Author: tmh2794

The Rhetoric of Food

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When signing up for this class, the rhetoric of food, I assumed that I would be reading and writing recipes or something similar for a semester. In my mind, that was the only form of food writing I could think of. At the end of this class, I can say that there is so much more that goes into this genre. Starting with recipes even, I had never really seen this kind of writing as a form of literary expression. Maybe because my oven hadn’t felt warmth in over a semester and my microwave is my best friend, I wasn’t familiar with the variety of recipe narratives that we analyzed at the beginning of this semester. However, I soon began to realize that food writing serves as an outlet for creative expression and can have many different purposes. It can be used to tell a personal narrative, to review a restaurant, to advocate for change, to investigate food and nutrition related issues or to write informative annotated bibliographies over food-related texts, to just name a few. Food writing makes a significant contribution to the literary world and it too often gets overlooked.

I’ve also learned that audience varies significantly between food texts and being conscious of who is reading your writing makes for a successful delivery. I have realized this through my own trial and error throughout this class and feel that I’ve grown in my ability to identify my audience and write accordingly. Lastly, I’ve learned that a lot of our identity comes from our relationship with food. The aroma of spicy homemade chili reminds me of memories spent with my grandma, the salty crunch of tostones reminds me of where I come from and the sight of sprinkles and frosting takes me to Christmas Eve with my family. My connection to food has always been present. Now, I know how to express it in words.

Readings

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During the course of the semester, we were required to read various texts that were interesting and influential on my development as a food writer. However, the one article that really stuck out to me was, “Consider the Lobster,” by David Foster Wallace. As a person that believes myself to be a lover of all creatures (except snakes), this text opened my eyes to how cruel the process of cooking a lobster really is. I enjoyed that it was kind of a taboo subject. I don’t think anyone really enjoys the thought of boiling a creature while it’s still alive, but at least for me, I never really thought about the well being of a lobster up until now. I took many pointers on his effective execution of triggering an emotional response from his audience and used them to guide me through my original composition project.

On my own, during one of my many drafting processes, I stumbled upon a short video titled, “ Anna Lappé & Food MythBusters — The Myth of Choice: How Junk-Food Marketers Target Our Kids.” Its purpose was to inform its audience of the dangers and effects of junk food and drink advertising on children and advocated for change. Although this video was discussing a serious topic, the producers made sure to maintain an entertainment factor to ensure the audience remained engaged. I used this as my primary mentor text for my genre conventions paper and it later helped me to construct my script for my final presentation.

Christmas French Toast Strata

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It’s Christmas morning and I hear mom’s clanging of the coffee mugs muffled by the family room’s roar of “A Christmas Story.” The smell of cinnamon fills my lungs as my mom busily works away at her golden-brown masterpiece above the oven’s warmth. “I need twenty more minutes, girls, and then we can start,” she’d say every Christmas morning, as if that wasn’t an eternity.

With wrapping paper sprawled all over the living room floor, we dove into the rich perfection and rubbed our bellies. It was finally Christmas.

christmas-french-toast-strata

PHOTO: Taken from One-Dish Collection: 3 Cookbooks in 1- Publications International

My mom found this recipe in the “One-Dish Collection: 3 Cookbooks in 1” cookbook. From my family to yours, Merry Christmas and enjoy!

Ingredients (feeds up to 6 people):

  • 4 ounces of day-old French or Italian bread, cut into ¾ inch slices
  • 1/3 cup golden raisins
  • 3 ounces of cream cheese, cut into ¼ inch slices
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 ½ cups of milk
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons of sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • Optional: Additional maple syrup

Materials:

  • 11 x7 baking dish
  • Non-stick cooling spray
  • Medium and small-sized mixing bowls
  • Electric mixer

Process:

  • Spray non-stick cooling spray on 11 x7 baking dish before layering ¾ inch bread slices evenly in dish. Dust golden raisins and cream cheese over bread slices.
  • Beat eggs with electric mixer in medium-sized mixing bowl until fully blended. Add milk, maple syrup and vanilla and mix well.
  • Pour egg mixture carefully over layer of bread slices.
  • Cover baking dish and refrigerate for 4 hours (or overnight).
  • After dish has set for at least 4 hours, preheat oven to 350°
  • Mix sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Then, sprinkle a layer over bread.
  • Uncovered, bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Drizzle additional maple syrup over the top for a richer taste.

 

Let cool, cut into slices and enjoy!