Whole Foods Market--by Anam Mian

One thing whole foods definitely did was erase the thought that I had kept in my head for years that organic and healthy went hand in hand. I was head over heels when the tour guide told us that Whole Foods wasn’t necessarily healthy, for a second I felt as if my whole world was crumbling down to my feet. However, I understand why it might not be, they sell meat and other dairy products and the tour guide had mentioned that they stuff their cooked meat with some kind of special butter, which rather helped define that they were not really a company who was in a complete good physical shape. The point is that they try very hard and do their best to make their customers satisfied and that is what really matters.

I was roaming around spotting brands that I recognized from other grocery stores and the only one that I came across was Stacy’s. I liked the diversity they had, for an example the Ethiopian coffee I thought that was quite rare for my gazes. In normal grocery stores, you not only try to look but also no one really lays it out for you in words where the product you picked up is actually coming from. I thought that was very generous of Whole Foods, to lay everything out for its customers in such a precise manner.

I would consider Whole Foods a special organization only because it has more to offer than just groceries. They have a restaurant type theme going on, and it is much more elegant and formal than a regular grocery store. After taking that in consideration, it is quite impossible for us to think about it in normal, casual terms. However, aside from everything else one thing I absolutely disliked was the intense smell from the meat and seafood department. I can understand that the smell lingering in that area just makes it look more real and much more organic but it also places the word disgusting next to elegant.

Whole Foods Market- Hannah Hatcher

It was a great experience going to Whole Foods as a class field trip. My first impression as I walked in there was that the food was very colorful and fresh. I observed that the place was clean and organized. I noticed in the produce section that the fruits and vegetables were labeled either organic or nonorganic with a description of where it came from. I did not ask any questions but the employee told my class a lot about Whole Foods and what it stands for. He told us that most of the food is grown from local and organic farms. There is a process of how the produce gets there. First it is thoroughly washed and packaged from the farm and then it is shipped to Whole Foods. In each stage of transportation, the produce is washed in order to preserve it. The fish section was interesting as there was a variety. I found out that certain kinds of white fish like tuna and cod you can eat every day while others you can eat only every once in a while. When we went to the meat and dairy section, he told us that the food was processed without the use of hormones or pesticides. The animals were well taken care; the chickens were cage free and the pigs were allowed to roam. This is important because when the animals are happy in their environment they produce healthy food.

As we moved along the tour we came to the soup and salad bar. The food smelled so good I wanted to taste it for myself. Next to that were the bakery goods. These colorful foods were very pleasing to the eye. I have to admit that I was tempted to the different kinds of cakes, cupcakes, fruit tarts, and pastries. I bought a small fruit tart for my roommate as it was her birthday. I think that Whole Foods is a special grocery store because it is one of the few grocery stores that has many organic and healthy foods. It has gluten free and dairy free products as well as homeopathic remedies. Homeopathy uses natural and drug free products to help the body heal itself. My mom has used this method to treat me when I am sick and it works very well. This was not my first time going but I had a wonderful experience and I hope to go there again soon.

Whole Foods Experience

I enjoyed the trip to the Whole Foods Market and I learned a lot of interesting information about the food and the market itself. It was my first time going to a Whole Foods Market. I did not ask any questions; I just listened to the information given from one of the Whole Foods employee. He had a lot to say about every food group such as the seafood, meat, bakery, etc. All of the food in the market is in high quality standards and it was kept in their proper conditions. All the fruits and vegetables are freshly grown and picked up from the farms. Some of the food in the market looked the same as it would in any other food in another market but the difference is the quality and taste of the food. The Whole Foods Market employee gave an example of the difference between fruit juices. For example: in a regular grocery store, the color of the cranberry juice is bright red but in the Whole Foods Market, the color of the cranberry juice is dark reddish/brownish. The juice in a regular store had food coloring and other preservatives put in it and the one in the Whole Foods Market did not. Most of the food in the market was pretty expensive but it is worth buying the food because it is healthy for you. Not only is the food healthy for you, it is also better for the environment. I think Whole Foods is kind of both a “special organization” and a regular grocery store. It is a “special organization” because all of the food is organic and healthy. It can also be a regular grocery store because the set-up is basically the same as any other grocery store. By the end of the trip, I wanted to change my eating habits, but I think it will be difficult because I am very adjusted to the way I eat now.

Whole Foods Market- Sarah Naqvi

Going to the Whole Foods Market was a very rewarding experience. I witnessed a lot that goes on in that grocery store compared to others. First, I don’t think any class would go to a Safeway or Shoppers for a field trip, so Whole Foods is a special kind of market. It has everything an ordinary grocery store would have, but it’s even better! Everything seems so fresh and healthy! I felt like anything I would eat from there had something nutritious in it.

As we were walking to different sections, I noticed how all of the products were very clean and clearly labeled. The man talking to us about where the food comes from seemed like he knew exactly where their products went and how they got there. I learned about all of the homeopathic medicines that are sold there and cure many diseases. I had no idea they had so many different kinds.

Also, in Whole Foods, I saw the most amazing desserts which they have displayed. I think some of them were gluten free, but regardless I would buy those cupcakes. The buffet with all kinds of foods looked amazing as well and very healthy! I loved how everything was displayed. I think Whole Foods has to be a “special organization” to get all of the products to be natural, but it is also an ordinary grocery store where you can find everything you need. I enjoyed the field trip to Whole Foods and now I know that I will be going there again to be a healthier person. Whole Foods Market is a very important grocery store!

Holiday Food Memory

This past holiday I had a somewhat offbeat Christmas. I spent the majority of the month of December in southern Australia. Considering that the continent is half way around the world, I had fled the winter wonderland of Virginia and escaped to a summer paradise for the season. I have never eaten so consistently well in my entire life - there was never a disappointing meal.

On Christmas Day as well as Eve, I was flourished in seafood of all types as well as fresh vegetables and fruits. All the exotic fish were local, picked up daily in markets. There is no such thing as a grocery store in Melbourne, Australia. Despite the lack of tradition and commonality in my 2009 holiday meals, I didn't want it any other way. If you want to appreciate good fresh food, go Down Under. We actually threw shrimp on the barbie and it was glorious. The little crustaceans had been swimming over from Tasmania only a few short hours before we scarfed them down. They went perfect with the New Zealand champagne we had. The sushi over there put America's to shame that I simply can't find the words to describe it. That was, by far, my most satisfying, mouth-watering holiday food memory. It makes me ache just thinking about it. Field trip to the Outback, anyone?

Julie and Julia--Guillermo Aburto

The two blogs I chose to read about are about Five guys and Fuddruckers. I chose these two too see how a highly loved place which is Five guys compares to a place such as Fuddruckers that is higly priced and in my opinion not as good as Five guys. So what I found interesting in the blog was how both received negative comments, meaning that everything has it flaws. In both articles it was used imageries such as Heaven while Fuddruckers the author describes the feeling from the moment he walks in. the article “Burger Heaven at Five guys” they used vivid and descriptive terms to describe the place, had its negative comment about some of the fries being under cook. This blog was a little too short, but describes how the meat is fresh, the cheese perfectly sliced, and how the bun is toasted.  In Lunch blog:Fuddruckers the author  complains about the price since he put in his article how much it cost which was $9.54. In both blogs they commented on how great the fries are. I found interest in reading this two articles since I thought Five guys was going to receive an abundance amount of positive comments and no negative ones.  The Fuddruckers article made it more convincing for a person that has not tried either to go there rather than five guys in how he wrote it and also by using pictures.  

http://www.lunchblogkc.com/2009/08/sullivans-fuddruckers.html

http://www.hiddenboston.com/blogentries/five-guys-burgers-0209.html

Recipe of me--Guillermo Aburto

   I was born and raised in Washington D.C. I grew up in a family with a strong foundation in Catholicism, in my family I have my amazing parents that I love, they both work hard at a school. I have two older sisters, my oldest sister graduated from Marymount 2 years ago and is working in the goverment, my other sister is a junior at marymount. I went to St.John's College Highschool in D.C. My parents enrolled me in Catholic private schools so that I may become stronger mentally and spiritually. My interest academically are that I like art and English. I chose Marymount because I was inspired by my oldest sister in how successful she became with the excellent help of Marymount and also because it was a Catholic college. I want to be involved in Inter mural basketball and clubs, clubs such as C.A.B. My hopes and goals for the future is that I receive my degree in Business and that I have a good job that pays well.

memo to Mrs. Obama-Guillermo

Dear Mrs. Obama,

                I am glad that you support being healthy as part of a good and joyful life. I believe that if a person lives a healthy life they live a long and happy one as well. On Saturday, September 11, 2010 my class and I visited the Common Good City Farm, and did some volunteer work. It was a hot but beautiful day; I wrapped raspberries around a stick and got the chance to enjoy natural raspberries with no pesticide or any harmful substance.  I think you should visit this farm, because it seems as though they need more help. When I was helping out, digging out potatoes they were either too small or dead, when I went to the tomatoes tree they were all dead, the only tree that was doing alright was the raspberries tree. I think that if you went and visited people would be more eager to volunteer since your presence was there. The people there that volunteer are the people that do not need the food, only 10 people that go there to harvest needs the food. I mean really 10, is a small amount of help, but since this farm is so small I could not believe that this farm could help out more than 10 people. So if you came the media would be present and people would be eager to help. The more people there are to help the more harvesting there will be and more people that need help could go to this farm. So I believe when you visit, people would actually donate money as well, making it possible for the farm to buy more seeds to harvest more crops to help out more people. Thank you Mrs.Obama for taking the time to read this later, have a good day and hope to hear good news!

                                                                                Sincerely,

                                                                                                Guillermo Aburto

Recipe for Katie-- by K Holzman

Recipe for Katie

3.946 tablespoons of inhuman anal perfectionism

7 gallons of that northern yankee sarcasm

A pinch of brother influenced tom boy

4 Tablespoons of incredibly awesome taste in music, ability in sports, level of intelligence, looks, (anything really) and humility.

A pound and a half of chocolate ice-cream

-2 cups of the espanolo languageo

A hint of over competitiveness

3 shots of border line psycho

and a cup of boss

Freeze at low temperatures and sever on ice. Eat quickly- easily spoiled.

I was born and raised on the cold east coast and raised by one large Irish Catholic family who enjoy alcohol, sports, and aimless trouble causing. Their careers range from doctor to the cranky old man at the mobile station. I went to school close to home and am interested in swimming and Dan Layus. In studies, I am interested in sociology and Dan Layus. I chose Marymount because my friend happened to pull a slip of paper out of my brother's baseball cap with the word "Marymount" written in swirly blue ink on it. During my stay in this institution I hope to participate in swimming. I am anticipating a summer internship with the CIA headquarters in the metropolitan area (pending polygraph results) and would one day like to cary on in Africa working in conservation lands and safaris.

Holiday memory by Guillermo

Holiday food memory-Guillermo Aburto

Every year my family for Thanksgiving cooks a big dinner.  It takes longer to cook it then to eat it, especially when it comes down to my family. It rotates where the dinner will be held. Last year it was held at my house, and a lot of family members came. My uncles, aunts, and cousins were there. The night before Thanksgiving my mom placed the turkey filled with the stuffing as well as the ham inside the oven but turned the heat on low through out the whole night. My mom wakes up extra early to cook other food such as white rice containing peas and small bits of carrots. Then my family goes to church, and after church, my mom stills has a lot of work ahead of her before it is all complete. I help with what I can by pealing the potatoes and mashing them and I also boil the gravy. I do little work compared to my mom but at least I help out with what I can to make her work a little bit easier. When 5 o’clock comes around everything is pretty much done. I prepare the table and put thanksgiving ornaments, make it look nice and presentable. When we take out the turkey and ham from the oven, we place it on the dinner table it is steaming. My mom cuts the ham and turkey in slices as much as she can. The white rice with peas and carrots are in a bowl. The mash potato on a plate next to the steaming hot gravy. The bead is on the table as well as the butter. The whole family starts arriving by 6 pm and it starts getting crowded. Usually the youngest of the whole family starts the prayer, and after prayer is done we start with the salad and bread. Then the real food starts filling plates, which is the turkey, ham, rice, and mash potato.  The turkey and ham nicely sliced the fresh rice steaming, mash potato ready to be smothered with gravy. I think the food is done in a good 30 minutes, all those hours preparing takes a few minutes be devoured. Thanksgiving is very special for our family as well as Christmas but more food is to be done at Thanksgiving. There is no time to make a mistake on Thanksgiving since it takes so much time preparing.  It would be pretty hard and impossible to make another turkey in a couple hours it a mistake was made.

Recipe for me by Shaun

Recipe for Shaun

1 pinch of Malaysia (born there)

1 cup of American

2 cups of video games

4 cups iPod Touch Apps

8 cups of Xbox 360

6 cups of Playstation 2

1 pinch of Playstation Portable

1 gallon of excessive tech knowledge

10 pinches of amateur video recording experience

I was born in Malaysia and I have lived in the U.S for most of my life. I have traveled to other places a great deal but have been to very few of the states. I have lived in the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and the U.S. I have been to a lot of other places but those are the ones I have lived in. I have been to the UAE, Malaysia, Turkey, Shrilanka (not sure about spelling), Greece, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. There are probably a few more but I can’t remember right now. I live with my dad and he teaches college level math. We travel this much mostly because he taught in one of these places. I lived in the UAE and Malaysia for a couple years each because he taught there. I went to school at Patrick Henry high school in southwest Virginia and the things that interested me most was computer programming and history. I chose Marymount because my cousin sent me some stuff about the college and I came to have a look and thought it was really interesting and I just liked it so I decided to come here. I’m not really sure what I want to do here or after Marymount. If I had to guess I would say I would want to do something to do with computers, Videography (not filmmaking or making TV shows) or History.

Julie & Julia - By Shaun

Julie & Julia Blog Entries

During the course of this book exploring adventure Julie Powell went through and explored a cookbook. She did this by cooking every single recipe in that book and eating it and describing exactly what she did. When I think about what she did in these blog posts and then later in the movie based off the book that these blog posts are taken from; I think that it is an interesting way to choose to go about doing something. Despite the interesting points; I don’t think that any real life person would choose to go about something in this way. It would be a bit of a stretch for someone to decide to make and eat every meal in an entire cookbook for any reason. I thought that it was extremely interesting that Julie Powell chose to cook every single recipe in the cookbook, eat the food she made and talk about it a great deal. Her personality in the blogs is pretty much the same as in the movie. The only difference is that you can understand what she is thinking much easier in the movie than you can in the blog. The scene that stood out to me the most in the movie is the one when she said that the machine beside her bed was talking to her. I thought that this was really weird because it was an inanimate object speaking out loud and was more likely to just be her thoughts than the machine actually speaking.

Holiday Food Memory—by Ysabelle

Kitchen Lockdown

When I was younger, my mother would cook all parts of the holiday meals. One particular time I remember my mother was preparing a meal for Thanksgiving for our family and two of her friends. This was about 6 years ago and she was cooking in Maryland which had a bigger kitchen as opposed to the small room we had before in our apartment in New York City. As always, I was helping her out with simple things. This one particular night she had wanted to try an acorn squash soup recipe. My mother had set these on the counter and I remember that it was something I had never really noticed before. It was a short squash that was a deep green with some lighter lines running down the skin of it. My mother took a knife and gracefully swept the blade downwards and cut the squash in half. It then revealed a bright yellow orange inside which appeared in the shape of a flower. We cleaned the squash out saving some of the seeds to possibly plant or toast. Then, she quartered it and set them in a pot to boil. When it was ready the dark forest green skin slid off to reveal the lively yellow orange color. There was something new and revealing about discovering a new ingredient. There was a feeling of change and togetherness all at once. My mother and I worked the ingredients ourselves without and machinery. There was something more personal about feeling the ingredients with one’s own hands. We pressed the squash through a strainer revealing a fine puree. It was such a shift from the once crisp vegetable. The room smelled of aromatics waiting for the next ingredients. We added the puree to the pot and then it became a work of patience. A constant flurry of adding and tasting; waiting to taste the harmonious combination that we had long labored for. Finally, the soup came together and it was time to serve it. Each bowl of soup was carefully ladled and gently garnished with a semi circle of sour cream and a sprinkling of meat on top for texture. Finally, we were able to relax and enjoy with those that we cared about. Every now and again we recall that moment we were able to just enjoy that one perfect soup. Up until now we can’t quite recreate that specific taste. Somehow, I don’t think we will ever come back to that one taste because in that one spoonful was the excitement of a new recipe, a labor of love, and the comfort of loved ones.

Holiday Food Memory-by Asia Phillips

Every year, on the last Thursday of November aunts and uncles, brothers and sister, cousins, grandparents, and close friends gather as one. The young and the old, the Sudanese, the Ethiopian, some black some white, some short some tall, all sit around the table and dine. We feast on golden hams with baked with pineapples, turkey with gravy, the best cassava, and macaroni with mountains of cheesy goodness. Thanksgiving brings us all together with stories, laughter, and “remember when’s”.

Last year was one of the best Thanksgivings to date. My grandmother made her normal succulent meats, zesty pastas, and light salads. My mom and aunts prepared the desserts including apple pie, cobbler and cakes. The men were in charge of bringing beverages and condiments. The children normally scramble around the table trying to prepare asking which utensil is for salad, which for soup and how many napkins all in unison. My grandmother’s house is always a colorful zoo around this time.

My aunt and uncle flew in from Ethiopia and I even met family from Sudan. It was a beautiful thing, many dialects and beautiful people in different shades of brown filled the main level of the home. My aunt even surprised us with international dishes of goat and oxtails. The night went a lot smoother than planned. There was a little dining hall set up for the younger children and all the adults dined together at the big table and some even spilled over to the living room. As a matter of fact the only thing that was pretty difficult was the prayer. Because of the diversity in the room we had a Christian and Islamic based prayer. My grandmother is Christian but her sister is a Muslim so the room sat quietly and respected both prayers.

I somehow managed to grab two plates. I made sure to taste a little of everything. A little macaroni, chicken breast, oxtail, ham, turkey, sweet potatoes, greens, cauliflower, seafood salad, shrimp, cassava, goat, rice, cornbread, and cole slaw. I was in heaven; I indulged in everything as if it was my last supper. It was to an extent because I’d have to wait a whole year to eat so care free again. I dropped every diet and freed all inhibitions. I savored the macaroni’s cheesiness and the hams sweetness. I wanted to even close my eyes as I chewed the food, but I figured I’d look pretty silly.

The candles dimmed the room and we all sat and listened to embarrassing stories of the now adults, flight horrors, and planning next year’s Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving this year will have a hard time beating the previous one, but I can not wait to have a swing at it!

Common Good City Farm

When our driver initially passed Common Good City Farm on our way to it, the little place was truly one to be easily overlooked. I think I speak for the lot of us when I say that it was definitely not what we had expected. It wasn't until we got inside did we realize that there was much more to it than what met the eye.

I was really impressed by the enthusiasm and excitement so vibrantly displayed by the manager and volunteers. If it weren't so painfully early on a Saturday morning, I'm sure our group would have proved to be far more lively! But as time went on we started to wake up. After splitting into two groups, I was manicuring tomato plants and uprooting little potatoes. It was actually kind of fun!

CGCF shows to be a functioning urban farm. The volunteers are very dedicated and driven and appear to be pretty passionate about what they do. I know their work is greatly appreciated - it's an admirable thing, what they're doing. I hope they can fulfill their wish and expand the farm - then who knows what will happen!

Holiday Food Memory--by. Anam Mian

Eyes show how much happiness is worth.

Eid ul Fitr just passed a week ago, it marks the end to Ramadan. My mother wakes up early in the morning and literally drags me out of bed so I can get ready for the Eid prayer. By the time we all come back it is time to get ready for the festivities. Moms normally the cook, I swear if it was up to me to make all those dishes well, I think everyone would go home starving. I honestly don’t know how she can cook for so many people. It is quite difficult to look both at the quality of food along with the quantity.

After everyone is together mom makes a dua which is Arabic for prayer. She prays for the acceptance of our fasts to God, and for peace in families, and people. After everyone is done eating it starts getting to you, see the problem is that when you don’t eat for 30 days during the day time it feels really weird when you finally do. The food was definitely amazing this year, but it truly made us one of the laziest people on the planet for a few hours, which is not a good thing when you have more guests coming over that you have to serve.

This Eid was pretty hectic though my sister and I had hair appointments in the afternoon and we literally had to rush back home because my mom would of given us the biggest lecture of our lives if we didn’t. The lecture would consist of not helping her out in preparing the food like we should. Mom’s great at cooking and my sister is like the last person on earth you’d want to eat from so she can be scratched from the list. That leaves me, and I can make a few things here and there but it’s not that easy to stand in the kitchen with a total professional because what ends up happening is that the pro takes the spatula from your hand and starts mixing the boiled eggs with the paprika and shoves it in your face while saying “This is how you really do it”. And that is when I slowly leave the kitchen and pretend my dad is calling, and mom gets so mesmerized with what she’s doing I doubt she remembers I was even there to begin with.

The funniest thing happened this time though, I made mango ice cream and I have made it once before and it was an absolute success so I was like how about I make it for Eid this year and share it will all the friends and family that are going to come and visit. Well, I finished mixing it all together around 4pm and I placed it in the freezer for it to cool down. Now apparently the whole house new that there was mango ice-cream being made and literally every two seconds later there was a kid coming up to me asking if it’s done and if they can finally eat it. The ice-cream was fully made around 2am in the morning and guess who ate it? Me…

Holiday Food Memory by Elyssa

The New Tradition of Fourteen Pies

Fourteen pies is a lot of pies. The possibilities of combinations can seem endless. The amount of time it takes to cook these pies can also seem endless, although the amount of time it takes to consume the pies comes too fast. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because of these pies.

Since my mother was born, my grandmother went beyond any expectation set for the holidays. Each holiday seemed even better then previous one, and not just for the food cooked, but also because of the lessons learned in the holiday itself. Thanksgiving always has the corny meaning that is always pushed into each other’s faces of being thankful for what we have and remembering why we are grateful for what we have. Yes, the holiday does go beyond dressing up like pilgrims in elementary school, and making hand turkeys. Its about truly discovering why you are thankful for what you have. Luckily, I discovered early in my life the importance of family tradition and even more importantly, the importance of keeping your most important family traditions.

Every year, my grandmother made fourteen pies from scratch. I’m sure at first she didn’t mean to make all fourteen pies, but having six different children with many different taste buds, to please everyone a few pies satisfied everyone. Once these six children got married and began to have children, the number of people to feed pies to increased. With this demand, we needed more pies.

Until the time my grandmother died in September of 2001, I never knew anything other then a huge thanksgiving dinner and the fourteen pies to follow. The following Thanksgiving was beyond unbearable. Losing my grandmother was one of the hardest experiences I’ve had to deal with in my life. Not to mention, she was the only good cook in my family. Thanksgiving for that year seemed pretty empty, I didn’t get my fourteen pies, and I missed my typical family traditions.

The next year to follow, I convinced my mom that with my help, we should make all fourteen pies. Yes, it was a lot of work, we went through a lot of burnt pie shells, and over done cheesecake. However, in the long run we discovered it was well worth it to keep the family tradition of making fourteen pies going. Through slaving over the kitchen stove and over for four days in preparation of our meals, my mother shared many stories about growing up with my grandmother and all the fun times she and her siblings had together. Its simple traditions like this that help me and my mother build a strong bond, and help our relationship grow. I think if my grandmother saw my mother and I every Thanksgiving, she would be happy she started the tradition. My mother and I have a new tradition now while keeping the older one alive, bonding with keeping traditions.