Kate in the Kitchen

Food talk, delicious ramblings and the evocative fare of a passionate cook

Friday, June 30, 2006

You're never too old to know more

And wow….is there ever a lot to know! The more time I spend groveling around the ‘net looking at food sites, the more I realize what a infant I am in terms of what I know. But hey, we all start somewhere, right? I have no inspirations to become the master of anything, I don’t have a claim to gastronome-status, I won’t ever pretend to be a food snob and I don’t like to think I am an authority on any subject. I can cook, and I can do it well and that’s all that matters to me. I have seen what can be only be described as cyberspace fisticuffs over differing opinions, and I don’t get it. I read with amazement and disbelief a post on chowhound about what constitutes the world’s greatest cuisine. It was like people got MAD because someone else didn’t think the French were worthy of being bestowed with this honor. What does it matter?? Like I said in an earlier post, it’s only food, and 24 hours after you eat it, regardless of what kind of food it was, it all ends up in the same place.

The questions I want people to think about when they eat is this: Does the food touch your soul or just fill your stomach? Do you choose your meals based on what it will taste like? Do you actually TASTE the food as you eat it? How does it affect you, what does it make you feel like and how do you feel after you’re done? Food should stimulate and inspire. Outside of being a means to stop those tummy rumblings, it should nurture you and satisfy more than just your hunger. If you’re just mechanically moving a fork to your mouth without thinking about how the food really makes you feel, then you could be missing out on one of the best experiences in life. While I understand that some people simply don’t care (yikes….get that soapbox away!! Could it be one reason why our country is in a health crisis with overeating!? Eeeek…..get off that thing now!!) but I think that there should be more awareness of what can happen when you begin to really appreciate what goes in your mouth and what can happen to your body when you put good food in it. An amazing transformation can take place. I hope that by writing about it that people will start to see how good food can change your life, and I don’t mean gourmet, fancy or anything like that. I just mean quality ingredients, prepared well and enjoyed deeply. There just doesn’t have to be anything more to it than that.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Girl meets grill - a love affair

I am in the minority in my neighborhood, as I am one of the few girl grillmasters. All up and down our block it’s the men who rule the outdoor cooking, and whether or not it’s that way inside the kitchen I’ll never know, but when it comes to grill cooking, men seem to rule. Not in my house, however.

I love to grill, and love to get adventurous out there. Recently, I did quesadillas on the grill which turned out beautifully. I marinated the meat in lime juice, jalapeno peppers, canola oil, white vinegar, cumin and salt, then grilled it, shredded it and built the quesadillas with black beans, corn, cheese and chopped jalapenos. Barely 10 minutes on the grill and the shells were crispy with a smoky aftertaste, the filling was hot and the cheese decidedly gooey. We devoured them, and I instantly was dreaming about when I could make them again. Soon after that wonderful gastronomic adventure, we made pizzas on Boboli crusts, and I slipped them onto a piping hot grill to cook. They turned out fabulous, possibly the only shortcoming to them was that they seemed to cool down quicker than when I cook them (and serve them) on a pre-heated stone. I love all kinds of vegetables on the grill- carrots and yams turn out splendid, their sugars carmelizing to a sweetened flavor that simply melts on your tongue. Zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus and peppers turn out delicious as well. Some vegetables take to grilling so well. I have a grill plate to help facilitate cooking of smaller vegetables without the fear of loss through the grate. And talk about simple! A brush of lightly seasoned oil and your veggies are good to go. No need for anything real fancy at all.
Of course, all manner of meats go on the grill. Here is where I like to cook more simply, although you can really go to town too if you so desire. There are millions of marinades available, and a million more you can dream up out of your own pantry. Tough cuts do much better with marinade. The use of an acid, such as citrus juice, a vinegar or wine helps to break down the tough meat fibers and make them more malleable. Some say that the longer you marinate, the better the meat, but there is always a point of no return and meats can get mushy if over-marinated. If you ever are eating a meat that has been marinated and you feel a grainy texture in your mouth, you know what I mean. Too much of a good thing can ruin a cut of meat. And fish should never be marinated for more than 15-20 minutes or it will simply fall apart when you cook it, and for fish, that’s not pretty. Chicken breasts without bone or skin need only a short time also, as they are naturally more tender. I love to smoke meats on the grill too. If your grill does not come with a designated smoker attachment, you can buy small iron boxes that will work too, or simply use a disposable aluminum pan to hold your chips. Remember to soak them well, up to an hour I say, and put them on the hot grill to get them good and smoky first before adding the meat. I have refreshed them with water during the cooking too, although my culinary school buddy Travis, who is a Grillmaster with a capital ‘G’ said that it doesn’t do any good. Besides, it only works with the aluminum pan, as the smoker boxes have holes that won’t hold the water. Enough of this digression!! Let’s talk meat!! Pork loin roasts and tenderloins are some of my favorite cuts to grill and smoke. Soak me a batch of hickory chips, rub up that pork with some dry mustard and chili powder and toss it on the sizzling grate. Wow!! In a short time you can have the most mouth-watering, succulent piece of meat dazzling your tastes buds!! It’s like….well, it’s like……I can’t describe it, it’s like food-induced endorphins gone haywire. You wish you could suppress the ‘full ‘ section of your brain so you could just keep enjoying it. Turkey is another divine meat for the grill. I have done our Thanksgiving turkeys on the grill for the last three years, mostly because it saves room in the oven, but honestly, once you grill a turkey, with maybe some cherry wood chips for flavor, man alive…..you may never eat another oven made bird again. One year it was so cold outside that the grill was cranking out on high with barely any noticeable effect. You had to almost put your hand on the grill itself to feel any heat. The kind of Minnesotan wind in November that freezes your nosehair with one whiff. Ah…another digression!

Ok, so the secret, behind the rubs, marinades, wet wood and anything else in your quest for perfectly grilled meats, is indirect cooking. And yes, I am sure you have heard of it before but humor me a little here. (this is how it is done with a two burner gas grill- you can modify it for a three burner, or Google ‘charcoal grill indirect cooking’ for that answer) You light your grill and heat it up on high with the lid closed to get it good, good, good and hot. You have your meat ready, your chips soaked, everything on your mark. The grill is opened and the chip pan is placed on one side of the grill with both burners lit still. Close the lid and await the smoke. When it is pouring out of the grill, open the lid (stand back so you don’t get a faceful!) turn off the burner on the side of the grill without the chipbox, then place your meat on that side. Sear it on high so it gets that nice crust, then turn the burner under the chips down to low, close the lid and go enjoy yourself for a while. Depending on what you are cooking and what the internal temp has to be in order for you to safely eat it, this could take a while or it could be fairly quick. You can cook indirectly without chips too. Generally, larger cuts of meat work better with indirect heat. You can cook anything indirectly, but a chicken breast will take only about 10 minutes in the regular manner, and maybe 30 or more indirectly. When your hunger is leading you, stick to the tried and true. When you can plan, wait and savor, do it indirectly.

I love summertime when I can stand outside on a gorgeous late afternoon and smell the wonderful scents coming from my grill, enticing the neighborhood and making my cats crazy. We made steaks today, Griffin’s favorite. I marinated them in soy sauce, sesame oil, red wine vinegar, garlic and onion powder and white pepper. They were wonderfully flavorful and tender despite a little too much time in the marinade. And I am still full four hours later. Thankfully tomorrow’s meal is lighter. Now if I could only figure out how to make pasta on the grill!?!?

Monday, June 26, 2006

Why is it that food tastes so much better when it's shared?

I just ate a fabulous lunch, and it was delicious and very satisfying, but I think it would have tastesd a lot better if I had been sharing it with someone. I had a quesadilla with chunks of turkey sausage and lots of melted cheese, the tortilla was nice and crisp with little bits of crisp cheese stuck to the edges just like I like it. I also ate some figs and brie, and downed a glass of honey ginger peach iced tea. My tummy is really happy, yet I missed not having a bunch of other people there. You see, food is to be shared, and the more to share it with the better. But why is is that food always tastes better when shared, and is just Ok when you eat it alone?

I am part of a large, loving and wonderful family. There were over 1oo people in attendance when Mike and I got married, and only about 10 of them were friends. Our families are really great, and the best thing about them is their shared love of food. Outsiders who happen to attend a family gathering are often aghast at the amount of food involved, or maybe that's just a reaction to what happens when someone says "Time to eat!!" Plates and cups are filled and seats are taken, and the talking and eating commence. No matter what is on the menu from a simple pork roast, or grilled fish, chicken, sausages or even a plain hamburger (well, hamburgers are never plain in our family- too many good cooks!) through any number and variety of side dishes, salads, vegetables, fruits, spreads, dips and all the way into dessert, it all tastes so delicious. It could be the simplest of recipes, a tossed green salad with some extra chopped veggies and a bottled dressing takes on a whole new meaning when you're seated around the table with a dozen people you adore. You may be talking so much you don't always notice what's being served until the first bite hits your tongue. Then the tastes flood your senses, your ears are full of good conversation and laughter, and your eyes are on family. What better combination could there be?

Our family cabin has a simple screened in porch with a huge picnic table in it for meals. During our shared weekends there, it can be really crowded with kids and parents, and meal times are a raucous and noisy affair, everyone jockeying around for plates and moving through the meal set up. The table gets crowded with little voices, big appetites and parental direction. "Make sure you take some veggies" " Watch the cup, you're spilling!" "Can someone bring out some napkins?" "Do I have to eat this??" "What's for dessert??!!" "Mommy!!! Sit by me!!!" And a meal so lovingly prepared and anticipated is dredged down to the bare bones. Where a beautifully roasted turkey breast once sat might now be just a puddle of juice and some scraps. The vegetable dish is bare, maybe a stray carrot or celery stick remains next to a decimated bowl that once held a gorgeous fruit salad. The steaming pans on the stove are scraped clean, the salad bowl has a few lone leaves in the bottom and all eyes are on the desserts sitting regally on the countertop, awaiting their own fate. Or it could be a more simple meal, one designed to empty some leftovers from the fridge before we close the place up for the week ahead. Maybe some grilled cheese, a fresh bag of the reddest cherries imagineable, or maybe a big pot of my famous homemade mac-n-cheese, the dish that makes all my nieces and nephews swoon and tell me how much they love me. It was good because it was shared with the best people in the world, the ones you can always go to when nothing else is right and who will hold out their arms to you and open up their refrigerator. It will be a sympathetic ear and a cold beer with a juicy brat from the grill, or maybe just a peanut butter sandwich and a kiss for a scraped knee, but they are always there and more than willing to fill you up with love and munchies. Our family is blessed with many, many good cooks, and oh.....if I could only make you understand how delicious the parties can be!! Sometimes it's really a chore to decide how best to approach the delightful spread so as not to over do it and end up painfully full. Even after all these years and countless parties, I still sometimes wind up regretting the last plate, with the second helping or the extra dessert. But man, oh man......was it ever worth it!!!

Food is love as love is food and food is love again and it's a big, ever-expanding circle that never ends. From the dawn of time, through the ages and over centuries and generations, family has gathered and shared the wealth at the table. What one family may have in abundance is shared with another family who has a different abundance. It's demonstrated in how people come together to help out with planting or harvest, or a butchering. Food is there when family members get sick, when there is a celebration to enjoy, or even when there is loss, sadness and grief. Whether it's a plate of cookies to welcome a new neighbor, a freezer full of meals for easing the recovery from a complicated surgery or a food blowout extravaganza, (like I had when I graduated from culinary school) nothing says "I love you and want to share this moment of life with you" like passing the plates and jockeying for room at the table. Come in, your always welcome here, and please, you can be first in line.

Friday, June 23, 2006

Rockin' Rib Fest

Yes, there is such a thing, it happens every year in our city and it's grown exponentially since it started some 20+ years ago. Rib aficionados from all over the USA come to hawk their trademark sauces, styles and tastes, and people flock from all over the metro area to gorge on smoky, saucy perfections. It's heaven on a bone. There's lots of sides to go along with the meats, plenty of ice cold beer and usually many bands for entertainment.

My recollections of this extravaganza are not new. I haven't attended in many, many years as the sheer size of the festival makes it daunting to try to get to, park at and traverse. But I want to go back because even the distant memories can't squelch the feeling of being completely surrounded by some of the best barbecue-ers in the country. Making a perfect barbecued meat is an art form, and not every back yard griller is capable of producing a plate of succulent and divinely cooked ribs, where the meat slips off the bone and melts in your mouth, filling your senses with it's sinewy texture, a smoky tang and the spicy, eloquently flavored sauce. My last adventure was with several guy friends from that season of my life, who shall only be known as T. and K. We were pals, party-ers and good buddies, and the RibFest that year was just another adventure. Upon our arrival, we made a game plan: Each of us would purchase from three different vendors, then convene and share the wealth. This would continue until all the stands had been plundered, not to mention the many cups of beer to wash it all down. The first time we stepped up one of the many chest highs tables where you could set down your cardboard container of piping hot ribs, I was nearly crazy with hunger from all the surrounding smells. We dug in, ravenous. Each container held several small pieces of either beef or pork ribs, in any number of special sauces. I would taste and savor the warm, smoky meats, then sip my beer and reach for another. We wiped out the initial offerings and went for more, each one more wonderful than the last. There were giant beef ribs with a tang of mustard, clove, garlic and pepper; smaller pork ribs rich with cumin and chili powder, baby backs, spareribs, riblets, and even chicken drummies in a wide variety of mouth numbing and endorphin inducing hot sauces. Our mouths worked over the bones in an attempt to remove every last shred of tender meat, and we shamelessly licked our fingers nearly dry to get every last drop of sauce. All around the festival were dispensers of wipes for cleaning sticky faces and fingers. We ignored them and didn't care. We were in hog heaven, and cow heaven and even chicken heaven. I have never tasted better meat. We shared observations about flavor, texture, meat tenderness and sauce consistency, we split each offering equally, and if one seemed superior to another, we never hesitated to go back for another round. In between, we feasted on roasted corn, savory hush puppies, tender collard greens redolent with bacon and garlic, coleslaws that barely even resembled the slimy mass found in most restaurants and onion rings that held the perfect marriage of crunchy coatings and meltingly sweet onion flavor. The noise level was near deafening, the heat from the July sun and the many grills breathing constant tongues of flame was oppresive, but we barely noticed. Part way through my second container of a particularly succulent and juicy texas beef rib, I suddenly realized that I was profoundly full. And an accompanying sense of intense disappointment filled me. So much food, and yet, as is true with every thing, there is a point of no return. I simply couldn't eat anymore, nor even take one more sip of the rich, dark beer I so loved. One look around the table at T. and K. made the consensus clear: we were all there. The smell of the cooking meat and the throng of people around us began to take it's toll, and we dumped our garbage and made for the open green grass in front of the stage where a band popular from our high school days was playing saccharin sweet musical memories. I think we found a post, or tree or something to hold us up, our faces flush and sweaty, our bellies round and taut from the onslaught of our food orgy. I recall thinking that this might make me never want to see another piece of barbecued meat again, but thankfully, and blessedly, that didn't come true. In fact, it was a few short hours before I felt the urge to imbibe once again of the grilled and glorious fare. One more container of those fabulous beef ribs, another cup of crisp and hot hush puppies and a big cup of delicious Bass Ale and I was good for the night, driving home with my memories and my full stomach. The next morning I awoke to the stale stench of my smoked out clothes and hair and the type of food hangover that occurs when much too much of a good thing is consumed in far too few hours. Ah.....but the bliss!

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Pork and Stir Fried Vegetables

Pork and Stir Fried Vegetables*

1# pork tenderloin, cut into ½” pieces
1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets
1 red pepper, seeded and sliced
1 c. snow pea pods, de-strung
2 small zucchini, cut half moon
1 T. fresh chopped ginger
6 green onions, chopped
1 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
1-2 T. sesame seeds
Canola and sesame oil

Sauce:
¼ c. hoisin sauce
¼ c. oyster sauce
1 t. minced garlic
1 T. chili garlic sauce
1 T. soy sauce

Mix sauce ingredients together. In sauté pan, heat canola oil and add pork, salt and pepper. Cook and stir over high heat until pink is just gone, remove and set aside. Heat more canola oil and sauté broccoli, stirring constantly until bright green, 3-4 minutes. Remove. Turn heat down and add sesame oil to pan, swirl to coat and add peppers and zucchini, stir and cook for 4 minutes. Add pea pods and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add in broccoli, pork and sauce and toss to coat. Heat through, sprinkle with sesame seeds and onions. Serve over rice or rice noodles. Stir in more chili garlic sauce to taste, if desired.

*original recipe from Cooking Light Jan ’06 issue. Modified with additions here.

More great stir fries

Curried Vegetables and Pork with Rice Noodles


4 teaspoons roasted peanut oil, divided
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups coarsely chopped onion
1 1/2 cups (2-inch) sliced asparagus
1 cup (1/2-inch) pieces yellow bell pepper
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
2 1/2 cups hot cooked rice sticks or vermicelli (about 5 ounces uncooked rice-flour noodles)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
4 lime wedges

Heat 2 teaspoons peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork, and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Remove pork from pan, and keep warm. Add 2 teaspoons peanut oil, ginger, and garlic, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the onion, asparagus, bell pepper, and peas, and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Remove from pan, and keep warm.

Add curry paste, sugar, and coconut milk to pan, and stir well. Bring the curry paste mixture to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the pork, asparagus mixture, and rice noodles to pan, and cook for 1 minute or until mixture is thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with basil; garnish with lime wedges.

A perfect Stir-Fry

I admit, I am a stir-fry freak. Not as much as I am a Sudoku freakazoid, as I could sit and do 4 of those addicting puzzles at a time and still crave more of the challenge; No, I couldn't crank out 4 stir-fry dishes without totally wrecking my chopping hand, but man alive....I love a good stir-fry!!

I once thought that it wasn't too difficult to make a good stir-fry: chop, saute, season, sauce, mix and eat. How hard is that?? Boy was I naive! Some of them turned out so underdone that I thought I might as well have eaten the veggies raw, and others were so overcooked that I had no ability to distinguish each veggie from the other in the mushy mass on my plate. Your best bet? Don't follow the recipe, follow your instincts. Or better yet, follow these time honored and hard-won instructions for making the best tasting stir fry you can get outside an authentic restaurant.

Make everything uniform in size and it will cook more evenly. Firm veggies will take longer to cook, but if they are all the same size, you can bet you will have a better texture on your plate at the end. Broccoli will take a while to cook in a hot saute pan (or wok, for those who desire more authenticity) and your best bet is to stir fry it to a bright green, add a little water and then cover to steam the florets for a few minutes. Once a fork can penetrate the pieces without too much resistance, remove them to a bowl. Peppers, when cut to thin julienne slices, will cook quickly, fry for a few minutes only. Carrots are good in a stir fry, and the ability to buy them now in pre-shredded bags makes for such an easy addition, just slice the top open and dump in what you want. They only take a couple of minutes as well. If you keep a big bowl by your stove as you cook, just add the veggies in as you fry them. In the end, you can put them all back in the pan with the sauce and heat them through and no one will even know. Your meat choice can also be cooked to about 3/4 doneness, as long as it finishes in the sauce. I discovered a wonderful technique for making stir fry meat nice and tender, it's called velveting, and the wonderful publication Cooks Illustrated is responsible for this technique. Mix until smooth 1 tbsp. flour, 1 tbsp. cornstarch and 2 tbsp. of your stir fry oil (i prefer peanut, as the smoke point is higher and the flavor is unsurpassed) Pour this mixture over your meat and mix well, then dump it into your hot pan and spread out the pieces. Allow to cook without moving for a few minutes, then stir and move the meat as needed to finish. The coating will seal in the juices making your protein addition very moist and tender. It can be used on pork, chicken or beef with equally good results.

Aromatics, like garlic and ginger don't need much cooking at all, maybe 30 seconds. Add them in with one of the veggies for additional flavor, then put them into the bowl and mix that all up to dispense even more of their intoxicating tastes. Pea pods are best when still crisp, give them a minute or two for that pretty green color, but not too much more. Soggy pea pods are like chewing on string. And speaking of that, be sure to de-string them, otherwise you will be chewing string whether or not they are cooked properly. Green onion is mostly for garnish, it shouldn't be cooked too long at all, or best of all, toss finely chopped green onion over the top of the finished dish and simply enjoy it piquant bite as you eat. Skip the white part if onion isn't your thing. Nuts are wonderful in a stir fry, they are best as a garnish as well. Peanuts, cashews. almonds and pistachios all add wonderful flavor, a great offset texture of crunch and some nutritional value as well. A base for all these tantalizing ingredients can be either rice or noodles; there are some wonderful rice noodle varieties available, which are thin and very translucent and can absorb a lot of flavor from whatever sauce you use. I have used multi-grain spaghetti noodles too with excellent results. Ronzoni makes the best kind. Any kind of sauce works well, and there are a lot of bottled varieties that make for an easy application. I am including my very favorite stir fry recipe that uses mostly pre-made bottled sauce varieties. This one is simple, delicious and really, really easy. I hope you like it.

Chicken with Asparagus Stir Fry

1 T. toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 # fresh asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 1" pieces
1 # chicken tenders or boneless breasts, cut into 1" pieces
2 scallions, trimmed and cut to 1"
1 shallot, minced
1 red pepper, cored seeded and cut into 1" pieces
1/2 c. snow peas, de-stringed and cut in half
2 T. minced fresh ginger
1/4 c. oyster sauce
2 T. garlic chili sauce
1/2 c. shelled salted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Heat oil in large skillet or wok over high heat. Add asparagus and red pepper, stir fry for about 4 minutes, then add snow peas and stir fry 2 minutes. Remove to bowl and keep warm. Swirl a scant 1/2 t. more of oil in pan and add chicken, allow to cook until browned on one side, then flip over and cook until you can't see any pink. Add sauces, ginger, shallot and scallions, stir to combine. Add vegetables and stir to coat. Cook about 5 -8 minutes longer or until chicken is no longer pink. Serve over rice, if desired.Top with pistachios.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Summer and Food- Part 2

I have already taken a trip down a short memory lane where summer memories mix with winsome food thoughts to create some 'gotta have it' times for those warm and fleeting months. In MN, summer is short, sweet and full of great foods to dig your way through. It's the time of outdoor picnics, outdoor restaurant dining and outdoor festivals. People want to eat outdoors, and will do so under some pretty strange conditions. Many years ago a report was published in our newspaper about a certain popular area of town and how it's air pollution counts were extraordinarily high. Apparently it didn't create too many problems for a certain hip restaurant on the most polluted corner to frantically attempt to accomodate the horde of diners who vied nightly for one of their coveted outdoor tables. I couldn't figure out how people could eat at a sidewalk table just mere feet from idling cabs, cars jockeying for meter positions, and for that matter, masses of people elbowing their way down a perpetually crowded street. It just seemed wrong. But it's summertime, and this is what was done. Many restaurants in the Twin Cities have outdoor dining, and to me it just isn't very appetizing to sit and eat along a busy roadway under whatever conditions, whether polluted or just congested with traffic. No manner of fancy umbrellas, either over my head or on my cocktail will make any difference.

Outdoor festivals are fun though. The people watching is first rate, and the more food available, the better. Our State Fair every August in legendary in that regard. Everyone goes for the food, the more items on a stick and deep fried, the better. They even have a deep fried Snickers bar. I won't go there, I love my arteries too much. But wave a greasy cardboard container of deep fried cheese curds under my nose and I might follow you around a little. Just one bite won't hurt. Food in the open air just seems to taste different, don't you think? Maybe because the smell entices you in from every angle. You'll be walking innocently through a crowd at one of the many festivals Minnesota is known for in the summer and your senses will be assaulted by any number of amazing and wonderful smells. You just HAVE to know what that is!!!! When I was really young, my sister and I would regularly go with my mother to a local city lake where they held outdoor concerts. Her favorite band to watch was a dixieland jazz band. She would sit and joyfully listen to the music, and my sister and I would run all around the bandshell area, tottering out onto the ancient boat docks to watch the ducks and fish, and around the even more ancient concession stand, thoroughly taken away by the smells coming from within those walls. The best was the popcorn. They would make popcorn by the bushel- and load it with real butter. I have never tasted anything so good. We could watch while they dumped the kernels into the gigantic spinning popper, and soon the mountains of white fluff would be disgorged from inside, filling a large bin beneath. The worker would take a pitcher of melted butter off the back of a stove and pour a generous amount over the soft mound, then scoop and toss and mix it until it was just right. The smell drove me mad, and we always had to wait until the concert was over to get our box. Me being the food lover even then, I would wolf it down, cramming big handfuls into my mouth and loving the sensation of those airy kernels collapsing in a crunchy, buttery mass on my tongue. My sister, ever the restrained one, would eat hers kernel by kernel. I can't understand that mentality, I mean, popcorn tastes best when your mouth is so full you can hardly contain the mass. It deflates to nearly nothing, so what's the big deal?? One piece at a time and you hardly get the flavor, much less the crunch. But, to each their own. I, of course, being the pesky younger sister, would always try to get her to give me some of hers when my own box was gone. But not only was she restrained, she was also more stubborn than me, and I never won. Even now, when I hear that familiar jazz sound of dixieland, I can shut my eyes and see the crumbling old bandshell, the rickety docks and sense the smells in the air. The lake, with it's weedy, watery smell mixed with the gas and oil scent of boats and the dry coarse smell of the dirt worn down by generations of foot traffic. I can see and feel the old benches, how they would scratch my skinny bare legs, and how my sister and I would run back to my mom every once in a while to check in, and find her sitting there, enraptured and smiling, her feet tapping and hands clapping to the sound. The smells from the concession stands: hot dogs, mustard, white buns and ice cream, and the overpowering grainy aroma of hot buttered popcorn, freshly tipped from the huge popper. The bandshell and concession stand were rebuilt many years ago with a brighter and more workable design, and although nothing remains from those childhood summer nights except the memories, it's pleasing to know that you can still hear concerts there, and smell the same old smells. You see, they retained all the food from those days, and added some new items to bring in a more modern fare, but the huge poppers are still there churning out barrel after barrel of white fluffy popcorn. And thankfully, it's still covered in real butter.

Perfection Pizza

There are times in my food life that I think pizza is the ultimate in perfect food. You can make a whole meal on a pizza crust and eat it with your hands over a napkin, making dish duty irrelevant. I'm not sure about anyone else, but I think eating anything with your hands is quite wonderful, you get a sensory overload like nothing else. And licking your fingers saves paper in the trash, right? We're thinking economically here!

Pizza is one of the most popular foods in America. Recent findings believe that a typical American family consumes pizza at least twice a week. Given the astronomical amount of frozen pizzas available, I would think that the majority of them are coming straight out of the freezer. And takeout tops the list as well, but in my food world, the best pizza is made right in your own kitchen. When I have the time, foresight, and inclination I can make a really delicious pizza crust in the bread machine which yields two wonderfully chewy crusts. But given the fact that those three rarely align in an ideal world, the Boboli pizza crusts and sauce packets are a huge advantage for a time strapped meal. Plus, they are really darn good!! I tend to like a pizza sauce that isn't too sweet or too thick. A lot of pizza places will ladle it on so deep that the toppings get lost in the cloying, sticky mess. A thin veneer of sauce over a crust rubbed with cut garlic cloves makes for a divine flavor, and allows all the taste of the toppings to burst free in your mouth. The more I make pizza, the more I realize that less is best when it comes to toppings. Not only does the pizza get too heavy with a lot of topping, but often you bite into a slice and the toppings come off in a landslide of molten hot flow. Pain is not a good way to start a meal. And to hold on toppings, I have found that sandwiching them between layers of cheese provides a kind of 'pizza glue' mentality to the toppings. They tend to stay put. Place a small amount of cheese on top of the sauce, then your toppings and then more cheese. Oooooohhh.....cheeeeeeeeese!!!! Gotta have lots of cheeeeeeeese!!!! Whats pizza without that loooooooong string of hot mozzarella between the slice and your mouth???? It ain't really pizza!!! Of course you can't tell I like a cheesy pizza, can you?

I tend towards being a pizza purist when it comes to toppings. If I could, I would eat a sausage pizza with green pepper and black olives whenever I could and nothing tastes better than that. However, that tends to run under the 'bad food' category. So I have taken to making pizzas like that for G-man, and creating amazing gourmet pizzas for my sweetheart and I. He always prefers a meat-free pizza, so I oblige with combinations of whatever of the following I have on hand: roasted red peppers, sun dried tomato, pesto, fresh mozzarella, kalamata olives, sauteed zucchini, roma tomatoes, fresh basil leaves and roasted garlic. The more creative, the better. Our favorite pizza is listed earlier in this blog- the amazing, award winning, awe-inspiring Pesto Vegetable Pizza. Heaven on a crust! Food Utopia! The nice thing about the veggie pizzas is that they don't leave you feeling full and bloated.....well....unless you eat the whole thing, which we try really hard not to do. You also feel like you are doing something nice for your body. The first bite into that golden crisp crust unleashes a flood of flavors over your tongue. Crunchy, chewy and tangy, like a over-zealous tango on your tongue. Little hints of garlic explode over the juicy tomato slices and tiny hints of basil dart in and out of each bite. Peppers crunch, olives zing and the cheese forms around it all like a comforting blanket of flavor. Every bite seems different, yet it all melds together into a flavorful rhythm unique to the combinations on the crust. There are a few pizza places in theTwin Cities that I think serve amazing pizza, and I wouldn't hesitate to eat a delectable pie at any of them, but when I really want a pizza to make my mouth happy, I will unload my creative flair in my own kitchen much to the delight of the enamored men in my life. My homemade pizza came off the grill outside the last time I made it, adding yet another flavor component to an almost perfect pie- the smoky outdoor flavor of the grill. I didn't think it could get any better, but obviously I was mistaken. This took the pizza to new heights, and if I get any higher I might have to share some with God. Hmmmmm.....maybe I should make more!

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Grocery shopping as an art form

I know it sounds crazy, but I honestly do think of it as an art form. Of course, it helps that I love to shop for groceries!! All that food just waiting to be turned into something wonderful, it's just more than I can stand sometimes!! Ok, ok.....I know that's weird. I'm ok with being weird about certain aspects of my food life.

There are several methods I employ when shopping for groceries, and mind you, these are what I do and I certainly don't think anyone should be obsessive about shopping for food, but some habits can be modified to be simpler and more productive. I think grocery shopping is one of them. My biggest simplifier is lists. We all need lists to help us remember what our overworked brains tend to leave behind. I put a magnetized pad on the fridge, and when something runs out I quickly jot it down so I don't forget. I encourage the guys to do this too and they are really good at it. For one thing, when I make the master list, if it isn't on the 'quick list' and I don't notice it's out, it won't get purchased. It's a very simple concept. Then there can be no whining about it. I do a major shopping spree about once every three weeks, and do 'fill-in' visits in between. We budget a lot in our lives and make do without certain things to save money, but we never skimp on food. There is no point. When I am about to do a major trip, I will sit down with my recipe book and cooking magazines and make up dinner plans. I list all the items for meals on a list and take note of what ingredients I will need. This allows me to have ideas at the ready for meals, with ingredients on hand to make it work. If I don't do this, our meal times get really boring and repetitive, and then I see a lot of 'sad face' at the dinner table. Not fun. Once the dinner plan list is done, then I scour the pantry, fridge and freezer to see what needs replenishing. One thing I have learned about being able to cook a meal without too much fuss and planning ahead is to always, and I mean ALWAYS have a well stocked pantry. (this will be covered in another post)

So the scouring is done and I have a sheet of paper with lots of writing all over it, totally disorganized and messy because notes have come from everywhere. My last list is the working copy; I take that messy sheet and transfer items one by one onto a new list that is separated into categories and organized as to how the store is laid out. One column for dry goods, one column for produce, one for meats and one for dairy. Many many people enter the grocery store in the produce section and fill their carts there first, then walk the rest of the store to get everything else while their fresh stuff sits and languishes. I do the reverse. I enter the store at the opposite end and work towards the cold stuff so that it's still pretty cold by the time it gets home. It works for me. Each item is checked off my working list as it goes in the cart so I know that I have everything I need. I skip any aisles that have nothing in them I am looking for and a typical major shopping trip is done in about 45 minutes, including checking out. The organizational process may seem time consuming, but the amount of time I spend in making up the working list is well worth it because it makes for a much simpler meal time. I know what I have and know what I can make just by reading the meal list. I always have several quick, no-meat items on the list for those times when I don't think about dinner until late afternoon. And hardly anything I make takes more than an hour from start time to table, and often it takes less. And if there is ever a time when I've depleted the items from the meal list, I can turn to the well stocked pantry or some quick veggie burgers from the freezer and find something to throw together. Life is complicated enough without meal times being a huge headache. Yes, forethought to this process may seem daunting, but once you get the routine down it becomes a habit you won't be willing to compromise on again.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Men, boys, cats and food

My life is filled with males of two different species. I live with my husband, Mike, my son Griffin who is 12 and two male felines, Bustopher Jones and Harmon El Gato. There is a lot of male-ness in my home what with a budding child in the throes of puberty and my wonderful and handsome husband. I am just the maker of all food, maybe slightly resembling a goddess when everyone is hungry and mewling about, but normally, I am Mom, wife and Cat Mama.

I have already talked at length about how my child eats (see 'Children don't come with feeding instructions') and to talk about the cats eating habits, well that's no big deal; they eat their dry stuff when they want, and after our dinner they start urging me to get out their once-a-night treat of yummy Fancy Feast mixed with their vitamins. Those plates are wolfed down in about a minute flat, I would never call them finicky. I could fill the plates with anything, and as long as it smells good they will eat it. Harmon is overweight and Bustopher is not. Harmon eats like a normal cat, Bustopher rubs his paw over the dry food in the bowl and licks the dust off. It's a wonder he gains any weight at all. Harmon has lived with me all his life and Bustopher was a stray that lived in a shelter for 1 1/2 years before I took him home. He has huge separation issues, is really really needy, must have play time and interaction with you every day and does whatever it takes to get your attention. Harmon knows everything will be fine, that the bowl will always be full and if he falls over on his back in front of you that you will stop whatever you are doing and rub his belly until he is nearly catatonic with bliss. They are night and day and I adore them.

Mike has been in my life 5 years and is the husband that I used to dream about as a little girl. He is kind, considerate, outrageously funny, extraneously helpful and a great dad to Griffin. He is my biggest fan, my most vocal cheerleader and the one I go to when I can't figure anything out. He treats me like a queen and I love him more than I ever thought possible. He is not a meat and potatoes guy, in fact, dislikes beef, will only eat boneless, skinless chicken and thinks vegetables are to be worshipped. I'm all for this except when I want a big juicy porterhouse, which thankfully isn't often anymore. I trust that when I make something new that two things will happen: #1- he will eat it, even if he doesn't like it. And #2- he will honestly tell me what he thinks of it even if he doesn't like it. I can usually tell what he thinks when he is eating something new, and when I am not sure, it becomes clear to me if he never touches the leftovers that he wasn't overly fond of the meal. Not long ago, I came to discover that one dish I make quite often was not something he liked to eat. I wasn't aware of it and was rather cheesed off that I didn't know. His explanation made sense to me, and I have been more relaxed about what I cook ever since. He told me that although food has to be good, sometimes to him it's about sustenance and that there are days when he eats, his main goal is only to fill the hunger. It doesn't have to be wonderful, to die for food on those days. It just has to be edible. The dish in question is edible, but not a favorite, therefore becomes something that is sustenance, not a dish to adore. It was kind of hard to accept that at first, since everything I eat has to be something I adore and want to eat. I don't think you should eat food that you don't like. Mike hates eggs, hates the smell and even the thought of them. I won't ever make them for him due to this fact. There are very few foods he actually hates, and he will eat many, many things that aren't his favorite. It's sustenance, that's all. I can ask him for input when I am trying to decide on a week or two worth of meal plans and he just smiles and tells me whatever I make will be fine with him. It's a different mindset than me, and is fine. It makes for more harmonious meals since I already have one person who tends towards moaning and teeth gnashing when there is something on the stove that he doesn't like. But he's 12, and has to be difficult, it's part of being his age. Mike's role in the kitchen, outside of being my critical palate, is the chief bottle washer. I can make a colossal mess while cooking, and without a word after dinner he will set forth cleaning it up. Most of the time I clean as I go, but some meals sneak up on me like a power boat wide open and you have no time to quickly wash the flotsam left behind. Mike speeds through dish duty as if I cranked up the controls to hyperspeed. He hates a mess more than he hates doing dishes. I love that he works with me that way. When he takes over the kitchen on the rare nights that I am simply not willing or able to be creative, I reciprocate by cleaning up his mess. Food is not an issue in our relationship. I never have to worry about him bringing home Burger King meals, buying too much junk food or snacking on potato chips in bed. (remember the ending in the movie 'Fargo'?) However, if there is ice cream in the house, watch out. Willpower is not his strongest asset. Thankfully, the convenience store close by installed a soft serve machine, and for a couple of bucks we can get a big dish of deliciously flavorful soft ice cream. But Mike likes to say "I don't need anymore belly" and instead urges us all on our bikes for a long evening ride. One more thing to love about him- how he encourages me.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Conversations with the invisible food and wine snob

*DISCLAIMER* I am not a food or wine snob!

And I dislike food and wine snobs because they act like they are so superior because of the food they eat. Some of the stuff in a gourmands diet makes me want to retch. Foie gras?? Yukkkkk......fatty duck livers, wow, i can't even believe that I don't LIKE that stuff!!! What is WRONG with me?!?!?! Morel mushrooms.....looks like shriveled brains and grows in the rot of the forest floor. I am not a fan of fungus, although cooked properly and mixed in with other things, I can enjoy mushrooms. I just won't pluck one off a plate and pop it in my mouth like a cheese curd. Pate (i guess i can't make the little accent above the 'e') looks like the cat food that makes my two irrepresible felines howl with delight each night. Tastes similar too! Hey!!! How do I know you didn't just open a can of Fancy Feast??!?! And wine.....well, it's fermented grape juice. It's not anything full of mystique and wonder, worthy of furtive glances and knowing nods, musty cellars and deep religious fawning. I love wine and love to try new wines and learn their individual nuances, flavor and taste profiles, but when it comes down to it, I can't tell you why a $50 bottle is any different than a $10 bottle. I'm sure you'll start in on the vintage of the vine, the terrior, the weather that year and whether or not the winemaker used new or old oak for seasoning and at what temperature the juice was fermented, but frankly I don't care. I like my wine red, dry and flavorful, and if I want to serve it with a fish dish and you don't like it, go home. It's called a contrasting wine match and it's perfectly fine.

Enough of that......food is food is food and it's all about your tastes. Wine is wine is wine, and if I want to drink a bottle of inexpensive Yellowtail Reserve Shiraz, I will. If I make you a dinner of my fabulous vegetable filled turkey burgers with blue cheese mashed potatoes and roasted yam sticks, and you make me a tuna steak with wasabi caviar, braised beet greens and carmelized new potatoes, I am sure we will each enjoy them and be satisfied when it's all over. No matter what we make and eat, no matter that you think your food is fit for a demi-god and mine would be fine in the dog dish, besides ALL of that and wherever your tastes may lie, in the end when it's all said and done, 24 hours later all the food we eat ends up the same place. It's just food, it's only fermented grape juice. A pricier label or name doesn't make it any better.

In my food world, the preparation is the key. A steak can be perfect with nothing but a crackling of sea salt on it and seared perfectly over a flame. Sure blue cheese crumbles are nice, and a cabernet compound butter adds a lot of flavor, but you put those on top of a poorly cooked steak, it's still a poorly cooked steak and nothing will make it taste any different. If you take impeccable field greens, the freshest vine ripe tomato and the crispest of red bell peppers to make a salad, you're going to ruin the flavor if you douse it with a cup of thick salad dressing. It's better if you squeeze some lime juice over it, grind some fresh black pepper on it, drizzle it with good quality olive oil and a dash of white wine vinegar and toss it all together. Now thats FLAVOR!!! A perfectly shaped and cooked hamburger outshines it's frozen pre-formed cousin by a million miles. Freshly grilled fish cooked to perfection with a sprinkle of dill and a quick squirt of lemon juice will simply melt in your mouth. There doesn't have to be all these bells and whistles, fancy names, wondrous techniques or beguiling ingredients. If it's prepared well it should speak for itself. There really isn't any more to it than that. I don't begrudge a foodie their inalienable rights to expound on the merits of their gourmet world, but it doesn't make for a better meal. It's just your own personal tastes. So don't let the food snobs and wine bores make you feel any less of a great cook. If you do it right and like it that way, then more power to you, and while you're at it, pick up a good inexpensive wine to go along with it.

Taking the mystery out of food nutrition labels

I love nutrition labels, I read them all the time and you should too. Better yet, read them and learn to understand how they can work for you and make what you put into your mouth a healthier thing. They are not full of terms that need a Ph.D in science to figure out, in fact they are quite easy. But they won't help if you never look at them.

Each label starts out with serving sizes, calories per serving and servings per container. People can get tripped up if they don't read these carefully. For example, a pint of ice cream says it contains 180 calories and 24 grams of fat, but what you don't read carefully enough is that the pint also has four 1/2 cup servings. So if you eat the whole thing, those 180 calories are quadrupled, as is the fat amount. Suddenly you've downed 720 calories and 96 grams of fat, most of which is saturated fat- the kind that your heart doesn't really need. In that label, each serving has those calorie and fat amounts, it's not the whole container. We're all guilty of this, so let's get over it and move on. Another really important number is the sodium content. Excessive sodium in the diet causes a multitude of health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure and circulation problems. Most, if not all packaged foods have high sodium levels simply because sodium is used as a preservative. That boxed rice mix can sit on your shelf for two years and not lose any flavor quality because it's riddled with sodium to keep it that way. Yikes! Who needs this!?? Pay attention to those sodium numbers, most Americans salt their food a lot, and if you are eating something with an already astronomically high sodium content and then adding salt, well.....it's not rocket science, like I said earlier. Dinner meals in a bag in the freezer sure seem like a nice convenience, but think about your poor heart. Take pity! Pay attention to the sugar number too. Any product carrying a sugar content over beyond 15 grams should be avoided. Most breakfast cereals have super high sugar levels. We give them to our kids and wonder why they can't concentrate. Sugar raises the blood glucose levels, flooding your body with insulin which provides a temporary energy rush. But just as quickly, the insulin amount disappears and you crash from the sugar high and feel like crap. Carbohydrates do the same thing. Sugar is not a bad thing, but most people eat way too much of it, mostly because they don't realize how insidious sugar is in their foods. It takes on many, many different faces: corn syrup, glucose, fructose, lactose and a host of other names that hide it's true identity. Carbs are one culprit of being over-consumed, but our body also needs them for energy. Most people, however, eat way too much of the wrong kind. There are complex carbs and simple carbs. Simple carbs come from things like white bread, bagels, some crackers, biscuits, cakes and candy, but there are also natural sources of these carbs that are good for you- mostly coming from fruits. These break down quickly giving you that sugar/energy rush that doesn't last very long. Complex carbs break down slower over time, giving you a more steady energy feed. More of these and less of the simple are a better way to healthier eating: whole grain breads, oatmeal, bran, brown rice, root veggies and legumes. These are by no means exhaustive lists, there are many more as well. Cholesterol is another item you will see on a food label. Our bodies produce cholesterol naturally in our fat cells and it's used to form cell membranes and some hormones. It is carried through the blood by lipoproteins, most commonly as high-density (HDL) and low-density (LDL). Quick quiz: Which one is the 'good' one??? It's the HDL, which some docs think helps remove cholesterol from the blood before it can build up as plaque in your arteries. Since our bodies are very efficient in making this, it would be safe to assume that we don't need too much added to our diet. The truth is, we don't need to eat it at all. Foods from animal sources contain it, foods from plants don't. Foods high in saturated and trans fats will increase your cholesterol level which, as we all know, can lead to many life threatening health problems. These are what I consider to be the items on a nutrition label that should get the most attention. Fiber is really important too, it's like Drano for your body in it's ability to 'clean you out'. We'll talk about knowing the hidden dangers in the food ingredients too on another post.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Breakfast Talk

Breakfast. Just the name conjures up many images, scents, tastes and items. What does it make YOU think about?? And I don't mean what you normally eat for breakfast, but what does the word actually make you think of as breakfast itself?

Yesterday I had breakfast out with my sister and G-man (the nickname for my son Griffin since he was crawling around on the floor at my feet) When we go out for breakfast, I want to eat BREAKFAST! And to me, that means eggs, bacon or sausage, hash browns, toast (either traditional or French) pancakes, hot coffee and cold juice. Although, I have to clarify.....not all that in one sitting! At home when I eat breakfast, it's likely a bowl of cereal with some fruit in it, maybe an over-hard fried egg with toast, peanut butter toast with coffee, maybe some yogurt with fruit, or a smoothie made out of yogurt, fruits and protein powder. And again, I clarify.....not all this in one sitting! Lord knows I love to eat, but there are limits. Breakfast should be a substantial meal, after all you haven't put a thing in your tum-tum since dinner or your bedtime snack the night before. It should be filling and sturdy enough to get you through your morning, with a clear head and lots of energy. I'm all for breakfast reform for everyone, and don't tell me that you don't eat breakfast or you might have to hold my soapbox so I can climb up to tell you how I feel about that. I tell G-man that I am not opposed to him eating whatever strikes his fancy for his morning meal, but he does not have the option of NOT eating. So he will eat soup, leftover mac-n-cheese, a cheese quesadilla, a ham and cheese sandwich (sometimes we refer to him as Griffin McCheese due to his love of the stuff) or whatever might be in the fridge. He will once in a while eat cereal, although his tastes tend more towards the sugar stuff that is outlawed in my house, he will eat oatmeal or Bear Mush (a hot cereal similar to Malt-O-Meal) if it's made for him, and he loves scrambled eggs (with CHEESE!!!) on toast. But what he cannot do is skip the meal. The main reason is that he becomes irritatingly disobedient and defiant without proper nutrition, and the other reason is that it just doesn't make any sense. Eating good food=good productive output= happy parents and teachers. The equation is clear and everyone is happy. Yes, breakfast as a whole can mean certain items, even rituals and rules, but eating well in the morning without a fight is often the goal in our house. And as every parent knows, you need to pick your battles. Happily, he will eat if given the option of making his own choice. That for me, is a handily won battle.

Road food and mile high pie

Road trips have their own unique food experiences. They can be either incredible or profoundly bad but the one thing you can rely on is that they will give you a glimpse of local life no matter where you are.

Recently I have been taking road trips East from MN to WI, to visit a relative hospitalized there. The first trip, on the tail of the frantic phone call that gave me the heads up on the issue, I drove East without looking at much around me, just lost in thought about God's great plan and how we all fit into it and bent and determined to arrive in one piece after sharing the road with multiple 18-wheelers as bent and determined as myself. On that trip home, at dusk, with the intensity of the previous days issues having been toned down, all I wanted to do was get home and despite the beautiful sunset, I noticed little else.

This last time I was in the backseat, the driving being done by my more than capable husband, and the urgency being much less than the previous week. I could focus out the window and watch what went by. Of course, driving in WI means that you are in farmland and cheese country. Signs for cheese are everywhere. And at each little town we passed I wondered about the local food joints and what tasty nuggets of local fare they may be offering. When the afternoons visit came to a close, and an evening meal was necessary, we went to a place called the Norske Nook, in lovely downtown Osseo, WI. A famous place, no doubt, as the signs along the Interstate might testify. Their specialty is sweets, pies of all kinds, sweet rolls big enough to feed a large family and a menu full of comfort foods and lefse wraps. The owners fav was a Cod wrap, which my stepmother ordered and claimed tasted like lutefisk might. None of us accepted the proferred tastings. The food was good, comfort food at it's finest, certainly not bad but definitely not something I would want to eat regularly. Of course, the french fries with my French dip were out of this world as a gastronomical treat, deftly seasoned, crunchy out and mealy in but also straight out of the fat fryer and onto my plate. Even dragging them through a bowl of homemade beef gravy didn't remove the image of them being plastered right into my arteries. But in my mind, eating something like this once in a while is all right, making a habit out of it is not. This is where it's hard to draw the line through what can be thought of as a 'bad food' and what can be called 'bad for you food'. While a roast beef sandwich and fries is not 'bad' it is not healthy to eat all the time. And being in Smalltown America means having to mostly forego finding a good restaurant with healthy offerings. Then it came time for pie, and hoooo boy.....the two pieces brought to the table for sharing couldn't have been more polar opposites. The Cherry Crunch was a sweet/sour delight with a very flavorful crumb topping and a crust that crumbled perfectly in your mouth, a manageable piece for anyone. The French Silk made us all burst out laughing at it's absurdity. This pie slice had to have been at least six inches high, and then came the whipped cream. My son, the Sweet Freak, took one look at it and partially lapsed into a sugar coma just at the sight. The rest of us nearly broke open at the seams from the hearty guffaws. My dear husband, ever the practical type, said "No thanks" to either piece. I had a bite of the mile-high pie and thought I might lose a few molars from the unbelievably sweet taste. The rest of them, bless their hearts, took to the pies like lost sheep at the feed trough. My poor son was not allowed to eat to his hearts content since he has not yet figured out the key to moderation, but even carving off a substantial slice of the chocolate pie did nothing to eliminate it's bulk. I couldn't imagine one person ever being able to consume such a ridiculously gargantuan thing unless it was the only thing eaten at the meal. But I suppose that many do, based on the popularity of the place.

Wow, after all that, today I just feel like eating some grains, lots of veggies and a whole lot of water. Probably that's a really good idea. At least we didn't stop at the Cheese Haus or I may have some lovelies beckoning me from the fridge. *sigh* Oh to be at the age where what you eat matters more than how it tastes!!

Friday, June 09, 2006

some items on my 'bad food' list

There is a definite line between 'bad food' and food that is 'bad for you'. Mostly I am all about eliminating food that is 'bad for you' as there is no point in eating this garbage. But then again, you could cram yourself with preservatives for your whole life and save embalming costs in the end, yet why would you?? That's dumb! Once in a while, eating 'bad food' isn't such a bad thing, there is a huge amount of comfort to be found in a big juicy burger and greasy french fries dragged through thick beef gravy (ketchup is a non-essential in my food world) but it's not food you eat night and day. And this stuff should be quickly eliminated from your diet as well.

Here is a partial list of what I eschew as 'bad for you' foods. I avoid these at all costs, and you should too. The alternatives are way cheaper, better for you and far more flavorful.

canned cream soups; velveeta; pre-mixed packaged anything- like rice or pasta mixes; canned vegetables; canned pasta meals; frozen pre-cooked anything like chicken, tacos, burritos etc; frozen meatballs or pre-shaped burger patties; jello; box cake mixes; box muffin mixes; pre-mixed cookie dough squares and cookie dough rolls; any fast food anything; frozen pizza; sugar cereals; bottled cheese dips; boxed bread machine mixes; bologna and hot dogs and other preservative laden meats; frozen dinners; ramen noodles; frozen dinner-in-a-bag meals; breakfast sausages; packaged cookies; pre-made muffins; most fruit yogurts (mostly sugar); those boxed lunch things for kids; any item listing 'partially hydrogenated oils of any kind;

The weather and food connection

Spring came on like a freight train this year. It wasn't a slow gradual increase towards the balmy sun of May, it was a bounding jump into the scorching heat more reminiscent of late July. There was little of the spring rains that dominate an April in Minnesota. Suddenly it was May and it was HOT and being at the lake for Memorial weekend was a weird anomaly- air and sun so hot you barely wanted to move, but water so cold it was shocking. Thankfully, nights cooled to normal for May, the one saving grace.

Summer always means lighter foods, at least in my household. We no longer fire up the dutch oven for stews and soups nor do we stock up on much meat, even if it goes on sale. However, the fish counter gets frequent visits from me and I start to get really creative on the versatility of chicken. We enjoy the soy products too from MorningStar and Boca, they are wonderful for a quick meal and fortunately I have found a source where purchases are el primo cheapo. Let's not forget vegetables and fruits!! Oh my oh my.....I get absolutely bonkers in the head at the produce section sometimes when confronted with the multitude of selections available and the freshness of summertime's bounty. I love corn on the cob, I mean, who doesn't?? Most people boil it, often too long.....really, once the water boils, it needs about 3 minutes submerged and it's fine. Another popular way to cook it is on the grill wrapped in the husks. You need to first peel back the husks and remove the silk, burned silk tastes and smells like burnt hair. Yuk! Not what I want to eat! And this method basically just steams it, and sure it's fine that way. But the best way I have found to make corn is to remove the husks and silk, rub it with oil and grill it right on the grill until the kernels are browned and carmelized. The flavor is amazing, and the kernels fall right off the cob. There is a popular product I have seen in hispanic markets that is like a liquidy cream cheese, and other than calling it 'crema' I have no idea of it's true name, but if you season it with a little chili powder and spread it on a grilled ear of corn, it's one of those taste sensations in your mouth that comes back to you in your dreams. Rich, creamy, smoky and sharp....I could eat corn like that until I burst. I need to find out the name of that stuff! Carrots and Yams are really good on the grill too. You need to slice them thick or they fall through the grate. Brush them with seasoned oil and grill slowly. The natural sugars carmelize and the flavor becomes sweet, mellow and smooth. They need no embellishments. Zucchini strips, eggplant slices, pineapple slices spread with brown sugar or apricot jam, peach halves......the sky is the limit on what can be made more heavenly by a scorching on the grill.

So now.....weather, and the topic of the day. After several weeks of warm, and alternately hot weather in MN, today opens with clouds and the promise of temps in the 60's for a few days. A good thing, our A/C can take a break and we can get reacquainted with sleeves on our shirts, maybe a sweatshirt, and of course, the blankets on the bed. But when I look at the clouds, and feel the cooler breeze, something in me wants to make soup, or beef stew, or even a rich cassoulet or possibly my famous jambalaya. Comfort foods.....and I wouldn't even say it was cold out but it is cooler than it has been of late. It's an instinctual thing, really. A biorhythm change that signals from an ancestral place within our genetic makeup. Survival in cold weather meant heavier foods, more fat to pile on for the harsh winter ahead. But this is only June, and I certainly don't want or need any extra fat. But no matter all that, when the weather chills, my internal clock makes an audible click to a different mindset regardless of what the calendar is really saying. Last nights cedar plank grilled salmon and a vegetable saute are still fresh in my mind, the salmon was so perfectly done that it was melting like butter in my mouth and the crunch of the vegetables mixed with just the right seasoning and a little asiago cheese made for a fine accompaniment all washed down with a smooth merlot. I sat savoring the aftertaste in my mouth and the last sips of my wine while my husband cleaned up the kitchen. (I adore him for many, many things, but his willingness to clean up after my cooking is among the tops on my list!) I could feel in the air last night the imminent change in the weather, and on our post-dinner walk I tossed on a long sleeve shirt to keep the evening breeze off my arms. Today might even mean jeans, I suppose. But I am not going to give in to the urge to make a hearty meal that will sit like a constant reminder in our tummies for the evening. I think I will fire up the brain cells and get the juices flowing for a lively grilled chicken quesadilla, maybe with some poblano peppers and black beans, homemade guacamole and mesclun salad. Then I will pull on my favorite sweatshirt and watch the guys clean up the kitchen. Oooohhh....I can taste the smoky, grilled tortilla, the smooth black bean puree and the crunch of the pepper, all decked out in a dollop of creamy guac peppered with fresh garlic and the tangy bite of lime. I'll dream up the chicken marinade on my way today.

Ah...life is good, isn't it?

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Great as an appetizer



Seared Sesame Salmon

3 oz. fresh salmon, cut into thick chunks
3 T. sesame seeds, white and black mixed
1 T. ea. lemon and lime zest
1 t. Old Bay seasoning
pinch of kosher salt and black pepper
2 T. olive oil

Place sesame seeds, zest and seasonings in shallow bowl and press salmon chunks into seeds. Heat sauté pan, add olive oil and sear salmon for 2 minutes, turn and sear for an additional minute.

More YUM!

This recipe won a runner up in a Meatless Marvels Contest, and the magazine put as the cover item for that month. Kinda cool!!


Pesto Vegetable Pizza


1 pre-made pizza crust (Boboli)
2 garlic cloves, cut in half
1/2 c. prepared pesto sauce
1 yellow pepper, cored, trimmed and sliced thin
4 roma tomatoes, seeded and sliced
1 8oz pkg sliced potabella mushrooms
3/4 c. fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese
1 c. lo-fat mozzarella cheese

Rub cut garlic cloves over crust, discard. Spread crust with pesto. Top with peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach. Sprinkle with cheeses, Bake at 400 degrees until hot and bubbly, approx. 14-18 minutes.


This is a stir fry that we LOVE and I make it a lot when asparagus is inexpensive. Sometimes I don't care what the cost.....I must HAVE it!

Chicken with Asparagus Stir Fry

1 T. toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 # fresh asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 1" pieces
1 # chicken tenders or boneless breasts, cut into 1" pieces
2 scallions, trimmed and cut to 1"
1 shallot, minced
1 red pepper, cored seeded and cut into 1" pieces
1/2 c. snow peas, de-stringed and cut in half
2 T. minced fresh ginger
1/4 c. oyster sauce
2 T. garlic chili sauce
1/2 c. shelled salted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Heat oil in large skillet or wok over high heat. Add asparagus and red pepper, stir fry for about 4 minutes, then add snow peas and stir fry 2 minutes. Remove to bowl and keep warm. Swirl a scant 1/2 t. more of oil in pan and add chicken, allow to cook until browned on one side, then flip over and cook until you can't see any pink. Add sauces, ginger, shallot and scallions, stir to combine. Add vegetables and stir to coat. Cook about 5 -8 minutes longer or until chicken is no longer pink. Serve over rice, if desired.


Yum!!! Recipes!

This is a yummy and easy Thai recipe. My fam loves this.


Thai Cashew Chicken

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup fish sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into thin strips
1 cup dry jasmine rice
2 cups water
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 small onion, quartered then sliced
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 cup unsalted cashew nuts

In a resealable plastic bag, mix the soy sauce, fish sauce, hot pepper sauce, garlic, and ginger. Place the chicken in the bag, seal, and marinate at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. In a medium saucepan, bring the jasmine rice and 2 cups water to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar until dissolved. Stir in the onion, and cook about 5 minutes, until tender. Reserving the marinade mixture, place the chicken into the skillet, and cook about 10 minutes, until browned. Stir the reserved marinade and 3/4 cup water into the skillet, and bring to a boil. Continue to cook and stir 10 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Thoroughly blend in the peanut butter. Serve over the jasmine rice with a sprinkling of cashews.

This one is good with steak, or even with MorningStar Steak Strips

Beef Curry with Peanuts and Fresh Basil

3 T. vegetable oil
2 T. red curry paste
1 lb. thinly sliced beef (flank or sirloin works well)
1 14-oz can light coconut milk
2 T. fish sauce
1 T. brown sugar
1/4 t. salt
14 c. dry roasted peanuts, chopped fine
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
Fresh Basil Sprigs

In a large saute pan over medium heat, combine oil and curry paste, stirring to mix. Cook 3-4 minutes, adjusting heat to keep it sizzling gently without spattering, while mashing and scraping pan to soften and warm. Add beef and cook 2-3 minutes, separating pieces to coat with paste and brown evenly. Stir coconut milk well to mix, and add 1 c. to pan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and cook for about 10 minutes, adjusting heat to keep it simmering. Add remaining coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, salt and peanuts. Cook gently about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add pepper strips and stir into curry. Taste and adjust seasonings. Transfer to small bowl and garnish with basil. Serve over rice if desired.

Children don't come with feeding instructions

But they should. The tag should read: "For a lifetime of use, fill this body with good, nutritious and varied fare. Avoid high fat, fast food and excessive sweets. Fill regularly with water."

Griffin is 12 and my only child. Apparently, God thought he was challenge enough, and didn't give me the ability to have others so my focus could be on him. This is a tenet I accept, although sometimes unwillingly, but in my life, He is in control. Before Griffin was even eating real food, I read an article talking about how to raise a child to be a good eater with a good taste for food and to avoid being picky about what they eat. I refused to buy baby food in jars, but instead made my own, and for the most part, what I ate, my little baby ate as well, and with much enthusiasm and food joy, even at the tender age of a year old; a trait that he carries to this day. During the summer after he turned 1, I sliced a fresh peach and put some pieces on his tray. He took one, ate it and audibly sighed and say "mmmmm" holding out his chubby baby hand for more. At age 3 during the summer, his favorite treat was a fresh apricot from the co-op behind our apartment. The tiny fruit was perfect for his little hand, and he delighted in the juice running down his forearm as he gnawed the tender flesh away from the pit. When the popcorn popper was sputtering and popping on the stove, he would dance around the kitchen, his eyes shining, saying "Pop! Pop! Pop!" and waving his baby arms in the air. At age 5, when given a delicious homemade chocolate pudding pop, he lay on the kitchen floor after removing his shirt so that any mess would be easy to clean up, and he took slow, long swipes at the pop, his eyes half closed in ecstacy. Today, his enthusiasm shows whether sitting over a glass of cold milk and some yummy cookies, or biting into a slice of his favorite homemade pizza, or when I take a sizzling steak off the grill. He loves food, and more importantly, he loves good food and has the ability to be able to tell the difference; a proud sticking point for me.

One thing that I have insisted on with him from those baby days is that he always try whatever it is I am making. He is required to eat a small portion, he is NOT required to like it, and at most it is about a tablespoon or two of food, certainly nothing he can't handle. I always make it positive. When he was younger, I would offer him the amount and say "Yummmm, this is SO good!" and even before he would put it in his mouth I think he was expecting it would taste good. Equate the food positively at that age and how are they even going to know the difference? They aren't old enough to have developed many likes and dislikes, and the only way they know what the world around them is offering is through their parents reactions. So food was always positive in my house, and with lots of variety. Some items we would try and would both dislike them, as much as I tried to muster a smile, in his little boy voice he would say to me "Mom, it's NOT good!" and we would agree never to have it again. But there were many, many items that he liked, both the standard fare for children and some more unusual things as well. This followed him to the present, and has given him a palate that is remarkable for a boy his age. He will eat most anything, and will always try something new because he knows he doesn't have to like it. Two of his most requested dishes are Curry Chicken and Enchiladas. I made a Citrus Chicken Stir Fry one night that he loved, and other stir fries are eaten with a fair dose of enthusiasm even though he often asks me how many pieces of red pepper and zucchini he has to "choke down" (this line always delivered with the wry grin of a teasing mind) He readily tells me that I make the best hamburgers and pizza he's ever eaten, and that dinner at Chez Kate is always preferred to anywhere else. He is not a fast food eater, in fact, he clearly knows that it is poor quality, poor nutrition and tastes like cardboard, but if he's in a group that goes to a fast food joint, he can at least choose something to eat and put it down. He does tend to covet the foods we don't have at home much: junk food like chips and soda, ice cream, store bought cookies, candy etc. etc. We do eat those for special occasions, and have been known to use ice cream as a bribe for task completion many times. But it isn't about deprivation, it's about healthy eating. Everything in moderation, I say. Even moderation.

Lately he has been trying to put his foot down about foods, insisting that he won't eat them even though I know he likes them. I think the peer influence is working it's way into him, and he is trying to be picky without even thinking. And also, he is getting to that age where he needs to be in control of what is going on around him, as so much is still under parental guidance, while at the same time, changes that are happening to him are making him into an adult. I will give leeway where I can, yet meals in our house remain the same. He still has to try it if it's new, but now he is at the age where he can make something for himself if he truly does not want to eat what I prepared. Meals are not planned around what he will eat, but his tastes are taken into consideration, and there is always plenty in the house for him to resort to at the last minute. He tends to be exceptionally lazy though, and the utter horror of eating a plate of fish and veggies is far less strain than having to make something for himself. This is one thing that is not lost on me, so I know the food has to be way down on the chain for him if he heaves himself sullenly off his chair to make a can of soup.

(ok, I am on my soapbox now, so BEWARE!!)
I am a HUGE advocate for healthy eating and cooking, and would love to somehow parlay my culinary training and skills into a postition of teaching people about better ways to eat and cook for themselves at home. I am saddened that my generation may be the last of a dying breed, a generation raised on scratch, home cooking not something that came from a box, bag or freezer. Cooking from scratch does not cost anymore than buying pre-made food, and in some cases the cost is far less. What is costing more is the consequences of one's health from eating too much processed foods. There is no way of overlooking the fact that the skyrocketing obesity rates are directly associated with the increase of the number of processed and pre-made food on the market. I'm talking about Dinner Bakes, Rice a Roni, meals in a bag from the freezer, boxed dinners where you add your own meat, like Hamburger Helper. This is not scratch cooking, and the health costs of eating these foods are unreal. Sodium is off the charts, cholesterol is too high, fat contents are astronomical. And all around us, people are simply getting fatter and fatter. Portions in restaurants are the worst. There is enough food on one plate to feed two people or more, yet one person eats it all. The result is diabetes in children, high blood pressure in teenagers and fatal heart attacks in your 40's. And the fast food industry rakes in billions upon billions of dollars a year feeding people something no better than garbage- nutritionally void, chemically laden, low quality food. It's insidious, and getting worse. There are predictions now that within the next ten years, everything that you can buy in a grocery store can be prepared within 20 minutes of getting it home. That makes me ill. I don't advocate for long, extended cooking times, and eschew anything that takes more than an hour to make, but this is ridiculous to an extreme. You CAN eat well, cook at home and still make time for your crazy, chaotic lifestyle (which is another soapbox I can get on) but there is just no point in sacrificing your health, and that of your children, by feeding them the garbage that people are calling food these days. Change starts slowly, one person, one idea, one step at a time. It's TIME to get the call out and start the change to a better and healthier way of eating.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Musings on the almighty Blueberry

Growing up, blueberries were something that came frozen in a bag for most of the year. Once in a a while, my mom would get a pint of two from the store in the summertime if the price was good. We would each get a small amount, maybe in our cereal or in a bowl with a splash of cream. But it was over as soon as it appeared, and then we were back to the frozen in the bag, tossed into pancake batter or scooped in a muffin. Fortunately, my experience with them has come to maturity, and what rests in my freezer now are bags of freshly picked berries from my annual berry-pickin' trip.

For anyone reading this who happens to be blessed with living in my fair state, even close to the livable Twin Cities, I sadly pass on that I will not divulge my favorite and most bountiful berry patch, as I know it is already close to fanatical status with many, many berry lovers and I won't allow it to be overrun with just anyone. But come late July, the most anticipated piece of mail for the entire year arrives announcing the THE BERRIES ARE RIPE!!! All else falls away, the cats are ignored and supper goes unmade until I have my day in the sun with my berries. The drive alone is amazingly beautiful, curving through farmland and along the river through breathtaking vistas of high hills, mature trees and soaring eagles. I climb the steep road to the berry farm with it's 7-mile views, grab my basket and head out to the vines. The fruit beckons, glowing an ethereal snowy blue, in clumps of thumbnail sized clusters that weigh the vines to the ground. Two hands are cupped around the berries, and my fingers deftly pull the fruit free. Handfuls are gently laid in the bucket, over and over again I work, seeking the biggest berries and the heaviest vines. The basket fills, the sun beats down and the sweat trickles down my back. I am impervious to anything but filling my basket. Soon enough, I sit back on my heels and take note of what is going on around me. There is a Chipping Sparrow in the vine next to me making quite a ruckus. As I approach, it flies off and I spot the source of it's agitation....a small nest with 5 tiny eggs. She stays near, watching me and squeaking endlessly. She has no idea that I only want the fruit, not her babies. There are voices coming from other pickers, drifting over the gentle breeze that cools us and rustles the trees. My basket is half full, big fruit and small fruit, ripe with the snowy pallor indicative of their maturity. I gather a handful and press them into my mouth, biting down gently. The juice bursts forth, filling me with an alternating sweet, then sour, then sweet again flavor. It's like dam breaking free in my mouth, the soft interior of the berry teasing my tongue with it's pillowy texture. I am borne away, no longer sitting in the berry patch, sweaty and targeted by an agitated mama bird, but to the place where only a mouthful of manna can take me. For the brief moments that I am aware, where I am holding a mouthful of delectable blueberries, nothing else around me exists, my eyes are closed, my senses focused on the waves of pleasure swallowing me, as I swallow the fruit. I could eat the whole basket. But slowly regaining my sense of reality, I stand up and begin again to search out the biggest fruits, the heaviest vines and the bounty available to fill the blueberry desire in me. I must have enough to get me through the year until that coveted postcard arrives next summer. Ignoring Mama sparrow, and the increased intensity of the sun, I forage on. More fruit awaits, more pleasures to know, maybe another basket to fill. This is the one day of each summer where it's all about me, the blueberries and the sunshine.

Food in the summertime

I don't know about you, but summer means more wonderful food. I live in the upper midwest, known for long cold winters and short mercilessly hot summers. For the most part, this is accurate, and yes, we survive quite well in this climate with temps that can flucuate from -30 below zero to nearly 100 degrees over the course of the year. But for us, summer means the bounty of the land becomes more readily available. Tiny gardens sprout tomato plants, peppers, basil, onions, cucumbers, zucchini, and if you're lucky and have the space, melons, pumpkins or squash.

In MN, in the summertime, it's about the tomato. I live all year in anticipation of the first crimson globe to be plucked from my tiny garden and taken indoors to it's timely demise. There is nothing in this world like a fresh tomato right off the vine, bursting forth with the taste of the sun, the warmth of an August day and a flavor unlike anything in the world. At certain moments, there is nothing that can compare, and when the short-lived tomato season is over and the last of the lonely reds are consumed, a sort of ennui comes over me, somewhat akin to sorrow that it will be another year before it's joys grace my palate again. I hover over the tomato section in the grocery store, wondering "Do I dare?" and when the desperate urge for a tomato becomes too much, and I give in to the bright red and beckoning store-bought orbs, the first bite often heaves my anticipation right off the edge of Mt. Everest. Yikes.....why do I STILL think it would taste the same!!! Despite year after year of this, I still think, somewhere, somehow, that store-bought tomato will give me the same burst of ecstacy in my mouth as my garden beauts. Wrong! Again.

Summer also means melons, juicy, sweet and deliciously soft and silky. I have never grown melons, but thankfully I worked for a produce company for nearly two years, and I know where the best melons come from and when you should be consuming them until you drop from sheer bliss. The secret?? Westside fruit from CA, it should say so right on the box in the grocers, and if the box isn't available, ask! Westside melons are to die for, everything a melon should be and generally come available around the end of June. The Cantaloupes are a gorgeous hue of orange, the flavors as sweet and as tantalizing as your wildest dreams can conjure. Watermelons are a dark ruby red, loaded with juice, just screaming for you to grab a hunk and go sit outside in what I laughingly call the 'melon stance' . And yes, we all know what that is.....you sit with the chunk of melon in your hands, knees apart and bent over so that all the juice that gets away won't run down your legs. Unless you're six, then you don't care. There's the sluuuuurrrrpppp of your first bite.......the swish of pushing that big hunk back into your mouth, and the attempt to keep the lips closed over the amazing amount of liquid spurting forth from that one bite. Eyes are half closed as if a shot of some natural painkiller has just hit your brain. The swallow, and then the mouth attacks.....over and over until all that remains in your slippery fingers is a much gnawed rind. Juices gather at the corners of your mouth, and your tongue is calling for more.....more.....more. Fruit heroin, nature's dope. One of God's greatest gifts. Never does anything taste more like summer than a big chunk of melon in July. Not even the bees hovering around the sweet, noxious aroma can spoil the mood. Just give 'em their own rind to get drunk on and go for another piece.

There's a first time for everything....

.....and that includes foods, blogs, rites of passage and the usual oddities of day to day life. It's all about food in my world, and it's a world to share with others, hence this blog which has rotated around in my mind for many days. How to express the utter delight and fanatical bliss that comes when you open your mouth and fill it with an exquisite and delectable goodie? Where can we be transported when an aroma, a flavor or a food memory floods us with nostalgia, bringing us in lightning steps from present day back to a cherished childhood memory? How is it that one recipe prepared by five different cooks can yield five very different, and sometimes amazing (and sometimes NOT) results? Why is it, with multitudes of fabulous food choices, do people still insist on eating bad food? Let's educate! Let's talk food! Let's get off our duffs and go find something amazing to eat, something soothing to savor or tintillating to taste! And then let's talk about it!! I'll start and you can listen, or vocalize or share whatever you like. I have extensive knowledge and training about food, so ask me a question about food that you want to know and I will do my best to answer. I'll learn the answer if I don't know, and will never blow any smoke in your general direction. Along the way I'll share my food thoughts on many, many topics of interest. I'll try to make it funny, I'll do what I can to make you think, and hopefully along the way you'll get hungry and try something new. That's what it's all about.....like the title says

Life is too short to eat bad food......