Meatmachine.info

Followed this recipe for “Sweet & Savory Kale” tonight for dinner with some fresh Red Russian Kale. It called for dried cranberries but I used fresh strawberries, vegetable broth instead of chicken stock, about half the sugar and twice the onion, -truth be told I was winging it.

Verdict though? Kale is super tasty; I had no idea. I want to making heaping steaming piles of this and serve it to friends.

I’ve been meaning for a while to do some food blogging, but it’s rare that my hands rest upon cutlery and keyboards with the ability to use both well.

I generally think of food in two different ways. When I’m cooking, and this is most often on my own and for myself, I look at the food through a very material lens.

What are the ingredients made out of, and where are they from? What happens when I add heat, and what difference could it make to cook it differently? What are the most important changes applied to the ingredients between cutting board and plate?

Once the meal is finally prepared my view changes, and I’m interested more in the abstract and immaterial qualities of the food. How can it reflect upon culture, or values, or taste? What does the flavor remind me of, why? Is it good? Is it bad? Beyond simple mmm and eww responses, do I like it?

I guess I have a lot of questions about food because a lot of the language is unfamiliar to me. Like, right now, I hate this blog post because I don’t think I really know how to talk about food, how best to describe it. Aristotle said that our language not only reflects but defines our reality, and I’m lacking the dietary diction.

So I’ll read this, and maybe I’ll read this. Maybe someday there will be a Tastes category on this blag, I’d like to hope so.