9 benefits of Morning Workouts

My Perfect Meal

When I started planning this meal, I had a lot of thinking to do because didn’t know what I could define as a perfect meal. I have had many great meal and memorable meals before, but I have never really thought of what I can describe as a “perfect meal.” At first, I thought well it would be perfect because I am going to cook it on my own, the way I like it, something that I’ll enjoy eating. But then I realized that, this alone was not enough to make it a perfect meal. So, after thinking deeper, I decided to make a meal that I would define as perfect for me, at this particular time and place in my life.

When I finally settled on what my perfect meal would be, I realized that there were two factors that had influenced the idea for my perfect meal, Michael Pollan and this food and travel writing class. Pollan’s description of his perfect meal, especially his efforts in hunting for the ingredients for his meal reminded me of the foods I used o enjoy eating when I was younger. My family and I lived on a small farm were we raised and grew our own foods. We also had a lot of mushrooms growing in the fields, but my siblings and I would sometimes go in the forest to hunt for more mushrooms because there was more variety there. I love mushrooms and reading about them in Pollan’s book made me start craving for them as well as the other foods I used to eat at the farm. The new knowledge that I have acquired from this food and travel writing class about issues surrounding food also influenced what I really wanted to cook and the reason why I wanted to cook that specific meal.

I decided that my meal would definitely have beef, fresh fish and mushrooms. I wasn’t sure if I could find mushrooms similar to the ones in Zambia but I was still determined to have mushrooms in my meal anyway. I also decided that in preparing the meal, i would to use as many organic ingredients as I could find. This is because after reading Omnivore’s Dilemma and watching Food Inc, I really feel compelled to take do my part in supporting any movements or actions that will help promote healthier foods in the world. Having grown up and being accustomed to the habit of eating meals at the table with friends and family members, I decided that I would invite two or three of my friends to eat this meal with me.

Trying to find organic ingredients that I could use to create my perfect meal was difficult. By the time I had finished shopping for my meal, I had to change the kind of dish I was going to prepare in order for it to match the ingredients that I had managed to find. I also realized three things. 1) Shopping for organic requires a lot of time and patience. I had to take time scanning through isles and food sections and reading the labels carefully looking for “Organic” labels, which wasn’t easy. 2) Organic really is expensive. I planned my budget for $35 maximum but I ended up spending $79.50. 3) It needs determination and dedication. Without it, I would have given up and because finding the right organic ingredients for the meal was time consuming and expensive, I had to buy other inorganic ingredients because I didn’t have enough time to search for them in other whole food shops. I couldn’t find organic beefsteak at Meijer, I was told that they no longer sold organic beefsteak, they only sold it as ground beef. Sadly, I decided I would just buy the in-organic beefsteak instead, because I have never eaten ground beef before and I had no idea how to cook it.

My meal was easy to prepare, nothing extravagant; I only had one main dish with dessert. I cooked Nsima, the Zambian staple food made with nothing but water and corn meal; this was to be eaten with the beef stew, which I cooked with a lot of ingredients. I fried the beef until it was golden brown, then added spring onions, tomatoes, green paper, green beans, and carrots and diced potatoes. The result was a colorful mouth-watering beef stew. I dried the fresh “Wild caught” Canadian white fish by heating it a little in the oven before chopping it into small pieces which I later fried. I also made another stew for the fried fish with green beans, spring onions, green paper and tomatoes. The vegetables for the meal were stewed cabbage and my beloved mushrooms. I stewed the mushrooms but I didn’t add any ingredients because I wanted to taste the original taste and aroma of the mushroom that I had so much missed. I was a bit skeptical of the white mushrooms I had bought, because I have never eaten them before but I still used the Zambian method of cooking mushrooms and surprisingly, they still tasted delicious. Dessert was a mixture of diced fruits dipped in yogurt. This salad consisted of my favorite fruits; mangoes, strawberries, grapes and apples. The whole cooking process was so much fun because I wasn’t following some difficult recipes from a cookbook but rather, I was constructing a meal that I have eaten and cooked before. I ended inviting more six people for the lunch. They all said that they enjoyed the meal.

Cooking and eating my perfect meal was a great experience. I was satisfied that I was eating food that I liked, was familiar with and that I had cooked on my own. I was also glad that by using organic products for my meal, I was promoting healthy eating not only for myself but also for other people in the US. Most of all I felt that I was helping the local and organic farmers and foods movements in taking a step towards eating and promoting organic foods. I know one simple organic meal eaten once in a while may not be worth a lot, but then, its better to take small steps little by little rather than expecting big changes within a short period of time. I considered this meal perfect because I cooked it and ate with full awareness of what I was eating and the implications it may have on other people as well as the environment. Most of all it was perfect because I cooked it the way I wanted it and I enjoyed it with my friends who seemed to like it and were really grateful to have been invited.