Hwk 2

Food has a huge meaning to all of our lives; without food we wouldn't be where we are now, in fact we would be no where. Now there are many people out their who devote their whole life to food, but there are also those who eat to meet survial needs. I usually enjoy eating food, but only when it is needed. For me food is an art, I like to create my own meals often or learn the process of creating a certain meal. There are so many different cultures with different cuisines out there, in return creating a task for all of us, which is to figure out what we want for our next meal. Food is something we can all relate to and it happens to bring us all together.

My mom makes weekly trips to the grocery store which is usually Key Food or Associated, and both my parents purchase groceries from Jackson Heights, Queens every so often. As a Muslim family our diet consists of Halal meat and NO PORK AT ALL. So this is a big factor that determines my food choices in general, especially when I go out to eat. I usually have to order something without meat when I eat out or find a restaurant that serves Halal meat. Because Halal meat is not provided in all grocery stores, my dad goes to the Halal butcher in Queens to buy our meat. This is also where we buy all our spices which are needed to prepare Pakistani cuisine.

My priorities for food depend on the time and place I am in and how hungry I am at the time. If I am not very hungry than I like to prepare my own food from scratch. Since I am usually patient with my food, I like go into the kitchen when hunger strikes. If I find something I like in the refrgerator or cabinet I will eat it right then. But If I can't find anything that is likely to satisfy my hunger I will search up a recipe to my liking (savory or sweet), then I will return to the kitchen with a recipe in mind and prepare it. After I am done preparing it, I eat it myself and share it with the rest of my family if there is enough. If I am hungry when I am outside I wait until I get home to eat something, because I know that I have food at home so why waste money on food outside? But if I am REALLY hungry I will buy myself a snack. I always try to eat something that will benefit my body, only rarely do I get something which comes with no good affects. Depending on how hungry I am my priorities vary, but it's pretty simple for me; I want something that tastes good but at the same time has some benefits.

My ideal meal would most definitely have to be when I am in Pakistan either at my aunt's house or my grandmother's house. We all get together with my aunts, uncles and cousins in a house and enjoy a delicious meal that consists of many dishes. The room is filled with mouth watering aromas, smiles and laughter with everyone in conversation; it's like a feast. All the females are in the kitchen preparing the meal and getting the table ready. When I am in Pakistan the ideal meal consists of family and fun. When I am at home in the city, my ideal meal is again with my family, but around the dinner table at a set time. I feel that food has to be eaten properly at a right time and place. Personally I hate to see people buy food outside at a random timing and eat when they are walking around or sitting on a subway for instance. I think that this way of eating is unorganized and there is no respect at all; it makes me feel as if they take food for granted. If we all eat at a certain place and time everyday than it would be considered a ritual, like it should be.

Eating is a ritual for me. It is usually done at a set time many times throughout the day. For example, every night before dinner I have to set up the dinner table with plates, glasses, napkins, and other utensils depending on what we are having that night. My mother cooks dinner every night, unless if we are going out or we have take out. While having dinner we keep conversation to a minimum, occasionaly discussing our day or something out of the ordinary. After everybody has gotten up from the dinner table, it is my job to clean up the table and put all the dishes in the kitchen. My mom does the dishes on a regular basis, but there are times where I sub in for this task. I would have to say dinner is the most ideal meal I have compared to all my other meals throughout the day. Dinner is the only meal I have at a setting I am used to and with the people I love most. My other meals fail to meet the requirments for an ideal meal since I am usually outside or in a time crunch.

For every living creature food plays a big purpose in life, this is why I feel that food is sacred. I have been raised by my family to respect my food and be thankful for it; this is why we try not to waste any food at all. There are times when we are not able to finish something, but this doesn't mean that we have to throw it out. We usually have someone else have it or feed it to the birds. When food goes bad that's the only time we throw it out. When I am not able to finish my meal I save it, or give it to someone needy because if I throw it out I feel guilty afterwards. I would rather have someone make a purpose out of my food than have it wasted. When I see someone else's food on the floor I try to move it to the side or pick it up and throw it out. When I am the one that drops my food, I have to say sorry to my God because that is baizbi (disrespect) towards food. So for instance, if I dropped some bread I have to pick it up and kiss it since I mistreated my food, and ask for forgiveness from God afterwards. I have been taught that food should never be mistreated and when it is I should always ask for forgivness. My family and I believe food to be something that is provided to us by God, because of this we have to respect it. This is the reason why we have to say "Bismi-llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm" at the start of every meal, which means "In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful". And after ending a meal we say "Allah ka shukar" which translates into "Thank God". Food is considered very sacred for us.