Thursday, August 13, 2009

French fries and mangoes

Among the best parts of the exchange between Pres. Obama and 11-year-old Florida student Damon Weaver, who had been angling for months for an interview with the chief executive:

Damon: Do you have the power to make the school lunches better?

Pres. Obama: Well, I remember that when I used to get school lunches they didn't taste so good, I've got to admit. We are seeing if we can work to at least make school lunches healthier, cause a lot of school lunches, there's a lot of french fries, pizza, tater tots, all kinds of stuff that isn't a well-balanced meal. So we want to make sure there are more fruits and vegetables in the schools. Now, kids may not end up liking that, but it's better for them. It'll be healthier for them. And those are some of the changes we're trying to make.

Damon: I suggest that we have french fries and mangoes every day for lunch.

Pres. Obama: See, and if you were planning the lunch program it'd probably taste good to you but it might not make you big and strong like you need to be. And so we want to make sure that food tastes good in school lunches but that they're also healthy for you, too.

Damon: I looooove mangoes.

Pres. Obama: I love mangoes, too. But I'm not sure we can get mangoes in every school. They only grow in hot temperatures and there are a lot of schools up north where they don't have mango trees.

Young Damon might be onto something. I would love to subsist for a while on french fries and mangoes as well. They would definitely have to be crisp steak fries, however, and fresh juicy mangoes.

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About Me

is a writer and reviewer on the West Coast whose essays and articles have appeared in publications such as the Oakland Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, Budget Travel, Brown Alumni Magazine, Saveur, Relish, Gastronomica, Best Food Writing 2002, www.theatlantic.com, www.npr.org and www.culinate.com. She has a bachelor's in English from Brown and a master's in literary nonfiction from the University of Oregon. Send comments, questions and suggestions to: mschristinaeng@gmail.com.

Books I am Reading

  • "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl
  • "Manhood for Amateurs" by Michael Chabon
  • "The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook" by Michelle and Philip Wojtowicz and Michael Gilson
  • "Rustic Fruit Desserts" by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson
  • "Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger" by Nigel Slater
  • "Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life" by Jamie Oliver
  • "The Gastronomical Me" by M.F.K. Fisher
  • "Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China" by Fuchsia Dunlop
  • "My China: A Feast for All the Senses" by Kylie Kwong
  • "Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China" by Jen Lin-Liu
  • "Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance" by Barack Obama

Films and TV Shows I am Watching

  • "Jiro Dreams of Sushi"
  • "Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death"
  • "Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie"
  • "Waitress" with Keri Russell
  • "The Future of Food" by Deborah Koons Garcia
  • "Food, Inc."

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