again. It is a nutritious meal because it is very balanced and is full of various vitamins and minerals that help the body.



All the vegetables we used in the soup were fresh and full of flavor. What amazed me the most about the soup was how much flavor it had when we used water as the base of the broth instead of using the normal vegetable or chicken broth. I can only imagine how amazing it would have tasted if we had used chicken broth. The technique we used to get the most flavoring into the soup was by layering the flavors. We would add little bits of different herbs and spices until we got our desired taste. It was a delicious recipe that I’m going to bring back home with me and cook on some cold winter day.

Pizza Time

Pizza, pizza, pizza! I love it. There is nothing like an oven-baked pizza made with amazing rich, healthy, and fresh ingredients straight from the garden. Cooking pizzas with the class out on the school “Farm” was a fun experience that I know I will never forget.



Making the delicious pizzas reminded me a lot about being back at home at my uncle’s house for dinner. We used to go over there about once a month to make pizzas in his brick pizza oven. It was always a great time rolling out the dough and adding all the toppings just like what we did in class. I find that I enjoy pizza so much more when I’m the one making it and I know all that is put on it as well as how much. Homemade pizza has a much fresher and healthier taste to it because it doesn’t have all the extra grease or oils like in pizza restaurants. I like it because it feels much lighter so then I can eat even more!

Making pizzas all together is also a fun way to spend time with one another. I have so many great memories with my family spent around my uncle’s kitchen sampling pizza after pizza. Making pizzas with the class was really enjoyable because we were able to spend time together, enjoy great food, and soak up the sun as we ate on the farm.

Fast & Easy or Healthy & Fresh

Watching Supersize Me this past week in class was an eye opening experience, and painful for my tummy. I never realized the severity of the obesity issue facing our country. Fast food restaurants are a strong factor adding to one of the highest leading causes of death in the United States. Americans need to start turning away from the fast, easy, and cheep ways of eating. They need to start looking to the better and healthier alternatives.



From a young age, we are trained to want fast food. The companies direct many of their campaigns toward children such as “Happy Meals” and playhouses. It is a parent’s job, to teach their children about nutrition and encourage them to eat what is good for their body, not something that comes in a box with the side of a free toy. One of the best ways for this to be achieved in a child’s mind is to eat at home. Good homemade meals are balanced, nutritious, and tastes great. Growing up, I rarely went out to eat at McDonalds, Burger King, or Taco Bell. If I wanted to eat a hamburger or a taco we would make them at home; even my baby food was pureed by my parents. Because I was raised this way, I still turn away from fast food and look towards healthier, natural, and whole foods.

If our country as a whole begins eating healthier at a young age, our nation’s obesity rate will lower dramatically. Seeing obese children is one of the saddest things for me to witness because I do not think it is their fault. They have young, impressionable minds, and they obviously weren’t given the proper information in their upbringing. With the help of better food education I think America can choose to become a much healthier and thinner country.

Sharing is Caring

In my mind, sharing food with friends is more rewarding than keeping all the food to yourself. Not only do you get to enjoy the fresh ripe fruit that you spend much of your time and labor into, but your friends get to too. In my small agricultural town, this is a common routine.

Most people who have their own working gardens know that they produce more food than they can eat themselves. Our tomato plants at home produce enough food to feed a family of ten. In order to get away from wasting ripe food, my family, as well as our friends, share our food from the garden. Not only do we get to eat our own fresh tomatoes, but we also get to enjoy one neighbor’s peaches and another neighbor’s melons. It is a great way to build a strong sense of community and friendship.

Local Foods

In order for our society to reduce oil prices, and end reliance on various different countries, we need to begin supporting our local farmers. Not only does this give the growers business or helps you to eat healthier, but it also ties you to community and the land you live on. About a month ago I went, along with my parents, to an event in Napa, California where we spent the whole day sampling and eating foods from farmers in my county.

The event was at Copia, The America Center of Wine, Food and Arts. This day was one of the most fun and interesting days of my life. I first went to a cooking show put on by one of my mom’s best friends who owns a chain of steak house restaurants throughout northern California. I watched her prepare meat in various ways and was able to sample her delicious creations. I then went to a tomato sampling, where I received six different types of tomatoes before me. I first had to look at the tomatoes, then smell them and categorize them by what I smelled. Lastly, I ate them and realized how differently the varieties actually taste.



The next thing I did was go to an amazing six-course meal feast. This was probably one of the freshest meals I have ever had. All the food was grown or raised in my county. I never realized how much various agricultural growth goes on so close to me. Following the dinner, I ended with a cheese sampling. We received six morsels of cheese, all paired along with a sample of wine. It was very interesting to listen to a woman talk endlessly about cheese, how different cheeses are made, and how broadly you can incorporate cheese into meals.



Spending this day at Copia really broadened my understanding and appreciation of food. It allowed me to see the amazing and delicious food that is growing around me. I now have a greater appreciation of the farmers in my area and all the work they put into nurturing these amazing foods.

Eating from the Land

This week in class we took a field trip down to the University of Washington “Farm”. On this small plot of land there are dozens of different plants of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers wonderfully growing. It was nice to see fresh and healthy food straight from the ground as opposed to the processed dorm food I’m now used to.

Being on the “farm” reminded me a lot about being back in my hometown Of Winters, CA. It is a small 14,000 person town located about an hour from the state capital of California, Sacramento. At home, I have the gift of being able to go out into my family garden during different times of the year and get fresh tomatoes, peppers, rosemary, basil, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, pomegranates, or walnuts. However, I used to take all this for granted. Now that I am in this more urban environment where I have less control of what I’m eating in the dorms, I realize how lucky I was to be able to go right out my back door, pick a few ripe, red tomatoes and basil, and made a delicious tomato, basil, and mozzarella platter. There is nothing like homegrown tomatoes, freshly picked, still warmed from the sun.



Now that I have realized how gratifying it is to eat something home grown, I know I will always have to have a little garden of my own, packed with various fruits and veggies. Next time I’m home, I can promise I will be in the garden right away, picking the various foods of the season.

Ramen

I have recently discovered one of my new favorite foods since I have been a student here at UW. I owe my new discovery to the movie “Tampopo” we watched in class this past week. Ramen… it is simply amazing.

Since living in the dorms I have gotten to experience the joys of dorm food. However, I don’t think I am quite the biggest fan of the processed meals of Café 1101. In hopes to search out some new, tasty cuisine, I embarked on a walk down the Ave. When I came across a noodle restaurant, I wanted to go in and try it out since we had just watched the movie in class. I sat down and ordered the standard noodle dish with chicken instead of pork. Let me tell you that it was one of the best meals I have had in a while. Previously, I have eaten the typical “Top Ramen” or “Cup of Noodles” but those do not even come close to the ramen I had at this restaurant. It was fresh, full of flavor, and very authentic. I know I will be making many visits back to the restaurant to get a break from the café’s hefty meatloaf, nachos, or cheese tortellini.

Lunch time

I know for my parents, as well as many other parents across the country, making school lunches is a mundane, everyday chore that is simply a hassle in the early mornings as they are trying to hurry themselves along to get to work. However, for the elite women of the Japanese culture, it is a form of art that reflects strongly upon them and the future of their child.



An obento box is an elaborate tradition of Japanese culture. They are boxed lunches mothers make for their preschool aged children. The mother creates a meal for their child that is much more than just nutritious, it is a work of art that requires thought and creativity.

There are many rules that go into making obentos. Everything must be made into bite-sized pieces, all the food needs to be neatly organized in the box, and the colors are supposed to contrast against each other and pop. Most importantly, the little preschooler has to finish his whole obento box because it reflects upon both the child and his mother who prepared it.

This tradition is much different than the standard paper bag lunch I was used to growing up. Everyday I would receive the all-American PB and J sandwich along side my apple slices, crackers, and little bag of cookies accompanied with either a water, Gatorade, or Capri-Sun beverage. Although mine was nutritious and tasty, it does not quite measure up to the beauty and art of the obento.

Food and Family

Growing up, I have always been surrounded by a large family. One of the things that brings us all together is food. On average, I probably have about one meal a week with my extended family. Every meal we have together is never simple or small, it is extravagant, fresh, and very gourmet. I personally, would not want this to be any other way.

I love going over to my grandparent’s house because I know there will be a delicious homemade meal in the making. Upon my arrival, I immediately wash my hands and get down to business in the kitchen along side my grandmother. It is a great way for us to connect and communicate. We have many traditions together such as making Portuguese Sweet Bread during the holiday season and peach cobbler in the summer. This bond we have formed while in the kitchen has developed into my strong interest in food and an idea of a possible career in my future.



Food is one of the strongest parts of life that helps me connect with others around me. Like MFK Fisher wrote, our three basic needs are food, security, and love, and they are all intermingled. These three aspects of life directly parallels to my relationship with my family and our common interest of tasty cuisine.