THE EATING HABITS OF BOE AN FOP'H

“…cookies are for soldiers
and old fart princesses
and their dogs” says Boe an Fop’h. I asked him about his
eating habits. Chicken he does not trust. “Better eat the
egg” says the po-warrior

...he wakes up at one o’clock afternoon. Has one
espresso coffee, black, or with a droplet of fat milk. In
wintertime or whenever he comes out of the city where there
is little oxygon, he has an egg or two with the coffee. A bit of
black bread. Maybe fruits. Half a grapefruit. An orange. Clementine. Peaches

...during the day, the Esdodi drinks green tea. Good leaves from Wulong, well
dried in ancient cast-iron stoves. One tea pot. Two. Three. The liquid is
slowly sipped. No milk added. No Sugar. “Sugar I keep for my regular
guests, the ants” says Boe. Water comes from a spring. It is boiled
gently, because “water is fragile”

...in the evening, the po-warrior has a beer or two, or wine. Red. Dry. If it
isn’t good, he’ll turn to champagne or wine white or whisky or brandy
or vodka. With that comes the man’s only meal of the day: pastas or
rice or buckwheat topped with lentils or beans, seasonal vegetables
and salads. Lettuce. Spinach. Parsley. Basil. Chicory. Purslaine. Coriander.
Green onions. Olives. Nuts. Hot peppers. Raisins. Etc. Once a week, the
meal is only meat. Red, rare or raw. Pork, gobbled with its fat, “without a
second thought” says Boe. Lamb bought from the nomads, slaughtered in the
morning. Fish is a feast. Trout. Wild salmon. Sturgeon. White fish with a
few potatoes. Caviar
red, yellow, black. In August, crawfish

...when the night begins, more tea. Hibiscus. African red tea. Mint. Wild
thyme. Chamomile. Chocolate. “At four o’clock at night, I eat cheese. White.
Yellow. Blue. Made with the milk of cows, goats, ewes… or I
do not eat at all” explains Boe. “Do you never
feel hunger when you don’t eat?” I ask him. “If you do not
feed hunger, it goes away” answers the Esfodi. He goes to sleep at five, six or seven

...this next Monday begins the Lent. Forty days without meat, dairy, and
alcohol. The liver enjoys a rest. So does the brain. “For the mind, it
is an experience akin to a deep dive” said Boe. He remained
silent for a moment, then he added: “There are interesting
creatures down there, and
good soups, too”

::: ::: :::

[Picture: Rice by reading_is_dangerous (Feb. 16. 2007)]

I recommend this most extraordinary book: The Time of Tea.