Primitive Sushi

Spending my day writing at Starbucks at Brunswick centre, I went to Waitrose next door to get some of these nice pieces of coconut that they sell in the small plastic tub. I usually ignore ready cut pieces of fruit, not only because they tend to be more expensive than the fruit itself, but also, really, how hard is it to cut an apple into pieces or remove the top part of a strawberry? Plus, I love filling my colourful tupperware from Paperchase with freshly cut fruit. However, coconut is different, as it is really tricky to crack one open. Yes, our garden in Athens has had its share of coconuts thrown against the cement floor, in a sealed bag of course. (More on how to open a coconut on youtube).

Walking into the “lunch for business people” section, I saw two employees scanning products. That only means one thing: reduced to clear. This is something which doesn’t exist in Greece - I am still trying to figure out what do supermarkets do with these products that are about to expire. Anyway, I am a huge fan of this concept, mostly because these reduced to clear foodstuffs are usually in perfect condition and can be consumed a few days after the best before date. You save money and reduce waste- win win.

I approached the shelves and saw reduced to clear sushi. I bought a couple of small trays, thinking that I could have them for lunch. But then Mr N suggested buying more for dinner. Oh, what a wonderful idea, I thought to myself and bought some more, hoping that sushi from Waitrose will have a decent taste. Having paid only a few pounds, I left the supermarket with a lot of sushi, feeling what I assume the first people on earth must have felt when they managed to kill a wild animal and were then able to enjoy such a delicacy for dinner. So that you get the full picture dear reader, sushi has become a delicacy here in London because it is very expensive for my being-student-again budget. Yes, at times like this I do miss my old salary. But then I have a look at the “work” I do at the moment and no kobe beef or exquisite sushi can compare to this.

So, bag in hand I sat down to write again but that got me thinking: In a world of abundance, where we can literally get everything at all times within the year, irrespective of nature’s cycle, where it is now possible even to get foodstuffs 24 hours a day without even leaving your house, does this cornucopia really make us happier? Yes, there is more choice. Much more. And of course, there is increased complexity if you are like me and get confused with the myriad choices you encounter when asking yourself “so what’s for dinner?”. But there is something that we haven’t managed to keep. Something that in this whole process has been lost and I wonder how valuable it is. The feeling of discovering something unique, something rare, a hidden treasure. The excitement you get when you discover something to eat which was not available for a very long time. When was the last time you found a hidden treasure? When was the last time you felt like this? I don’t know about you, I miss this excitement…