humanity
Humanity topics include pieces on the real lives of chefs, professionals, amateurs, inspiring youth, influencers, and general feel good human stories in the Feast food sphere.
The Concession Stand
"Good game, good game, good game, good game." I shuffle in a line with my teammates, high-fiving our opponents. My red and black softball uniform sticks to my sweaty skin, courtesy of several trips around the bases in Midwestern humidity. We retrieve our equipment from the dugout and surrender it to the team that plays next in this weekend-long tournament. The sun is somehow more uncomfortable without the distraction of an impending defensive play or upcoming base hit.
By Lauren Rachet4 years ago in Feast
Summer foods and eating disorders
Can you hear it? The sound of the ocean, the singing of the seagulls, the sun beating down on your skin making you feel like you are glowing. Like you are on top of the world even. Can you feel the cliché? To some, summer is one of the best times of the year, no school, total freedom to binge on food, travel the world, do whatever your heart desires. And for me it used to be. Until I turned 15, until wanting to binge on food made my stomach sick. For a few years I had been developing an eating disorder. But when I turned 15 something in me clicked. A part of me just really changed from hating the way I saw my body to loathing the way I saw my body. I stopped eating, I worked out too much, and I felt like I was on the verge of passing out almost 24/7. The hardest part about my eating disorder was the fact that I had always loved to eat. So when I stopped eating I finally realized something was incredibly not ok. Yet I tried to hide my eating disorder from everyone for as long as I could. Until one morning I woke up at six am extremely nauseous. For a good hour I was sitting next to my toilet wanting to throw up the nothingness that was my stomach. At that moment I finally asked for help. And that's what I got during the summer when I was 15. This summer, I am 15. I asked for help about a month ago and it has been insanely hard. About a week ago, I told my therapist about my love of food along with my giant sweet tooth. She challenged me so that the next time I eat something sweet to finish the dessert instead of eating half of it. My nutritionist challenged me to find safe foods. I had listed to her fruits, smoothies, and salads because they were low calories, they were what my eating disorder wanted me to say, to eat. But the part of me that asked for help, that is trying to fight away the disorder, knew I had lied straight through my teeth. My comfort food was not fruit or salads. It was ice cream, a cliché summer food but still, the ultimate summer food.
By Keira Mannion4 years ago in Feast
Summer foods and eating disorders
Can you hear it? The sound of the ocean, the singing of the seagulls, the sun beating down on your skin making you feel like you are glowing. Like you are on top of the world even. Can you feel the cliché? To some, summer is one of the best times of the year, no school, total freedom to binge on food, travel the world, do whatever your heart desires. And for me it used to be. Until I turned 15, until wanting to binge on food made my stomach sick. For a few years I had been developing an eating disorder. But when I turned 15 something in me clicked. A part of me just really changed from hating the way I saw my body to loathing the way I saw my body. I stopped eating, I worked out too much, and I felt like I was on the verge of passing out almost 24/7. The hardest part about my eating disorder was the fact that I had always loved to eat. So when I stopped eating I finally realized something was incredibly not ok. Yet I tried to hide my eating disorder from everyone for as long as I could. Until one morning I woke up at six am extremely nauseous. For a good hour I was sitting next to my toilet wanting to throw up the nothingness that was my stomach. At that moment I finally asked for help. And that's what I got during the summer when I was 15. This summer, I am 15. I asked for help about a month ago and it has been insanely hard. About a week ago, I told my therapist about my love of food along with my giant sweet tooth. She challenged me so that the next time I eat something sweet to finish the dessert instead of eating half of it. My nutritionist challenged me to find safe foods. I had listed to her fruits, smoothies, and salads because they were low calories, they were what my eating disorder wanted me to say, to eat. But the part of me that asked for help, that is trying to fight away the disorder, knew I had lied straight through my teeth. My comfort food was not fruit or salads. It was ice cream, a cliché summer food but still, the ultimate summer food.
By Keira Mannion4 years ago in Feast
My Passionate Affair with Gol Gappey
If you're from the subcontinent like me ( India, Pakistan, Bangladesh), you know that nothing beats gol gappay in the summer. Nothing beats a crispy stuffed ball, full of flavours bursting in your mouth. My first intense relationship was not with a man, but with gol gappay ( water balls). It was the summer of 2009. I was a young and innocent desi girl. My relationship with Gol Gappays was friendly and cordial at the time. I would have them occasionally, when we went to Gerard Street, or at a wedding. It was that year, when I had watched a Bollywood movie called 'Rab ne Banadi Jodi' . There was a scene where Shah Rukh Khan and his love interest stop by a Gol Gappa stall to have some gol gappays before they head home after their dance class. They both challenged each other who could have the most gol gappays. One plate after another, they devoured the Gol Gappays. In the end, Shah Rukh Khan had won. It was then, my craving for gol gappays had turned intense. I stayed up many hot July nights tossing, and turning, thinking what was once friendly, and innocent, had now turned intense. These crispy balls filled with smashed potatoes, chickpeas, curd, sev, and tangy-spicy water were now tempting me, luring me towards them.
By Daniya Ali4 years ago in Feast
No Taste Like Home
My first time making my mom's famous potato salad didn't go so well. I had been living with my partner in our first apartment and, after being unable to visit my family for a while during lockdown, I was craving more than just a phone call and he was craving my mother's cooking.
By Sarah Shea4 years ago in Feast
The Glory Days
Ahh, the delectable harrows of summer. The sweltering sun, the incessant buzz of insects you can never quite locate, the all-out warfare upon the grimy waves of a public pool. Summer gave us quarter from education, gave us a sense of childlike joy to explore and play under the warm embrace of the sun. Summer is a pillar of our childhoods, as equally important as a concept as it is a season. You see, summer isn't just a time of year, it’s an experience.
By Daley Malpass4 years ago in Feast
Gridilla. Top Story - June 2022.
From the time I was young, I loved Godzilla movies. Godzilla movies and the Ultraman television show, but Ultraman is for another story. I remember getting excited every Saturday afternoon to see what “new” Godzilla movie would be showing on my local television station. My seven-year-old brain delighted in the different monsters each and every week. And you can imagine how blown away I was when I saw Jet Jaguar in Godzilla versus Megalon! But again, Godzilla versus Megalon is a topic that deserves a story all to itself.
By Briant Laslo4 years ago in Feast
Summer Watermelons
Summer Watermelons: Enjoyed with Mouths, Hands, or Hammers I have always thought of watermelon as the official food of summer. Other summer treats are great, of course. Ice cream is a good contender, but you can get it by the gallon any time of year. Watermelon is more specific to the summer season, which puts it in the lead. When I was about five, I buried seeds in my grandfather’s backyard. I thought that growing my own favorite food would be the best thing in the world. There were three melons growing when I checked the next time they were in season. The grownups gave me all the credit for the harvest, but I have a suspicion that they were the ones who planted and nurtured the melons we enjoyed that summer.
By Sean Elliot Martin4 years ago in Feast
Our Covid Summer
When I think Summer, I think of the impressive wall of heat that hits you on the face like you’re looking into a hot oven. The humidity is so thick, it makes the air heavy. Combined, you are just weighted down, like that nightmare where you are trying to run, but your feet are dragging, and each step is like pushing through taffy.
By Meghan Thew4 years ago in Feast
