Friday, February 5, 2010

Skins, drawing the reality: Cassie and the eating disorders.

As you all may know, I write in the spanish blog of the Skins' serie, and yesterday I wrote a very interesting article about the eating disorders. As a psychologist and as a human. What do you think about it? Let me know, please!


And if you want to read it in spanish, you can do it here!




Without doubt, eating disorders are every day more common in our society, not only the best known, such as anorexia or bulimia, but some new concepts with slowly advancing that coexist with us, often without realizing it: orthorexia, vigorexia, binge eating disorders and obesity ...

In the first generation of Skins we find a character who has a type of eating disorder, anorexia. As you all know, I'm talking about Cassie, the nymph in a sea of doubts ... but is it really seriously addressed this character and veracity ...?



The answer, happily, is yes.

The first thing that caught my attention when I began to see Skins, was the character of Cassie. As a psychologist interested in the topic of eating disorders, I decided to observe the treatment of the character closely. For years I have reported widely on these topics, and I had the opportunity to know (first hand) evidence of boys and girls with this type disorders, among other things. That is why, every time I see some mention on television or film, or in a (dreaded) number of teenagers, I tremble, because the writers of the series tend to be influenced by too many myths that give more to morbo than truth.



But in the case of Skins did not, and the living expression of this is Cassie, a girl terrorized by the world, penned under the belief that if you gain weight, something bad can happen. Undoubtedly, Cassie's fears are many, and around her happens a number of problems that are likely to be those who have developed the disease, which in many other series have forgotten; such series typically focus only on the Purging fact of the disease, as well as highlight the lack of food intake ... but, is that anorexia only, not eating?


Undoubtedly the most striking factor in anorexia is the loss of weight and lack of food intake (or binge eating, followed by purging either by vomiting or laxatives); but are not the only factors that occur in a case of anorexia or any eating disorder. The fear of gaining weight or perceptual disturbance to one's body come hand in hand with feelings of guilt, worthlessness or simply not being wanted, in short: lack of control over your life. That is why people with eating disorders begin to "control" their weight as something that are easy to control (dieting, not eating certain things, etc). But gradually, this control becomes obsessive, sometimes even trying to expand to other areas of everyday life where, inevitably, will not be possible to carry it out, going so what I call "the first failure".

Sunk, rejected, disappointed with herself, the person with an eating disorder will seek to control more momentum that already "controlled", ie your body weight. More restrictions, more seriously and focus on achieving the goals, sometimes even extending them (wanted to reach a 38 ... but why not a size 36?). And with each failure, more tough on yourself until the situation becomes untenable. And then you break, and you begin to dream to join the pieces.


It is at this point where we meet Cassie, a being broken dreamer, hopeless hopes and a heavy heart. Someone very big but it is believed very small, and is afraid to get off the ground. Someone who knows the tricks (unforgettable the scene of Cassie and Sid in the cafeteria, where she explains what to do to feed more people and that they believe comes) but no longer knows if he wants to apply, but does not know how stop (the message of "EAT", present during the same episode). A desperately Cassie seeking emotional and physical stability ... and that by not getting it, punishing her body with the false belief that you can get at least that physical peace.

Fortunately for Cassie (and for all who want and, in some ways, we feel a bit like her), manages to win those battles to a greater or lesser degree, disturbing the ghosts of his past trying to hang on to their knees. If she can, why not be able to others? It is a message written between the lines of Skins, carefully deciphered by those who know what Cassie has passed; transcribed words in this article for those who perhaps had not noticed it.

The creators of Skins made Cassie a real person, evoking hope, change and encounter with oneself, beyond her candor and charm, Cassie is a hymn to life ... a song that sounds in a whisper saying "Wow, lovely".

 

thanks for reading and your opinion!!

Rome on the Hudson

February 5

Maialino is probably the hottest Roman restaurant in New York City right now. It can’t help it; it’s a Danny Meyer restaurant and New Yorkers love Danny Meyer.

But there’s a lot of Roman food out there.

Lupa’s full name is Lupa Osteria Romana.

Sandro Fioriti, currently of Sandro’s on the Upper East Side, has been dishing up carciofi alla giudia and any number of carbonara and amatriciana dishes for the better part of 25 years, and, well, Florence Fabricant recently gave a rundown of Roman restaurants in the Times.

That makes Roman the trendiest Italian regional cuisine in New York at the moment, but there’s a poll on the right side of this screen asking you what your favorite Italian region is for food. Go ahead — pick one. (Rome’s in Lazio, by the way).

Not too long ago I had lunch at one of New York's newer Roman places, Sora Lella. Sora’s slang for Signora, or madam, and Lella was the nickname for Elena Trabalza, the original chef of the original restaurant, on Isola Tiberina, a little island in the Tiber River in Rome.

I went to the New York branch with the restaurant's publicist, which is a good thing, because the restaurant was closed for lunch that day and its owners don’t speak a whole lot of English, except for the chef, Fabio, who, you know, had to be in the kitchen making lunch.

I understand a fair number of Italian food words, but not much else.

Sora Lella’s owners are a nice group, all family members, who said they decided to finally open in New York after visitors from Gotham to their restaurant in Rome had been bugging them to do so for years. They opened their doors in far western SoHo (Spring St., between Hudson and Renwich streets) about nine months ago.

Their business partner, who owns the building, told me about how many new residences and businesses were being established in the area, something I'd been hearing about the neighborhood since Dani opened four years ago two blocks away from where Sora Lella is now. Dani failed to thrive and closed a scant two years after it opened, but a bunch of restaurants have opened around there since then, like 508 — at 508 Greenwich St., a block and a half away.

The owners of both Sora Lella and 508 say they’re doing well and enjoy good followings from local denizens, including the celebrities who live not too far away.

When I had dinner at 508 recently, Thom Filicia, the interior design guy from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, was at the bar, so that’s something.

At Sora Lella, Fabio’s family entertained me and poured me glasses of Roman wine while the chef served me his grandmother's polpettine, which the menu translate”s as “Nonna Lella’s Sliders.”
Nonna means grandmother, and polpettine are actually meatballs. But I guess "sliders” are slightly more trendy than meatballs — although maybe not, according to my friend Andrew Knowlton who I just saw on TV a little while ago declaring meatballs the food of 2010.

I’m afraid I don’t know what show he said that on, because I don’t watch morning TV programs that invite people like Andrew to talk about food, but a tiny clip of it was replayed either on The Daily Show or The Colbert Report, and I saw it there.

Back at Sora Lella, I also had classic gnocchi all'Amatriciana and braised oxtail with pine nuts, among other things.

The Trabalzas have embraced their restaurant’s new American location, and even are offering a Super Bowl menu this Sunday.

Here it is, for $65 (not including tax or tip), including all the beer and wine you can get down your neck (house wine, of course):

Classic Caesar Salad

Polppettine della Nonna Lella
Beef “sliders”, Breaded, Deep Fried and Topped with Tomato Sauce.

Fried Calamari with a Spicy Tomato dipping Sauce

SupplĂ­
Bite-size Roman Riceballs

Pizza
Our Pizza is Stuffed with a Choice of the Following:
Broccoli and Sausage; Classic Margherita; Eggplant and Zucchini

Bruschette
Topped with Lardo, Liver Mousse, Classic Tomato, Artichoke

Mixed Cured Olives

Shin of Beef Stew Served in a Giant Yorkshire Pudding

Shin of Beef Stew in Giant Yorkshire PuddingThe only drawback with making shin of beef stew is in the time which it takes to cook. Shin of beef is one of the cheapest cuts of beef one can buy but when it is cooked properly, it is absolutely delicious and as tender as any piece of spring lamb. Tonight's recipe is for one person.

Ingredients

- Shin of Beef Stew

1/2lb diced shin of beef
1 small onion (quartered)
1 medium carrot (scraped and roughly chopped)
2 pints of fresh beef stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

- Yorkshire Pudding

3oz plain (all-purpose in the USA) flour
5fl oz milk
1 small egg
1/2 tsp salt
Sunflower oil for cooking

Method

The first step is to get the shin of beef on to cook. It will take a total of two and a half hours to do so.

The beef should be put in to a large stew pot and quickly browned on a fairly high heat, while the stock is heated in a separate pot. The hot stock should then be poured in to the beef and brought to a simmer. The shin of beef then has to simmer in this way for two hours. It is important to check frequently if more liquid is required. If so, boiling water should be used to top up the pot.

The Yorkshire Pudding will take about thirty-five minutes to cook in a hot oven. When the beef has been simmering therefore for around an hour and three-quarters, enough sunflower oil should be poured in to a circular, ovenproof dish about eight inches in diameter and one inch deep to comfortably cover the base. The dish should then be placed in to the oven and the oven should be put on to pre-heat to 220C or equivalent while the Yorkshire Pudding batter is prepared.

There are a lot of fanciful tips and advice given both in cookbooks and around the Web for making Yorkshire Pudding. Very often, these are extremely complicated and almost ominous sounding and it is my firm belief that they are the principal reason why a lot of people are afraid to try making Yorkshire Pudding. Alternatively, attempting to follow some of these preposterous suggestions is the very reason why the Yorkshire Puddings don't turn out as intended. Those who know me and how I cook will know that I am a great advocate of simplicity in cooking and therefore I make Yorkshire Pudding very effectively in the following, simple fashion.

The flour should be sieved in to a mixing bowl or basin and the salt added. The milk should be measured out in a measuring jug and then the egg added to the milk and the liquid whisked briskly to combine the egg with the milk. Slowly, the milk and egg mixture should be poured in to the flour and salt, whisking all the time, until a smooth batter is formed.

Very carefully, the hot dish should be removed from the oven and the batter poured in to a depth of about two-thirds of the way up the side of the dish. It will splutter a bit so be careful not to get splashed. Return the dish to the oven and cook for thirty to thirty-five minutes, until the Yorkshire Pudding is beautifully raised and golden.

When the Yorkshire Pudding is safely in the oven, the onion and carrot should be added to the shin of beef stew, along with more boiling water if required. I know that it is more usual to add the vegetables at the start that their flavour may fully permeate the meat but I like my vegetables to be eaten with a bit of substance, not turning to mush the moment they are out of the pot. That is why I compromise in this way when the meat has to cook for so long.

When the Yorkshire Pudding is ready, it should be removed from the oven and removed from the dish to a plate with a fish slice or spatula. The shin of beef stew should then be seasoned with salt and pepper and added to the centre of the Yorkshire Pudding to be served.

Pa's birthday

4 Februari 2010, kamis

Mestinya birthdaynya si tanggal 5, tapi berhubung suami liburnya hari ini n besoknya kerja, jadi ya kita maksudnya gw n dia pergi makan2 berdua aja ...da lama banget ga makan berdua aja, repot dsini, ga ada yg bisa gantiin jaga anak2. Kali ini, mertua mau jaga Xiang n Mei lagi ikutan piknik, jadinya sukses juga makan berduaan, ingetan masa pacaran dulu..hahah.

Kali ini milih restoran unagi, uda lama banget ngefan ma resto ini, tapiiii dari dulu2 ga kesempetan buat makan disini, cuman ngomongnya aja, kayaknya enakkk, coz rame banget tiap malam minggu, kalo hari biasa si ga terlalu rame, tapi tetep ada aja yg datang makan.
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Unaginya enakk banget, ga keras, gurih, rasanya mantappp...tapi emang si agak mahal. Padahal kita milih yang paling murah lho...ada 3 pilihan, menu yg unaginya paling top, plg mahal. Yang kedua yang sedeng, harganya ga seberapa jauh dr yg petama, yg trakhir yang biasa aja. Gw juga ga tau dah apa bedanya menu yg ptama ama yg ketiga??? Mungkin gede kecilnya kalee ya?

Kita nyantap sambil obrol, ga terasa uda kayak balik ke jaman pacaran dulu...makan di resto jepang di jusconya guangzhou..hoho...masih ada ga ya tuh restoran?? hahha
Happy birthday honey... thx for being with me n children...