I’m just going to come out and say it. As of last Monday, I’m on a diet. This sounds rather dismal and dreary in the context of a chicken and rice post, and in fact, this morning I was trying to find an angle on this whole diet thing, something to make it more palatable, or just more tolerable. As I sipped my coffee on the way out the door, now black with no cream or sugar, I found my angle.

For years, the true taste of coffee has eluded me, has been hidden behind cream, milk, sugar, sweetener, flavored creamer, half-and-half, splenda, nutra-sweet, and equal. Saccharine was but the curtain that fell between me, the audience, and the coffee, the dancers on stage. Now the curtain has been lifted, that a rich and bold kona blend taste may now freely dance across my taste buds. Where was this wonderful sensation every other time I drank coffee? Why had I not experienced this before?

Simply put, I had layered my coffee with crap for years. And not just coffee. Too often we lose the true taste, the essence of our food, in layers of condiments, add-ons, and sauces. While many sauces and condiments are delicious in their own way, when we smother our food in dressing, we also smother our food’s soul.

So I am now compelled to take a whole foods approach, but with a twist. I, too, have been moved by cassis, and the posts his exquisite description has inspired. The purpose of spice is not to flavor the food. The purpose of spice is to complement and further bring out the original flavor of the food. When all we taste is rosemary, we have ruined our chicken. And so I will be embarking on a journey of moderation, a journey to find the true tastes of foods we all may have taken for granted beneath layers and layers of glop. Now is the time to set those tastes free, to experience them in their unabated glory, to know in them all that they once were and can be again.

As in keeping with my new diet,  I will from time to time write here about these tastes as I uncover them. Peeling back the coverings of high fructose corn syrup and monosodium glutamate, we may yet find the taste of purity.

OTTAWA, Canada – Birds are dying.  Every year, an estimated 500 million birds fly into skyscrapers with transparent windows.  These collisions cost the birds their lives.  This year someone finally decided to do something.  But before looking at the solution, we should look at the problem.  Why do so few help?

For many, the statistics are too much to bear.  A local musician responded,  “I am disgusted.  The noble bird is the source of amazing poetry, and the basis for many of my songs.  Birds are dying so some rich businessmen can have a view.  Is it worth the view to kill a bird?  Does no one care?” He then covered one of his eyes so he only see half the pain caused by the skyscrapers.  A tear could be seen rolling out his other, disenfranchised eye.

The collisions hurt the flightless birds in much the same way.  An emu, weighed down by grief, commented, “If I had arms I’d cut myself.” That was the only phrase he knew.

And the buildings?  The buildings are indifferent.  Calls to the EWI building, representative to the IUCN World Conservation Congress, were not returned.

Birds are dying, skyscrapers are silent, musicians are paralyzed, and no one is doing anything about the problem.

Except little Charlie Sobcov.  World traveler, eighth grader, Canadian…Charlie is many things.  Most of all, though, Charlie is a lover of birds.  He fell in love during a trip to Costa Rica years ago, and was appalled when he found out the statistics.  But Charlie didn’t fall into an emotional stupor.  Charlie acted.

During an exhaustive examination of the bird’s sensory systems, he discovered that birds and humans see different spectra of light.  Charlie painted several windows with paint that is visible to birds but not humans.  “Immediately the birds stopped flying into those windows,” he said.  He plans to quickly expand his trials.

We here at chicken and rice salute Charlie for being part of the solution.  Pointless death is not delicious.  His hard work has given many hope.  Hope that pointless death stops.  Hope that musician could be enfranchised again.  Hope that emu need not despond.  Hope those skyscrapers need not kill.  But, most of all, hope that birds need not die.

We cannot wait to see what little Charlie will think up next.  He has a lot in common with another lover of birds, a man who visited the Galapagos and fell in love with the islands’ finches.  That man was Charles Darwin.

Dear Rice,
While I was at the grocery store looking for brussels sprouts, I came across teriyaki sauce. Growing up, I was taught that flavorful spices and sauces, especially those of the Asiatic peoples, would led to decadence and decay. Thus I ate chicken, potatoes, and brussels sprouts plain. As I branch out with my life and try new things, could you help me out and explain to me exactly what this mysterious sauce should be used for?

Sincerely,
A Teriyaki Virgin

Dear TV,
You pose a legitimate question–one that I have asked myself on many an occasion. How can we hold true to our isolationist American culture while still enjoying everything our jingoistic outbursts provide? Can we build an 8 foot concrete wall on the Mexican border, but install a small take-out window for tacos? Would cheap Chinese food still be as delicious if it were made by a non-illegal alien?

To reconcile the great teriyaki disparity we turn to a man from the orient, General Sun-tzu, who in the 5th century B.C., said that for one to succeed, one must keep his friends close and his enemies closer. With this in mind, the answer is clear. In order to recognize the dangers that these exotic marinades pose to impressionable males, we must study them. To fully combat the yellow fever which they induce, we must consume them, and in doing so, we neutralize a critical weapon in the oriental arsenal. Wars of the future will be fought not on the battlefield but in the kitchen. The masses think not with their minds but with their stomachs. The Romans understood this. So did Ben and Jerry. Now, so shall we. And if we perfect the delicacies of East-Asian flavorings, we will become the masters of all cuisines, and the world shall tremble at the taste of our delicious.

In short, I highly recommend marinading chicken with teriyaki sauce and then stir frying with red peppers and bean sprouts. I hope this answers your questions. Feel free to send more questions to — delicious [at] chickenandrice [dot] org— and a member of the chicken and rice team will be happy to respond.

Sincerely,
Rice