Introduction (Food and Culture)

Good Evening Everyone,

 

My name is Crystal Rodriguez, I’m an undergrad student here at Dominguez Hills who transferred from Los Angeles Harbor College. I was in the PACE program before transferring, therefore I decided to join the IDS/PACE program here at Dominguez. It’s convenient for those who have a full-time job and want to pursue their education. As an IDS major, my area of concentration is Environmental Studies. I love the natural world therefore I decided to focus on understanding the world and the implications of individual, community, and government actions on the environment.

I am an enthusiastic, creative, and caring individual has a passion for dance, culture, nature, food and art. At this present time I am a dancer (danzante) for a group called ‘Danza Mexica Cuauhtemoc’. As an indigenous young woman, I have realized that the world has been putting such labels on the roots. The world of jungle, you can either run or fight your way. The souls of my ancestors peer out from behind my mask skin, and through our dances and foods they live again. We can’t forget where we came from, and that is why my group members and I organize to preserve our dances, food, and culture. With that said, I am looking forward to learning more about other food and cultures. I am interested in knowing how others have managed to keep their traditions alive through their dishes.

Wait! before you roll your eyes…

My name is Melky Aleman.  I served as an active-duty Marine from 1998-2002.  In 2013 I obtained my Associate Degree in Sociology from East Los Angeles College.  Currently, I am a Senior at California State University Dominguez Hills and I will be graduating in May 2017.  I am proud to be a Labor Studies major.  Organized Labor has been at the forefront of all major social change in the United States.  In relation to this class, the poor (aka the laborer) is responsible for the world’s famous, and over priced, cuisine.  My goal in this class was to help everyone appreciate that.

I. love. to. cook.  I am the main meal-maker in the home.  I especially love to try new things and try to recreate them, at home.  My wife and I have three kids and so we are busy and on a budget.  Recreating restaurant quality food at home saves us a lot of money.  My favorite food this week, is the classic Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich.  But wait!  before you roll your eyes, picture this:  A classic PB & J, but once put together, cook it like you would a grilled cheese with butter.  Seriously, you will never look at another PB&J the same.  You are welcome.

My mother is from El Salvador, so I grew up eating all things Salvi.  Growing up in L.A. however, I was surrounded food from all over the planet.  I grew up in the mid-city area filled with Black Americans, Filipinos, Koreanos and all dark skinned folks from all Spanish speaking countries!  I married into a Mexican family and am still learning. My wife and I have ate our way through many countries on the planet.  Food is everything.

 

Introduction

Hello, my name is Vittorio Degli Eredi. I was raised in Huntington Park, CA and have lived there my whole life. This is my first semester at Dominguez hills and I am majoring in Interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in comparative cultures. I’ve always been fascinated with other cultures and since food is such a huge part of culture, I was thrilled to take this class. I enjoy all aspects of culture end enjoy experiencing new music, religion, lifestyles, and food. I grew up in an Italian household so naturally I ate a lot of Italian food growing up. Today, I enjoy all types of food and am always excited to try new dishes but pasta, for me, has remained a comfort food. Especially when topped with the sauce my grandmother made when I was a child. I am also of Mexican descent. I grew up eating Mexican food on a regular basis as well. So, many of the foods I find comfort in are Mexican. However, pasta is the ultimate comfort  food. At times when I’ve felt like experimenting I’ve even prepared a fusion of Italian and Mexican food. One day we had mole at home but ran out of tortillas and rice to eat it with. So i decided to make pasta and use mole as the sauce. I topped  it off with cotija cheese, avocado, and onion. I remember it being pretty good but my favorite preparation of it will always be with the sauce my grandmother made.

Matthew Ord Introduction

Hello Classmates,

Upon submitting my project I realized I never got an invite to the WordPress (woops), so now I’m writing my Intro a tab bit late but I talked to Dr. Perez and she knows I’m submitting it.

My name is Matthew Ord, Im a transfer student from Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, my major is IDS with a concentration in Environmental Studies. I’m a photographer and a part time lunch lady for Newport-Mesa Unified School District. My first food selfie was taken of an Omelette I ate in San Diego after my Bachelor party, so i was very very hung over. I love anything with eggs and cheese in it, throw in potatoes and I’m an even in love. Omelettes have always been one of my favorite breakfast dishes, there are so many ways to get creative with them. You can add any meat you want, cheese, veggies or anything your heart desires. Thats what i love about them you can make it based on whatever you’re craving. I’ve even been known to make omelettes for dinner.

I’ve enjoyed listening to all of your presentations and i can’t wait to give mine. This class have been very informative and fun.

 

Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

Hi, Im Emily. I am a senior in the IDS program.  I am a traveler but I dont like taking photos.  I have been to Europe, Canada, and most of the United States.  I like to consider myself a cook and I take after my grandmother who criticizes every dish put infront of us.  Thankfully, unlike her, I know how to cook.  I am part Greek and I have inherited the Greek need for lemon, garlic, and fresh food.

My favorite dish is Lemon chicken and potatoes.  That is my staple food.  Although I enjoy greek food, I am adicted to sweets.  I am pretty sure that I am so close to having diabetes.

To make lemon chicken the greek way is to heat the oven to 375F.  Then take the chicken brest or what ever chicken you want, rub it down in salt, peper, and minced garlic.  Next you cut red or golden potatoes into wedges an place in a pan that has at least two inch high sides.  Pour olive oil on the potatoes and sprinkle salt and peper over the potatoes.  Next, place the chicken over the potatoes so that they are sitting ontop of the potatoes. (note: you can substitute the potatoes for Orzo, the greek pasta.  Only thing you need to do is add a cup of water to the pan. The ammount of water depends on the quantity of orzo.)  Squeeze half a lemon over the chicken and potatoes.  Place in oven and set a timer for 15 min.  When the timer goes off squeeze more lemon on the chicken and potatoes. (If you are doing orzo put a little more water in the pan if the orzo is still looking raw.)  Cook for another 30 min.  The chicken and potatoes will be done when the potatoes look golden brown and the chicken is slightly brown.  When you take out the chicken squeeze a little bit more lemon on the chicken and potatoes.  Lemon flavor likes to cook off.  and you are done.

Last time I hade good Lemon chicken was in Greece.  It paired really well with red wine only because I love red wine, even though you are supposed to pair white wine with fish and chicken.

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Intro for Tiffany McKinley

Hello everyone!! My name is LoriTiffany McKinley. My major is Interdisciplinary Studies. I plan to graduate in May. I am super excited! Once I am done with my bachelors, I plan to get my masters in Negotiation, Conflict Resolution and Peace-building at Dominguez. I enjoy Dominguez so much I would love to get my masters there. My favorite food is red beans and rice, fried chicken and corn bread. Like I mentioned in the introduction of this course, this is my favorite meal because it was a meal my adopted parents cooked for my sisters and me. My dad made the best beans and rice. He started by soaking the beans over night, this made the beans extra creamy and thick once done. In a separate pot, he would cook the pig tails because they took a very long time to cook until the meat fell off bones. Then he added the seasonings to the beans and let them cook until for a few hours. Lastly, he would add the sausages and cooked pig tails and let the beans cook until they were thick. After our winter trips to Louisiana, my parents would bring home Louisiana sausages. When my dad made his beans with those sausages, they always came out better than ever. My mom made the best fried chicken. First, she seasoned the chicken with her special seasonings. Then she made the batter with flour and more seasoning. Next she dipped the seasoned chicken in egg then the batter. It usually took 20 minutes to cook a batch on medium heat. Once the chicken turned golden and crispy it was done. The corn bread was fairly simple. My sister usually made it. She followed the directions on the box, but typically added more oil, sugar and honey. I looked forward to dinner every time this was being made. To this day, I love this meal. I don’t have my dad’s recipe, but whenever I do want some all I have to do is ask him. He’s more than happy to give me his recipe, but every time I try to make them like his they never come out the same.

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m&m donut

donut

Hi ,my name is lorenzo caldwell. i am from harbor city california, and i am currently attending california state university dominguez hill studying a major in IDS, with a concentration in american studies. i am a transfer student who has been out of college for quite some time and now i am returning to finish up my last year.

generally i am not big on sweets or candy in particular, “but when i do” i always love to get pastries like cupcakes, donuts, and cake! my food self for today is a donut that i sometimes get from california donuts which is pretty bomb i might say myself. usually i’m pretty conscious  about whats going in my body, but i do set and love those cheat days for myself. donuts simply put, are my cure for good and bad times.

Hello I’m Rocio

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My name is Rocio. This is my second year at CSUDH. I grew up in Compton and in Compton there was always someone selling food or something else on the street. As a kid I could always count on the raspado man. The raspado man would carry every flavor of raspado you can think of. There was bubblegum, lemon,cherry,vanilla etc. My favorite was vanilla with lechera. But if I wasn’t in the mood for a raspado he would also have chicharones with lemon and chile or elotes(corn on the cob) covered with mayo, butter, cotija cheese and chile. It may sound gross but its actually quite good! Instead of chasing the Ice cream truck as a kid, I chased the raspado man.
I moved out from Compton a few years ago and I would be lying if I didn’t say I miss the raspado man. Now I have to go to a nearby shop that sells these treats. I can still buy my vanilla raspado, and chicharones however, now I have to settle for my corn in a cup instead of on the stick.

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Intro-Shrimp, Shrimp, & more Shrimp

Po'Boy

Hi Everyone,

My name is Marissa but I usually go by ‘Thursday’ 🙂 I am currently finishing the last year of my BA in IDS/ Comparative Culture. I have changed my major approximately 4 times and finally made a decision to follow through. I am 1/4 Japanese, 1/4 Filipino, 1/4 Mexican, and 1/4 French Canadian so I have been exposed to a variety of different food through my life. I am always up to try something new however seafood is my favorite.I grew up in a ‘healthy’ house with no sugar, light seasoning, and no red meat. As I got older, I found food gold… aka SALT & SUGAR! I soon began picking my own groceries and cooking my own meals just the way I like it.

I decided to post this Shrimp Po’Boy from my recent trip to New Orleans, as it was one of my favorite meals there. My love for not only Seafood, but Spicy food was the perfect feast in every restaurant in the city. Everything was so incredibly flavorful  that it left a taste in my mouth for hours. Almost everything i ate incorporated Shrimp in some way! Luckily, my mom loves shrimp as much as me so we love finding new restaurants that have it prepared differently.

Graciela Introduction

 

img_0481 Hello my class mates, my name is Graciela.  I was born in Aguascalientes and immigrated to the United States in the summer of 1987. I came right after I graduated from the sixth grade.  My mom and my two older sisters came to the states three month before my younger sister and I.  My very first meal in the states was a hamburger with French fries, I loved it.  I spent the whole summer getting up at 5:00am in the morning to go to work with my dad; by 6:00am we were at Teds’ Burger ordering the hamburger special. To this day I still eat my hamburger special from Teds’ Burgers. It has nothing to do with how great their burgers are, it is the memory of our first meal in the States. For a brief period, my family was separated, when we reunited sharing a meal together was just incredible.  I take my nieces and nephews to this small restaurant and tell them the story of how their mothers, grandparents and I came to the United States.  For the most a hamburger might seem unhealthy, cheap, and lazy people food, but for me it is my very first American meal.