The Counterman Reaction

The poem “The Counterman” was extremely interesting and entertaining to me. I had never heard a poem like that before, so I found it really interesting that a poem was able to tell such a strong story and give vivid imagery. What was most interesting to me was how the author came up with the idea to write a poem about a Deli counterman. I think it is a really creative way to tell a story. Just from reading the poem in my head it is like I can hear all the different voices of the customers. The poem has a different tone and flow as you read through each customer’s order. All the counterman’s lines were short and repetitive which helped give a better sense of how fast and accurate he needs to be at his job.

This poem reminded me of exactly what happens when you go to a Deli in New York. The people behind the counter are always extremely attentive and fast with getting the order ready. This poem reminded me of the bagel store by my house on a Saturday morning. It is so hectic and crowded there. You have to know what you want and how you want it before you even walk into the door otherwise you’ll get lost in the sea of people who are waiting to pick up their food.

culinary poem

The poem” Counterman” by Paul Violi was very funny, in my opinion. I liked it when the whole class had to read each line because it made the poem stand out more. The poem reminded of when I use to order a veggie bacon, lettuce, and cheese sandwich (VBLC). The deli owner knew I was a vegetarian, so he always made sure to order veggie bacon personally for me.

As a sandwich maker, it is important to please and satisfy each customer, even if that means speaking the lingo of a religious customer. The first customer relates more to me, which is straight to the point. The second customer used words that most students in my class, including me, couldn’t pronounce. This sandwich maker definitely has experience with understanding what a customer has.

 

 

Homework # 2 Civil war

The diets that the people had during the Civil War were fascinating. Each had a different type of food and diet that they had to live through due to the scarce in food and supplies. The most fascinating food that I see would be the hardtrack. This type of food is a simple type of biscuit or cracker that the soldier would use during the Civil War. I really admire the size of the bread and how well it could be preserved even during the Civil War till now. The hardtrack is also easy to create with only flour, water. You may throw in some salt to add flavor in it. It may seem to be just a simple old cracker but to me it’s like a survival food with a great history.

The type of food item that I could not live without would be rice. Even though it’s not always the most health of food, rice is still easy to carry, make, and is quite satisfying for a simple meal. Rice seems to go well with other dishes and can easily be a useful side dish.

Image result for rice

HW #2 – Civil War

My love for coffee and food are both equal, but if I were given the choice whether to give up food or coffee, I would give up coffee. The benefits of choosing food outweigh the choices of coffee in my opinion. Food is a very important essential that provides us with energy throughout the day and it is needed to survive. Food carries necessary vitamins and nutrients that our body needs. Also, food has a lot of variety to choose from and it’s very delicious.

Unfortunately, those during the Civil war, soldiers were very limited in their food supply and resources, but their main necessity was coffee during that era. Based off of these articles I find it so fascinating that the civil war soldiers consumed a staggering amount of coffee throughout their day. I definitely assumed that the main food supply of consumption would have been mainly bread. I am very thankful that I am not limited in my supply and resources when it comes to coffee or food. I have such a love for food, but my guiltiest pleasure of them all would be potato chips. Despite the lack of health benefits that majority of chips may have I can’t resist the crunchy and saltiness it has to offer.

chips

Homework #2

I agree that coffee can be addicting but I would choose food over coffee because you don’t necessarily need coffee, whereas you need food to survive. I understand that back then the soldiers needed coffee in their routines because coffee can keep them awake to fight in wars, but coffee doesn’t have proteins, nutrients, vitamins, and minerals like food does. If I had to choose between coffee and food, I would choose coffee because food can satisfy your hunger, coffee can’t. Another reason is that we don’t need coffee to stay awake, tea is a healthier option and it can also keep you awake.

One thing that I enjoy eating is sushi. Sushi can be expensive but they taste really good and they are easy to make. My family used to own a sushi restaurant 13 years ago in Chinatown and I think that is when I started to really enjoy eating sushi.

Homework #2: Civil War soldier’s diet

If I had a choice, I would rather keep food than coffee. Coffee has a long history in the United States. When people are getting more knowledgeable, they start noticing the bad influence of caffeine to our human health. However, by reading the two articles about Civil War soldier’s diet, I can understand their uncontrollable love for coffee. The soldiers were living in a tough environment, the government couldn’t provide the soldiers with enough amount of food or any tasteful food. They live on the battlefield with fear but they couldn’t get enough energy from the lack of food supply. Therefore, the union soldiers put their hopes on coffee to enrich their taste bud and mind. The coffee not only keeps them awake from the tiredness, but also it was the only warm drink that could comfort their minds after coming back from the battlefield. It’s not a choice they willing to make, and also they weren’t having a choice to begin with.

Food is the only real item that can provide nutrition and health to human body. Too much intake of the caffeine can cause problems to the human body. Sometimes people keep on drinking coffee because they lack energy and tiredness continue to hinder the productivity in their jobs. However, the results of caffeine intake put a big burden on the body. If it’s me, I rather eat well, sleep early, and get the full energy to work or study than using coffee as a stimulant for energy.

The image that I post is Korean food. Even though it is just a simple soup with the white rice and two small side dishes, I still cannot live without Korean food in my life because I like the culture a lot.

korean food

Homework #2: Food and Coffee in the Civil War

Tintype of federal soldiers enjoying coffee and hardtack. Credit: Heritage Auctions.

Tintype of federal soldiers enjoying coffee and hardtack. Credit: Heritage Auctions.

If you had a choice, which would you give up? Food? Or coffee? This week, we will look at photography of the Civil War and the difficulties of producing photographs during war, especially with the wet-plate collodion process. To help better understand the conditions that photographers worked in, this week’s homework explores what Civil War soldiers ate and their dependence on coffee. The typical food ration for a Union soldier included small amounts of meat, coffee, and hardtack (what’s hardtack? Look here to find out.) The Union side half-jokingly believed coffee helped fuel their soldiers. Meanwhile, the Confederate South suffered vast food shortages due to strong Union blockades, and resorted to unique recipes (called receipts in the 19th century) to produce coffee substitutes. Read about cooking on the battlefront and the importance of coffee (the word ‘coffee’ appears more frequently than ‘rifle’ or ‘bullet’ in Civil War diaries).

Share what you think is most fascinating about a Civil War soldier’s diet AND post an image of a food item that you cannot live without. You can link to a photo on the web, or take a picture!

Read about what Union soldiers ate at PBS.org.

Read the NYT’s article “How Coffee Fueled the Civil War”

PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR POSTS BY THURSDAY OCTOBER 6, 2016 (CUNY is running a Monday schedule on a Thursday).

Alan Hernandez #studentHW

This picture is a salad we use to do at work, it’s a strawberry and quinoa salad. This salad was made by adding a little of basil balsamic vinaigrette to the spinach, then adding quinoa on top of the spinach; which later was added avocado, fresh cut strawberry’s, chopped pecans and finished with a touch of goat cheese. The texture of the salad was something i liked, it was a  colorful and tasty salad. This salad was like a spring salad, it represented some spring  colors and freshness, with the greens (avocado, spinach) , fresh red strawberry’s, pecans and white goat cheese. This was an interesting salad to do because it was a sweet salad something i have never done until now. file_000

Eunji Jeon, HW #1

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This pasta is called ‘Alio Olio.’ It is very delicious and simple pasta that everyone can make. All you need is pasta noodle, garlic, hot pepper, salt, black pepper, and olive oil. First, you need to boil water for the noodle. Then cook the garlic and hot peppers on a hot fry pan with olive oil. This way, the garlic and hot pepper becomes brown and softer and the olive oil gets the tastes of two ingredients. When the noodle is finish cooking, combine the noodle, garlic, and hot pepper all together. I seasoned only with salt and black pepper. Make sure not to overcook because if I overcook, every ingredient will become too soft to chew and sticky, and lost the individuals’s tastes. I can taste little bit of spicy because of the hot pepper. The main thing I like about this pasta is the olive oil has the garlic tastes that they make a great harmony with all the other ingredient. Not too strong, just creates a great balance. If I had Parmesan cheese on the top, it would look more tasty.

Alison Yan, Homework #1 Texture

Rutabaga, turnip and pearl onion.

This is a picture of a mise en place that I created during culinary class that consists of three different vegetables.  First the rutabaga and turnip are cut into tournés.  Then they are boiled with pearl onions in a pot.  By boiling it, it creates a soft texture throughout the whole vegetable.  When the vegetables were cooked, they were placed in iced water to shock the vegetables.  This makes the texture of the vegetable’s outer layer smooth.  Then in a small sauce pan with butter, the pearl onions, rutabaga and turnip gets sautéed together along with seasoning and herbs.  This browns the outer layer and the butter creates that glossy appearance.  Finally, after plating the vegetables I added garnish on the side to make the dish look more attractive.