It may sound gross, but alas, there is good reason behind saving a little bit of the dregs.
For instance, when cooking some greens, a little bit of beer can make a wonderful difference in the flavor put out by them. Depending on the greens you choose to cook – there are much more than than just spinach and cabbage – some have subtle flavors while others have metallic or spicy flavors. Adding a little bit of beer can dull down the bite and add a little bit of sweetness.
The last few days I've been on a spinach kick. It's inexpensive, good for you and easily made into a side. I bought some fresh packed fish from the local H-E-B and figured I could plan ahead for the week with some cooked brown rice and some veggies. Here's a new favorite of mine, it's quick and tasty.
I'm trying to save my monies for an upcoming trip to Guatemala to visit an awesome friend who is doing documentary work there and pursing personal projects, so I am trying not to buy fast food on my breaks. I only have an hour break, so I have found myself cooking on my break, which helps take the mind off of the deadline grind, and wrapping up a plate to take back to the office. Today, I decided to go with some couscous, spinach with mushrooms and pan-seared salmon.
First, I cooked the couscous. Such an easy side to go with fish, or pork or chicken. Its really light and cooks in just a few minutes. Then in a second pan, I sauteed some garlic in butter and oil and then added some rough-chopped mushrooms to brown. All the while, I seasoned some salmon with salt and pepper and dropped it in a buttered pan skin-side down. I love crispy skin. I think that is the only reason people don't like fish skin, because they don't cook it so that it's crispy.
I flipped my fish, and squeezed the juice of a half a small lemon on it to help it cook and add some flavor. I then added s healthy handful of spinach to the mushrooms and garlic, poured in some old Miller Lite and covered the pan with a lid. This way it steams and cooks the spinach, melds the flavors of the browned mushrooms and garlic too. The beer brings out a nice added flavor note to the veggies. I dig it.
Bon appetite.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, November 15, 2010
Tomato Soup for the Soul
The weather is beginning its transition from thick, nearly palpable air to its frigid winds that cut like knives. It’s the kind of weather that calls for hearty soups and hot cocoa topped with homemade whipped cream. It will be my first winter here in Victoria. And from the looks of it, it may be a cold one. Despite the climate and location further south, its nearness to the coast and humidity will affect the dew point and therefore the way that it feels. The digital thermometer that so commonly comes with newer model cars may read 52°F outside, but I am pretty sure that you’ll take a step outside and wonder why you didn’t grab a heavier jacket and maybe even that wool scarf your sister got you last Christmas.
With that said, I had a hankering to make some tomato basil soup for the past week and I finally did, tonight. I got out of work later than I had hoped to, ran into a few glitches in the works and am now questioning my ability as a professional – but that’s a different entry. It was a quarter after midnight when I stepped in the door to my apartment and I already had the gears greased and fully in motion about how to go about it. I knew that I wanted to make a tomato basil soup, so I had already purchased everything that I was going to need to get cooking, literally. I don’t quite have the access or the funds to use all fresh ingredients, I have three student loan payments and a healthy serving of credit card debt, so I had to settle for some canned goods and dried herbs. The quality of canned and dried ingredients is also questionable because of said budget.
So I started with some slivered garlic sautéed just slightly in a small pat of butter. To that I added some dried herbs: basil, oregano, parsley and a bay leaf. I let the garlic infuse a little and then poured some chicken broth in the pot. The pork fried rice that I cooked earlier on my break used some broth, so there wasn’t as much as I would have liked to have had in the soup for a base and some depth. I let the flavors meld for a few minutes and then I added a can of diced tomatoes.
In stride with the ever-changing habits of consumers, the variety of canned goods has grown in the last decade. Choices of cream soups, canned vegetables, even canned meats, have evolved and nearly every label wears a recipe or offers a variety of vitamins or other important substances for healthy lifestyles. Case in point, H-E-B specifically has “canned tomatoes” on one of its signs directing consumers to an array of canned tomatoes. You may think to yourself, “And?” Well my friend, as I assume you are since you’re reading my blog, allow me to spill the tomato sauce and stain that brain of yours with the variety of canned tomatoes out there.
Let me start by saying that tomatoes are included in a vast list of culinary cuisines that require tomatoes as the base. There are soups (tomato basil), pastas (spaghetti), chili (Tex-Mex), casseroles dishes (eggplant Parmesan), rice dishes (paella),et cetera. I won’t even touch on the number of brands out there, I solely shop according to price. If its inexpensive, its in the basket. OK, so let us begin.
First off, there is the style of canned tomato. There are the whole, diced, halved, pureed, pasted, sauced, crushed, quartered and stewed kinds. Then the consumer gets into the specifics: seasoned or left alone; salt-added or no salt-added; are other ingredients added, like garlic, parsley, mushrooms, et cetera; or how they are canned, in water, oil, or other liquids. And the seasoning alone can be a tricky one. You only have a label to go by, so I say you follow your gut and go with the product that resembles its natural self as closely as possible. I go with the diced or halved variety with no salt-added, or even low-sodium, variety in water. If you follow the route that I've chosen, you can chose your spices and adjust that as you like.
To eliminate the larger pieces of tomato. I used my immersion blender to puree the soup some and create a more bisque-like texture. I don't like my soups so creamy, because I like the idea of having some texture, otherwise I feel like I should be drinking it through a straw.
In the end, I would call it a successful first attempt. It was tomato soup. Perhaps not exactly what I had envisioned when I first started thinking about the recipe, it was soup, made with tomatoes – which was the goal at hand, right? Right.
The next time I make some soup, however, I am going to purchase a nice sieve. I was chewing – though I took steps to achieve texture – on the dried herbs more than anything else. If I had a sieve I could have eliminated those pieces while retaining the texture that I wanted. If I had a variety of sieves I could even make for a creamier soup, for instances like a potato soup or even a gazpacho.
All in all, it was delicious. I shared it with a friend and even enjoyed a grilled cheese sandwich made with Swiss to help mellow the acidity. Swiss is a more creamy-flavored cheese than cheddar, though cheddar would have provided a different kind of note against the tomatoes. Using an herb-butter for the grilled cheese would have also been a nice complement to the soup, but the soup was well-seasoned as it was.
I'll be trying more soups here in the near future as it continues to get colder and I begin to see less of the sun. I look forward to it.
Friday, October 15, 2010
First try at blueberry pie
Today I made two blueberry pies. Yum. It was my first try at blueberry pie and I had a few ideas that I wanted to try out.
First, I wanted to use sage infused sugar for the sweetening agent. I bought some fresh sage and then placed some sprigs in plastic bag with some sugar. The trick is to rub the sugar with the sage leaves to get pull the natural oils out and into the sugar. Sage has a subtle flavor to it that I thought might go well with the tartness of the fruit.
Second, I wanted to use a different acid source than the typical lemon juice that most pies call for. Last week, I purchased two bottles of red wine – one that I enjoyed and the other, not so much. The kind of wine I enjoyed escapes me, but the second was a petite sirah. It was really acidic. There was quite a bite packed in there. A splash of water would have fixed that, I just opted to use it for cooking versus drinking. Since it was so acidic I figured I could use it in the pie.
Third, I want wanted to make a crumble for this pie instead of using a second crust. The textures of the blueberries is much different those of the apples and parsnips. I also wanted to use the sage sugar in the crumb topping.
On a last-minute decision, I decided to use some plums and an overripe nectarine in the pie as well. The other night, I decided to soak some aging plums in the petite sirah and was planning on eating them up after dinner that evening. Things didn't happen that way so they ended up soaking up the wine for an extra night. I tested a piece of plum this morning when I was preparing to hit the local H-E-B for groceries, and was delighted how the plums had mellowed out the wine. I had a bruised and overripe nectarine on my dinner table, that I wasn't going to eat – a texture thing, it was too soft for my liking – so I through in the wine bath. As Emeril Lagasse would say, they would be getting happy... or is that Mario Batalli. I can't remember, I haven't watched the boob in a few months.
I added the drunken stone fruit to the blueberry mix and they provided some extra body and some contrasting flavors. Yum. I also added a chiffonade of sage to the blueberries to add an additional hint of the herb. It was a success. Everyone in the newsroom enjoyed it. I even served it with the cinnamon whipped cream I made for the apple and parsnip pie.
While I was making this set of pies, I started thinking that it may be nice to open a small dessert bakery with early hours and closing at 1 p.m. so that I can go to work. Maybe I can open my sandwich shop here for a trial run. Then a few other options started to weave their way into the thicket of my thoughts and the daydreams began to develop just as the edges of the crusts were browning.
Another option would be to open a catering business. I could maybe even rent the kitchen here at the Advocate to prepare pies for people that wanted them. However, if I decide to go that route, I have to get a certified to handle and sell food. I can do that at the local college if I really wanted to pursue that. I have a friend, Marc, who wants to open up a pizza in the near future. I could see if he'll let me bake some pies and make some desserts for him. I can make some awesome sweets, let him try them out and see if he would like to give them a try at his pizza eatery. That could be exciting. If only he would let me do that I would be thrilled. Right now, I just have to keep practicing and perfecting my recipes.
In retrospect, I think I may have used a bit too much wine in the first pie or at least I think I could have omitted the lemon juice. The pie was little more runny than the second pie. The first pie was a little more saturated in sugar than the second, which I ended up adding some reserve berries too when I realized there wasn't enough berries in the mix. Also, I think that the crumble could have crunchier. I added some store bought granola to it, it added some texture like I wanted. Next time, I think I'll add some slivered almonds, crushed walnuts, or some oats. That might be nice.
First, I wanted to use sage infused sugar for the sweetening agent. I bought some fresh sage and then placed some sprigs in plastic bag with some sugar. The trick is to rub the sugar with the sage leaves to get pull the natural oils out and into the sugar. Sage has a subtle flavor to it that I thought might go well with the tartness of the fruit.
Second, I wanted to use a different acid source than the typical lemon juice that most pies call for. Last week, I purchased two bottles of red wine – one that I enjoyed and the other, not so much. The kind of wine I enjoyed escapes me, but the second was a petite sirah. It was really acidic. There was quite a bite packed in there. A splash of water would have fixed that, I just opted to use it for cooking versus drinking. Since it was so acidic I figured I could use it in the pie.
Third, I want wanted to make a crumble for this pie instead of using a second crust. The textures of the blueberries is much different those of the apples and parsnips. I also wanted to use the sage sugar in the crumb topping.
On a last-minute decision, I decided to use some plums and an overripe nectarine in the pie as well. The other night, I decided to soak some aging plums in the petite sirah and was planning on eating them up after dinner that evening. Things didn't happen that way so they ended up soaking up the wine for an extra night. I tested a piece of plum this morning when I was preparing to hit the local H-E-B for groceries, and was delighted how the plums had mellowed out the wine. I had a bruised and overripe nectarine on my dinner table, that I wasn't going to eat – a texture thing, it was too soft for my liking – so I through in the wine bath. As Emeril Lagasse would say, they would be getting happy... or is that Mario Batalli. I can't remember, I haven't watched the boob in a few months.
I added the drunken stone fruit to the blueberry mix and they provided some extra body and some contrasting flavors. Yum. I also added a chiffonade of sage to the blueberries to add an additional hint of the herb. It was a success. Everyone in the newsroom enjoyed it. I even served it with the cinnamon whipped cream I made for the apple and parsnip pie.
While I was making this set of pies, I started thinking that it may be nice to open a small dessert bakery with early hours and closing at 1 p.m. so that I can go to work. Maybe I can open my sandwich shop here for a trial run. Then a few other options started to weave their way into the thicket of my thoughts and the daydreams began to develop just as the edges of the crusts were browning.
Another option would be to open a catering business. I could maybe even rent the kitchen here at the Advocate to prepare pies for people that wanted them. However, if I decide to go that route, I have to get a certified to handle and sell food. I can do that at the local college if I really wanted to pursue that. I have a friend, Marc, who wants to open up a pizza in the near future. I could see if he'll let me bake some pies and make some desserts for him. I can make some awesome sweets, let him try them out and see if he would like to give them a try at his pizza eatery. That could be exciting. If only he would let me do that I would be thrilled. Right now, I just have to keep practicing and perfecting my recipes.
In retrospect, I think I may have used a bit too much wine in the first pie or at least I think I could have omitted the lemon juice. The pie was little more runny than the second pie. The first pie was a little more saturated in sugar than the second, which I ended up adding some reserve berries too when I realized there wasn't enough berries in the mix. Also, I think that the crumble could have crunchier. I added some store bought granola to it, it added some texture like I wanted. Next time, I think I'll add some slivered almonds, crushed walnuts, or some oats. That might be nice.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Apple and Parsnip Pie
Hurrah! It was a hit. It was something that I had been wanting to test for a while, and I finally had a chance to make it before work. I'm so glad. I brought it into work for some feedback and to feed my co-workers – journalists love free eats, I told you that didn't I? They enjoyed it so much, I didn't even get a chance to taste it. I'm excited about perfecting it. Or at least getting the texture down. I think that I need to try some different apples next time. I don't think that they Gala apples have enough pectin in them to produce the nice gelatinous consistency found in those Blue-ribbon winners.
I know that I can add some gelatin to the apple mixture, but I would love to be able to rely solely on the apple's natural integrity. I didn't add a lot of other ingredients to it, since I didn't want to adulterate the flavors too much. though I think that the parsnips hold more moisture than they look like they do, or at least they don't contain any pectin to provide body for the filling..
I even made a cinnamon whipped cream to go with it, but I forgot it at home. When I got home though, I tried it and realized I put too much sugar in the container, however, I now have some cinnamon frosting to use for cookies or cupcakes. I think a Chai pumpkin pie will be in the works coming up..
Last Thanksgiving I made a simply, scrumptious pumpkin pie with an almond cookie crust and a Chai ice cream. I think that would be perfect for the whipped cream, if I can salvage it. I don't know if adding more cream will transform the frosting into a whipped cream. I'll let you know how the cookies, or cupcakes, or possibly, pies come out.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Kolache Fest, a Date with Gretchen and more
I had the pleasure of enjoying a kolache last weekend during a shift at the newspaper. I guess the presentation editor had a hankering, so she left and returned with a box of assorted fruit Kolaches.
Kolache, eh? When I first heard the word, I imagined a custard-like dessert. Like a flan or something like that.
So here is a box of these little pastry delights, and my editor sends out an e-mail to the newsroom saying she brought some kolaches. Before I could get my paws on them, the multimedia cats were taking their pick and everything was nearly gone. Journalists – of every profession: photographers, reporters, copy editors, designers, etc. – love anything free. So when the goodies arrive – literature, tickets to a local show, kolaches – they don't last long. However, I was able to snag me a piece of a strawberry one, and boy was it good. I enjoyed every minute of its sticky, strawberry, sweetness.
According to the short preview piece that ran in our paper, they are Czech pastries with fruit fillings. I guess they remind me of Danishes, but lighter in texture and oozing with gooey fruit and syrupy, sugar coating. They literally glisten in the light with all the sugar liberally applied.
Well, this weekend, Halletsville is holding its 16th annual Kolache Fest Friday and Saturday. If I can play my cards right, I'll be heading that way after work in the morning after my shift at Denny's. It starts at eight o'clock with a 42 tournament and then the food and regular festivities start at 9. So, I really want to go. The only thing is that I have to go to work at 2 p.m. for the paper and then work at Denny's when I get off. It will be a long few days to come.
But what can I say, the little fat kid in me wants to go and check it out. I also want to learn how to make them. They'll have two demonstrations that day, one at noon and again at 2 p.m. I invited a friend to come with, but he has to be at work by o1 p.m., and I want to stay and see what its like and to photograph the event. I haven't picked up Gretchen (my D80) in a while so I want to get back into the swing of things. I can't have her, or my brain, developing cobwebs where there was once an abundance of activity.
To get back into the habit (of cruising on my board as well), I took my longboard out and I popped Gretchen in my bag and took a cruise around the downtown area. It was chill. I broke a sweat, took some artsy fartsy photographs and I even had some time to read and grub down on a sub. Currently, I'm reading "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair, but am hoping to bring it to the killing beds this next week. I want to read more about food. I was thinking about picking up a book from M.F.K. Fisher or Rachel Reichl. Both authors wrote/write about their adventures in the culinary world. Also, one of my good friends, Paul O'Connell, recommended I read anything by Fisher.
My list is growing and I need to get going on it. And by list, I'm talking about list of things to do with my life: read like "Fahrenheit 451" were coming to fruition, capture beautiful things on my camera and share them, get out and cruise (by foot, car, longboard, surf board or snowboard), experience life, and cook and eat well. I'll get there soon enough. I'll get there and when I do, it's going to be awesome.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Pollan's Poison
Hello from Victoria, Texas. That's right, I've moved again. I recently moved here from Rio Rancho, N.M. to pursue a career at their newspaper, the Victoria Advocate. I dig it. I work on the copy desk as a copy editor putting in the grueling hours after everyone has left the office already. Nah, it's not that bad. I come to work at 2 p.m. and leave around 11ish – depending on the day's news and the shiftwork.
I've been here for about a month now and things are going smoothly. I cook my own meals and am thoroughly enjoying that. I've had the opportunity to put together some recipes that I've had on the back burner for a while. I didn't pack a television so all I do to entertain myself before I go to work is read. Since I moved out here, I think I've read at least four books. For me, that is very good. A very good friend of mine, John, bought me two books by Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food and An Eater's Manual, for my birthday and I have been enjoying the chance to catch up on some much needed reading.
Last year I read Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma and loved it. In the midst of the market's struggle to revert to unprocessed foods and and organic farming Pollan seeks the answer to one of the most basic of questions that we as humans constantly have to ask: What should we eat? The book was really well written and I enjoyed following him in his adventures.
A recurring theme the two books cover is the fact that much of what the U.S. consumers eat is comprised of corn- and soy-based products. The animals that we eat are fed corn, the sugar we have in our soft drinks is corn-based, the oils that we cook with are corn- or soy-based, etc. The vast majority of what we are eating these days is made – even packaged – of one of the two products. The problem with that is that the processes that the foods we eat are no longer as healthy for us as they were. They lack certain nutrients that our bodies need. And despite the fact that nutritionist and food scientists, dressed in their white lab coats made of Polypropylene (not natural fibers), are altering the genetics to include some of the valuable nutrients that we need or adding vitamins and minerals to the things that we eat on an almost daily basis – milk, bread and cheeses – food is not as nutritious for us as things used to be decades ago.
I mean if you think about it, corn today has gone through years of genetic alterations and is no longer as vitamin or mineral bearing as it once was. There was a point in corn's long history where you could pluck an ear of corn right off a stalk and eat it then and there. Nowadays, it would be inedible – or at least close to it.
Aside from that, the books lay out a set of guidelines to follow to help make sure that what you're eating is something that you should be eating. In Food Rules, Pollan lays out around 60 rules (I think its 63) that are easy follow and simple enough to commit to memory. He explains that they are more like guidelines and don't need to be followed strictly, but at least considered. A few of the ones that I have remembered easily are:
– Don't eat anything your (great- or great, great-) grandmother wouldn't recognize: His example is Go-Gurt. I don't know if yogurt is popular in the Philippines as it is, but, nonetheless, I don't thing my lola would know what to do with it. In paraphrasing Pollan, "she might mistaken it for a tube of toothpaste if she saw it."
– Don't eat anything with ingredients that are unfamiliar to you or that you are unable to pronounce: A good way to visualize this is to imagine what goes into your food. At home, you don't add polysorbate 60 or cellulose gum (two ingredients in the indestructible Twinkie) to anything you cook, right? And, and most things that you do add to your meals are things that you can pronounce – for the most part, unless its something that you bought in the international foods aisle.
– Do eat wild foods, with consideration to those that are endangered or in danger of becoming endangered: Wild fish, game and plants have most likely fed on or been fed things found in natural rather than processed feed or grains or chemical fertilizers, which makes them less tainted by the effects of processed foods and influence of mankind's constant effort to make things more efficient, nutrient-wise and the time it takes to raise or grow them.
–Eat meals: It may sound easy, but according to his research and the research of others Americans have created this idea of a fourth meal. Not Taco Bell's idea of a fourth meal but instead the act of constant grazing. People eat constantly between meals, whether it's a bag of chips, followed by a candy bar, followed by a soft drink – you get my point.
The list goes on, but those are just a few of the good ones that I think make sense and are easy enough to follow. On another note, I must admit how much this has ruined my experience at the grocery store.
With his easy-to-follow guidelines, I find myself cringing at the sight of the random ingredients thrown into foods that I may have purchased no more than two weeks ago. I've fallen prey to the "nutrition-ism" society that he covers in his books. But in a good way. I'm not picking up foods that make health claims, or are endorsed by health organizations and associations, but rather I am purchasing things that are grown in nature – at least to as much a degree that I can. I may shop at the local H-E-B, but I am buying more perishable foods from fruits and veggies to meats and seafood.
This new wave of thinking has also given me the opportunity to tinker with recipes that I have never had the chance to try. I made a rad seafood soup the other day with catfish and mussels and even roasted up some turnips with potatoes for my dinner a few nights ago. And trust me,turnips and parsnips are two vegetables that you would ever find in my parents' refrigerator, so I get to branch out.
Along with this new school of thought, is a second job.
Wednesday through Sunday do my thing at the newspaper, building the pages and all that jazz, and Friday and Saturday nights I work the graveyard shift at the local Denny's. That's right, Denny's – of all places to work. And as my good friend John has to point out, it makes ma hypocrite – just a bit. In my defense, I told John that even though I work there, it's not like I'm there telling people not to eat there, and that the food is bad for them. I am simply working there for the extra cash and serving them what they want to eat. It is their life, and their diet, right? Perhaps.
However, John does have a valid point. I could very well be working at a restaurant that serves fresh vegetables and not the kind that come from a vacuum-sealed bag, or biscuits that are frozen and then cooked in the oven. What can I say, my schedule wasn't too flexible and there aren't a lot of restaurants to work with out here.
Since reading Pollan's books, I did have a chance to look at the labels on the different foodstuffs that the kitchen prepares and it's pretty bad. Let me just say that the hash browns that everyone, and their mother, so often orders are not just potatoes. Sorry to break it to you hon, but there are more than five on unpronounceable, and incredibly unfamiliar, ingredients on the box. And not to mention the oil they use to cook it in is not the healthiest either. I wouldn't be bursting your bubble if I told you it wasn't extra virgin olive oil or butter, would I?
Anyhow, it has been interesting revelation. And with any sort of change in lifestyle, it takes quite a bit of effort to lock it down. I have to admit that sometimes I stray from Pollan's Food Rules, but I am only human. I also live in a society that is enveloped by convenience. There are fast food joints on every block, sometimes encompassing the entire block, there are convenience foods and assorted foodstuffs in every aisle and beckoning every purchaser as they peruse the grocery stores. You have quick-marinades, microwaveable rice, oatmeal, pasta, sauces, etc., instant this and that, and you can bet that most of those things will either, never perish (another rule: Eat perishable foods.) or could last years without damaging the item's integrity.
It makes you think about where we're headed when it comes to what we put in our bodies for nourishment whether it be food or supplements.
I mean if you think about it, corn today has gone through years of genetic alterations and is no longer as vitamin or mineral bearing as it once was. There was a point in corn's long history where you could pluck an ear of corn right off a stalk and eat it then and there. Nowadays, it would be inedible – or at least close to it.
Aside from that, the books lay out a set of guidelines to follow to help make sure that what you're eating is something that you should be eating. In Food Rules, Pollan lays out around 60 rules (I think its 63) that are easy follow and simple enough to commit to memory. He explains that they are more like guidelines and don't need to be followed strictly, but at least considered. A few of the ones that I have remembered easily are:
– Don't eat anything your (great- or great, great-) grandmother wouldn't recognize: His example is Go-Gurt. I don't know if yogurt is popular in the Philippines as it is, but, nonetheless, I don't thing my lola would know what to do with it. In paraphrasing Pollan, "she might mistaken it for a tube of toothpaste if she saw it."
– Don't eat anything with ingredients that are unfamiliar to you or that you are unable to pronounce: A good way to visualize this is to imagine what goes into your food. At home, you don't add polysorbate 60 or cellulose gum (two ingredients in the indestructible Twinkie) to anything you cook, right? And, and most things that you do add to your meals are things that you can pronounce – for the most part, unless its something that you bought in the international foods aisle.
– Do eat wild foods, with consideration to those that are endangered or in danger of becoming endangered: Wild fish, game and plants have most likely fed on or been fed things found in natural rather than processed feed or grains or chemical fertilizers, which makes them less tainted by the effects of processed foods and influence of mankind's constant effort to make things more efficient, nutrient-wise and the time it takes to raise or grow them.
–Eat meals: It may sound easy, but according to his research and the research of others Americans have created this idea of a fourth meal. Not Taco Bell's idea of a fourth meal but instead the act of constant grazing. People eat constantly between meals, whether it's a bag of chips, followed by a candy bar, followed by a soft drink – you get my point.
The list goes on, but those are just a few of the good ones that I think make sense and are easy enough to follow. On another note, I must admit how much this has ruined my experience at the grocery store.
With his easy-to-follow guidelines, I find myself cringing at the sight of the random ingredients thrown into foods that I may have purchased no more than two weeks ago. I've fallen prey to the "nutrition-ism" society that he covers in his books. But in a good way. I'm not picking up foods that make health claims, or are endorsed by health organizations and associations, but rather I am purchasing things that are grown in nature – at least to as much a degree that I can. I may shop at the local H-E-B, but I am buying more perishable foods from fruits and veggies to meats and seafood.
This new wave of thinking has also given me the opportunity to tinker with recipes that I have never had the chance to try. I made a rad seafood soup the other day with catfish and mussels and even roasted up some turnips with potatoes for my dinner a few nights ago. And trust me,turnips and parsnips are two vegetables that you would ever find in my parents' refrigerator, so I get to branch out.
Along with this new school of thought, is a second job.
Wednesday through Sunday do my thing at the newspaper, building the pages and all that jazz, and Friday and Saturday nights I work the graveyard shift at the local Denny's. That's right, Denny's – of all places to work. And as my good friend John has to point out, it makes ma hypocrite – just a bit. In my defense, I told John that even though I work there, it's not like I'm there telling people not to eat there, and that the food is bad for them. I am simply working there for the extra cash and serving them what they want to eat. It is their life, and their diet, right? Perhaps.
However, John does have a valid point. I could very well be working at a restaurant that serves fresh vegetables and not the kind that come from a vacuum-sealed bag, or biscuits that are frozen and then cooked in the oven. What can I say, my schedule wasn't too flexible and there aren't a lot of restaurants to work with out here.
Since reading Pollan's books, I did have a chance to look at the labels on the different foodstuffs that the kitchen prepares and it's pretty bad. Let me just say that the hash browns that everyone, and their mother, so often orders are not just potatoes. Sorry to break it to you hon, but there are more than five on unpronounceable, and incredibly unfamiliar, ingredients on the box. And not to mention the oil they use to cook it in is not the healthiest either. I wouldn't be bursting your bubble if I told you it wasn't extra virgin olive oil or butter, would I?
Anyhow, it has been interesting revelation. And with any sort of change in lifestyle, it takes quite a bit of effort to lock it down. I have to admit that sometimes I stray from Pollan's Food Rules, but I am only human. I also live in a society that is enveloped by convenience. There are fast food joints on every block, sometimes encompassing the entire block, there are convenience foods and assorted foodstuffs in every aisle and beckoning every purchaser as they peruse the grocery stores. You have quick-marinades, microwaveable rice, oatmeal, pasta, sauces, etc., instant this and that, and you can bet that most of those things will either, never perish (another rule: Eat perishable foods.) or could last years without damaging the item's integrity.
It makes you think about where we're headed when it comes to what we put in our bodies for nourishment whether it be food or supplements.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Condiment of the day: Catch-up
A few weeks ago, I hopped on a plane and flew across the country to Boston, Mass. to attend a food writing workshop hosted by MediaBistro.com. It was a short seminar, scheduled to last three hours, and it was clear that I was the only one that traveled more than half an hour to be there – or so I assume. The seminar was straight to the point, titled 'Breaking into Food-Writing', covering pitch-letters in every aspect from how to write them and who to send them to and how to develop a story to pitch to a publication. It was pretty informative considering I have yet to put together a pitch-letter or better yet, come up with a story piece all on my own.
Aside from the three hours I spent in that small, windowless room at the Boston Center for Arts learning little tidbits of information about the students and how to piece together a pitch-letter for the likes of magazine editors, I putted around on the subway and got lost on the streets of Cambridge and Allston.
For the duration of my visit, I couched it (or futon-ed it) at a friend's place. My friend Stephen Hammond was gracious enough to let my New Mexican butt sleep on the futon for a few days equipped with a sleeping bag and a pillow. I was happy, I had a place to shower, brush my teeth and plug in my laptop. We were also just a few steps from Harvard Avenue where there was an abundance of eateries and watering holes for hungry and thirsty.
Conveniently enough, I worked with Stephen at the Tavern and now Stephen works with Paul at Chez Henri. There's the connection–we all worked together last summer on the Vineyard. And so it was only natural that I found my way to Chez a few times during my visit and enjoy a cocktail or two and had the pleasure of watching real chefs do their magic on the line. No microwaves, vacuum sealed meals. Just real food.
I had the opportunity to watch Scott Gates, another friend from the Vineyard, work saute. I saw him start three to four dishes at a time using several pans, some on the range, some in the oven. Plating was always fun for me to watch. A spoonful of celery root puree spread with the back of a spoon and then topped with seared trout and haricot vert. Or there was the seafood appetizer with mussels, pieces of fresh fish, tomatoes, onions, herbs and a light broth. Even the kids pasta was made from fresh pasta and just a pat of butter–or more if Paul was cooking.
When Paul was cooking on the line he was working grill. Or at least for a few plates. He had this awesome looking grill, that had a sort of iron shelf on top of it that would allow for different distributions of heat. Just as a backyard grill has the hanging rack on the lid that can be used to keep things warm or to cook things slowly, the shelf had the same purpose. I even saw another chef use it to blister some tomatoes for another dish. I was impressed and made a mental note for my own kitchen, if I decide to have a grill.
Other than the observations I made of the chefs, the use of flavors and the plating, I was able to try some pretty good eats. Though I didn't visit the places that I had originally planned on visiting, I did get to eat some good food. Of the things I ate, the fresh oysters were probably the best and the beers were definitely awesome.
Paul brought me to the North End, also known as 'Little Italy' to tourists like myself, to eat at this tiny, yet huge in taste, restaurant. It couldn't have been much larger than a two-car garage in width and the seating may have been just about two cars deep. The seating was definitely limited but I dug how they would seat you elbow to elbow with cats you don't know. You had to get to know them, and that is exactly what I saw happen. People would just sit down and when the food started coming people would ask each other what they were eating and then the conversations kept flowing like the wine, or as steadily as the young lady in the front of the store could open fresh oysters, clams and crack open crab claws. This girl had it down to a rhythm that she probably could have done in her sleep.
I can't remember the names of the oysters I ate that day, but if you're an oyster pro, maybe you can identify them from the photo. I know it was five different varieties of oysters from the New England Coastline. They all had different profiles and were delicious each in their own way. We also had some mussels and Suzanne ordered a blue crab salad to start. Once the starters were done, we moved on to the real meal. Paul ordered the Monday special, a lobster spaghettini, Suzanne ordered the vitello tonnato, a sandwich with tuna tartar, roasted veal and a cucumber salad, and I–in hopes to rekindle some memories of the Vineyard–ordered a lobster roll, though instead of the mayo it was just served with warm butter.
Aside from the three hours I spent in that small, windowless room at the Boston Center for Arts learning little tidbits of information about the students and how to piece together a pitch-letter for the likes of magazine editors, I putted around on the subway and got lost on the streets of Cambridge and Allston.
For the duration of my visit, I couched it (or futon-ed it) at a friend's place. My friend Stephen Hammond was gracious enough to let my New Mexican butt sleep on the futon for a few days equipped with a sleeping bag and a pillow. I was happy, I had a place to shower, brush my teeth and plug in my laptop. We were also just a few steps from Harvard Avenue where there was an abundance of eateries and watering holes for hungry and thirsty.
Conveniently enough, I worked with Stephen at the Tavern and now Stephen works with Paul at Chez Henri. There's the connection–we all worked together last summer on the Vineyard. And so it was only natural that I found my way to Chez a few times during my visit and enjoy a cocktail or two and had the pleasure of watching real chefs do their magic on the line. No microwaves, vacuum sealed meals. Just real food.
I had the opportunity to watch Scott Gates, another friend from the Vineyard, work saute. I saw him start three to four dishes at a time using several pans, some on the range, some in the oven. Plating was always fun for me to watch. A spoonful of celery root puree spread with the back of a spoon and then topped with seared trout and haricot vert. Or there was the seafood appetizer with mussels, pieces of fresh fish, tomatoes, onions, herbs and a light broth. Even the kids pasta was made from fresh pasta and just a pat of butter–or more if Paul was cooking.
When Paul was cooking on the line he was working grill. Or at least for a few plates. He had this awesome looking grill, that had a sort of iron shelf on top of it that would allow for different distributions of heat. Just as a backyard grill has the hanging rack on the lid that can be used to keep things warm or to cook things slowly, the shelf had the same purpose. I even saw another chef use it to blister some tomatoes for another dish. I was impressed and made a mental note for my own kitchen, if I decide to have a grill.
Other than the observations I made of the chefs, the use of flavors and the plating, I was able to try some pretty good eats. Though I didn't visit the places that I had originally planned on visiting, I did get to eat some good food. Of the things I ate, the fresh oysters were probably the best and the beers were definitely awesome.
Paul brought me to the North End, also known as 'Little Italy' to tourists like myself, to eat at this tiny, yet huge in taste, restaurant. It couldn't have been much larger than a two-car garage in width and the seating may have been just about two cars deep. The seating was definitely limited but I dug how they would seat you elbow to elbow with cats you don't know. You had to get to know them, and that is exactly what I saw happen. People would just sit down and when the food started coming people would ask each other what they were eating and then the conversations kept flowing like the wine, or as steadily as the young lady in the front of the store could open fresh oysters, clams and crack open crab claws. This girl had it down to a rhythm that she probably could have done in her sleep.
I can't remember the names of the oysters I ate that day, but if you're an oyster pro, maybe you can identify them from the photo. I know it was five different varieties of oysters from the New England Coastline. They all had different profiles and were delicious each in their own way. We also had some mussels and Suzanne ordered a blue crab salad to start. Once the starters were done, we moved on to the real meal. Paul ordered the Monday special, a lobster spaghettini, Suzanne ordered the vitello tonnato, a sandwich with tuna tartar, roasted veal and a cucumber salad, and I–in hopes to rekindle some memories of the Vineyard–ordered a lobster roll, though instead of the mayo it was just served with warm butter.
And everything was stellar. I enjoyed every bite of it—even the last few bites that I gave to CJ, the guy that delivered the week's fresh bushels of oysters, clams and mussels. He was really chill, he even took a small bite from Paul's spaghettini.
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