The joy of food!

I watched a documentary on CBCs Doc Zone, Eat, Cook, Love, September 20th. It made valid points about the way we now consume food and the way it was in the past, obesity and the loss of tradition. One point made, was that we really don’t take the time to cook any more. I mean really cook. Not the frozen, out of the freezer meal or out of a package or can or done in the microwave food. No, I mean real cooking, from scratch food. Real quality food the way it was before the fast food frenzy started. Not many people really take the time to cook from scratch anymore. Lets face it, who has time? Picking out the ingredients at the market, chopping, preparing and loving what you are doing. Simmering soups or stews so the flavors meld together into an enormous burst of flavor when it hits your taste buds. Cooking with love and passion. Nor do we sit down together, enjoy a meal and conversation any more. Now it’s easier to hit the fast food restaurants where we grab, eat and run. Fast food, can you really call it food? Even some restaurant food, some of which is questionable, where if you take any longer than a hour you start getting the evil eye of the servers. It’s all about turn around. Eat fast and get out. There are a few restaurants that do serve quality food but they are very few and far between.

Me, I love to cook! Really simple basic food or more complex meals. Doesn’t matter. Make it from scratch with fresh ingredients, taking the time to let it all fuse their flavors together and fill the air with an aroma that makes your mouth water. Then sit down and enjoy the flavors of the meal, not wolf it down. Whether alone or with a friend or more and to really taste and savor each little flavorful portion slowly, which means chewing it thoroughly! The hell with fast food, give me home cooking any time. The way my grandma use to do. And there is the crunch. Time and the lose of tradition! In the world today, we are so busy trying to keep up that we have lost the art of cooking and eating well. No junk food or fast food. Making meals from scratch and passing that knowledge onto the next generation and who will pass it onto the next generation. The trick is to take the time, put in the effort. Get rid of the tech stuff, TV and the games and spend quality time with each other.

Eat, Cook, Love

. . . well that takes care of the Eat, Cook part . . . the Love part I’ll leave to your imagination!

Blog Time

It’s blog time again. The time between blogs seems to get shorted and shorter and thus I don’t get them out on time. My biggest problem with blogging is what to write about. Not that I think blogging isn’t useful, I just have a hard time putting my thoughts down on paper. In fact I have a hard time expressing myself both verbally and on paper period . . . A man of few words! Guess that’s why I never did very good in high school english. Why write pages of words when it can all be said in a few words or a sentence or two. Also being a private person I’m not sure how much of myself to reveal. Sometimes it’s more than I want to. Anyway this is my blog for this week and as you can read it’s mostly about nothing.

Searching . . .

I am writing this so that others might know where I am coming from. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a private person and don’t really like putting myself ‘out there’ or be the centre of attention. In fact even talking to someone I find uncomfortable. Anything negative that is said in general, I take it personally. This is why I remain off to the side and a private person.

I joined kung fu for the simple fact that it was not a team sport. It was something I could do on my own and advance at my own pace. I rely on no one and don’t want anyone relying on me. With that said I do rely on family. For me that really only consists of my daughter, son and parents. My parents are at the age where they rely on me more and more each day and as their care giver I am kept fairly busy making sure they are being treated well and have the necessities and the quality of life. Hence the single life!

When I first joined kung fu it was a gym full of individuals who were wanting to learn kung fu. All belt levels were mixed together. As the years went on I saw most people quit and just a few that went on to earn their black belt. Now that there is a permanent facility or school, I am finding that there are more students sticking with it. There is also a community or family of sorts now, which I feel I’m an outsider to. But this is my problem to resolve.

So what am I searching for? As a solitary person I am searching for a way to feel part of the school and join in on the activities without having the panic attacks. Even thinking about doing a demo or anything with others around creates an anxiety and pain in my chest, I just want to leave. Also I’m looking for a way to get through a day where the chronic pain does not rule my life.

I know that I will not be grading but I made a commitment so will carry through to the end. Actually, one of the rules is ‘No Quitting’. Will I join the UBBT/I Ho Chaun again later to advance in rank? Very unlikely, second degree is as far as I go until I can get the pain under control and know and understand all my forms again to perfection.

Time and past

I have just spent the past 5 days culling and going through a life time of memories and the historic past of my great grandparents, grand parents and parents. Finding things that dated back to the early 19th century until now.  It brings all into focus as to the way I feel about my past. It also reflects on how I feel about my present state of mind. The one thing is . . . how it makes me feel to discover things about the past. A lineage to connect the past with the future.

PS: This was written September 4 . . .I forgot to hit the publish button! OOPS!

Time after time

I've just spent 5 days going through a life time of memories and discovering more of my past family history. I am over whelmed with the amount of stuff that I have to deal with. But on the good side  . . . I am discovering my past through the eyes of things left behind.