juneroca

TASTE

Let me tell you an event that happened about a month ago. I was asking the person i was working with if i could change a soup recipe in my book that was already published. To me, the texture of the soup recipe can be enhanced by adding more squash. I was able to prepare it for friends where i added a lot more squash (about 2 c more) and I liked the texture and my friends liked the texture. So, i concluded that if it tasted good for my friend, and to all other friends i serve it to – then it must be a good recipe. So, this made me decide to email my friend if i could change the recipe.

Here, i can see that i am being defined by what others say about food. I am questioning this definition in this blog. Why should food be all about taste and texture? Using commonsense, if food is “eatable” and nutritious for the body to get effective nutrition, it is okay. Why did I prefer the soup to be thicker than what the texture was originally? Who am i within this decision?  Am i the ego-personality defined by my beliefs about how food should taste? Yes, i am not here as the breath in every moment. I was starting to panic because i had this belief that the texture of the soup will have to be perfect based on what mainstream media’s idea – and the culinary industry in particular – of what the right texture of soups should be. I am questioning my definition of what a good recipe is. Is it the taste and texture of the dish or is it the nutrition content and the overall “eatability” of the dish that matter? At the moment, food is all about taste, texture and presentation. It is about what food will satisfy the personality defined by beliefs and judgments about food. We do not question the nutrition that is in every meal that we eat. We did not realize that we eat to assist the body to survive.

When i started feeling uneasy, I used self-forgiveness for reacting etc.I corrected myself. I stopped myself. Not stopping would mean I will start connecting this one experience to similar incidents in the past. Then i will stop being here, i will be in the past. The memory of when my mom was saying “you are careless” will start coming up and the “failures” i had in the past will start coming up. I did this in the past and i am directing myself to stop this pattern. This is not just about the soup. This is about me as who i have become defined by beliefs, judgments, definitions etc. I was impulsed by her written words. I connected these words to a memory of failure where i saw me as less than myself. There is nothing wrong about the taste.

We exchanged emails and at the end, she said, “Is it eatable?”. I laughed and then i said “It is”. When i heard her question, I realized i defined my experience of the food by the taste and the texture of the food. I had a belief that thick squash soups are good, and thin squash soups are bad. I judged soup according to their taste and texture. I learned from what i heard and read and i accepted it as my truth without looking at the whole picture – why food is here, how it came about and who i am within what i eat. I also started to look at why i like to do the recipe books one after the other – really  fast, pushing my body to the limit.  I was able to slow down and be here. I was able to assist my body specifically my hand which i used a lot when making recipe books.

I also realized that making recipe books are not just about recipes. The functions i do are varied. I take the photos, upload the pictures, minimize the pictures, decide on the colors to use, the size of the tables etc. All the recipe books i saw in the market did not put photos of each ingredient. Doing the recipe books, i was able to put my shoes in the buyers shoes – the one who prepares the food. When i cook i want to see what the ingredients look like so i will know exactly which ingredient to buy. Advertising the recipe books also became one of the functions i have to do. These are just the few i discovered doing the recipe books from scratch, there’s a lot more and they all assist me in my process of self-perfection.

People eat food driven by desire to eat tasty food. I am questioning this. What is the true starting point of writing a recipe book?  Looking at the recipe books i have read, i can see that recipe books are being written from a point of desire – which is borne out of ones beliefs, judgments etc. I can also see that some are written from a point of needing nutrition to make one look good and feel good and to market the book to personalities who are eating and preparing food driven by desire to look good and feel good. So personality systems are supported in this current world system.

I looked at effective nutrition, availability, affordability and eatability. Affordability and taste had been considered by the cooks. Effective nutrition and taste had been considered, but effective nutrition in every meal, eatability, availability and affordability for all in different income levels in totality have not been considered. So, i considered these in writing my recipe books. I introduced the mortar and pestle for those who cannot afford a blender or a food processor. I realized i am in a position where i can change people’s perspective about food when i write recipe books. Having said that, i can see that it is fitting for me to be the change. To start the change, i have to be the change – because of the holographic nature of this world.

I was brought up in a world where feeling good is the basis of what i eat or not eat. Taste is a big factor in why i eat certain food and why i don’t eat other kinds of food. I am driven by taste rather than me directing me here according to what food will benefit my body. I did not question why this is so.

Let’s first look at the word taste.

According to the dictionary, taste is

Noun

the sense by which the flavor or savor of things is perceived when they are brought into contact with the tongue.

Verb

to try or test the flavor or quality of (something) by taking some into the mouth:

Taste is a word. Words are symbols. They are a part of life in as much as we are all a part of life. All parts of life consist life. That makes us all – humans, plants, animals, non living things, words etc. a part of life. Therefore we can say that we are all LIFE.

Words just like us. They get compared, judged etc,. based on the beliefs, definitions we give them and ourselves. We fail to question why we use food in competitions, why we use food to feed the desire of the mind etc. I am questioning these here.

We define food according to how we define ourselves. We compete to prove to ourselves we are better than others. We then make food competitions to declare some chefs better than others and some food better tasting than other food. We give them awards that will give them value. But why do we need value? I am questioning this because i can see that the need to be valuable is coming from a definition that one is not valuable.

The Best Chef goes to the person deserving of the award. The award is given to the one that can make the food taste good so the judges can feel good about themselves having done their job – as they define themselves better than the competitor chefs. Judges of food competitions normally have won awards before. If they have not won awards, they usually have professional credentials that gives them value as the ego – personality, that makes them better than others.

I am questioning the need to feel good here as i can see that the starting point of this is coming from a definition that one is not feeling good about oneself and so needs to feel good by being a judge of competitions or the chef feeling good about themselves by making food preparations that will satisfy the judge’s taste buds and winning the competition. The judges are also seeing that food has to taste a certain way – varied textures, blend of taste of the ingredients defined by beliefs about food which came from information that they have heard or seen which they accepted as their truth without investigating where food came from, why they came to earth, why we eat and who they are within what they do.

The beliefs that we have about food and our judgments are happening in the mind as we identify as the ego-personality where we look at others separate from ourselves – where we look at food items (plants and animal meat) as separate from ourselves. We did not question the overall result that this will bring to who we really are – as all parts of ourselves exist here as all LIFE. When we judge each other because of our beliefs of what is good or bad, we are not here. The ego-personality is here. The ego-personality perceiving itself separate from all, acting in self-interest and that is where our current monetary system is based from. This is what it is supporting.

The award is usually valuable to the group that hosted the contest because if so many people watch the contest, or attend the event (food competition event being done by a certain group), they can advertise their products (books, kitchen utensils, etc.) to all these people that will eventually translate to money when they sell the products they are promoting on the event/show plus promote the advertisements that the advertisers pay them to do. For charitable organizations, they will get publicity and will attract potential donors. It is all about money.

Why is food connected to money? Because money and food is the basis of survival.So, taste becomes a tool to earn money  from people’s desire for food and from people’s desire to feel good and look good. Did we question this? No, because we are busy earning money and busy using food to make us feel good. This is the time we have to stop. We have to work for what is best for all parts of us here – humans, animals, plants etc. so we can create a world that truly honors life.