Passion Post: FOOD!

Individuals blog for a variety of reasons. When we ask our students to blog, we attempt to give them some sort of direction so they will not spend countless hours muttering "I don't know what to write about". At the same time, we try to allow enough freedom for the students to stretch a little and dive deeper into topics of their choosing.  As with any activity, some students seem energized by blogging and the opportunity to express themselves and hash out ideas in a more modern forum and medium, while other trudge through it with grimaces and groans. This is fine. Not everyone is going to enjoy writing, although I would like to make it a little more worthwhile and rewarding for them. What I do not understand is how a person can complain about having to write a "Passion Blog" which is essentially the opportunity to write about what excites you, what lights your fire, what makes your heart beat, or what makes you think.

This post will be one of MY passion posts. I am passionate about many things. My relationships with my family. My teaching, both in the classroom and on the field. Literature of many forms. Exercise.

This post is about something I have a passion form which has brought me a great deal of pleasure as well as no small amount of frustration. What is this passion, you ask? I have an undeniable passion for food.

I love food. Entire days at the State Fair have been scheduled as to allow optimal food variety and consumption without causing the potential gastrointestinal discomfort that can come from a lack of planning in such matters. Trips to Wichita, Lawrence, and Kansas City have required carefully attention to detail so that we can enjoy the fare at specific restaurants during limited time. I jump to The Food Channel as often as I click over to ESPN, and I have watched "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" marathons on more than one occasion. I bothers me that "Good Eats" is no longer on, and I prefer "Cutthroat Kitchen" to "The Voice".

I realized recently that the only Snapchats I have sent to the limited number of friends who I have in the social circle have included shots of food I was grilling, frying, roasting, or broiling. I always said I would not be one of those people who tweets his supper at a restaurant or posts dessert on Facebook. However, snaps do not seem to bother me. I have also discovered that such snaps torture young men who do not have such delicacies at their disposal, so it has become more acceptable to send a perfectly seared pork loin or pan of bacon-wrapped peppers through cyberspace.

My passion for food goes beyond just eating, although that is an activity that I do truly enjoy.  I really enjoy cooking. I do not consider myself a "foodie", really, because I am not that sophisticated. My knife skills are primitive. I chop stuff. Or slice it. I an not sure what a proper jullienne cut is, and I had to look up exactly how to spell it correctly. I have no idea what saffron tastes like, or what dish I would use it in.

What I do know is that if you apply high heat to red meat, a chemical process occurs that alters the molecular structure of the meat, and the result is an incredible flavor that cannot be achieved in any other way. I know that if you roast garlic inside a cavity in a beef roast, it will mellow and sweeten as it imparts its flavor into the meat. I know that put tomatoes that you pick from your own garden in a weird pan with holes in it, and you place that pan on a barbecue grill, those tomatoes will caramelize, and if you blend those tomatoes together and simmer them over low heat, the sauce will evolve into something special. I took my cooking lessons from Mom, Dad, Nana, Grandma, and Huck Finn. Huck talked about how he liked stew, how the bits and pieces cooked together, each one lending its own flavor to the pot, until the mixture was much better than the bits and pieces that were dumped into the pot separately. Twain was saying many things through Huck, and I have to agree with most of them.

I am not a chef, and I will never impress anyone on a judging panel of some cooking competition show. But I know what I like, and I know that my wife and kids seldom hesitate to eat what ends up on our table. Unfortunately, I seldom fail to consume my share of what I cook either. Or seconds of most of it, most times. I like eating, and I like eating the food I cook. That is a good thing, but as with everything, too much of a good thing is no longer a good thing. I am working to stop before I take seconds. It does not work very often, but I am trying. Passion is a terrific, terrifying thing. It makes life not only worth living, but worth enjoying. It can be dangerous if uncontrolled, but it can be so valuable when directed and harnessed.

So, there is my passion post for the day. And in closing, I offer you my latest SnapStory. I made chili in between breaking down film on Saturday. I apologize for the typo. I was not wearing my glasses and did not reread it close enough. I hope you enjoy.