Obento - Portfolio

On Thursday January 22nd, I had the pleasure of making a Bento box for my friend Neil. The experience was entirely new to me and I must say I enjoyed it. To give a little background on the Obento, Japanese mothers would make a special boxed lunch for their kindergarten aged children. In turn the children must eat the entire contents of the box. For a mother, it would be an embarrassment if the food contents were poorly constructed and for a child it would be disrespectful if a child did not eat everything.

This practice is so different from an American style lunch bag or box. Most mothers still put time and energy to make sure their children receive the proper nourishment but they are not so concerned with the aesthetics. A typical American school lunch consists of a sandwich in a plastic bag, chips, an apple, juice box and perhaps a special treat. Everything is packaged separately which draws similarities in the Obento box where the different food items cannot touch. Once lunch time the trading begins, Americans are interested in getting the prize food item and will trade their lunch away to achieve this goal. My weakness was Oreos, I would trade anything! What does it say about Americans who are okay with trading their lunches away and Japanese where this practice is virtually forbidden. Does it even occur to the Japanese that they could trade their lunch?

Anyway, back to making the Obento. Most of the items that were provided I was unfamiliar with, (except for the broccoli and the chicken) so I was not completely at ease in putting the box together, but for the most part I found it fun and rewarding and because I was making it for someone, I wanted to make sure it was aesthetically pleasing to the person who would be eating it. At the same time I was making the Obento for someone, that person was also making me a box. He asked if I had any food restrictions, I said no pork but was willing to try anything else, but then I quickly realized most everything was seafood. Fish is usually the last thing I will ever crave but trying to be open to the food experience I allowed fish to be included in my Obento. The fish wasn't so bad.

Below is a pic of the Obento I made for Neil. The broccoli is in view as well as the Onigiri (Japanese rice ball but the one below is shaped as a triangle) and edamame.

Eating Oreo's on the Kitchen Counter - Portfolio

In class we discussed Marcel Proust's, "The Madeleine." The story was about a Madeleine cookie soaked with tea and how this combination of flavor brought Marcel back to his childhood. This is called a "Proustian Moment." When I think about proustian moments, they are related more to smell. The smell of Lilacs brings me back to a summer day in Sweden 7 years ago. A whiff of cologne or perfume will bring to mind someone that I had forgotten about. I don't have too many memories that are connected to food, that if consumed, would bring me back to an exact moment. But after searching through the recesses of my memory I came up with one.

On a hot summer day when i was 5 years old, I was playing outside with a pair of cheap flip flops on that did not fit me properly. I was climbing all over a wooden fence that had been knocked down between my house and my neighbors house. I had friends next door so this is they way we would go between our yards. I misstepped and my flip flop fell partially off. I felt something strange on my foot, some sort of pressure. Whatever it was it didn't hurt but felt strange. I looked down to see what was going on, and I nearly passed out, my foot was bleeding heavily. I had stepped on an old rusted nail. I immediately began screaming and my mother rushed out. She helped me get inside and began cleaning up the wound. She sat me on the kitchen counter (which I was never allowed to do) and gave me several Oreo cookies, hoping to distract me so I would stop crying. I remember she called the doctor to see if I needed to come in for a tetanus shot but I had one already. At this point I had calmed down and was perfectly content with my handful of Oreo cookies. Whenever I eat a Oreo cookie I always think back to this time and how such an awful situation turned into a happy memory.

I also have not so fond memories that resurface when I think about a certain food. When I young I got violently sick after eating Spaghetti. It took me years before I could eat spaghetti again. I'll eat spaghetti if that is the only food being offered but i would never order spaghetti from a menu and I'm convinced it's because of this bad memory that is associated to food.

Okay thats it for now, until next week...

Introduction to my blog - Portfolio

For my first post, I thought it was appropriate to share with everyone my love for popcorn but I guess the title of my blog might have clued you all in. Growing up, popcorn was a cheap snack my parents could easily make and I hated it. It was so bland, no salt or butter. But this all changed and I do not remember when I decided to give popcorn another chance. If I had to put a date on it, I would say Popcorn sneaked back into my life in 5th or 6th grade. Popcorn was definitely on the snack menu whenever I had slumber parties. Eventually I began substituting a proper dinner for a gigantic tupperware bowl of popcorn. My parents frowned on this and evenutally forbade me from having only popcorn for dinner. I could supplement whatever I was eating with popcorn though.

Someone of you are probably balking at the idea of consuming so much popcorn but I do not eat the microwave variety (well on occasion when I feel like kettlecorn) but typically I make popcorn the old fashioned way. I have a specific pot that I use in case I burn the popcorn (doesn't happen often). When I was younger my mom would buy Johnnys Popcorn Oil along with Johnny's Popcorn Salt but this got too expensive. Now I use olive oil and still use Johnny's Popcorn Salt for seasoning. I do not use butter (have to cut the calories somewhere) but quite honestly my popcorn is so good it doesn't need butter. Until recently I had very specific bowls I would use to eat my popcorn from but my best friend Amy gave me the most amazing popcorn bowl for Christmas. Anyone who really knows me, knows about my obsession with popcorn which is why I've received popcorn tins during Christmas and then of course the bowl this past Christmas.

Well enough about that, time to relate to the reading in the class. Popcorn brings back very specific memories for me, when I was young and hated it and now I take comfort in it. I will always remember the bowl I used growing up and how it was large enough for me to do a chef toss to mix the salt around without spilling any from the bowl. I've spent quality time with friends and family, watching movies and playing games and of course popcorn was the snack of choice.

After reading the food memoirs in class I realize now that so many special memories are centered around food. For example my step father and I spent a saturday before Christmas making wonderful cookies to share with other people. We picked out several different recipes (more like 5 or 6, a little too ambitious I think) and went to the store together to get collect all the ingredients. Once home we got started by preheating the oven and making apple cider (another comfort food during the holidays). Soon the house smelled of apple cider and the aroma of baking cookies. Perhaps this is a little too Norman Rockwell but it was the highlight of my holiday season.

Time to wrap up, I hope you all enjoy my food blog, this is unchartered territory for me but I'm up for the challenge.

Whats for dinner tonight? After all that talk about my favorite food, Popcorn of course!