World Food

I made wonton soup last night. We haven't actually tried it yet; Darren was out with his buddy last night and I was eating leftovers from our birthday dinner Thursday night. But we did try some of the wontons and they tasted, well, like wontons!

Every Friday afternoon my class takes a little break from our academic pursuits and has what I've deemed "Culture Sharing". This involves us taking turns bringing a dish typically enjoyed by people in our respective countries. I know that culture is much more than food, but sharing dishes from one's home country is a great way to start a cultural discussion.

The first week I brought individual strawberry shortcakes. That was followed by butter tarts, since according to Wikipedia, the butter tart is "a type of pastry best known as a Canadian treat". Then we enjoyed Sri Lankan milk rice with tamarind and date chutney, and the week after we danced to Pashtun music after eating palau biryani. Yesterday another student taught us how to make wontons (Pronounced huntun in Mandarin) and gave me the leftover wrappers and ground turkey (she avoided using the traditional pork out of respect for our Muslim student) mixture to use at home.

I find experimenting with different foods to be very enjoyable. I've been taught to cook Peruvian and Colombian food in the past. My roommate Ashley and I even successfully reproduced at least one of those dishes unassisted. That was a very proud day!

When I was in Bosnia, at least two ladies showed me how to make their traditional pie (pita - either with spinach, potatoes, or the most common, ground beef). It was quite a process, one which I am please to announce I was able to complete in Canada. Of course, it didn't taste quite as good...

The American girls I was living with in Travnik, Bosnia and I decided to make apple pies to give to our local friends, especially those who had made pita for us. It was a way we could share a part of who we are while showing our appreciation for their friendship.

It's not a fluke that when people gather, there is often the sharing of a meal (or at least snacks). I don't know if it's the intimacy of the act or the sharing of a basic human need, but eating is central to socializing. And - as far as I can tell - when someone visits your home, the initial reaction of people all over the world is to offer them something to eat...often even when food is scarce.

This line of thinking makes the idea of hunger (on a world or local scale) take on new meaning. While I establish the sharing of food as educational capital, others are longing for a simple meal. While I experiment with international cuisines, there are people in the countries from which the ingredients I use have been imported who cannot feed their families.

I cannot solve the world's hunger problems. I can, however, be more mindful of my level of consumption, and help out as opportunities arise, all the while being thankful for the bounty I have access to as one of the world's wealthy.