Bento

Within the movie tampopo there were a lot of scenes and all within them the common denominator was food. Food was more then just a prop it was the main protanganist. With a funny outcome, the movie seemed to be ment to pock fun at the "obsession" of the japanese culture when it comes to food. The most interesting scene in this movie and a great example to the main message of this movie was the scene with the mother that was cooking her last meal and she was dieing. The father made the children eat the last meal to appriciate her last perfect meal. I think this is a great example of the mocking of japanese food obsessions it wasn't about her it was about making the food better. However within the movie there were only a few dishes that were indigenous to the japanese culture.

This scene made it seem universal that the interest in food and the care attention is within the entire country of japan.

The bento project expanded on the ideas that were in tampopo but also put things into perspective that not all japanese spend hours each day handleing food. The project that we did this week was something that i've never done before and there for so interesting and fun. Working with most of those foods that I had never seen before was actually inspiring. Because with the foods that one grows up with you learn how its suppose to look. So with these foods we were free to do whatever we want with them because we weren't following any sort of guidlines. I prepared it differently for someone else as I would have if it were just for me. I used gloves, made it look prettier, and made it all organized. Its definetly interesting to look past your own school lunch experience.

Special Holiday's

I actually really enjoyed the reading this week. Ancient stories really interest me, I didn't really see what or how it was tied into food this time but I guess the dancing rituals are as old and ancient as eating rituals.

I want to talk about Proustian Moments, while growing up my dad was the person that feed the family, there are things that he cooks that i constantly crave and I am constantly reminded of when I'm in a daily routine. Most people have a more increased sense of smell then I do so they respond to scents then I can. For me I respond more to hearing noises. When I hear a loud long beep that means dinners ready and I instantly get hungry.

There is foods that are directly related to my past, chocolate cakes, pies and sweets in general have always been a huge part of my life. If I had to choose between things to dedicate my time too. I would definitely perfect my skills in the making of deserts. At one point I took a cake decorating course and it was actually a lot of fun but also a lot of work. And very time consuming.

At all holidays I try a new style of desert. Of course the holiday's bring people together but now it has come to be a family tradition to enjoy the new deserts from all around the world that I've attempted to create. Without the holidays i would have no reason to create them : )

To tie into the reading the preparation of food goes beyond the physical need but the bring together of people. Creating and using skills that they would not normally utilize without the special occasion or reason to do so. pg 29

For my first blog in anthropology of food I wanna express how important food is to me and my challenges with it over my years and why I chose white gravy to bt the title of my blog.

As one can see in other blogs there is complexity in how people display their recipies but cooking and preparing food has one single purpose. Food is the only thing that completely nurishes the body with no other motivation. Some people love and study food because they want to learn the different flavors or master the art of taste but some people like me cook and prepare food because it cares for others, people need food to stay happy and healthy.

For me food is a major part of my life as it is for everyones life because I'm hyperglisemic which means if I dont eat regularly and eat the right foods then my blood sugar crashes to a dangerous level and can result in fatige, diziness, and fanting. And so with this knowledge of my body I then would go and research the different nutritional standpoints that i need to know to stay healthy. This is why food for me has been such a major factor in my life because like breathing I have to pay constant attention to it. Failure to do so now in life would result in much more serious medical conditions later. I only eat the healthiest of things and by far I eat my fair share of portions but because of a extremely high matabolism I've never felt the effects of eating every 2 or 3 hours.

It wasn't until I went to Italy for a study abroad

that I fully was exposed to the potential of food. There is an art to food preparation in Europe that is not in the United States.

I chose white gravy for the title of my blog is because of a silly history I have from my parents. My dad makes this incredible gravy along with this grilled chicken. I've never learned the name of it or what he does to it but all the has to do is say that we're having white gravy for dinner I start to shout and get excited and I change my day so that I can be home for dinner. It's a family favorite and joke. So thats why I named my blog white gravy in honor of my dad.

Emily