The Perfect Meal

                I want to prepare myself for the perfect meal, but I don’t know what that is to me yet. Pollan spoke of his as knowing the full karmic consequence of everything that was available at the table. To be involved in the hunting, gathering, cooking, and consumption of the meal is no easy feat, and definitely brings one closer to the meaning of you are what you eat. However I have no yew branches, flint, or twine available to me, so loosing an arrow at the lone bunny rabbit that lives in the unkempt grove behind my house isn’t an option.

                Realistically though, I felt like the whole point of being directly involved in one’s food is the idea that they witnessed every step. When we as a class brought up a few weeks ago that there is a disconnect between the general public and the food they consume, I agreed. People have no idea what they are eating most of the time, having been catered to by colorful labels and engineered flavors. But it goes beyond just knowing where the food has come from, and into the whos, whats,  and wheres that were all involved in the process. The energy that is being placed into every item of food on our plates is astounding: the planning, the preparation, the hunting, the gathering, the cooking. Once you have finally gotten to the eating portion of the food one should be downright exhausted—except we are no longer involved in all of these steps.

                Now it would be out of my means to recreate Pollan’s situation, both financially and physically, although more the former. While I am sure I could forage the forests of Kalamazoo for some nuts and berries to grind into a lovely paste, that doesn’t seem up my alley.

                So I return to the drawing board. While the access to the food didn’t resound with me too powerfully, Pollan’s choice of guests hit home. All those that had taught him, been his Virgils, were at the table. And while the conversation came right back to the topic of the book, the food, each person had more or less been a part of the meal in front of them. They were all involved. It wasn’t as if Pollan had plopped down a frozen pizza in front of them and they had been in the car with him when he had picked up the damn thing from the supermarket. No, each had taught himself something about what he was eating there, what he had cooked, and why he had put himself through the whole process.

                This kind of meal makes someone hungry. It is smart food. The idea that you are learning as you eat about those around you, yourself, and the dish you are cooking, is a fantastic one. And I think that the integral piece is the communication via the food to those around you who took direct place in its creation or presence. 

*I also apologize for the lateness of the response. In my attempts to ponder the perfect meal, something else thought I would make an ideal dish. See you all in the morrow.

Perfectly Ponderous
 

-Espo Clark