A Love Letter to Food [part 1]

I've recently decided to end my love affair with food.
I know, it's crazy, and I probably won't be able to do it, but I'm determined.
Being obsessed with food means I spend too much on it, thinking it's more important than everything else, and I miss out on other opportunities that would require that money. But I don't really enjoy it the way I used to. Going out to dinner isn't an event for me anymore, and having an awesome meal only makes enough pleasure to last the meal, not afterwards, like it used to. Maybe this is something that should be remedied, but until then, it is a hinderance.
So, I'm giving up my excessive food spending and making a new pact to be happy in all ways, not just culinary ones.

So this is my love letter to food, and all the beautiful, delicious things I'm not going to let take over my life anymore, and will miss sorely.

  Asian food is my wild lover. Spicy sometimes, refreshing others, and only occasionally sweet, like Thai tea with cream that courses through my veins in rich, luscious waves. Vietnamese "Bun" with cold, soft noodles topped with crisp lettuce and veggies, fried onions, crunchy peanuts, hot, delicious spring rolls that bring the bowl to heavenly levels, all smothered in a sweet, salty ichor more like broth than dipping sauce. Mussamun curry, rich and nutty and sweet. Summer rolls like a mouthful of cold, refreshing summer afternoon drinks in a breeze that seems to open the sky. Papaya salad, like a chilly, orgasmic kick in the mouth, overflowing with spices and citrus flavor. Korean bar-b-que, with sizzling pork belly on a hot gas grill, smothered in spicy pepper sauce and wrapped in a leaf with rice, garlic, green onions. Kimchi and rice with a dripping fried egg. A table full of dim sum; dumplings and shrimp crepes and bao buns, oh my. How can I ever resist you?


Sushi. My ultimate obsession. Cool, refreshing, amazing. Expeeeensive.
Rich, luscious yellow tail in thick pink slices. Buttery white tuna that melts in your mouth. Oily, meaty salmon that stays with you after you finish. Spicy tuna hand rolls like heaven in a cone. Fiery, meaty, crunchy, delicious.
Uni. Ah, sea urchin. Salty. Sweet. Soft. Briny like the sea itself with that smooth, ephemeral taste that dissolves on your tongue and wraps its way around your taste buds. I can never have enough.




Frozen yogurt has become an obsession in the world. Giant swirls of the icy cream treat, drowning in piles of fresh mangoes, crushed cereal, chocolate chunks, bits of gram-cracker covered cheesecake bites, and squishy fruit pearls like sweet, candy eggs of fruit juice.
My favorite is always original, plain yogurt flavored, although it always seems to have a different name.
Nothing but fruit on mine, please, fresh cut and tart with it's realness. Juice bubbles too, please, popping between my teeth in an explosion of sweetness. Occasionally chewy mochi, bits of cereal, or a layer of marshmallow fluff graces my bowl, but rarely are chocolates, cookies, or candies present.

Seafood is my nostalgia food. I lived in Florida for a (very) short time when I was little. Moving from there to the south instilled in me a feeling of constant wistfulness for the joys of Florida. The sunshine, the relaxation, the clear waters, and-- most of all-- the food. Fresh seafood, fresher than just about anywhere else I've been. Crabs, shrimp, clams, oysters, and did I mention crabs? I've always loved snow crab legs, garlic blue crabs, king crabs, stone crabs. *sigh* And I've grown to love things I didn't even eat then, like the puffs of sea-water in raw oysters, the lightly seared scallops, salmon in just about any creamy, smooth sauce, and lets not forget the sushi I've become so obsessed with.



Most of these images were actually taken by me. The others are from the web, and when clicked should take you to the original page.