Taking Back the Plate: A Manifesto in Favor of Playing With Food
I come to you tonight, my friends, with a proposition: play with your food. There are a number of reasons why I urge you to play with your food, beyond the fact that it is really fun.
It seems as though any kind of conscientious eating — like being vegan or vegetarian, or eating locally — can seem like a heavy task. It’s easy to get caught up in what is or is not vegan/vegetarian/local/la la la, and eating becomes a drag. I know a few vegans whose relationship with food seems to be a perpetual struggle or their cross to bear — they bemoan everything they can’t eat, and their focus on what is not vegan usually plays out as them being really condescending towards others who are not as detail-oriented or who choose to eat differently. I say to you: is this enjoying your food?
Resolution: In the face of a society that spends as little time and money as possible on their food: take back your plate! rediscover the fun of eating! play with your food!
Ok, silly proclamations aside, here’s what’s up:
I’ve started trying to cultivate this playful method of interacting with my food. My experience with vegan cooking, at its best, has been all about this fun approach to food. It’s kind of like, “Wow, these beets are really pretty. How do I want to play with that?” Or something like, “Hmmm, I know I like avocado on toast, and I know I like nutritional yeast on toast. What if I did them both at the same time??!” I’d say the best thing to come out of my vegan kitchen was the advent of Yam Cornbread. More on that later…
Sadly, at its worst, it was all about not being able to make anything because I didn’t have the right ingredients, or hours of time, and oh my god what kind of sugar will not make me a bad vegan? Thinking about those times now, I feel like this: eating is nourishing. Eating should be an act of giving to your body, of taking time to make something and sit down and enjoy the act of eating. It should not be an act of penance or sacrifice or boredom. And yes, I have nights where I want the easiest thing possible. I’d argue on those nights it’s more fun to get some Amy’s Mac n Soy Cheeze, instead of laboring for something my heart isn’t really in.
Some of this is motivated by feeling weighed down by Vegan MoFo in the face of starting a new job. The truth is (don’t judge me!): I’m not vegan… I was, and I’m not anymore, but I see great merit in meals that leave out the meat and dairy. Most of my cookbooks are vegan for precisely that reason: so I can make a vegetable, and eat a vegetable, instead of a bunch of cheese with a tiny bit of crappy broccoli. But, you know, after a day of cramming lots of knowledge into every little place in my skull, the idea of coming home and trying to cook impressive vegan food seems daunting; coupling that with photographing and blogging definitely intimidates me.
And then I remember, wait, food is awesome. Food is totally fun. And hell yes I’m allowed to arrange it in pretty ways before I cook it — and make something easy (roasted vegetables), but make it work for me by eating it with a GIANT AVOCADO:
Are you getting how big this is? Now THAT is an avocado.
I guess in all of this I’m giving myself permission to have fun with the food preparation and eating process. I want to encourage you, too, towards that — especially a few days away from the end of Vegan MoFo and heading into Halloween and Thanksgiving (US)!
Go forth and play with your food. Now.
Fork me that’s the biggest Avocado ever!!!
EVER!!!
Making wise choices about our food and our eating shouldn’t cancel out other wise choices in our life – they should work in harmony together. So if we’re knackered when we get home from work and can’t be arsed to cook there should be no shame in having something quick and easy even if it means it’s unhealthy.
All about equal balance. I like the person who said “everything in moderation” – they are my kind of person.
I’ll be playing with food later today – I’m making Halloween goodies and I’m really excited!!
:)
Is that a Florida avocado? I love how big they get (and how bright green their skins are)!
And I’ll still love you (albeit through a weird voyeuristic blog-reading way) even though you eat a bit of dairy or eggs here and there–it is all about balance!
Hey Lady… I think you’re amazing… I wish we could have hung out more when you were down here… but thanks for still helping me out with tips! Definitely be gentle with yourself… a new job can be stressful! I’m sending you all the good vibes my vagina can muster! :)
P.S. Aren’t those avocados amazing?! The first time we got those big Reed ones in our basket I had to email our farmer because I didn’t know what they were! I always like to brag about them when I make a big bowl of guacamole… “This was only __ [insert surprisingly low number] of avocados for all this!” :)
I LOVE avocados!
I live in Hawaii and am blessed to have an avocado tree at my disposal. It’s fruits are HUGE! Just like that one! Only down fall is sometimes the pits are just nearly as big too, so no meat! So weird.
you are my hero!
made cheese enchiladas last night and oven roasted veggies.
i miss you!
great post. i’ve thought a lot of the same things, recently. and i try to just have fun.
That is such a huge avacado! for some reason my co-op has been getting giant stuff in lately. Like huge onion sized shallots, a rutabega as big as somebody’s head. Which of course I bought, somebody in the store even asked to touch it because they were in awe of its rutabea hugeness.
I go in waves of wanting to cook. Instead of fighting it, I go w/ the flow. I still cook when I’m in the low parts of the wave, I just make simpler and faster dishes. That way I get the benefits. I also know I’ll bounce back and want to spend more time in the kitchen. Currently I’m on an upswing :)