Friday, July 27, 2012
Eating for Adventure: Introduction
Eating for Adventure: Introduction: Eating for Adventure Blog Description When most people hear the word adventure they think of things like travel to exotic places, African ...
Introduction
Eating for Adventure Blog Description
When most people hear the word adventure they think of things like travel to exotic places, African safaris, Everest climbs, skydiving, or perhaps even wilder stuff like extreme skiing. Adventure, at least as far as I’m concerned, is not limited to travel and sport. I have been all around the world a couple of times and all 50 states (all of them but 4 mo...re than twice), and have gone to school in India and Jordan, as well as Harvard, Ohio State and the University of Wisconsin here in the states. I’ve backpacked thousands of miles of wilderness in half of the national parks in America, other wilderness areas, the Alps, Himalayas, and other areas of the world. I’ve rode an elephant through the jungles of Nepal, a longboat through a jungle river in Malaysia, rickshaws in Calcutta, camels in the Thar desert of India, flown first class to Europe in a 747, rode thousands of miles of rails in Europe, Alaska, India, and Southeast Asia, boxcars in 40 some states, hitchhiked in all 50, rode a hot air balloon and a glider over Colorado, canoes on wild rivers, and a caboose from Wyoming to Chicago. I’ve climbed quite a few mountains and skydived a few times so far, snorkeled the Red Sea and scuba-dived in Aruba, and although I’m getting on in years a little, I still hope to hike the entire Appalachian Trail (I’ve hiked several parts in the past), to visit Europe again, to climb Mt. Kilamanjaro, hike a little in the Andes, and have a few other things still on my bucket list. That said, I don’t consider anything on my bucket list to be necessary for continuing to live a life of adventure. I intend on reading War and Peace in Russian, which is a task every bit as daunting and formidable as the Everest climb that I have conceded will never be due to my age and budget. Reading Les Miserables in French, Marquez in Spanish, Goethe in German, sections of 1001 Nights in Arabic, Godan in Hindi, The Blind Owl in Farsi, Orlando Furioso in Italian, Chaucer in Middle English and English classics, are great adventures in themselves that will keep me busy for the rest of my life. Watching film or live operas, especially ones that I’ve never seen before, chamber music and orchestral performances, plays by Moliere, Pirandello, Durrenmatt, and Lorca in their respective languages, Japanese Kabuki and Noh theater, Chinese Kunqu opera, Urdu Mushairahs (poetry readings), old silent movies, to name a very few, are wonderful adventures to me that can be experienced every day. The same goes for eating.
Although repetitions of favorite dishes are just as important as new experiences, if not more so, each and every day can be a day of adventure and involve a brand new experience through the palate. This may involve a new type of meat, fruit, vegetable, or cheese. It may also involve a dish from a different region of the world or ethnicity. It might involve a new and unique recipe. It might involve preparing a fancy dish myself or finding it in a restaurant; both are separate experiences in themselves. Culinary adventures are an important part of world travel, but they can be had in your own kitchen or in local restaurants. Life is exciting and barely a day goes by without having my having experienced some sort of new adventure; cooking and eating, as well as many other life activities, when approached with this attitude, can enhance life.
When most people hear the word adventure they think of things like travel to exotic places, African safaris, Everest climbs, skydiving, or perhaps even wilder stuff like extreme skiing. Adventure, at least as far as I’m concerned, is not limited to travel and sport. I have been all around the world a couple of times and all 50 states (all of them but 4 mo...re than twice), and have gone to school in India and Jordan, as well as Harvard, Ohio State and the University of Wisconsin here in the states. I’ve backpacked thousands of miles of wilderness in half of the national parks in America, other wilderness areas, the Alps, Himalayas, and other areas of the world. I’ve rode an elephant through the jungles of Nepal, a longboat through a jungle river in Malaysia, rickshaws in Calcutta, camels in the Thar desert of India, flown first class to Europe in a 747, rode thousands of miles of rails in Europe, Alaska, India, and Southeast Asia, boxcars in 40 some states, hitchhiked in all 50, rode a hot air balloon and a glider over Colorado, canoes on wild rivers, and a caboose from Wyoming to Chicago. I’ve climbed quite a few mountains and skydived a few times so far, snorkeled the Red Sea and scuba-dived in Aruba, and although I’m getting on in years a little, I still hope to hike the entire Appalachian Trail (I’ve hiked several parts in the past), to visit Europe again, to climb Mt. Kilamanjaro, hike a little in the Andes, and have a few other things still on my bucket list. That said, I don’t consider anything on my bucket list to be necessary for continuing to live a life of adventure. I intend on reading War and Peace in Russian, which is a task every bit as daunting and formidable as the Everest climb that I have conceded will never be due to my age and budget. Reading Les Miserables in French, Marquez in Spanish, Goethe in German, sections of 1001 Nights in Arabic, Godan in Hindi, The Blind Owl in Farsi, Orlando Furioso in Italian, Chaucer in Middle English and English classics, are great adventures in themselves that will keep me busy for the rest of my life. Watching film or live operas, especially ones that I’ve never seen before, chamber music and orchestral performances, plays by Moliere, Pirandello, Durrenmatt, and Lorca in their respective languages, Japanese Kabuki and Noh theater, Chinese Kunqu opera, Urdu Mushairahs (poetry readings), old silent movies, to name a very few, are wonderful adventures to me that can be experienced every day. The same goes for eating.
Although repetitions of favorite dishes are just as important as new experiences, if not more so, each and every day can be a day of adventure and involve a brand new experience through the palate. This may involve a new type of meat, fruit, vegetable, or cheese. It may also involve a dish from a different region of the world or ethnicity. It might involve a new and unique recipe. It might involve preparing a fancy dish myself or finding it in a restaurant; both are separate experiences in themselves. Culinary adventures are an important part of world travel, but they can be had in your own kitchen or in local restaurants. Life is exciting and barely a day goes by without having my having experienced some sort of new adventure; cooking and eating, as well as many other life activities, when approached with this attitude, can enhance life.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
This is my first post on my first blog, so I don't have a lot to say right now, but I will soon. I should be up and running in a few days, but I must first learn how to set up a blog. In any event, I am a world traveler and adventurer who views eating and cooking as worthy of being labeled adventure as travel and other forms of excitement. A full description will given on my next post, which I expect to be soon. John
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