Thinking About Activism: Food Orientation

Lately I've been thinking about my New Years resolutions and reading over my set goals, thinking where I should go next. It may not yet be time for me to set up for another major endeavor given that I'm still transitioning into my new life, but I should start thinking in order to prepare myself for the next steps. What has been most dominant in my thoughts is my promise to boost up my intellectual activism, which I set as a somewhat concrete goal to start writing letters to the editor on a regular basis.

I'm not sure if this disqualifies me as having officially kept a promise on my resolutions, but I want to revise this. Writing letters to the editor bothers me for multiple reasons, namely its effectiveness in my own realm. For one, I wouldn't be able to publish an appreciable volume of writing given the not-so-fast approval and editing process and the limit on how often contributions can be made, if my letter were approved for publishing, in comparison to what I could accomplish here on my blog sites. LTEs, while still a valuable option worthy of future consideration, just doesn't strike me as the most efficient and effective method for someone at my level, so I'd like to stick to blogging or at least work myself up to such writing, much like how Paul Hsieh has. I've built up a readership and know of some very effective methods of advertising my writings. (You'd be amazed at what good simply commenting on other blogs does.)

Additionally, I ought to be more careful in what I choose to be an activist for, for my knowledge and writing skills render me competent only on certain subjects, as such applies to all people. As you might know, my other blog, Benpercent, was dominantly activism oriented, and while I wrote some good essays it was a strain to keep up with since I worked on such a broad range of topics. It was difficult to enjoyably write essays, which in the end made Benpercent seem more like a chore and eventually brought its demise. If I want to be the best activist I can be, then I ought to pick a narrower range of subjects that appeal to my values and knowledge, motivating me to write better pieces and be more persistent. Obviously, that means I should orient myself towards more food-based subjects. For example, raw milk.

This would not only appeal to my interests, but also to my developing knowledge. As noted in Why I Love to Cook, one of the major reasons why I love food is because I love learning the science and causation behind what gives rise to what we eat (and what happens when we treat it in certain ways), which will mean that over the course of my lifetime I'll be interested in studying a great array of food science, including nutrition, chemistry (like for baking), math, biology, and other things, all as part of an integrated and life-long education in gastronomy. That will make me competent in speaking on such issues like the actual risks of drinking raw milk, the foolish regulations restaurants have the follow, the choices taken away from consumers, and so on. All this knowledge will be a part of my career, the line of work I have chosen, so obviously as the future advances I will become more and more knowledged on these matters, more and more able to comment on them and be an activist for individual rights in these realms.

I know matters such as healthcare and the financial sector of the economy are in need of some serious activism, but how potent a voice could I be given my specialties lay elsewhere? Sure, I could do well to post a comment on an article or share a link on my social networking websites, but to dedicate the time and effort to construct a blog post or LTE about such issues might be unfruitful since they wouldn't be issues striking the heart of my values or be in the realm of my knowledge. I'd give sub-par or poor arguments and wouldn't like the process of constructing them. Being a food activist would be something both practical and enjoyable.

Right now I don't want to commit myself to any writing goals since I'm both still ignorant of "the issues" and am transitioning into some other things, so as a first step I'd like to begin adding to Google Reader various blogs that touch on the legal issues revolving around food. That would work to establish the first requirement: Being up to speed on what's even going on to begin with.

Out of all the goals I've set for myself this year this is probably the most important one. The world is going to a bad place, and the only way to stop it is to speak up and offer better alternatives to the ideas being practiced now. Passivity is what the enemy wants: Without resistance, evil will win by default. In either of the win-lose scenarios, I don't want to be in moral contempt. If things go to Hell and I did nothing about it, then I will be partially responsible; if a better future does dawn and I have done nothing to bring it, then I won't deserve it and will be contemptible dead weight.

As Ayn Rand said, don't let it go.

Solo Flight

[Disclaimer: This book was given to me as a gift.]

Recently I've had the pleasure to read an Objectivist's book, Solo Flight, about the struggles a kid of independence has to go through just so he can live the life he wants to. It covers a week in the life of Nolan Cooper, a person who's independent in mind and just wants to be educated on his own terms, his desires being frustrated by a compulsory schooling system that forces him to waste time of his life. I've been pining for some good reading lately, and this entertained me enough that I read it in two sittings.

If one may know, this book comes from Tod, writer of Tod.FM (previously known as Optimal Living) and producer of significant applications such as the successful News Clock. He's certainly the most ambitious Objectivist I know, not one who talks about Objectivism but lives it. He's self-employed and conducts business with his own powers, and this novel is his new venture, and quite a respectable one at that. What he'll do next I have yet to hear, but I admire his willingness to so actively accept the risk of using his judgment, behavior for which he has been greatly rewarded.

Assessing this book on its own merit, there are some imbalances between the philosophical points it advocates and the actual concrete actions that demonstrate them, coming off as overly similar to Ayn Rand's style, but the story is intelligently crafted and the characters psychologically realistic. I found myself resonating with Nolan's plight and roused by the tensioned conflict, so much so that I continued reading long after I achieved my explicitly set quota. In the end I have found this a very satisfying read that has spiritually fueled me by reminding me of several philosophical points I have forgotten. It shows that it is Tod's first book, but he demonstrates great potential in his skill, moving me to wonder if this will be his first book.

If you're looking for some good Objectivist-themed reading, then I certainly recommend Solo Flight. It'll be a quick read if it grips your attention, but the satisfaction to be derived will make your life all that much better.

Wanda Sykes' Hyprocrisy

Recently I've seen a commercial where Wanda Sykes chastises a group of boys for using the word "gay" in an insulting manner, and I can't help but be offended by the hypocrisy in her character, trying to promote polite speech like this. While I consider the point made in the commercial to be valid, it's irksome that someone such as Ms. Sykes is the one making it, considering she herself is guilty of far more distasteful discourse:

"Rush Limbaugh said he hopes this administration fails," Sykes said during her routine. "So you're saying, 'I hope America fails.' You're like, 'I don't care about people losing their homes, their jobs, our soldiers in Iraq.' He just wants the country to fail. To me, that's treason. He's not saying anything differently than what Osama bin Laden is saying. You know, you might want to look into this, sir, because I think Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker. But he was just so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight."

Sykes also added: "Rush Limbaugh, I hope the country fails; I hope his kidneys fail, how about that? He needs a good waterboarding, that's what he needs."

So it's impolite to joke about something being "gay," but perfectly fine to joke about someone dying and being tortured for his statements? Ms. Sykes' credibility is weakened by the inconsistency in her behavior, as I've seen no record of her apologizing for her joke. To those who say that Mr. Limbaugh regularly goes over the line in his own statements: Two wrongs don't make a right.

(Though, I cannot attack or defend Mr. Limbaugh since I don't view his media and have little idea of his being.)

I think a lot about the topic of civil discourse, and such actions are hardly a promotion of it.

Why I Love to Cook

An introspective piece. Recently I think I may have identified why at root I enjoy cooking so much that I want to dedicate my life to it. Up until now the depth of my understanding was only able to acknowledge that I strongly value cooking, not why I do so. On thinking about my value of studying for my own personal benefit I think a deeper answer has been reached.

While cooking has interested me at some level all my life, it wasn't until a few triggers came late into my teenage years that the value truly flourished and came to light. When I was really young I thoroughly enjoyed thumbing through cookbooks as a hobby and daydreaming about making or trying all the wonderful things I found, but given my situation it just remained daydreaming. Most of my elders were extremely paranoid about the prospect of letting me cook for myself, so my enjoyment in the process was severely undermined by the fact I wasn't allowed to cook on my own terms, and some of my dishes were even ruined by my elders. Eventually my childhood interest just suffocated and I moved on, but I was still interested at points here and there.

I was always interested in cooking in a certain fashion, however. I never read a food magazine, and typical cooking shows were nearly intolerable. Simply making stuff taste good is not at all what interests me. Besides, I was still on the Standard American Diet back then, and I often ate to the point of feeling sick (since it took a lot of carb-laden food to satisfy my appetite) and wasn't enthused by the flavor of what I ate, so I didn't even value eating back then. I even literally wished I could go without eating forever, because it didn't taste that great and made me feel terrible, especially with my near-constant illnesses.

The first trigger came about by way of Alton Brown's television show Good Eats, which is absolutely the first and only cooking show I've enjoyed watching. His show is different. He doesn't just take a bunch of ingredients and show how to make isolated dishes, he also tries to teach the causation behind food, why they act the way they do when you treat them in certain ways. It held my interest so intensely that I found I even enjoyed watching the same episodes repeatedly, which is strange in my television-viewing habits since I'll usually refuse to see something ever again after having seen it once. I probably watched the episode on chili at least three or four times, and wouldn't mind seeing it again. I became a very strong fan of the series; quickly it boosted my motivation to begin cooking again, starting with some of the recipes from the show. Still, however, this was not enough, as cooking at this point only seemed like some side-interest that ranked below that of a hobby.

The second trigger came through my transitioning to the Paleo diet. When Diana Hsieh recommended Good Calories, Bad Calories on her blog my nutritional views drastically altered and I began dropping sugar and grains in favor of fat and protein. Oddly enough I didn't expect any health benefits -- I thought I was already eating healthy and that Paleo would only increase my lifespan and disease resistance -- but soon my body changed rapidly. I dropped about thirty pounds and became lean as a rail, my acne disappeared, food tasted much better and didn't make me ill, my mood stopped swinging with my blood-sugar, and more. Most of all, I began thinking about food more and more. I spent several months clueless as to what to allow myself to eat -- sticking almost fiercely to eggs, bacon, spinach, and almond flour -- but eventually I became very curious about different foods, moving myself to try new things such as jicama, Dubliner cheese, raw milk, beef heart, Brazil nuts, dark chocolate, and other things that have never graced my palate before. Through my trials my food values and taste memory expanded, and I thought more and more about food.

This came at a time when I didn't know what to do with my life. The majority of my life prior I had wanted to be a professional writer, as I thoroughly enjoyed the craft and regularly blogged (this was back in Myspace days). I recognized that I didn't want to professionally write once I realized that writing rarely entered my thoughts and that I didn't enjoy it as strongly as I was making myself believe. Once I realized what a dominant role food was taking in my life, I recognized that I wanted to be in the culinary arts for my living, thus bringing to full light the interest that's always been within me implicitly.

However, even after that period I still didn't know what I wanted to do with my life concretely. Just become a chef? A chef and restaurant owner? A food corporate leader? For a few years after my identification I was still unsure as to the precise direction I wanted to go, only that I wanted to be in food and needed to start getting into restaurants. So began my restaurant career, where I started as a dish washer and achieved my best job to date, one that was always a constant source of enjoyment.

Recent discoveries and further introspection have further specified my purposes. When I look back, I see now that I was always a kid who valued knowledge. I guess broadly kids either tend to like robots or dinosaurs as they're growing up, and I'd definitely consider myself in the robot category. I loved Mega Man, and was always memorized by the appearance of an invention or robot on television or in a movie (though not those giant ones, and I don't know why). In my earliest years I wanted to develop video games, and while I may have never learned a programming language I do think I implicitly valued it for the technology and intellect involved.

It wasn't until I discovered Ayn Rand that I developed an explicit love for the pursuit of knowledge and more strongly valued intelligence. Anthony Burgess had me quite primed given the philosophical elements of his writings, but it wasn't until Rand that my deepest premises came out. I rapidly changed in this period, contemplating philosophy all the time and more often renting books of an intellectual nature. Years later I came to value knowledge so much that I even began studying on my own time, in school or not.

The key to why I like cooking lies in my refined views about practical epistemology (the field of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge). Lately I've been thinking about why I've been having so much trouble with my studies in the past in regards to not being able to concentrate on certain subject, and I realized that I was taking a duty-bound approach, only studying some subjects (such as grammar) only because I felt I had to, not that I was interested. As such, I was forcing myself to do something that I wasn't deep down interested in, causing me to have much difficulty in concentrating and remembering the material. What truly interests me are subjects relevant to my life . . . relevant to my actual physical pursuits.

In other words, the knowledge I value most is that which helps me master reality more effectively, that helps me master nature in my own realm.

I recognize that there is incalculable value in theoretical knowledge, science in particular, but what I value is applied knowledge (and applied science in particular). I can't just sit around learning all day, making identifications and integrations, without putting it to use in some way; in fact, my intellectual make-up probably wouldn't allow me to learn effectively in such a fashion. I've got to learn and take it out into the world somehow. This is why I liked robots and quirky inventions while growing up: It showed knowledge put to use, the ultimate representation of the results of an active mind.

Tying it back to cooking, this is where Alton Brown comes in: His form of scientific cooking is yet another example of what results when knowledge is applied to reality. I value this particular manifestation not only because of the enjoyable theoretical knowledge behind the cooking processes and the fun physical challenge of constructing a good meal, but also in the physical pleasure it results in at the end of the endeavor: Great tasting food. To me, this is knowledge in its complete cycle: Theoretical knowledge > active cooking as applied science > physically pleasurable end result. You have the learning, application, and reward all in the same field. I love that. Alton Brown's show memorizes me because of the fully applied, beginning to end, epistemology that's present, the science, application, and tasty meal.

My future has become clearer, and it is in gastronomy. I know now what I need to do in order to mentally equip myself for my endeavors, and have began taking the steps. I see myself as retaining all the elements of a businessman, chef, and inventor, as I could never be content just doing some experiments in a lab. Homaro Cantu is my chef of interest at the moment, as he right now represents the epitome of where I'd like to end up.

This is why I love cooking. It's my favorite form of bringing knowledge into physical existence.

Baked "Fried" Chicken

Here's a strange recipe I tried recently: Baked "fried" chicken. I've been wanting some fried chicken lately, but since I rent a room I only have so much refrigerator and pantry space, so there's not enough room for a tub of lard for frying grease. I remembered reading a recipe titled the same way as this post, only I didn't read the recipe, so I just made up the steps as I went along.

Essentially, you just make fried chicken as you ordinarily would, what with the flour and seasonings (coconut flour is my choice), only you put the chicken in the oven instead of a hot pan of grease. I baked mine for approximately 45 minutes atop a cooling rack perched on a baking sheet.

It came out near perfect, though not quite. The meat was perfectly cooked and the flour retained its delicate sweetness, but some of the pieces still had that "powdery" look to them as if the flour hadn't cooked at all. I was depending on the chicken fat to moisturize the flour and cause the Maillard reaction, but the results were overall mixed. Some pieces came out golden and gorgeous; others looked as if they were just freshly floured. Thankfully this only seems to be an aesthetic problem, as when I ate some of the powdery pieces they didn't come off as dry, dusty, or gritty in the least, so I just need to find a way to make this recipe look better. At first glance, I think that next time I'll flip all the pieces over and rotate the pan halfway throughout the cooking, and perhaps it might be beneficial to actually take the chicken out and take a spray bottle of fat to the surface (don't do it while it's in the oven, otherwise the fat could ignite).

Flavor-wise it's not much different than actually fried chicken, but I'm attracted to this method due to it lesser prep and cleanup (no grease), and reduction in expense since no lard needs to be bought. You get the same pleasure with a lesser hassle, though an increased cooking time. Unless I can identify actual benefits or differences that comes with pan frying other than cooking time I think I just may do "fried" chicken this way from now on.

Chocolate Review: Hachez's 77% Blackberry

This is a tasting I've been waiting months to do. Hachez has piqued my interest ever since it entered my field of awareness, and their products I'm most intrigued in. Not only do they offer some fruit combinations I've hardly seen elsewhere, such as strawberry and mango-chili, they also offer them at appreciably higher cacao percentages than other companies are usually willing to go. This is something I've really been wanting to see for a long time, because par the norm I usually never see infused chocolates go above 73% cacao, and yet here Hachez is at 77%. To keep a wide variety of reviews of different chocolate types on this blog I've been uncomfortably letting this brand sit in my stash, but finally it is time for Hachez 77% cacao blackberry to have its justice.

I'm not as impressed as I thought I'd be, but nonetheless I am pleased. The first thing that struck me about this bar is how powerfully aromatic it is. As soon as I opened the wrapper the air was hit with the scent of fruit juices and blackberries, like a delicious perfume, probably the strongest smelling chocolate I've ever had. Its flavor is pleasingly berry-like and sweet, and the chocolate is very intense and dark, lacking any distinct sweetness of its own. Points are to be deducted, however, for the mouthfeel, for it's quite hard to bite off of, is overly crunchy, and has a very stubbornly slow and lumpy melt. It almost comes off as dry in a way too, as if it were transforming into some other substance rather than becoming a smooth paste.

The bar itself is divided into roughly 2/3 of an inch squares (both dimensions), about the size you'd see a common boxed candy to be, and on each square is the Hachez brand to be printed in what I believe to be the Arial font. Boring, but acceptable aesthetics nonetheless. What's strange is the the brand is printed vertically, encouraging you to hold the bar horizontally, which I find rather odd. It lacks shine and has a lumpy and streaked bottom, but the snap is excellent and the inward gradient very smooth, the blackberries so dark they're nearly impossible to see.

Another thing I'd like to mention is the packaging. The cover is vibrant with its bright berries lingering about the chocolate, and the whole cardboard sleeve feels admirably sturdy enough to protect the confection from harm. And while the bar may be bland looking, the foil it's encased in is very sharp with its bright silver tone and chrome-colored Hachez name decorations. I don't know why, but I have a thing about foil; it makes me look more forward to the chocolate, much like how Green & Black's uses gorgeous gold foil to give off the sense of fortune. What I like most is that the foil is easy to unfold, making entirely unnecessary any sort of ripping. For those of you who don't eat whole bars in one sitting this will be much easier to work with.

Given the hype I've put forth in my own mind I have to say it isn't all I hoped it to be, but I still came out satisfied. It may have a bad mouthfeel, but its aromatics are wonderful and the flavors of strong chocolate and berries permeate the entire experience deliciously. The level of darkness did nothing to undermine the sweetness of the fruit, so I still remain entirely hoping of further infused chocolates with higher cacao percentages like Hachez. For now, I am pleased by my first tasting of this company and can recommend this variety, and will be looking forward to further products.

Weekly Summary #24

Ah, finally I am getting the urge to write again. I haven't been wearing myself out writing cover letters lately, so my writing energy seems to growing back to its normal levels again. Very good. Anyhow, I thought this week could have been a little more packed in the productive realm, but overall it was still good. The list:

1.) Write an article on my connection to cooking: I'm still planning this one, I just didn't want to do it this week given other commitments. I should be able to do it next week if my situation is what I think it is, which I'll elaborate on below.

2.) Read all of Green & Black's articles: Done. Honestly, I think many of these are too short to be of worthwhile value. It's very easy to breeze through them in two minutes or fewer, and most aren't informationally dense.

3.) See if there's a way to drive down CPU usage on my computer: I didn't do it, and I should soon. To reiterate from last time, for whatever reason, my computer has been working terribly ever since I moved to Texas. Ever since I updated my Firefox browser it has, among other programs, been sucking my memory to the point my computer functions excruciatingly slowly. I can't watch DVDs pleasurably in this kind of state, and overall my computing experience is annoyingly inefficient. I need to work on this problem, but my proposed solutions are so time-consuming I'm procrastinating.

4.) Be STRICT in completing my goals: While I may not have completed all my weekly goals I did a perfect job keeping on top of my daily goals, and have awarded myself with chocolate and Hulu accordingly. Mm, New Tree.

5.) Write in my journal at least 3 times: Done. It felt great the first time, but the other two times it felt like I was forcing myself partly. I think I need to identify when I'm in the emotional state that would be best benefited by written introspection, and develop the discipline to do the writing when that state has been recognized. When I force myself to write with no issues in mind there is the possibility I could stumble upon a valuable thought serendipitously, but it's an uncomfortable pursuit overall in that context. 

6.) Clean out the useless papers in my car: Yep.

7.) Look for the nearby Farmers Market: Looked for and documented, but it's not yet open.

8.) De-frag computer: Procrastinating on. The thing I hate about things like running a virus scan in safe mode or de-fragging my computer is that is takes a long time, up to eight hours or more, and in the meanwhile I have no access to my files. Sure, I can certainly go days without using the internet, but I utilize to-do lists meticulously on my computer and am creating text files all the time, so being away from my computer even in this short amount of time is uncomfortable and somewhat deleterious to my overall productivity. Even running the scans while I'm in bed is annoying, for my computer lights up the room and is still in that process when I wake up. I need to find a good time frame that would make going through this process bearable, and I haven't found it yet.

* * * * *

The best thing that happened this week is that I may have possibly secured a job! I've been trying to apply to a country club that a sous chef recommended to me, but have been having trouble getting in contact with anyone. I visited them yesterday and surprisingly got a on-spot interview, which I think went exemplary, and am now waiting for them to contact me as to when they want me to come in to work. The greatest thing is that I believe this place may positively be the best for my culinary education and the wisest employment choice, so I'm glad to have been persistent in my pursuit of it and for things to be working out this way. The sous chef there is a vibrant and very intelligent man, and I'm eager to satisfy my intellectual appetite under him.

They did say that they have accepted me, but at the moment specifics are not clear, so for the immediate present nothing is clear enough as for me to start choosing my next major pursuits. I learned of the field of gastronomy while I was there, so I suspect that I'll soon be shifting my personal studies quickly to this scientific specialization. It may very well be what I want to do in the long-run of my career, for the causation behind food is what interests me at root. After all, it was people like Alton Brown who got me interested in cooking to begin with. Aside from arranging a new course of study, I'll also need to contemplate my financial practices, reassess my new year's resolutions, and begin thinking about my social involvements. This is truly where my life begins.

Additionally, I suspect that this blog will become more and more food-oriented as I get deeper into my career and studies. I'm going to start visiting more high-end restaurants as part of my culinary studies, and I definitely intend to blog my thoughts on what I experience. Furthermore, I've been daydreaming often of my taking my chocolate reviews more seriously (in regards to meticulous editing), so I'm contemplating if there's other ways I could branch out in my reviews or food writing. Self-improvement will still be a major theme of this blog, but now that I'm fresh out of my Project and getting into my career field it's time for me to dedicate myself to my chosen line of work: The culinary arts. Inevitably such a dedication will show in my writing.

And my writing will certainly not be neglected. I may not want to be a professional writer anymore, but writing will not be sacrificed to cooking. I do this, after all, for its immensely practical introspective benefits, and I view continued writing, even this blogging, as essential for my learning and my honing a better understanding of my knowledge. It's simply too valuable to pass up. I look especially forward to returning back to regular blogging, for my irregular schedule makes me feel rusty and incompetent. Good writings skills seem to me like a knife: Always needing constant honing to maintain its edge.

What to do with this upcoming week is a mystery at this point, but as my employment situation becomes more clear I'm sure my range of activities will blossom. For instance, one of my first plans is to get a copy (either printed or self-made) of every menu and to learn it like the back of my hand, including doing conceptual exercises for concepts I've never understood before (e.g. demi glaze, fois gras) or have a difficult time pronouncing, like French terms. There's a great many things I have planned to begin my career development, including practicing knife skills, but I need to start my work first before I can identify the concrete activities. For now I'll make some brief plans with the thought that things will certainly be added to my plate very quickly and very soon:

1.) Write blog post on my connection to cooking: I think this would not only help further identify my purpose in life, but help in the future identify what I need to do to achieve it.

2.) Get gym membership: I'm looking to get physically fit all over, not only because it makes me more attractive and healthy, but also because it helps at work. Lugging around all those heavy pots and pans, you know? I love the Body by Science exercises.

3.) Go to Master Grill, a Brazilian steakhouse: I never knew these things existed until I saw this one, and I instantly fell in love with the idea. It's the most Paleo restaurant I've ever heard of, and I decided near when I first moved that this would be my first restaurant visit after I get employed. I'll fast, workout, and eat way more than I paid for.

4.) Read 30 pages of What Einstein Told His Cook if it comes in the library: Having learned of gastronomy has been a real big help in identifying what type of books I need to read. This shall be the first of many, though I already own Cookwise.

5.) Write a post about that emotional identification I made.

That's about it for now. Next week this list will surely be larger, for I'll know better what my best course will be, but for now things should be left open-ended like this. With my free time I think I should get back to work on maintaining my blog properly, to hone my writing skills back to where they once were. And there will be other things too. I'm glad I can cease my job hunt, for being involved in it was getting quite monotonous mentally.

Life is moving forward. Greatly forward.