January 24 Challenge: Foodie Friday

owl is at top.  trust me.

Finally it's Friday, after a week that seemed to stretch a month. Then only one week left of the January challenges. I'm looking forward to a web sabbatical.  Meanwhile in the real world, we saw an amazing sight today:  full on blazing blue skies, and that mysterious glare-y thing we Oregonians believe to be a myth. Tonight the stars blazed in plenitude and my neighborhood owl continued to establish audible territory. I tried to take you a picture but my night photo equipment and skill are lacking.

For Friday, we'll continue with the ban on gravitas by focusing on forage. Take some time today to play with your food. You can meet the challenge in one of the following ways, or figure your own.

mindful blood orange eating

1) Get sensual.  Do a mindful eating.  Eat in silence, skip reading or TV or other distractions, and focus fully on the feel, taste, chew and swallow.  And if you're more olfactory-abled than I, the fragrance and flavor.  Take your time.  Put your utensil down between bites.  Or maybe don't bother with them, and really get in touch with your food.

2) Try something new.  Eat something you've never tried.  See if you can identify your judgments about it, then intentionally put them aside and explore the unknown taste.  You can do this big and fancy or little.  Go to a local ethnic foods store and select something exotic, or order a dish you normally wouldn't at a restaurant.  Bonus for engaging with it a la #1.

3)  Support a local independent restaurant.  In Corvallis, it's Culinary Week, and the local chefs are strutting their stuff with small plates at special prices.  If you want your town to keep its cachet and not be a nightmare of Panda Delights and McD's, put your money where your mouth is.

oregon cheese <3 i="">

4) Alternately, buy some local goods at a local market or from a farmer, and cook them up.  Think These people are contributing to your cellular structure.  Isn't that fantastic?  Say a blessing.  Write them a love note.
about who was involved in bringing this nourishment to your body. 

Bon Appetit, chitlins.

Song of the day. a Dadist delight and cautionary tale: