Corey's Food Court

Oh Pasta, how I love you so. You never fail to please. Even when I’m complaining about how much homework I have, I eat you and all my troubles are gone. I wish all of what I just said was true, however it’s not, we’re over *end corny, loving monologue towards an inanimate object*.

Though I’m not in ecstatic love with pasta as I feigned, I do enjoy it. I mean with so many different kinds of pasta, how could you go wrong? Even if you don’t like one kind of pasta, “there’s other fish in the sea” (WOW I actually applied that quote on an occasion other than one of those very often occurrences where I must pretend to care about a dramatic friend’s break-up with a guy she knew for two days). Off the top of my head I’ll name just some of the “fish in the sea”: spaghetti, lasagna, and my favorite penne (After interviewing my mother I discovered that penne is also her favorite as she likes how it cooks and just the general shape of it…I guess great minds do think alike). If that isn’t enough, (which it probably isn’t considering I only named three) there are entire cookbooks that consist entirely of pasta recipes.

So my friends at ProfessorsHouse.com (none of whom I have met or even talked to for that matter) informed me of the fact that the word pasta comes from the route “paste”, which is what the mixture used to make pasta looks like. The mixture used to make the ever so delicious pasta that we eat today consists of wheat, flour, egg, and water. Seem simple? Yes it is, in fact the recipe contains such common ingredients that it is hard to pinpoint how long ago people started making it (Davidson 582). All pasta is practically the same at this point, the same core ingredients; nothing is very different except for maybe the type of flour used. Things begin change during the next step of a “little grains’ life” when it is kneaded and made into different shapes: macaroni, spaghetti, and ziti being just a few of the simpler variety of shapes. For those of you who are looking to find more complicated kinds of pasta that you can brag to your friends about: quadrucci rigati, strozzapreti, and margherita messinese lunga can definitely satisfy your desire to feel cool (“Pasta-Shapes”). If you don’t understand the whole shape concept by now, please see your doctor as soon as possible or “ASAP” for all you acronym folks out there. After being shaped, the hearty little thing can be prepared fresh, dried and packaged, or frozen (Many people like myself just buy the dried and packaged pasta at the nearest supermarket as it is obviously easiest). Once the pasta is made, you have free reign over what you want to do. Your dish can become whatever you want. That being said, for you amateurs out there (I feel bad for you by the way, no just kidding, I’m an amateur too) I’d recommend following some simple recipes until you get good. You’d think this would restrain you from cooking a unique dish but the simple pasta noodle can very easily become a very diverse array of dishes. I mean you can follow Food Network’s Giada de Laurentiis’ original recipe “Fried Ravioli”, for an extra unhealthy dish. You can follow the women of ‘Love My Philly’’s recipe for “Tortellini Alfredo”. You can even ask your annoying neighbor who always looks in your window for an “Cannerozzetti” recipe (Although I wouldn’t recommend it). Whatever the case, the simple noodles will not let you down when it comes to originality.

It’s amazing how four basic ingredients can go from being all the same to completely unique (and tasty might I add). According to ‘Pasta Canada’ there are over 600 kinds of pasta in the world, all of them stemming from the same core. They come from the same basic structure, yet they are all so different.  Where would the noodle be without creative ideas? (Probably in the dumps with my Geometry grade). I mean do you think that capelli d’angelo, emilia-romana, or garganelli were created by some kind of higher being that dictates the kinds of pasta that can be made or something? (Yes those are real kinds of pasta by the way; you can find those and other weird pastas at The Nibble) Obviously they weren’t, instead they are the ideas of regular people who have a brain and unique ideas, giving me another reason to love that little bearer of happiness. *engaging psycho-who-loves-pasta-a-little-too-much mode* So pasta I’m here to take a stand, never back down! Never give up! Continue sitting there while everyone cooks you! It’s the uniqueness of each and every plate of you which makes me love you more than I love my grandmother. *disengaging psycho-who-loves-pasta-a-little-too-much mode* (PS…I cannot be blamed for anything said during “psycho-who-loves-pasta-a-little-too-much mode”)

If I haven’t already established this fact, I could eat pasta all day erry’ day (oh golly gee, the things kids are saying these days). However sometimes, there are things that a noodle shouldn’t be friends with, one of these horrific friends of pasta that I dislike ever so much are tomatoes. To me chunks of tomatoes, which were first introduced to pasta in about 1519, are like that annoying friend who doesn’t really say or do anything but they still annoy you cause they just take up space (that is what I think of you tomato, yeah be afraid) (“10”). I compared the almost inanimate friend to tomatoes in pasta because most of the time, tomato sauce is in pasta and you can taste it. That being said, when you add chunks of tomato it’s just like “we already taste you, all you are doing now is just making a bad texture” therefore, I prefer my pasta without tomatoes. I’m going to have to tell Mr. Pasta that Mr. Tomato was talking to his girlfriend, that should end their friendship for good (Booyah)!   So basically I have one left to say to you pasta: stay unique, don’t date until you are sixteen, and when you do start dating, you need my approval because you know some of your friends leave a bad taste in my mouth (not funny pun 1000000% intended).

Bibliography

 ”10 Things to Know About Pasta.” Web log post. Menuism: The Blog. Menuism, 11 Oct. 2009. Web. 6 May 2010. <http://www.menuism.com/blog/10-things-to-know-about-pasta/>.

Carter, Rosemary. “Pasta Interview.” Personal interview. 25 Apr. 2010.

Davidson, Alan, and Tom Jaine. The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. 582. Print

De Laurentiis, Giada. Everyday Pasta: Favorite Pasta Recipes for Every Occasion. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2007. 33. Print.          

Hochman, Karen, ed. “Pasta Glossary: Our Glossary of Pasta Terms From A (Agnolotti) to Z (Zitone) Reveals A Vast World Beyond Linguine.” The Nibble. Lifestlye Direct, Inc., 2005. Web. 11 May 2010. <http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/pastas/glossary.asp>.       

“Pasta Facts.” Pasta Canada. Canadian Pasta Manufacturers Association, 29 June 2005. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. <http://www.pastacanada.com/english/pastafacts/pastafacts.html>.

“Pasta-shapes.” Food-Info. Wageningen University, 1999. Web. 11 May 2010. <http://www.food-info.net/uk/products/pasta/shapes.htm>.

“Simple & Creamy Tortellini Alfredo.” Web log post. Love My Philly. Philadelphia Cream Cheese, 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. <http://lovemyphilly.com/simple-creamy-tortellini-alfredo/>.

“Types of Pasta.” Profesor’s House. Profesor’s House, 2007. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. <http://www.professorshouse.com/food-beverage/food/types-of-pasta.aspx>.

Oh Pasta, how I love you so. You never fail to please. Even when I’m complaining about how much homework I have, I eat you and all my troubles are gone. I wish all of what I just said was true, however it’s not, we’re over *end corny, loving monologue towards an inanimate object*.

Though I’m not in ecstatic love with pasta as I feigned, I do enjoy it. I mean with so many different kinds of pasta, how could you go wrong? Even if you don’t like one kind of pasta, “there’s other fish in the sea” (WOW I actually applied that quote on an occasion other than one of those very often occurrences where I must pretend to care about a dramatic friend’s break-up with a guy she knew for two days). Off the top of my head I’ll name just some of the “fish in the sea”: spaghetti, lasagna, and my favorite penne (After interviewing my mother I discovered that penne is also her favorite as she likes how it cooks and just the general shape of it…I guess great minds do think alike). If that isn’t enough, (which it probably isn’t considering I only named three) there are entire cookbooks that consist entirely of pasta recipes.

So my friends at ProfessorsHouse.com (none of whom I have met or even talked to for that matter) informed me of the fact that the word pasta comes from the route “paste”, which is what the mixture used to make pasta looks like. The mixture used to make the ever so delicious pasta that we eat today consists of wheat, flour, egg, and water. Seem simple? Yes it is, in fact the recipe contains such common ingredients that it is hard to decipher how long ago people started making it (Davidson 582). At that point, all pasta is practically the same, the same core ingredients; nothing is very different except for maybe the type of flour used. Things begin change during the next step of a “pasta’s life” when it is kneaded and made into different shapes: macaroni, spaghetti, and ziti being just a few of the vast variety of shapes. If you don’t understand the whole shape concept by now, please see your doctor as soon as possible or “ASAP” for all you acronym folks out there. After being shaped, the pasta can be prepared fresh, dried and packaged, or frozen (Many people like myself just buy the dried and packaged pasta at the nearest supermarket as it is obviously easiest). Once the pasta is made, you have free reign over what you want to do. Your dish can become whatever you want. That being said, for you amateurs out there (I feel bad for you by the way, no just kidding, I’m an amateur too) I’d recommend following some recipes until you get good. You’d think this would restrain you from cooking a unique dish but the simple pasta noodle can become a very diverse array of dishes. You can follow Food Network’s Giada de Laurentiis’ original recipe “Fried Ravioli”, for an extra unhealthy dish. You can follow the women of ‘Love My Philly’’s recipe for “Tortellini Alfredo”. You can even ask your annoying neighbor who always looks in your window for an “Angel Hair Marinara” recipe (Although I wouldn’t recommend it). Whatever the case,  the simple noodles will not let you down when it comes to originality.

It’s amazing how four basic ingredients can go from being all the same to completely unique (and tasty might I add). According to ‘Pasta Canada’ there are over 600 kinds of pasta in the world, all of them stemming from the same core. They come from the same basic structure, yet they are all so different.  Where would the noodle be without creative ideas? (Probably in the dumps with my Geometry grade) *engaging psycho-who-loves-pasta-a-little-too-much mode* So pasta I’m here to take a stand, never back down! Never give up! Continue sitting there while everyone cooks you! It’s the uniqueness of each and every plate of you which makes me love you more than I love my grandmother. *disengaging psycho-who-loves-pasta-a-little-too-much mode* (PS…I cannot be blamed for anything said during “psycho-who-loves-pasta-a-little-too-much mode”)

If I haven’t already established this fact, I could eat pasta all day erry’ day (oh golly gee, the things kids are saying these days). However sometimes, there are things that a noodle shouldn’t be friends with, one of the horrific friends of pasta that I dislike ever so much are tomatoes. To me chunks of tomatoes in pasta are like that annoying friend who doesn’t really say or do anything but they still annoy you cause they just take up space (that is what I think of you tomato, yeah be afraid). I compared the almost inanimate friend to tomatoes in pasta because most of the time, tomato sauce is in pasta and you can taste it. That being said, when you add chunks of tomato it’s just like “we already taste you, all you are doing now is just making a bad texture” therefore, I prefer my pasta without tomatoes. I’m going to have to tell Mr. Pasta that Mr. Tomato was talking to his girlfriend, that should end their friendship forever (Booyah)!   So basically I have one left to say to you pasta: stay unique, don’t date until you are sixteen, and when you do start dating, you need my approval because ya know some of your friends leave a bad taste in my mouth (not funny pun 1000000% intended).

Sources used (Soon to become Bibliography)

Websites

http://www.pastacanada.com/english/pastafacts/pastafacts.html

http://www.professorshouse.com/food-beverage/food/types-of-pasta.aspx

Blogs

http://lovemyphilly.com/simple-creamy-tortellini-alfredo/

Books

The Oxford Companion to Food

Everyday Pasta: Favorite Pasta Recipes for Every Occasion

Interview-With Mom

“Because the party don’t start ‘till I walk in”…No Kesha you are not going to start our party, I’d rather not thank you very much. Kesha may start some odd parties in her own little world however many realistic parties of today start with a “Pop”. No that isn’t the sound of a friend “popping it” (A form of dance in which one spasmodically shakes themselves in a seizure-like fashion) on the dance floor, instead it is the sound of a beer tab popping open. These “Pops” of beer cans opening are due to many teenagers’ perception of alcohol. “Because a party isn’t a party without alcohol” and “you aren’t fun until you ‘get loose’. Common misconceptions like this can ruin your life. Our views on what is fun has changed from, “My BFF Cindy is coming over to play barbies at 2” to “Let’s get drunk” in what seems to be the blink of an eye. In fact just today more than 13,000 teens are taking this step from “dolls to drinks” by taking their first sip of alcohol today (Trivita). Although people think that this change in attitude makes us cooler and more mature, in the process of “getting wasted” all you are doing is putting yourself at risk for many problems.

            Let’s get things straight, you aren’t a bad person if you drink alcohol. However by drinking alcohol you are only setting yourself up for bad things to come. As stated by KidsHealth.org and scientists everywhere, alcohol is a depressant. What is a depressant you ask? I was going to try to think of some kind of joke to put right here however I couldn’t think of one so, umm yeah. (Better luck next time Corey) No but really a depressant is a substance that slows down the function of the central nervous system (the system in the body that sends messages to the brain). That being said alcohol blocks messages to the brain, therefore changing a person’s perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing. Knowing this, why do many assume that people that they meet at parties that include alcohol are all of the sudden great friends? The person you are seeing at the party is someone who is very out of it and may not even remember you the next day. I was actually talking to my neighbor about this topic; she told me she met this girl at a couple parties. At these parties they had a great time, they talked a lot, danced a bit, and just hit it off very well. In fact they hit it off so well that they decided they would meet up the next afternoon. So the next afternoon they met up, after being verbally torn apart, my friend decided the girl was a complete witch (in nicer terms), she was flat-out mean, someone completely different than the nice, outgoing person my friend remembered from the parties. This may be because of how drunk my friend while she was with the girl or it could be how much the girl actually changed while under the influence. This erratic change in personality doesn’t seem like one that I or any others would enjoy.  

Now do you really think a relationship based on alcohol and being drunk will last at all? The simple answer to that question is no. Just no… Even if you do like someone when they are sober and most of the time when they are drunk, there is always that lack of control in any relationship involving alcohol. Due to the lack of control that occurs while under the influence, the risk that you will get hurt with that person is very greatly increased. Whether it is them physically hurting you due to aggression or it is getting in a car crash (the chances of both of these event is increased greatly by alcohol), the effects of being in an alcohol-oriented relationship can only hurt you.

 “Because the party don’t start ‘till I walk in”…No Kesha you are not going to start our party, I’d rather not thank you very much. Kesha may start some odd parties in her own little world however many realistic parties of today start with a “Pop”. No that isn’t the sound of a friend “popping it” (A form of dance in which one spasmodically shakes themselves in a seizure-like fashion)  on the dance floor, instead it is the sound of a bottle of wine or champagne popping open. “Because a party isn’t a party without alcohol” and “you aren’t fun until you ‘get loose’. Common misconceptions like this can ruin your life. Our views on what is fun has changed from, “My BFF Cindy is coming over to play barbies at 2” to “Lets get drunk” in what seems to be the blink of an eye. Although people think that this change in attitude makes us cooler and more mature, in the process of “getting wasted” all you are doing is putting yourself at risk.

“Simply Recipes” is a great blog that sticks true to its name. As soon as you enter the homepage you are presented with the most recent recipe with a beautiful picture that could make any cook jealous. As you scroll down there is a vast variety of recipes that you feel would be impossible to actually make. However once you click on each of the recipes they are very simple and make you want to throw on an apron and start cooking. This great feeling is created through this blog’s great use of images. For each recipe there is a picture that coordinates with most if not all steps in the recipe. Although it may not seem like a big advantage over other blogs, the pictures are a great feature to have for the “noob” chefs who rely on the pictures to make sure they are doing the steps of the recipe correctly. The recipes which could be quite complicated are made very simple with this blog. This simplicity opens up this blog’s audience very much to people like me. In addition to the easy to understand recipes, the organization of the blog is very helpful to anyone.  The most helpful aspect of the blogs organization is the “Recipes by Type” tool that can help you in various ways. Whether you only have a certain kind of food in your house at the time you want to prepare something or if you have a friend who is a vegetarian that is on their way over for dinner, the “Recipes by Type” tool is very helpful. “Simply Recipes” is a great blog that will motivate you to cook through the easy to understand recipes and helpful organization that make you feel like you can cook even the hardest recipes.

Chezpim.com, although it may sound like a phrase a baby would blabber, it’s actually a very informative food blog. To start, the appearance of the blog isn’t too chaotic, nor is it a boring white background, it looks nice. Although some may think that the appearance of a blog wouldn’t be that important, it is. When it comes down to it if you had to choose between reading two blogs that had the exact same information, the one that looked nicer or cooler would definitely be the one you would choose to read.  On top of the nice appearance, Chezpim doesn’t have as many annoying adds as many other blogs. As I entered many other blogs, my eyes were drawn away from the articles towards adds that took up a large portion of the screen. On the other hand, the ads on Chezpim are small, minimal, and actually relate to the topic of food. Another aspect of Chezpim that is appealing to myself and most likely many others is the frequency of the blogs posted. With about 1 post each week, there is enough posts to keep you satisfied and up to date with food topics. However there aren’t so many posts each week that the author Pim, seems like your annoying friend on Facebook who constantly update their status. Not only are Chezpim’s frequent posts a welcoming feature, but also the recommended sites at the side of the blog can be very helpful if you are looking for a more specific topic. Finally, and most importantly, the information on the website is interesting and well organized. The posts are organized by date and there is a search box if you are looking for a specific topic. Chezpim.com is an ideal blog for anyone interested in Food.

Questions About Fish:

1. What fish is most commonly eaten by humans?

2. What fish are considered a delicacy?

3.What parts of fish do we eat?

4. How are the fish caught?

5. Are there any specific bodies of water that produce a large amount of fine fish?

6. Are we harming any species of fish greatly by eating them so much?

Reaction to Pollan Interview

From this interview I learned that no matter what it is you are eating, you must eat it in moderation whether it be for your health or our system of food in general. Also you must think of how what you are eating affects food for future generations. Like Pollan says you need to “make a vote with your fork” and decide what you want to eat. Nobody can force you to eat something or not eat another but you should be considerate and environmentally concious. We can also choose how the food system will be for future generations by doing things such as supporting small organic farms rather than larger companies.

My least favorite food is seafood. The reason I do not like it is because in general when I see people eating fish, it is an entire fish that looks like it just swam out of the ocean. That is one thing that I cannot stand seeing. Even though I do eat most other kinds of meat such as chicken and steak, which were also a living animal at one time, those meats are usually hidden behind bread crumbs or another kind of coating. The clever and tasty disguise of these meats makes it more appealing to eat than an entire fish cooked on a plate. Even when fish isn’t just cooked and served on a plate whole, for some reason all I can think of is a fish flopping around on the plate. I guess I really should get over my aversion towards fish because it is much healthier than the meats such as beef that I eat very often, but I just cannot get over it. Maybe if I go to a blind food tasting at a restaurant then maybe I would try fish and possibly like it. However there is a very small chance that would happen, so the day that I eat fish isn’t coming very soon.