The side effects of prescription drugs described in commercials make a lot of people laugh, but it's a little scary when you think about what people will risk to get some other benefit. Then there are diet pills, untested supplements, exotic foods, random pills given to us at parties, pens and pencils, Pop Rocks, tobacco, fermented grains, corners of packages that have been passed through the hands of loaders, stockers, and cashiers . . . we are so gross! What is wrong with us that we believe our saliva has the power to kill the germs on a ketchup packet from a bin in a fast food restaurant, but we close schools and businesses at the mere threat of someone sneezing near us? Or why do we take a product that will "gently remind us when we're not eating right" - i.e., alli ® - which gives us diarrhea if we eat too much fatty food rather than just, say, limit our intake of fatty foods all on our own? Why is my father-in-law being directed to take vomit-inducing levels of iron but abstain from greens because they will react with his Coumadin rather than being directed to take some aspirin and eat some spinach?
The photos below are some of the food that my husband and I ate in Mexico on our vacation to San Miguel de Allende. It was the only time I've ever known this man to willingly and happily eat raw tomatoes, which really were so good I wrote home to my mother about them. Their food was fresh, flavorful, whole. It was the food people were meant to eat. It made us feel good because it was filled with nutrition, and it was a joy to smell, chew on, swallow, and moan over. It made me want to grow a garden. It also made me want to pay more attention to what I put in my mouth. Now, I'm perfecting my homemade bread, homemade applesauce, and homemade jam, which is surprisingly simple when made in small batches that aren't meant to keep all winter.
An Omelet with Avacado and Tomato; Fried Fish with Rice and Beans
Fresh-Squeezed Juices of Mango, Papaya, Pineapple, and Watermelon
The last photo is a sample of tequila ice cream, which turned out to be one of my favorite sensory experiences of the whole trip. It came from a street vendor, and it tasted a little like Kahlua, which I suppose may be because the best tequila has hints of coffee in it. The brightness of the tequila first hit my nose and then soared over my tongue while the sweetness and icy-milky texture following behind it had me licking the cup. This was my second helping during the trip, which was still soft and therefore could not be served in a waffle cone. Of course, in Mexico, we didn't have any idea what the kitchens were like where our food was made, if standard sanitation practices were in use, or even whether local water was part of the mix, but I didn't get sick once. And I wasn't scared. After all, we will put just about anything in our mouths!
