Amores Perros & Farro

This lady really lets her dog stay trapped in a hole in HER APT FLOOR for +1 week... and the grain that keeps me going.

Movies:

Last week I watched Alejandro González Iñárritu’s critically acclaimed film, Amores Perros with my roommate, Gabi. Any movie buff would go ga-ga for the emotional pulverization of its cinematography. Ińárritu also did a great job of incorporating dogs, Gael García Bernal (heartthrob <3 <3 ), and a lonesome, grungy, soundtrack to the 2.5 hour ordeal. You should definitely watch the film for yourself, but there is one MAJOR issue I need to address, so skip this part if you don’t want spoilers.

The film tells 3 separate stories about 3 different dog owners who all become involved with each other’s dealings via a horrendous car crash. There is some dog fighting, animal abuse, a crying, bloody Gael etc etc…. BUT the absolute most insane story is about a model/actress who gets severely injured during the car crash. She recently moved into a brand new apartment with her lover, but because the lover had to pay a ridiculous sum of $$$ to divorce his wife, their new apartment has this gaping hole in the floor that he can’t afford to repair. After the car crash, model girl is in a wheel chair with some serious bolts in her leg. She has very limited mobility. She spends her days at home, enjoying the company of her small fluffy dog, Richie. At some point, she throws a ball into the gaping hole and Richie jumps into the hole and remains trapped in the floor. Model girl is calling for Richie, she shines a light, she crawls along the floor crying in agony as she tries to reach for him through the small dark opening. A day passes and Richie is still trapped. Her lover PLACES A PLATE OF CHOCOLATES NEAR THE ENTRANCE OF THE HOLE TO ENTICE THE SMALL DOG OUT OF THE HOLE. (Chocolates are incredibly poisonous for dogs). He tells her not to worry- he’ll come out to eat.

A whole week passes and Richie is still stuck underneath them. His cries grow weaker and weaker and model girl’s mood gets progressively more sour. She blames her lover for allowing this to happen and accuses him of being incompetent. Eventually she overdoses on pain killers and needs to have her ENTIRE LEG AMPUTATED. Meanwhile, the damn dog is still stuck in the floor.

At this moment, I paused the film. HOW. JUST HOW!??!?!?! I also have a tiny dog who sometimes gets himself into ridiculous altercations. If my tiny dog jumped into a hole a few inches underneath my apartment floor, I would have tore my entire apartment open to retrieve him. I would not have been able to sleep for one night, much less 2 weeks knowing he was trapped there, starving, scared, crying. Can you imagine? By week 2, it’s basically accepting your dog’s corpse in your apartment. Obviously there is some sort of symbolic meaning behind the dog and the hole and the entrapment, but COME ON! No true dog owner would have allowed this to happen then OVERDOSE ON PAINKILLERS while the dog is still trapped and yelping. Maybe the overdose may have made sense if the dog already died, but AFTER model girl overdoses, her lover FINALLY GETS THE DOG OUT OF THE GODDAM HOLE. Anyways, watching this part of the film gave me so much anxiety because I already think about the numerous ways Sandwich (my dog) can get hurt. Everyday is a constant struggle of assessing his mental state, his diet, his shits. Basically, I am a slave to him, and Iñárritu should do more research about how women treat their tiny dogs before basing an entire plot line around it.

---

Food/Drink:

I used to be an avid rice eater. I had rice at least 2x everyday. This is what happens when you grow up in a Chinese household. In fact, my rice consumption is so specific, I didn’t even enjoy eating brown rice, basmati rice, south carolina rice etc. I only wanted short grain, jasmine rice, preferably of a South East Asian or Japanese variety. This is why I am so shocked to discover that I enjoy eating farro.

I was first introduced to farro by my friend, Michelle. She cooked it for me once or twice, but at the time, I claimed that it was yuck. Since returning to NYC from Plano, I’ve been using the Imperfect Foods delivery service and because they seem to always have a shortage of rice, I ordered the most similar rice-thing available- Farro. Farro- brown, chewy, slightly bouncy. Definitely not as absorbent as the fluffy white rice that soaks in all the sauce of whatever dish you are pairing it with. However, I am converted.

Farro is light. Farro is digestible. And, my gosh, does Farro last for a long ass time in your fridge. I cooked a pot of farro last Thursday or maybe it was Friday? (Time really does not exist for me right now). I am still eating it, and it has NOT gone bad. Unlike rice, farro is not as finicky and does not burn as easily when made in a pot. You can cook it like pasta. It is forgiving and sustaining. The perfect kind of food for this dumpster-fire year. Michelle is a farro bitch, and now I am a farro bitch.

Recently, I have been pairing it with grilled corn, shallots, and fried shiitake mushrooms. The flavors are earthy, round, with a little bit of welcoming funk. I make this dish in one pan, and it lasts me a solid three meals. Sometimes it reminds me of a sweetgreen bowl, a gentle reminder of “the before”. I hope you try some farro soon!