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Caitlins Blog

Assn #1 Food blog

"Thursday, March 15, 2007 On first names, eggs (Molly of Orangette's Eggless Banana Bread with Coconut and Rum)

My roommate Carol has a copy of The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen, published in 1992 (there has since been many revisions, with the most recent one published in 2002, featuring revised recipes and colour photos.) As a new cook, Carol's "goal" for the year is to make all the soup recipes in the book (it's funny because she makes them to the letter, which usually results in 6-8 servings, and she's just cooking for herself!) But since then, she has moved on to some other recipes, like chapatis, naan, etc. When her friend Glenna was visiting, more than once I heard her say, "Well Mollie says that..." when they made meals together. I teased her for being on a "first name basis" with the author of her cookbook.

But then I realized I have "my own" Molly, the owner of the beautifully written Orangette and soon-to-be author herself. Not too long ago she shared an eggless banana bread recipe, with coconut and RUM. (I'm not going to post the recipe in my own entry because it is there, and she's a wonderful writer, and you should read her blog if you don't already.)" http://not-a-foodblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/on-first-names-eggs.html

I really enjoyed the non-pretentiousness of this blog. The very title, "Ceci n'est pas un food blog..." declares blatantly that they are trying to do something out of the ordinary, which I very much appreciate. I was drawn here initially by the discussion of Mollie Katzen, whose recipes I have used and liked a lot. I love the down-to-earth style and frank descriptions and experiences. Also, later on in the blog is an interesting discussion of egg replacers and chemistry of food, which takes a very basic and practical look at an often mysterious process. I enjoy the ability to look at food through the guise of science as well as art, which allows for greater success.

Assn #2 Letter to editor http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1626795_1627112_1626670,00.html

Dear Editor,

I found the portrayal of the American perspective toward food in the “Science of Appetite” article very interesting (TIME magazine, June 2007). With a typical western attitude of control and manipulation over the human body, scientists are trying to understand the mechanics of appetite in order to address the growing problem of obesity. The author recognizes that although “cupcakes” are not found in nature, after our introduction to such artificial substances our bodies learn to crave them. Uncontrolled cravings and desires seem to be the root problem for the obesity now facing our country.

Scientists delve into the physical processes in our bodies that cause us to feel “hunger” as well as suppression of hunger when we are “full.” After understanding the chemical elements of the situation, scientists seek to artificially control them in order to help people manage their weight.

I would argue that we need to take an entirely different approach to the whole situation. The Slow Food Movement, as articulated by Carlo Petrini, gives us another lens to look through at the “science of appetite.” The root of the matter still hinges around pleasure, but rather than the modern American world where unfulfilled desires lead to uncontrollable obesity, Petrini introduces a philosophy of eating which allows us to gain real fulfillment from our eating experience.

Part of the reason that we feel unfulfilled after eating is that our foods contain less nutritive elements that they used to, due mainly to improper soil care of conventional agriculture. Another possible reason is the lack of culture in the arena of food which we face today. In other times and in other cultures still today, the social environment surrounding the act of eating can infuse satiation through non-physical elements.

These are two potential solutions to the obesity problem which arise when we turn the focus away from our “flawed appetites” and realized that these appetites may be a result of “flawed food.” Petrini advocates 3 conditions for the food we consume, that it be “good, clean, and fair.” This means essentially that it taste good, be free of pesticides and harmful chemicals, and be produced in a way which properly compensates the workers. This goes beyond the problem of individual obesity to creating a flourishing and supportive society which surrounds the consumption of food.

The root of the matter still hinges on pleasure, but Petrini’s ideas on Slow Food offer a positive rather than negative approach, i.e. increasing the pleasure aspect of consumption rather than trying to control the lack of pleasure. In my opinion, this is a much more elegant solution, since it will coincide with people’s natural desires.

Sincerely, Caitlin Allen

Assn #3 Book Report

In the book, “In Praise of Slowness,” Carl Honore exhorts the benefits of a slower lifestyle throughout its full range of application—from slow food, to cities, to medicine, to sex, to work, to leisure, to raising children. He critically examines our modern obsession with speed—its underlying causes and ultimate consequences.

With extensive scientific and sociological sources to back his claims, Honore concludes that the creed of speed is actually self-defeating, and that “slow is the new fast.” He details the ways in which our lives become fuller, richer, more creative, more enjoyable and even more efficient when we simply slow down the pace.

This book is an incredibly inspiring expression of many of the principles that we have studied for years with consciousness-based education, written in a lucid and accessible style to the modern reader. Rather than just another “new age, hippie-dippie” philosophy, Honore’s book takes the skeptic’s perspective, and approaches many “alternative-lifestyle” practices from a conservative standpoint. His clear arguments and direct logic mesh beautifully with real-life commentary and anecdotes, making the book a delightful journey through the fast vs. slow controversy. I highly recommend it to persons on all sides of the debate, or those completely new to it…anyone who has ever complained about work, eaten at McDonald’s, taken a nap, or appreciated the beauty of the sun. In short, a great read for all!

The first few pages encapsulate the message quite well...

INTRODUCTION
THE AGE OF RAGE

ON A SUN-BLEACHED AFTERNOON in the summer of 1985, my teenage tour of Europe grinds to a halt in a square on the outskirts of Rome. The bus back into town is twenty minutes late and shows no sign of appearing. Yet the delay does not bother me. Instead of pacing up and down the sidewalk, or calling the bus company to lodge a complaint, I slip on my Walkman, lie down on a bench and listen to Simon and Garfunkel sing about the joys of slowing down and making the moment last. Every detail of the scene is engraved on my memory: two small boys kick a soccer ball around a medieval fountain; branches scrape against the top of a stone wall; an old widow carries her vegetables home in a net bag. Fast-forward fifteen years, and everything has changed. The scene shifts to Rome's busy Fiumicino

CARL HONORE

Airport, and I am a foreign correspondent rushing to catch a flight home to London. Instead of kickin' down the cobblestones and feelin' groovy, I dash through the departure lounge, silently cursing anyone who crosses my path at a slower pace. Rather than listen to folk music on a cheap Walkman, I talk on a mobile phone to an editor thousands of miles away.

At the gate, I join the back end of a long lineup, where there is nothing to do except, well, nothing. Only I am no longer capable of doing nothing. To make the wait more productive, to make it seem less like waiting, I start skimming a newspaper. And that is when my eyes come upon the article that will inspire me eventually to write a book about slowing down.

The words that stop me in my tracks are: "The One-Minute Bedtime Story." To help parents deal with time-consuming tots, various authors have condensed classic fairy tales into sixty-second sound bites. Think Hans Christian Andersen meets the executive summary. My first reflex is to shout Eureka! At the time, I am locked in a nightly tug-of-war with my two-year-old son, who favours long stories read at a gentle, meandering pace. Every evening, though, I steer him towards the shortest books and read them quickly. We often quarrel. "You're going too fast," he cries. Or, as I make for the door, "L want another story!" Part of me feels horribly selfish when I accelerate the bedtime ritual, but another part simply cannot resist the itch to hurry on to the next thing on my agenda — supper, emails, reading, bills, more work, the news bulletin on

THE AGE OF RAGE

television. Taking a long, languid stroll through the world of Dr. Seuss is not an option. It is too slow.

So, at first glance, the One-Minute Bedtime series sounds almost too good to be true. Rattle off six or seven "stories," and still finish inside ten minutes—what could be better? Then, as I begin to wonder how quickly Amazon can ship me the full set, redemption comes in the shape of a counter-question: Have I gone completely insane? As the departure lineup snakes towards the final ticket check, I put away the newspaper and begin to think. My whole life has turned into an exercise in hurry, in packing more and more into every hour. I am Scrooge with a stopwatch, obsessed with saving every last scrap of time, a minute here, a few seconds there. And I am not alone. Everyone around me— colleagues, friends, family—is caught in the same vortex.

In 1982 Larry Dossey, an American physician, coined the term "time-sickness" to describe the obsessive belief that "time is getting away, that there isn't enough of it, and that you must pedal faster and faster to keep up." These days, the whole world is time-sick. We all belong to the same cult of speed. Standing in that lineup for my flight home to London, I begin to grapple with the questions that lie at heart of this book: Why are we always in such a rush? What is the cure for time-sickness? Is it possible, or even desirable, to slow down?

In these early years of the twenty-first century, everything and everyone is under pressure to go faster. Not long ago, Klaus Schwab, founder and president of the World Economic Forum, spelled out the need for speed in stark

CARL HONORS

But now the time has come to challenge our obsession with doing everything more quickly. Speed is not always the best policy. Evolution works on the principle of survival of the fittest, not the fastest. Remember who won the race between the tortoise and the hare. As we hurry through life, cramming more into every hour, we are stretching ourselves to the breaking point.

Before we go any further, though, let's make one thing clear: this book is not a declaration of war against speed. Speed has helped to remake our world in ways that are wonderful and liberating. Who wants to live without the Internet or jet travel? The problem is that our love of speed, our obsession with doing more and more in less and less time, has gone too far; it has turned into an addiction, a kind of idolatry. Even when speed starts to backfire, we invoke the go-faster gospel. Falling behind at work? Get a quicker Internet connection. No time for that novel you got at Christmas? Learn to speed-read. Diet not working? Try liposuction. Too busy to cook? Buy a microwave. And yet some things cannot, should not, be sped up. They take time; they need slowness.