As I considered the types of food that I was given as a child, one predominates: country cooking from a mix of cultures in Europe: Dutch, Swedish, English, and German. Our diet consisted of lots of meat and potatoes, pickled fruit and vegetables and fruit pies. Growing up on a farm where my dad and grandpa grew potatoes, wheat, and hay, ran 100 head of dairy cows, and raised beef cows, pigs and chickens. We lived off what we raised, the fruit trees and gardens. You can see where this is going-we ate meat and potatoes with lots of milk, cheese, and ice cream. In addition to these "basics", we got from my mom's Swedish heritage Swedish meatballs and the most delicate of pastries made by dipping a device likea branding iron used to identify your herd, into a batter that was placed into hot oil. The result was deep fried cookie that was dusted with powdered sugar. I think the people that serve "elephant ears" at our local fairs must be Swedish! On the other side of the family, my Dutch grandma made doughnut balls cooked in hot oil and again dusted in powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar. We loved all that sugar and fat!
One of the chores was the annual butchering. We went to a cousins place where we cut and wrapped the beef (I don't like to say cows). There are six of us kids in the family and out of the six, one is a vegan, one is a vegetarian, one eats only packaged foods, one prefers poultry, and two eat beef on a regular basis. For the vegan and vegetarian, it's a moral issue. For me, like one of the people in this weeks video, its the smell of cooking beef that makes me naseous. In fact, when I cook for the family, I eat the salad and they eat the entre. However, when I do eat meat I get the most amazing energy and alertness so I go through this mind - body conflict.
Singer, Peter. The way we eat: why our food choices matter. Emmaus PA: Rodale, 2006.
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"The sociology of food and eating: essays on the sociological signifigance of food." Food Habits
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It is crazy because I can actually relate your topic. My mother currently live in Germany and the things you are describing are vital to her as well. All I know are stories, nothing firsthand experience. She actually lives on a small farm which consist of hundred of chickens, few cows and pigs. She once told me that she grows here own chickens and uses the eggs and the chicken itself as food, what she raise will most likely be used to eat. I believe my mother’s eating habits changed drastically. When she was living here in the U.S. the main typed of food eaten by her was hot/spicy Thai food. Large amounts of fresh dairy, potatoes as you mentioned and meats she said she uses as well. I believe while growing up you are introduced to new things on the daily especially food in this matter. I believe if you were not raised upon a certain type of food for example Nigerian food, it will be hard for someone to expand and explore new types of foreign foods or any food! For example if you were to read my blog, what I eat may differ. I didn’t know how important it was for people to have their own farm and I am amazed how each of your siblings only eats certain things, since growing up on a farm consisted of everything from vegetables to dairy. Your blog was the first one that caught my attention, so just to let you know good job.
ReplyDeleteReading your background I think it is interesting that you have a mind/body conflict when you eat meat and two of your siblings are vegan and vegetarian. Watching the video the other day made me think about my own relationship with eating meat, I often do not, or try not to think about it because I enjoy meat dishes so much. My father is a former French chef and sometimes he just makes really good food (usually on holidays) and it is hard to avoid meat. Do you think in America we’ve been ingrained to eat meat? I do not know, at one time it was something I was conflicted with but I am at a point that I try to except it.
ReplyDeleteI also found the descriptions of your Swedish heritage very informative, I did not know elephant ears were a Swedish dish!