Farmers Market: Why Doesn't it have an Apostrophe?

This was the question my classmates, professors, and I asked ourselves as we drove off one chilly fall morning from the parking lot of our semi-local Farmers Market. We drove to Dekalb County to shop and enjoy the true freshness of locally grown and made produce, baked goods, etc. Although there was an abundance of food items and all were organically produced the question was still there: do farmers really have anything to do with this so called "Farmers Market." It was proposed that perhaps the farmers don't actually own the market, but contribute their goods to it in order to gain profit. Being as I had never actually been to a Farmers Market, he mental picture I had did not watch what we went to. I was not outside looking over fruits and vegetables, but inside trying to make my way through the crowds of people with buggies and baskets desperately trying to beat the next person to the last bag of Collard Greens. Is this what a Farmers Market is supposed to be like? Sure, it had all the right products, but the appeal was somewhat lost. Despite this "grocery store" depiction I still didn't feel like I was at Wal Mart and that is always a pleasant experience. The prices were reasonable and the large amount of international employees and customers made me really feel like this place was authentic even if it was nestled on some side street in Decatur, Ga. 

Oatmeal Creme Pies

Recently, I took a few teammates of mine to Wal-Mart. They offered me gas money for taking them, but as usual, I declined because we were only going down the street. Anyway, while shopping they insisted on buying me something. We happened to be in the bread/everything bad for you, sweet stuff aisle. They suggested I get Oatmeal Creme Pies and just the mention of that "snack" immediately made me crave them. I used to always eat these pies as a kid and it brought a little nostalgia back into my life. I accepted their small gift and when I got back home I couldn't resist opening the box. I felt guilty for even eating one and still have looked to see just how many grams of fat/sugar are in one small, round oatmeal creme pie. 12 come in a box and I think I have eaten one a day for the past week. I guess if that's the only "bad" thing I'm eating, then I'm doing alright. We all deserve to treat ourselves and this is definitely my kind of treat. I want one now, but eating that at 11:00 in the morning isn't the best idea for energy that will last the rest of my long day.


Oatmeal creme pies are good, not only because they taste wonderful,  but because of the memories I attach to them.  

our statement of faith

My professor, Dr. House, is cool woman. Not only did my classmates and I skip our food writing class today, but we did so by the approval of our teacher, so that we could partake in eating at Mellow Mushroom. *Happy Dance* Wes and I shared the potato pizza and we all ate two really good appetizers that only added to the large amounts of bread we were consuming. I wish I could eat things sometimes without thinking about my body and fat and running. Anyway, we had a really good time and talked and communed together on a beautiful Halloween day. Times like these make me already miss college and I haven't even graduated yet. Times like these make me really appreciate Shorter University despite the bullshit about the "statement of faith." We made our own statement of faith today. If more people sat down and ate together, talked to each other, and really listened maybe we wouldn't have so many hypocritical ideals and if we did, at least we could discuss them in a better way that didn't involve judgement. Overall, today was good. I appreciate the people that made me laugh till I cried, the people who made me smile, and the carbs I consumed with my classmates and professor. 

Until reading Wendell Berry, I never thought so precisely about the possible toxicity of the food I was consuming. Sure, I thought about if the ingredients were healthy and wondered why there were so many weird names in one can of soup. I still ate the soup anyway, though, and hoped for the best. Now, after seeing documentaries on the food industry and reading about it it’s safe to say that what we think is healthy is far from it. We are tricked into thinking these foods are good for us and lack Trans fats and other harmful things, but in reality they are no safer than the bottom of our shoes. It almost seems like there is nothing that can be done to change the food industry. It would take years to fix one thing and then there would be another issue that arises. We all want to eat organic and buy products not treated with chemicals, but not everyone can afford these fresh foods. It’s sad that a burger or a bag of chips is cheaper than a pound or more of broccoli. What has become of this country? Are Monsanto and other companies tricking people into thinking they care about our well being? I think so and they’re doing a great job at it. Even our government is attributing to this crisis and until we can get the people who run our country involved nothing substantial will be done to solve this huge problem. 

"Is this Asian or Chinese?"

Yesterday evening, my fellow classmates and I went to Rockmart to visit a Chinese restaurant called Chopsticks. With the scent of germ-x and fresh leather in the air we listened to a playlist of Norah Jones, Macy Grey, and India Arie. Tyler, would ask questions about the cuisine we were about to devour and we'd laugh and shake our heads at the outlandish things that were escaping his lips. Tyler is smart, but just doesn't know much about cultures. It was refreshing, in a way, to see someone admit to their ignorance, instead of pretending to know everything about everything. We arrived and were immediately greeted by Esa's "aunt." She said, "You must be Esa's classmates," we all shook our heads in agreeance and were then led to a table to sit down. Most of us at the table ordered either Spring Rolls or Egg Rolls to start off our sampling of food and then came our different varities of soups, such as Egg Drop and Wonton. Tyler asked more questions. He didn't want to try the "Panda sauce" on any of his food even after Tori tried to convince him of how good it tasted. When our main dishes came out to us we ate quietly for the most part. Perhaps everyone was thinking about how good their food was, or if we had to eat everything on our plates out of politeness. Esa's sassy mother came to say hello and brought us two more samplings for us to try. We all were courageous and ate everything without hesitation. Our dinner ended with a tour of the restaurant and a picture that somehow captured all of us individually--our personalities came out amongst the Chinese decor. On the way home we listened to another playlist, but the soothing sounds Norah and India were replaced by the growls of Nicki Minaj. I don't know what Dr. House was thinking, but we all enjoyed our trip to Rockmart.

i made a pizza for dinner tonight. i purchased the ingredients from Wal-Mart that consisted of pepperonis, crust, ground beef, sauce, and cheese. i got home and realized i had forgotten the cheese, so i drove all the way back to Wal-Mart and bought some. I didn't mind this minor brain lapse or inconvenience like i normally would. i'm working on my patience; i pray about it often. i spread my small amount of sauce onto the crust, and then heavily sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. i think the key to a great pizza is the cheese and the crust, so i make sure i do a good job molding the dough to a form i'm satisfied with. alas, i put on the ground beef and pepperonis and place my masterpiece in the oven on 425 degrees. after 16 minutes i take it out and behold the creation that i made in less than ten minutes and for under ten dollars. and to think, i almost ate out for dinner tonight.

shake and bake.

i made "shake and bake" chicken for dinner on wednesday; is that supposed to be embarrassing? i honestly didn't have anything else in my kitchen to prepare besides tilapia and i was sick of fish, so i opted for what i consider the best dinner of the 80s and 90s. i don't even know if people still season their chicken in a bag? i can remember my mother making dinner for our family like this when i was a child--i always wanted to do the shaking part, not the baking. so, there i was in my apartment kitchen shaking and baking 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts for dinner along side some rice and broccoli. it came out deliciously well, of course, and i had enough leftovers for two days. there is still one piece of shake and bake chicken sitting in the refrigerator that nobody is going to eat. i think my other roommate thought what i was making was a bit gross. i guess chicken shaken in a bag and then baked doesn't sound the most appetizing of dinners. nonetheless, i loved it.