"Yum!"

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You don't notice things you do or say until you see them from a third person perspective. One part of the movie Julie & Julia that apparently stayed with me was when Julie first tastes one of the meals she made and says something along the lines of "I know you're not suppose to say yum when you're eating... but Yum!" I thought the comment was both cute but also so very 'American', especially when said as a contrast to the more ritualized table manners and etiquette of French cooking and dining you also see throughout the movie.

That one little comment made me think more generally about being able to express your joy when tasting new foods... and it's true! For some reason, in certain social situations, it is seen as being rude to be overly expressive or loud when your food tastes good. Why is that? Shouldn't we be allowed to let other people know when we find something particularly tasty? Shouldn't it be a compliment to the chef or the person who provided us with the experience?

Long story short, I have found myself saying "Yum!" all the time since I've started making raw food. It was a word that was barely in my vocabulary before (though I have had a lot of good food over my lifetime). I don't know if it's because everything just tastes that much better now, because I feel I don't have to control expressing my love for food in the privacy of my own home, or because I'm discovering all sorts of new tastes and textures as I experiment with raw food, but I find myself saying it out loud at least once a day now. It makes me feel good. It's very liberating! And as my dad says every time he makes his own "this tastes so good" noises when eating fruits when we go back to France: "What?! Can't I express my joy?"

So whether you're at a state dinner or just eating out with friends, if something tastes that good, let the world now! Say yum! Make your orgasmic eating noises! And enjoy the food that was made for you to its fullest!... okay maybe not so much at a state dinner... but love your food, because it was made with love for you too, and it's okay to express that!

Workout of the Day:
1.5 hours of ballet
60 crunches
1.5 hours of Bikram

Recipe of the Day:
The yum-inducing eggplant parmesan in Alissa Cohen's Living on Live Foods (featured above)
(because of the type of dehydrator I have, I just made a bunch of small versions in my tartlet trays and then piled them on top of each other like lasagna layers)

Comments

  1. Meredith FrantzJanuary 29, 2010 at 12:07 PM

    Awesome picture! That looks sooo delicious. I have Alissa Cohen's book, I will have to give this recipe a try! Thank you for the lovely post and inspiration, much love xox

    ReplyDelete

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