As
the new food columnist for the Paper, I’ve spent
the last month thinking about what to name the column in much the
same way that the boy to whom I lost my virginity checked his spaghetti
for doneness: by throwing individual strands at the wall until one
of them stuck.
The one that did was “Single Serving.” Yes, it’s
sort of a nod to Fight Club. (“Single-serving sugar, single-serving
cream, single pat of butter…Shampoo-conditioner combos, sample-packaged
mouthwash, tiny bars of soap. The people I meet on each flight?
They’re single-serving friends.”) I would’ve called
the column Single Serving Friend, except everyone who saw the movie
knows that’s someone you meet on an airplane and never see
again. And hopefully I can manage to write something you will want
to read every month.
Single Serving seemed apt, considering that I live alone (my boyfriend,
a fast-food junkie and the source of much comedic inspiration, is
a frequent visitor) and often have to think about cooking for one.
Another name I considered for the column was “Foodie on a
Shoestring.” This seemed very wrapped up in my plight: economically-challenged
woman likes really good food and is determined to get it, bills
be damned! As a writer and musician who works part-time for an organic
bakery to actually pay the bills (did you get all that?), I don’t
have much money to spend on food.
Yet, if I am going to spend …let’s just say that food
is a priority. In fact, as I write this, my boyfriend is feeding
me expensive cheese. It’s manchego (Spanish sheep’s
cheese) with quince paste, aged provolone with abbruzzese (Italian
salami), and a smooth French number I’d rather try to pronounce
than spell. All this is paired with a nice 2003 Tuscan red
I bought for about $13 on the recommendation of a nice gal named
Shannon at Big Ten Party Store, the deli on Packard. The wine
we bought is making me a little loopy. The total price? I’ll
worry about it later.
What makes a “foodie,” anyway? For myself, maybe it
started early. I was born in a suburb of New Orleans, where, as
everybody knows, the food is very good. Later on I moved around
a lot and had a chance to sample many ethnic and regional cuisines
before landing in Michigan. I never go anywhere without my love
of eating and my curiosity about different tastes, textures and
combinations of food. A definition of foodie I found on the web
reads “epicure: a person devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment
(especially good food and drink).” Well, okay, guilty. Although
I might offer this definition: “One consumed with figuring
out as many different legal and socially acceptable routes to that
pleasure center in the brain that makes you close your eyes, arch
your back and go mmmmmmm!” Or, in the case of one of my food-loving
friends, imitate a seal.
Anyway, I decided against “Shoestring” because it seemed
too limiting, and a bit unrealistic. What about concerns besides
taste or money, like health or spirituality? In addition to being
a huge part of what keeps us alive, food is divine, humorous, dramatic,
political, and a frequently used metaphor. There’s more to
the discussion than tips and recipes, although this column will
have those, too.
As an eater, I’m sort of eclectic, always having buttered
popcorn at the movies, but also incorporating things like salmon,
greens and whole grains into my diet. I’m a carnivore who
likes tempeh. (Kale, not so much.) Who knows, maybe I’ll find
the food that holds the key to eternal youthful vigor.
My favorite way of picking up food tips is by cooking and talking
with others, and my friends and neighbors all seem eager to share.
So along with talking to the occasional “expert,” I
plan on incorporating opinions from readers, friends and neighbors.
I’d love to hear your suggestions. Let me know what you like
to eat, where you do your grocery shopping, and what you’d
most like to read about food.While we may not be able to achieve
eternal youth, maybe we can at least figure out how to make kale
taste good.
Email
singleserving@annarborpaper.com
|
illustration by Raul Pena
Jennifer
Bagwell’s Random Top 10 Food List
1. Favorite food movie: Like Water For Chocolate (1993)
2. Favorite non-food movie: Harold and Maude (1971)
3. Favorite wine for less than $7: Black Mountain Pinot Noir,
perfect with spicy Thai curry (available at Trader Joe’s)
4. Favorite Ann Arbor grocery store: Big 10 Market on Packard. Intimate, with
a cheerful and knowledgeable staff and a great selection of
fine cheeses. (And try the coffee.)
5. Favorite place to grocery shop in Detroit: Eastern Market
on a Saturday.
6. Favorite food splurge items: Cheese, chocolate
7. Favorite way to eat slowly: chopsticks
8. Favorite vegetarian restaurant in Ann Arbor: The Earthen
Jar. You even get to wash your own plates.
9. Favorite new inexpensive restaurant: Cafe Habana in
Royal Oak. Lovely, cute little Cuban place. Can’t
get enough of the mango rice pudding.
10. Favorite Faygo flavor: A tie between Root
Beer and Rock & Rye |
|
