Omnivoracity

I have spent much of the past two days (when not baking madeleines) planning my next trip to South Africa in the Spring. I've been fantasizing about all the delicacies I will have the opportunity to eat when I am there: springbok! gemsbok! impala! kudu! crocodile! warthog! ostrich! - the list of protein-rich, gluten-free delights is almost endless. These flights of culinary fancy have given me pause, however, and prompted me to consider the startling assumptions and generalizations that some folks seem to make about us gluten-freedom-fighters.

I am not a vegan. I am not even a vegetarian. I am not somebody who thinks over-much (or at all) about healthy eating, although I like to think I eat well. Do I try to eat organic when I can? Yes. Do I prefer to eat pork and chicken that have been humanely and naturally raised? Of course. I am, after all, a citizen of this planet and feel a certain responsibility not to destroy it or take more than my share of its resources. But just because my auto-immune system goes berserk when confronted with a toasted teacake or a scone, does not mean I am eager to forgo the butter and jam (or better yet, thick cream)  that are the typical accompaniments. I have not suddenly developed a passion for lentils and sprouts, admirable though they are in moderation. I am an omnivore that likes to eat and doesn't care to overthink while doing so.

This goes double for shopping. I want to be able to shop like Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia - all raptures and enthusiasm. But lately, in my quest for gluten-free ingredients, I have been frequenting the sorts of emporia that are not normally on my itinerary: health food shops that look more like pharmacies than food stores and fearfully earnest establishments that dole out dire warnings with the guar gum. It may be my imagination, but here's the thing: nobody in these places seems to be very happy. Nobody looks like they actually enjoy food! It's a little bit depressing, to tell the truth. I want to shop in places that smell good, where the food isn't all pre-packaged or served up in bottles. Where people aren't scrutinizing labels too closely for ingredients they fear.

I freely acknowledge that this is only the addled perception of a muffin-deprived mind. I admit it's likely I'm projecting onto others my own ambivalent feelings about this whole gluten-free catastrophe - after all, these days who's examining labels more closely than I? Probably nobody. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Next up: I go home and cook steaks for dinner, just to show 'em.