Food: Introduction, by Robert Fuller

This is just a brief guide to what kinds of information and inspiration you may find here in the “Food” menu of The Fuller Zone as well as my philosophies of various types of food selection and preparation. I come to this place of great interest and enthusiasm for the magical world of food, health, and sustenance as an amateur, having gradually honed my skills and body of knowledge over quite a number of years, so I’m hoping that the information I impart will be a positive goad, a gentle prod, to some of you who have for far too long sat on the sidelines and let someone else do the cooking. Girl, you got it in you! And if you take the plunge, you will not regret it in the least! It’s a source of great pleasure and solace in these all-too troubled times to just get yourself in that kitchen, that pantry, that hearth of sustenance, and just even peel and slice and dice some garlic and onions and celery and bell peppers for that fabulous creamy soup you’re about to throw together as if it were nothing! So just dip your toes in, take a deep breath, and jump right in! The water’s fine!

First, I should mention that the “DIY Basics” parts of this menu are not necessarily just for foodie newbies and novices. They’re actually quite chock full of all kinds of good information, some of which even the most seasoned chefs and professionals may not be aware of.

Apart from the first few paragraphs, DIY Basics Part 1 is really just the most rudimentary, nuts-n-bolts rundown on equipment you might or will need. For anyone who’s just starting to take an interest in the culinary arts, the focus is not by any means about getting the most sophisticated, chef- and ladle-ready professional gear and all the latest gadgets, some of which will do everything for you. On the contrary, it’s merely a jumping-off point so that when you go out and buy all those scrumptious food goodies, you're not going to throw your hands in the air and mutter something about having spent all that scratch on food, and then wondering what you're supposed to do with it.

Well, I can tell you that without at least the bare minimum of utensils, appliances, and so forth, that perfectly good food is just going to go straight into the compost bin! And we don’t want that, do we?

So then DIY Basics Part 2 is where we get down to the real meat of the subject, so to speak. It’s the part where you ask yourself, “Damn! I bought all that fancy new equipment, so now what do I do with it!?” Well, I warned you, you can’t say I didn’t warn you—and I’m fer sure warning you now—not to buy all that cheffy gear, makin’ like you’re suddenly doin’ some kinda Michelin ★★★ side hustle at the latest über-chic fancy-plate joint! No! That’s not you! Just get enough of the basic equipment to make life interesting, and then you can learn how to do something really good with it. You can wait until the next Black Friday to shop until you drop so that you can keep up with the Chez Joneses and their latest newfangled contraptions.

The trip we take through Part 2 is one that traverses a good cross-section of the food landscape. It’s not by any stretch of the imagination a complete guide, but you might find that some of the roads and detours and stopovers grab your attention, at least a little bit. One of my main intents in Part 2 is to juxtapose a whole bunch of different ingredients in the same basic location, kind of like a collage or a smorgasbord, or like one of those super-deluxe Crayola sets where you just look at the thing and you start imagining how you’re going to combine all of these colors in just the right proportions into the swirling colors of your very next Van Gogh!

It seems that just about any time I'm in a grocery store and I see ingredients new to me my mind almost immediately races to “What if I combine this with that?” It's a natural response, especially for kids (of any age). With food substances, most of the time you can't go all that wrong, just as long as they're all edible.

It’s in this spirit that I’m presenting you with these lists and listicals, so that you can also ask yourself, “What’s the combination of X and Y taste like?” And then you go to the fridge or pantry and you get yourself some of this, some of that, you combine them, and see what’s up.

As a matter of fact, I did just that, just now, as of the date of writing this article (12/27/2023). Earlier, at La Grande Market, I happened to notice a couple of food items tucked away somewhat out of view. One was Tableta de Coco, from Honduras; just coconut, sugar, potassium sorbate, and brown sugar, in the shape of bitesize square wafers. The other was Michela Mix (Chamoy Rim Dip), sabor mango. It’s hecho en México (Sinaloa) by Mónica Juan Castro, and they describe it as “Spicy Fruit Candy Rim & Dip”. So naturally I just had to try them both individually and then in combination. Wouldn’t you?

I’m a baker, among other things, of a particular niche specialty item, and this type of item is a sweet—but one that’s not too sweet—that allows the introduction of various toppings and fillings (no, not amalgam!). These two new (to me) ingredients have pretty different flavors and textures; one is a rather sweet coconut crisp, and the other is a slightly tart, not too hot, mango jam, essentially. So they could very well complement each other as toppings or fillings in these highly delicious, very nutritious cookies that I’m going to be world-famous for before you know it. It was indeed a tasty combination, but the art is always in the fine-tuning of the relative proportions. Keep that firmly in mind during your tasting adventures.

This is as good a way, as good a place as any, to lead into Part 3 of our DIY Basics.

The point in Part 3 is to help you start flexing those new foodie muscles and chops of yours, with some real hands-on, super easy to make surprisingly delicious taste treats. Our segue from, as said, “tasting adventures” to actually fixing something good to eat was expedited by means of the preceding example. Just take two ingredients and see where that leads you and your excellent, finely-honed taste buds.

The examples in Part 3 will require a minimal number of ingredients for each, and in some cases, no cooking at all, as in no application of heat whatsoever during the food preparation. Where there is any sort of heat application in whatever mode, the cooking involved will be nearly negligible. All of this is to clearly illustrate that it doesn’t take a ton of highly-refined, virtuoso chef choreography in order to just fix yourself a delicious snack or mini-meal. All you need to do is to taste your high-quality ingredients one by one, paying close attention to their flavor and texture characteristics, and then use your imagination and a bit of let’s say chutzpah to seal the deal as to what should be paired with what else. And then, presto change-o, you’re off to a running start in your first 100m dash, although you’re not going to catch up to Usain Bolt any time soon! (You can try it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.)

But perhaps the first 100 meters is the biggest challenge, you know, just getting off your keister, your duff, arranging a temporary separation from your couch potato alter ego, and just... You know: Just do it!

Once you exercise those taste buds of yours, I tell you, there’s no turning back.