Roots of Culture without Convenience

I struggle with food during the holiday season.  Eating, food, and celebration are intertwined.  I really don’t want to be the humbug on the flavorful merriment, but along with the extra sugar I have been consuming (while helping my kids make a crispy treat house), I did buy the weirdest and ugliest vegetable to dress up and eat to physically feel good.  I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed it!  Don’t get me wrong, those little white chocolate Hershey’s peppermint kisses are delicious, but not satisfying.  

This makes me think more about our connection with food.  For some of us, food=culture.  I know many who prepare foods that associate with different holidays.  All these foods have a cultural context that makes our celebrations complete.  They not only enhance our traditions, they play a significant part of our culture while celebrating holidays. Think about it, we drink when we toast.  We have cake to celebrate important events. My son even told me that he wasn’t looking forward to Christmas presents as much as he was anticipating Christmas foods.  

Our associations with food are powerful.  Throughout history, we have adapted foods, food ways, and food taboos to conform to religious beliefs, form alliances with others, bond with friends and family, celebrate, and build an identity.  It is only recently (if you call the 1950s recent) that convenience foods and chain restaurants have been a part of our food scheme.  Immediately following, a movement opposing convenience foods armed with reasons such as environmental issues, poor working conditions (you remember Cesar Chavez), and nutrition.  Despite this opposition, we have been duped.  Restaurants, food manufacturers, and agribusiness have tapped into our cultural connections with food and formulated a convenient way for us to enjoy our cultural foods by producing them in masses so that we have time to do the really important things like shopping and of course family.  In this way, they have actually robbed us of a historical and important cultural context and replaced it with a new more convenient cultural context with added fat, salt, and sugar.  

I like some convenience foods when I am pressed for time or so that I get an evening off, but I don’t depend on it.  Sometimes convenient for me = leftovers. Sometimes, I just like the way something tastes from a certain place.  (I think this is the case with the Chipotle joint that just opened in Albuquerque. I think they put heroin in their burritos. That line is still out the door in the freezing cold).  However, I don’t see us ordering a case of Chipotle burritos for our next Christmas gathering.  It is going to look more like tamales.  For lunch today will be a lean ham wrap with celery root slaw.

Recipe for Celery Root Slaw

So I bought this ugly winter vegetable.  Even the grocery store workers scoffed at it. I felt sorry for the root, but found a diamond in the rough.   It has a very nutty celery flavor, which you can temper down with a good dressing and other ingredients. I haven’t eaten enough to find meaning or symbolism in it, but I will definitely make again.

½ celery root shredded

3-4 carrots shredded

1 apple (I used honeycrisp)

1 half very small head of purple cabbage

¼ of large onion diced

¼ cup of apple cider vinegar

2 tbls of canola oil (I think a nut oil would work better though)

A couple of drops of truffle oil (not necessary, but added the winter to this winter salad)

2-3 tsp sugar (if you don’t have honeycrisp apples, use honey)
2 tsp of mustard seeds
1/2 tsp each coriander and dill weed

Combine all ingredients and serve or place in fridge until later use. 

 

Want delicious meal ideas with a holiday twist for those in between times of candy eatin’. Try these…

Breakfast: Sweet Potato Oatmeal

Lunch: Top a bbq sandwich with colorful celery root slaw instead of opting for those huge platters of French fries

Dinner: Drag out that slow cooker and make some creamy corn chowder (just add more nonfat milk into this recipe) some bread and a salad.  Eat after a long day of work followed by Christmas shopping

Snack or dessert: Salted Caramel hot chocolate