Food For Thought

Food  For Thought

By

Vivek Hande

You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food, famously remarked a wise man. GB Shaw is right on many levels, when he remarked, “There is no sincere love than the love of food.” It is a fact that nothing else, other than music, perhaps, has the strength to bring people bring together. That food is central to existence was acknowledged by Hippocrates who is wrote, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”.

And then there are so many variations to how and what people eat. You could be a garden variety of a Vegetarian or you could be more specifically a Lacto-Vegetarian (exclude eggs and other foods which contain Rennet) or you could be an Ovo-Vegetarian (no dairy) or you could be a more rounded Ovo-Lacto –Vegetarian. One could be a Vegan (abstaining from all animal products, dairy included). As a  Vegan, you could be a Dietary Vegan(no eating animal derived products) or an Ethical Vegan (not using any animal derived products in any sphere of life). One may be a Piscetarian/Pescetarian(both correctly spelled) and have only marine products and avoid poultry /egg. Well then, you could also be a Pollotarian (and have only poultry and chicken). Believe me, you could be a vegetarian and eat only Kangaroo meat as an exception- you would then be a Kangatarian! Kangaroo meat is exported to more than sixty countries from Australia!

A Kangatarian!

Fishy Business: A Piscetarian

It is natural that the English language incorporates food and fruit and vegetables in common usage. It would be a natural progression of thought, in a manner of speaking. You could be somebody’s apple of the eye or you could be a rotten apple spoiling things for others. But, it may not be correct to compare apples and oranges nor would it be right to upset the apple cart. You may need to become an apple polisher to curry favor with powers that be, in a Banana Republic. You may go Bananas or choose not to give a fig, if things don’t go quite your way. One may behave pea brained and do all the wrong things when you are in a pickle or remain cool as a cucumber. Alternatively you could extend an olive branch and try to make up with your detractors or behave spoil sport and claim that you are going to spill the beans, even though it is believed that you don’t quite know your beans!!

Apple of The Eye

Fruity it is..

 

Cool As A Cucumber

One could sulk and feel morose if one doesn’t get a plum assignment or bad mouth your boss or colleague consequent to a bad case of sour grapes. When the chips are down and things are not going your way, you could give it all up saying it is not your cup of tea or you could butter up the right folks to ensure that you do finally get to cut your cake and have it too! I do believe, it is best not to put all eggs in one basket though. Sometimes, one has to keep ones’ ears open to listen to the grapevine and figure out who the big cheese is and then play your cards well –it may help you to pluck the low hanging fruit and your hard work might actually bear fruit. But one cannot always trust the grapevine and one may have to take certain things with a pinch of salt and things do have a way of getting pear shaped(go wrong)rather quickly , if one does not remain alert.

Grapevine & Sour Grapes

All Eggs in a basket..

The Big Cheese: Being Cheesy 

Butter the Right side..

At the end of it all, one has to follow ones’ gut feelings if one wants to continue to bring the bacon home. Each one has to chart out ones’ own path – everybody can’t be the same as peas in a pod.  One has to figure out which side the bread is buttered. But as they say, when life serves you lemons, make lemonade!!

Peas in a Pod..

If Life gives you lemons..