Inception and Your Sense of Taste

          Frustration; that's how I feel about this. The fact is that it is true. I was on the phone with my best-friend yesterday, and he admitted that while he thinks everything I cook is great (that's really nice of him), when I tell him for instance, that the Curry Butternut Soup is dairy and gluten free plus really fiber-packed, this bothers him. Unbeknownst to me, in America "healthful food" is usually a turn off. I probably should have realized this considering most appetizers on a menu are deep-fried; it just never occurred to me since almost all food in Asia is dairy and gluten-free (probably why everyone is thin over here).

          Anyway, the restaurant industry has particularly exploited this psychological technique. Watch out, a mac and cheese will have "toasted bread crumbs" when what they really mean is "stale ritz crackers". Or the "summer veggie lasagna" really means they made it a week ago and its been sitting in the back of the fridge. The essence of this idea is that by describing a dish positively, the customer preps their brain to seek out and taste the things described; hence why my friend found the health precedents a turn off.

          If you can't already tell, this idea drives me crazy; it means screw objectivity, all that matters is you make people perceive the food how you want them to. Being me, rather than try pulling an Inception, I stopped telling people what kind of food they were tasting, just to see what they would think. One person thought there were avocados in a mint chutney and another thought green tea with creamer was coffee. Then, I negatively precedented a peanut sauce I made (that was obviously fine) to see what feedback I'd get. Immediately the person put on a big show of "objectively" finding the problem with it and concluded that I used too much ginger (which I didn't use at all).

          So, this just goes to show you, you don't need an airplane and sci-fi dream machines to change people's reality.


That's all, and I'm offering no offense, which means you can't take any : )
-John

Curry Butternut Soup

          It's a crisp day here in MA and I'm preparing to graduate while also prepping for a busy summer job. I thought I'd take time to update you all with some recipes I have been doing to lately. Specifically this soup, and a salsa I'll post later, have been my weekly staples. Oh, and I finally got an immersion blender! This is exciting because I will no longer have to laboriously use a regular blender to puree this soup.


          This soup is great, it's simple to make, cheap and packed with fiber. I learned how to make it over Christmas Break from my pseudo-parents the Thompsons. I've especially enjoyed it because I have been trying to cut back on my meat consumption and add more vegetables into my diet. The soup is fairly spicy and will definitely warm you up in this cold weather.

                       Ingredients:                 Equipment Needed: 
                         -1 Butternut Squash               -Knife + Cutting Board
                         -1 Apple                               -Large Pot
                         -1 Onion                              -Immersion or Regular Blender
                         -3-4 Tb Curry Powder           -Stirring Spoon
                         -Canola or Coconut Oil         -Potato Peeler                    
                         -5-7 Cups Water                  
                         -3/4-1 Cup Coconut Milk
                         -Pinch of Sugar
                         -Salt to Taste
                         -A dash of Cayenne Pepper (optional)


Preparation/Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Serves: 6-8
Difficulty Rank: Takes Some Work


          Basically all the soup composes of is the squash and apple and an onion. I don't think it matters what kind of apple or onion you use, I used a yellow onion and a Fuji apple. I'm also using a coarse sea salt and I use around 1-2 Tb depending on how much soup there is; if your'e using a finer salt, I'd salt more cautiously since the finer grain will pack a stronger punch—remember, always salt to taste, do not just put in salt without regard to the volume of the soup—. For the oil you can use canola or olive, I use coconut oil; For rounding out the soup, I use coconut milk, which adds a delicate and creamy dimension to the flavor; regular cream will work too, although the flavor is less interesting. If you have an immersion blender, that's great! If you only have a regular blender or food processor then you will have to puree the soup with these. Picking the curry powder is important, I recommend just getting McCormick "Curry Powder" not "Madras Curry" or another variation; this is because Madras has cumin in it which adds a bitter undertone to the soup. The only other tip I have in regard to the curry is to add 2 Tb at the beginning and put in the last 1-2 Tb after the soup is done*; this prevents the soup from being too spicy, while still giving a full curry flavor. Just remember, add the curry, salt and coconut milk to taste, since squash come in all different sizes and you may need more or less of those than I recommended.


*When you heat spices they release more flavor and in the case of curry, make the dish hotter, hence the adding it in 2 separate batches.

In-a-nutshell Directions:

1. Cut the produce into small chunks.

2. Heat the pot with oil and 2 TB of Curry.

3. Adding Apples & Onions.       4. Add Squash & Water

3. Add apples and onions in, cook till soft.

4. Add squash and water in.

5. When soft puree with immersion blender or blend incrementally in regular blender.

6. Turn off heat and add coconut milk.

7. Add 2 TB more of Curry.

8. Salt to taste (approx: 2 TB).

Detailed Directions:

1. Cut the produce into small chunks. They can be pretty indistinct as long as they are small enough to stir around and cook quickly.

2. Heat the pot with enough oil to coat the apple and onion chunks. Add in just 2 TB of curry powder and stir in with the oil and let the spice heat for a minute.

5. Bracing the Blender

3. After the spice starts to heat up and be aromatic, add the apples and onions in; cook these for 10 minutes or until they are soft.

4. Add the squash chunks and water in; you want to add enough water to slightly submerge all the squash, but don't add to much water or else you will have to wait forever for the soup to boil down to the right consistency.

Burning Soup Splatters

5. When the squash has softened, puree the soup with an immersion blender. If you don't have one, you can use a regular blender, this takes significantly more time because you have to incrementally blend it in small batches. If you end up using a regular blender, make sure to NOT fill the blender more than halfway; if you do, all the hot steam will cause the top to explode off—seriously, burning hot soup ended up all over the counter and me, not the best experience as you can see—. To prevent this, get a towel and brace the lid firmly down with your hand.

6. After the soup is blended,  simmer it for a few more minutes and then turn off heat and add the coconut milk.

7. The add 2 TB more of curry powder and a dash of cayenne if you want.

8. Finally, salt to taste; I use about 2 TB but make sure to salt slowly since over-salted soup is gross. Adjust the coconut milk and curry if you want more of either. To finish I garnished with some pumpkin seeds.

The Asian Gummy Post

          So I went to Boston and I have to admit, the highlight of going into Boston for me is going to Chinatown. Going there gives me the espresso shot of Asian culture that I miss from not living there anymore. This post, as silly as it is, will focus on gummies—hope your excited!— Interestingly, you can tell a lot about Asian culture just from these candies.

First.... take note of the flavors.

PEACH


MANGO


MELON

Definitely not your typical Target candy. Also the flavors are a less artificial than Peach O's and they are less sugary than most of our sweets.

          Culture note number two is that the gummies are individually packaged. This is definitely an Asian thing since sanitation and sharing are huge there.

          I admit I'm biased, gummies are my favorite candy since I don't have the patience for things I can't chew. But if you want to eat something fun or get a unique snack for your kids, this would be the way to go.