Friday, September 25, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Water. Not one in the same.
Water has always been my favorite drink. I never want to go anywhere with out my canteen in hand, filled with fresh crisp water. Soda sincerely disgusts me, what they do to coffee these days seem so unnatural and milk is only a breakfast drink. I love the way water can quench any unbearable thirst. You can be in the middle of the Mojave Desert or simple sitting in your house on a hot summer day and water just does the trick. Water has that cool, crisp, and unbelievably clean feeling as it descends down your parched throat and it feels as though all of your ailments melt away. I love water so much but why do I and many other people have such a biased on which brand or type of water they would rather drink. Isn't water... water?
I remember when I was younger and my dad dug our first well. My whole family was so excited and wanted to taste the water straight from the Earth. Unfortunately, the water table was deeper than he thought and while he dug endlessly in the hot dry heat, we were forced to drink bottled water that whole summer. My family's water of choice was Aquafina. I fell in love that summer. My mom had never bought bottled water before and it pained her to waste so much plastic but she dealt with her buyer’s remorse and did not let the family suffer. Drinking water out of a bottle was amazing how could I ever go back to drinking from a rusty, ironed enriched tap? The taste of Aquafina was an orgasm in my mouth, with every new bottle came a new orgasmic adventure. It was sweet yet slimy and ran down the throat like a wet water slide in the middle of summer. I loved bottled water and the great thing was it would all taste the same. Or so I thought.
One day while at the store my mom bought Arrowhead water because it was cheaper. I didn’t think twice and eagerly brought the case home so I could chill the contents and begin to indulge in all of its “waterous” wonder. I hated Arrowhead. Have I become a biased water drinker? The water was not smooth and almost had a hard texture. It had an indescribable taste and was not the sweet Aquafina I was used too. I felt as though I had spent the summer in Georgia eating homemade fried chicken and mashed potatoes, and then went back home to California only to find KFC. I was now on a mission to try other bottled water brands in search for a taste to match Aqaufina.
Dasani was horrible and tasted like chalk in a bottle. The off brand water's made me want to cry and I wouldn't even look at the expensive brands such as Evian or Fuji because water should never burn a hole in your pocket. Don't you believe that all water has a different taste? I later found out that all water brands have their own signature taste infused with their own signature mineral and vitamins. I was appalled.
Fresh this out!!
Have you ever wondered what a ripe red tomato tastes like freshly plucked from the vine? Have the sensations to grow your own produce and relish in the beauties of the Earth ever pondered your thoughts? I come from a place where nothing is ever frozen, freeze-dried or processed and fresh produce is in my everyday vocabulary. Nothing can “beet” organic vegetables or freshly picked crops. I believe everyone should experience a true food orgy that does not come from a restaurant but from your own back yard.
Since the beginning of time people have grown and cultivated their own foods. When did it become acceptable to microwave your dinner, or skip on down to the local grocer and buy what they say is fresh meats and vegetables. Life used to be so simple and now we can barely find the time to cook a meal at home. Over 65% of average American family's eat out more than three times a week. When did this become an American past time? Homes nowadays are equipped with two microwaves and double Dutch ovens yet; half of the homeowners have never even used them. There needs to be some organic regulation. You cannot say you have experienced food until you have tasted the Earth within your own garden.
My family has grown their own food for generations and never once has my mom used a microwave while preparing dinner. The Earth can offer you so many things and the naked raw eloquence of fresh produce can tantalize the taste buds of even the most picky eater. Try for instance the beet, and no I do not mean the little round, soggy, fake purple pathetic excuse for a vegetable, that you can find in most salad bars. Many people look down on them because they look like pieces of chalk, most won't even give the little guys a chance. Yet, did you know that they are packed with vitamins and cancer fitting enzymes? When picked fresh out of the ground the beet smells sweet like a honeysuckle vine in mid June. The bright, rich, intoxicating purple gives your eyes a run for its money and the dark veins running down the sides of this exotic vegetable enable you to see where every nutrient is carried throughout this beautiful plant. There is nothing you can say bad about a vegetable that can give you so much in return. When boiled or baked the beet transforms into a plethora of magentas and deep purples. Who could turn down such a beautiful creation from the Earth? They are never soggy when cooked correctly and rarely would true fresh foods connoisseurs desecrate a vegetable so tender by cutting it into small stale round chips like in the salad bars you are all too familiar with.
In conclusion there are so many foods and wonderful experiences that people miss out on simple because they are too lazy to plant their own garden or visit a local farmers market. The next time you taste buds yearn for a freshly picked beet or a decadent carrot do not look in the fridge, look at the Earth.
-Devin Short
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