Wednesday Guestpost

Daniel:

Daniel is one of the funniest, sassiest, coolest cats around. He and Moriah sat next to each other in AP English senior year and bonded over their sarcastic comments under their breath.

This probably explains why we're friends.

Goodness, I really like food.

 One of the best and worst parts about growing up and living on my own has been cooking for myself.  Of course, I learned something of the culinary arts whilst I spent my childhood in the streets of Rexburg, but the entire experience was a brave new world that I had never imagined.  Besides the thrill of bargain shopping (Craziest thing I do all week.  Unfortunately,that's not an exaggeration.  I'm a Capricorn.We don't get out much.), trying new foods is probably one of the most adventurous things I do on a regular basis.  I still have scars from teaching a friend how to make a fried rice that I discovered.  However, my favorite part of food is the way it seems to be able to bring people together.  The most people I've ever had in my apartment at the same time was last semester when I had a scones party.  Because who can say no to free fried bread and good company?

 Several months ago, a couple of my friends and I started a weekly ritual called Corn Dog Wednesday.  CDW usually occurs on a Wednesday, but, ironically, that is not always the case (note that it is still referred to as Corn Dog Wednesday, no matter which day of the week it occurs on.  However, as a rule, it never happens before Wednesday.  These rules get a little bit complicated sometimes.).  At any rate, CDW is an opportunity for de-stressing and bonding with friends.  We mix up some batter from scratch, dip hot dogs on sticks in the batter, and fry it in a pot of hot oil.  And you have corn dogs.  But the experience is really more than that.  We take the opportunity to unload our minds for a little while and enjoy each other while experimenting with new sauces, or changing the balance of the ingredients in the batter.

 In my sociology class, we discussed a phenomenon called emergence.  This is where you have multiple components to a group that interact in a way that creates an unexpected effect – one that cannot be explained by its component parts.  I believe that food and society have an emergent effect on an experience to make it better than what it would be without one or the other: Grocery shopping is way more enjoyable when you have someone to go with you, and if you want a church activity or date or anything like that to go well, by golly, you had better plan some good food into the agenda.  Not that neither can succeed without the other, but the positiveness of the experience improves exponentially when both are incorporated.

 So make some fun of it!  Make something new and adventurous.  Do it with a friend.  Make some memories, traditions, food.  If you don't think you are that good at cooking, put yourself out there, and try something new.  The world of culinary possibilities is open to you.

Thanks so much Daniel! We are foodies and love, love, love to experiment. That is how you learn to cook. On Facebook Daniel and I (Moriah) tag each other in photos of foods we've made for ourselves.