As I ponder what to write for this food segment, I was thinking why I love food so much. Yes, everyone loves to eat with a few exceptions. Food is as necessary for us to live as we need air to breath. But to me, food is so much more than something that goes through my system. I love food for the emotional experience it gives me, and the joy of the people that surrounds the food.
Many times I have dined with people who I share no common language or whose culture was so foreign to mine. But one major ice breaker was almost always to taste their food. Though we may not understand each other intellectually, when I took the first bite, and showed them my pleasure of eating their food, they were as pleased as they could be.
I become part of their community. I ate Russian food with a Russian family who did not speak any English. I ate with Mennonite people in Pennsylvania. All the women’s head was covered and they were wearing skirts. They made everything from scratch, and did not use any canned or jarred food. I ate with a French family in Normandy who killed a rabbit for me for lunch. I didn’t speak a word of French. I honestly don’t remember a time I refused to eat food that was set before me.
People may not always understand different cultures, languages, or values. But everybody understands love. And everyone understands food. By accepting their food and eating it, you instantly become a part of their community at the table. You might not understand them intellectually, but you understand them with your gut.
When you visit your parents or grandparents, what it is that they want to do first? They want to feed you. To many, putting food in front of you is the ultimate expression of love. That is why I have a hard time understanding people who are picky eaters (except those who have medical restrictions). I also have a hard time understanding the extreme religious practice that hinders you from sharing food with others with different beliefs at the same table. To me, rejecting food placed in front of you is rejecting love extended to you. As you should never reject pure love that is genuinely extended to you, you should never reject food placed in front of you with love, in my opinion.
So I strive to be open minded about food and am always willing to try something new. I live in a New York “barrio” with the largest Greek population outside of Greece. Naturally, there are many Greek grocery stores. Many of their ingredients are easily and cheaply available. So out of convenience and influence from my neighbors, I started trying out different Greek foods and grew to love it. But I also had to break the notion that I grew up with…such as using yogurt only for something sweet. The combination of yogurt and salty taste, like with salad or soup, was something hard for me to accept at first. But after years of trying their ways, I now know why they like to use their yogurt in certain ways... because it works and it sure is tasty. If I was so married to the idea of yogurt was to be eaten only with sweet items, I would have never discovered the joy of eating yogurt in other ways. Yes, last night for example, I made Tzatziki, which is Greek style cucumber, dill, yogurt salad, and I have made this salad numerous times this summer since this is such a refreshing light summer dish.
This is one tiny example of what joy I experienced by simply trying something that was foreign to me.
I remember a Brazilian scientist once told me that he ate a roasted worm when he went into the Amazon and dined with the indigenous people. He did not want to offend them, so he ate the roasted worm, and it tasted like peanuts, he said. I don’t know if I could be that adventurous. But without going into the Amazon, in New York City alone, you will still be exposed to many opportunities to eat something that may be culturally foreign to you.
Please observe what other people eat, and receive food with and open heart when kindly offered to you...with no fear, no hesitation…but with love and appreciation.
They say we are what we eat. We are more than fries and energy bars. We are more than Captain Crunch. If we want to be worldly, our stomach has to be worldly.
You will never know what joy awaits you.
"About the author- Tomoko requires Rhina to have soy sauce in her fridge, a necessary ingredient for our on-going friendship." I will reveal who I am - through food - bit by bit.
