Sandwich!

I think that the defining factor that decides whether or not something is a sandwich is simply whether it follows the definition of sandwich when it is used as a verb. That means that crepes, quesadillas, hotdogs, hamburgers and even a McGriddle can all be listed under the sandwich category because they are made of at least two different qualities in which one quality is placed in-between or surrounded by the other material. So, in my opinion anything that is placed between another material is a sandwich. This means the possibilities for sandwich creations are limitless! While my definition of a sandwich might be vague, I feel that its ambiguity is the only way to fully encompass the vast spectrum of sandwiches.

Sandwiches are so much more than just grilled cheese, peanut butter & jelly, or lunch meat. I have seen some pretty odd things being eaten as a sandwich. For example my best friend, Cheree eats a sandwich that has peanut butter, banana slices and honey placed between two pieces of cinnamon toast, which she then proceeds to cook in a frying pan in a grilled cheese like manner. My sister went through a phase where she ate sandwiches that only had tomato, mayo and mustard on it. And of course the infamous Breakfast club sandwich. The 1980’s classic, featured a sandwich made with pixie sticks, Cap’n Crunch cereal, and butter. The sandwich that gets consumed the most in my room is made of Nutella and peanut butter!  This shows that sandwiches can come in many shapes, sizes and ingredients! But, what goes inside of the sandwich is only one half of the equation, what you place it in-between is just as important!

Not only is there an immense amount of variation available as to what goes inside of the sandwich but also what you sandwich it between. A sandwich doesn’t necessarily have to be placed in between two places of bread, although white bread and wheat bread are the most common sandwiching materials. I have seen sandwiches made from cookies, pancakes, lettuce, pita, and even chicken (see: KFC Double Down)!  Even one of America’s classic desserts the Ice Cream sandwich contains no bread, or meat, which tears down the argument that sandwiches are just meat and/or cheese placed between bread!

The culinary definition for a sandwich is hard to explain. Do tacos count, or strombolis, calzones, wraps and burritos? I would say that they are all in fact a part of the sandwich family! But these things illustrate the gray area that is created while trying to define a sandwich. Therefore I rely on the vagueness of my definition of a sandwich being; -anything made of at least substances, where one substance is placed in-between the other- to solve such dilemmas. Most importantly, when defining sandwiches, one must realize that there really is no right or wrong, but it should at least have an edible material that is actually being sandwiched by a differnent edible entity!

Hunger In America

In class we often watched food-related media that concerned lavish foods, or can be seen as reflections of America’s “gluttonous” culture, i.e. Diners, Drive-ins & Dives, Supersize Me, and Barefoot Contessa. In class little has been discussed about a completely different sector of America’s food culture. Hunger in America, in my opinion is often a topic that is completely ignored. Not only do foreign countries fail to recognize that America has its own hunger issues to be concerned with, but America has pretty much ignored the growing number of those who suffer from hunger each night.

                According to the Feed America Campaign 1 in 6 Americans suffer from hunger. Meaning that one in six people do not have enough access to food, in order to maintain a healthy diet. There are also many misconceptions about hunger that have probably played a role in it “being swept under the rug”. For example, a common misconception about hunger is that it only affects the unemployed, homeless.  More often than the not, the people who suffer from hunger are children (around 14 million), and have at least one employed working adult in their homes, and a large portion of people affected by hunger attended a technical school or college! (Feeding America). Another hunger –related misconception is that hunger only effects minorities, which is false, hunger knows no race and people from all over America are affected. From the suburbs, to rural areas, to inner city area’s hunger is a disturbing problem that needs to be given more attention. Only recently did the Feeding America Campaign start making PSA’s about hunger, (less than three years ago)!  Yet, while our government fails to give enough attention to this growing issue, there has been work within our own community to combat hunger. Every Thursday the UCM (18 College St!) provides a hot meal to local community members whose incomes are not sufficient. With the help of student volunteers, and other community volunteers UCM is efficiently improving the lives of community members, and proving that hunger is an issue we definitely should not be dealing with in America (or anywhere for that matter) in 2011.

The UCM Free Supper Thursdays and similar programs nationwide,  will hopefully gain the attention of the government, and serve as the catalyst  that end hunger in America.

Myers Reading

I did not like the Myers Article.

 In my opinion the tone was very rude, and "over-the top". His harsh criticism of the way in which some people choose to approach food, was very single-minded. He went solely off of stereotypes, and his outrage at this group is baseless.  He examines only the extremes of the “foodies” and doesn’t take in to fact this this community (if it even exist) would be made of a spectrum of people, and not all of them would be the pretentious snobs that he describes. When an author chooses only to focus in on way small group of people while examining a larger group of people, they send out the wrong which would be a misrepresentation of the larger group.

I would consider a “foodie” anyone who is passionate about food. Whether that is creating new meals in their apartment kitchen, or taking their private jet to try the latest Parisian cheese.  How is their passion so much more disturbing than some football fanatic dishing out hundreds of dollars for a plane ticket and admission ticket to attend the super bowl? It’s not; people are willing to spend money on the things they like so I find Myers’s argument (even though I really wouldn’t consider this an argument, its just 7 pages of him bashing “foodies”) complete garbage.

If Myers had instead, focused on how extensive spending was a waste in the schemes of things his argument might have been more valid.  If he wrote about how this money could have been used to support hunger-ending campaigns or things of that nature,  I would have been more likely to understand why he was writing what he wrote. In his last sentence Myers writes that “foodies” are  “certainly single-minded…& single-mindedness…is always a littleness of soul.”

In his last sentence Myers writes that “foodies” are “certainly single-minded…& single-mindedness…is always a littleness of soul.” So if this statement was true then that would mean because of the biasedness and single-mindedness presence in his article, Myers has less of a soul then the average person.