On eating stuff that may not count as “food”
I like to eat. I think this much is obvious. I suppose I would label myself as a foodie, but not necessarily as a food snob. Is McDonald’s awful in mind, body and soul? Yes. Is it sometimes pleasant to eat a burger that is completely homogenous in texture, from bun to burger and then back to bun? Also yes…once a year or so. This lends credence to my overall life philosophy of “If you admit that it’s crap, then it’s ok to consume.” It works particularly well with music that I am too ashamed to admit that I listen to, even under the cover of anonymous internet darkness.
All of this leads to me wondering if other people, like my husband and I, sometime just crave really crappy food. We had Kraft Dinner and Spam the other night (although the Spam was lightly sautéd; that makes it better, right?) and thoroughly enjoyed it. My beloved pointed out that it’s weird to eat something that “looks so much like food, but you know that it can’t be. It’s really just foodular.”
He has a point too. Flopping Spam out of its can onto a plate is not even close to the most appetizing thing a person can do to prepare a meal. The noise alone can be enough to put you off, to be honest.
In terms of crappy food in general, a meal of KD and Spam is pretty much the ultimate meal. Not-quite-meat with a side of not-really-pasta is definitely not something that anyone should be consuming on a regular basis. If however, a person were to embrace the fact that it’s totally craptacular, then I believe that even this gastronomically substandard “meal” has a place in all our bellies. It’s comforting in a way.
Just not that often.
Nice profiteroles 