24 December 2013

Apple-pear cider

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1 1/2 apples, separated
2 pears
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 cups apple juice
1/4 cup rum

1. Puree chunks of 1 apple and pears in blender with apple juice.
2. Strain froth from juice into large saucepan using a cheesecloth and add sugar, ginger and cinnamon.
3. Set on high to boil.
4. After boiling,  simmer for 20 minutes.
5. While the cider simmers, slice 1/2 apple with mandolin on thinest setting.
6. Transfer cider to punch bowl, add apple slices and rum.

13 December 2013

ANCIENT. GREEK. COOKBOOK.

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Ok... It's really hard to write this. How can I express the extent of my glee? This is cooking. This is ancient. This is archaeology.This is science!

This is in German and Greek, so I'm confused.

However, this is the confused joy with which every artifact is found on-site. Whether it be in the ground, or on the internet. From what I gather, this is a record of the proceedings of a meeting at the German Academy of Sciences analyzing four fragments of ancient Greek papyri, which apparently was a rather early cookbook.

08 December 2013

Start Young

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My colleagues and I were talking about food recently. One co-worker was talking about being brought up on pate. Other was talking about arriving home when his 3-year-old was eating ox-tongue. Anthony starts Kitchen Confidential by regaling us with a story about going to France when he was young. He made his parents eyes roll when he ordered hamburgers and fries.We they finally decided to leave him in the car when they arrived at foodie mecca, he decided to eat everything unusual in sight- both because he realized food is more than just fuel, and because he wanted to gross-out his little brother. And I think I already told you the shrimp story. My grandpa went for 50 years without trying shrimp. When he finally did, he couldn't get enough.There's also the Mrs. Brown rule. You have to try something three times before you banish it forever.


SO TRY EVERYTHING NOW!

01 December 2013

Non-stick pans

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Tony's giving a lot of useful information in Kitchen Confidential,  so go out and obtain it right now! However,  there is one bit of info I put the book down to write about.
If you don't have a non-stick pan, please get one. If u have a non-stick pan, please get a new one (unless you no the secret.) I too will not read instructions, usually I figure things out. Or at least that's what I tell myself. Or a belif that I am slowly letting go of. Also, my eyes don't always track together.
If you get a non-stick pan, don't think wash it, just wipe it down. And don't use metal for gods sake, use wood or ceramic. And make sure it has a thick bottom.
If you are our age and can't afford a lot, that's fine. Spend $100-300 on your kitchen.  A chef's knife, mandolin, offset sarrated knife, thick bottom saute pan and a blender. Tony reccomends Global knifes. Oh, get a sharpener.
Learn knife skills. Tony reccomends Jacque Pepin's La Technique. You should also have good food. If you want that, get a crockpot. Then you can buy cheap, tough meat and just cook it all day. Now go fourth and cook like a pro of the cheap.

29 November 2013

Vin

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Civilization's Oldest Wine Cellar Uncovered http://umanoapp.com/clip/528f815b83766e59980c6e09

28 November 2013

A big culinary Archive

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http://mirlyn.lib.umich.edu/Search/Home?filter[]=location%3ASPEC%20CUL&page=1&sort=yearup

Something you're used to

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When my dad went to India to study, the locals put it upon themselves to make the American feel at home. So they made him a pizza- peas, carrots and goat cheese.

Stuffed Litchi

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I come from at least three foreign service officers; both my grandpa's and my dad. My maternal grandfather was posted to my Asian countries including Korea and Japan and My dad developed a taste for South East Asia.
He was studying India at Berkley and thought a year-long course on South East Asia looked interesting. Also when he was offered a choice of position between Delhi and KL, he took Malaysia because he would get to learn a new language and have more influence.
Needless to say, we have a wide selection of artifacts from all over Asia and a pull to the food. So when Matt and I were going to make a Indonesian dish and my mom needed some other supplies,  we went to a Asian supermarket out in Virginia.
It was about lunch time, so we had lunch at the restaurant baring the same name as the market.  We were browsing the menu when a litchi appetizer caught our collective eye. They were stuffed with pork in sweet chili sauce and the combination of flavors was so refreshing,  we thought we'd make our own for Thanksgiving.
Sweet chili pork stuffed litchi:
1. Cook the pork on stove until mostly done and add cilantro,  salt, black pepper and sweet chili sauce.
2. Stuff in drained litchi.

27 November 2013

Pizza

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I just heard that the second biggest night for ordering pizza is the night before Thanksgiving, after Super Bowl Sunday.

'Nawlins

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In August, I went down to 'Nawlins for the SAA Conference and had a blast. It was my first time there and I had things to do! One being take a steamboat ride and ghost tour.
First thing I noticed is the lack of spunk of my flight attendant. When asked what I wanted to drink, I answered, "Coke." I didn't realize until moments later that I wanted her to ask me what kind of coke I wanted. Because, in linguistic anthropology, I learned that in the American South, soda is referred to as coke. All soda.I mean, is it to much to ask for a flight attendant to get into the spirt of wherever were going?
Unfortunately, I was only there for a few days and cannot say much about the food. Especially because most of it was my hotel food. I did have a Po-Boy and (don't kill me) did not think it anything special. It was just some spiced shrimp on bread with salad. didn't hold together.
 But, the Hurricane was good. Good? Ha. Excellent. And you can drink it on the street.

Adulting

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ERGGGGH! WHY do I still have this struggle with planning and time management! Well.. I'm pretty stubborn because I have been told on countless occasions that I NEED to put things in my calendar because if I don't, I'll forget. And I say that I won't, and most of the time I don't. But, when I do forget there's a big fire lit under me and I keep a calendar for about two weeks. And then I go back to not keeping track again.There have also been many times when there is no crisis and I vow to plan, still doesn't work.
However, we have spent all day cooking and right now I feel inspired to just learn planning and time management though the things I love. I wrote about this once before and was not sure whether to go back and fix that post or do a new post. Anyway, you know when you cook, when professionals cook, especially a complicated recipe, you need to have everything in place? You should have all the ingredients out, measured and ready-to-go. This step, like all planning in life, (at least to me), almost always feels like a waste of time. BUT ITS NOT.

I was just making a very complicated cake. Even though I think everything turned out fine, it was stressful to always have to leave the food to go look at the recipe for measurements and to make sure I didn't forget anything.I also had to have a pen to cross off ingredients. So, read the recipe beforehand, measure out all ingredients in order and have fun cooking
.
The reason this might be to rationalizing that gets these habits to stick? ITS SHORT-TERM. I, and my fellow ADDers, have problems with long-term goals. So try this. Hopefully it'll spill over to other facets of life. Habitually reading recipes before doing anything might help get you into the habit of  reading directions in a manual before you do anything, reading through anything before you sign, give an opinion or ask questions. Don't look foolish when you go into a job interview and ask a question that's answered on the About page of their company. And putting out and measuring ingredients beforehand can lead to both laying your clothes out the night before or writing down your resources for a problem you're having. Crossing off ingredients gets you to cross off items on your list that you've already done. Cooking has been a great help in many parts of my daily life. Hope it inspires you too.

26 November 2013

The Netherlands

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Since some of my formative years were in Holland, I am very nostalgic about it. Plus, my "brother", best friend, and man of honor is there. Therefore, I was pretty ecstatic when I went to Holland about a month ago. Now, I love stroopwaffel, especially when they're hand-made, hot and fresh. But, I want to talk more about Pannekoek. Pannekoeok is a wonderfully adaptable Dutch pancake. Made of wheat flour and milk, its suitable for any topping. Like crepes, you can get breakfast, lunch or dinner Pannekoek. This versatile canvas is seen in a few countries, but not America. Our version of the pancake is only a breakfast item. Is it actually more of a cake than a blank canvas for sweet or savory. This interesting concept also speaks to the tendency of Americans to always have sweet things for breakfast, whereas the Dutch have meat and cheese. hm... How did that come about?

Also, I can find crepes here, but I cant find a pannekoek restaurant, I do have a feeling that Metin (my best friend) told me that pannekoek is tourist food. But, I want my pannekoek!

More importantly in a sense, is a whole cuisine. There are many Indonesian restaurants in Holland, but none here. We must correct this grievous error. And we must call it what it is, and not lump it in with Asian Food. In one of my earlier tweets, I mentioned that we usually don't say "European Food", but tell the exact country. However, we say "Asian Food" all the time. When I tweeted that we need to call Lao food Laotian, I got followed by a couple politically correct groups.

The Chef and the Alzhemier's

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On tonight's news there was a story about this long-time chef. She's 75 now and beginning Alzheimer's. One day she forgot home to make an omelet. She has turned to food for a cure. She has a shake every morning that she believes is warding off symptoms.


Here's a epicourious article on Alzheimer's prevention: http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/healthy/news/alzheimers-prevention

Salt

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I was watching "Mankind: The History of All of Us" the other day when Anthony came on. I was very excited. He was just explaining how cooking separates us from other animals. I was waiting five episodes, when he shows up to explain salt collection. Apparently, salt was collected in the Sahara by Africans and traded for gold. They only mentioned spices. But, spices, like the silk and other objects they did mention, were very important in trade.This is all explained very well in The Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage.
So there's that food. Here's another thing. I had two years of US history in HS and only one of world. I do remember learning about the Slik Road in 7th grade.But, as I was watching this documentary series, I was shocked at some of the things I did not know. Did you know that during the Dark Ages, Muslims kept math alive in Spain? China invented interchangeable parts? Russia was named after the Vikings called RUSS?
And a couple weeks ago, we went to Medieval Times restaurant, a place where Americans seem to glorify the middle ages. The Swiss thought differently. He knew what the medieval times were. So what if there were princes and princess? That was the one percent and most knowlegde from Rome and Greece had been lost because of the invasion of barbarian tribes.
This isn't just a problem with learning history, but also with learning history that is being made right now. Our news programs seem not only to be a vehicle to scare Americans shitless (Bowling for Columbine) but to hide us from many things happening elsewhere. It is strangely like we're still as isolated as we were 250 years ago.
And I didn't know about salt.
 

Rachelete

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Matt's from Switzerland, so for his birthday we had rachelete. I was incredibly awesome to have a cultural meal of cheese with sweet chilled wine wine. I love melting the cheese just the right way and having it slide from the melting palette onto your food. Its also great to be around a meal, which you have to partially prepare at the table, where you converse with your guests while the cheese melts.
I must admit that, very shocking to me, I actually had trouble with the concept of eating just cheese! So I had mine on new potatoes and spicy lamb sausage. This was all done on a special electric griddle bought on amazon. But, in Switzerland, it is a tradition of males' proving themselves by serving a meal of fire- melted cheese sliced with extreme knife skills.

25 November 2013

Picky

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Reg. Fry in ma sweets

Kitchen and fries

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Kitchen theatre,  I want in. Too many fries.

Ok fine

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I guess ill take most of it back about Bobby's...although,  I think I said the burgers were good. I don't understand people who don't like goat cheese.  I like the FRESH GOAT CHEESE. My question now is wheres the bbq sauce? I thought I saw a Bobby Flay book about sauce.

19 November 2013

Forme of Cury

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Forme of Cury

A Medicinal Recipe

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When I was volunteering at the Oberlin Heritage Center checking inventory, one of my favorite items was a leather doctor's case of vials from the 1800's with medicinal recipes. The recipes usually included cocaine and either gin or whiskey.

The History of the cookbook

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Huh. ok. hopefully I can find a book on this somewhere. It seems to me like cookbooks of the past are not really what we think of cookbooks today. Or at least some of them aren't because they include many home remedies and other stuff like info on merchandising or learning a trade. Cookbooks now seem to be pretty focused right? Are home remedies now for the "frugal," the "environmentalists" and people who like "alternative medicine, thus making home remedies seem inferior to some Americans?

What about home economics? Didn't mom take that and she had to learn to sow? Do some places still do that? What about these books on domesticity? Have they disappeared because of woman's right's issues?

PAY ATTENTION

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I will admit that I find dead food in my fridge all the time. Might even happen if I lived alone. So, please, be wary of what's in your fridge and eat up anything left-over at the end of the month. Yes, it's very hard to do this with the hustle and bustle of today. However, keep in mind the environment, your wallet and your noses.

I have also latley made a habit of plating everything in tea cups. It looks super pretty and gives to smaller portions.

18 November 2013

Georgian Vodka

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This vodka actually came into being because I wanted to combine my Dad's favorite flavors. He was born in Germany and has neven been to Georgia. So why are his favorite flavors the pride of this state?

1 ball jar
1 peach, cut into cubes
5 pecans
1 cinnamon stick
Vodka

1. Put the ingredients in jar, top with vodka, close tightly.
2. Place in fridge, shake twice a day for as many days as you want depending on how intense you want the flavors.
3. Drink and by merry.

4. Make a Georgia crumble with about the same ingerdients.

11 November 2013

A trend

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Yes, at the end of this gastrovist I would like to write a book or two. I have always wanted to write books- for the past few years it's been non-fiction, but I did take a writing workshop in 10th grade. My story was more of a soap opera than a novel- which should give you a sense of why I haven't written anything. I don't like having to fill in all the details,  edit, proofread, make sure it makes sense.  It's the reluctance of sticking with the long-term goal.
I think I touch on ADD in a post. And most stories.
Skip here: I've been noticing many trends in turn-of-the-cenutry cookbooks, one of which is the inclusion of recipes for the sick. I have not taken any folklore classes, but I have taken anthropology ones and anyway friend who did told me what it was. Thus, a folkloric part of my brain wonders what happened.  Am I missing current versions of this or, as I suspect,  are we just too used to popping pills we don't notice or care?
There has been a backlash though,  you can get a fair amount of literature on our dependency on pills. Some of my friends have tried to decrease their drug intake. Then there's Eastern/ Alternative medicine.

On Saturday, Matt made a home remedy for headaches. I was shocked and awed, I thought it was really cool. I can't remember the last time I used a home remedy.  I have, however,  been using a lot of alternative techniques. But, we're talking about American folk home remedies through, and the only one I can think of is honey and lemon for a sore throat..

My mom has several home remedy books that I keep meaning to read. The problem is that pills can be much quicker and, lets face it, never rely on a disgusting concoction. 

Actually,  using chemicals might be more effective,  but at what cost? Yes, I do hear my environmentalist voice talking, but it applies to drugs in our bodies too. It takes time to mix up remedies of your house or your body,  but its always time vs money..or health. Some home remedies cost more, some cost less.  I also think that it says something about our society,like so many other things pushing us to go more and more a long the path of a individualistic society. 

05 November 2013

An online farmer's market

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 I was a few steps away from the local farmers market in Silver Spring on Saturday morning,  when I decided to stop for a promo girl waiving at me. She was from relayfoods.com, a site that sells local products that can be picked-up or delivered.
As a foodie, I was very excited about this, thinking I would find both local produce and awesome local spreads.  I was right! The local produce is, as always, doubley special because it's local, but kinda triple-ly special because you can get local delivered to your door.  You can get sufficient ingredients elsewhere, but I suggest buying one or two special ingredients from here. They also have bountyboxes and recipe kits.
I ordered Red Raspberry Jam, Regenald's Homemade Apple Cinnamon Peanut Butter,Bourbon Pecan Peanut Butter, local pears, Asian pears, asparagus and sweet potatoes. I have so excited when I went to pick them up in Tackoma Park because the whole downtown area, in addition to what I was doing felt very Obie. Even more nostalgic was the kind of people i encountered handing out the food, the glass milk cartons we always got at the co-op and the free veggies that they had.I got free ginger. I gotta do something with that. Maybe I can do a ginger cookbook so my slogan will be, and I can make-up T-shirts saying, FREE GINGER! Kinda already works. Promoting sharing recipes, spice use, medicinal uses, and the  abundance thing.

04 November 2013

Bobby's Burger Palace

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Bobby's burger Palace is a new establishment in Westfield Shopping Town- Montgomery.  The first thing I noticed was the decor, which was kinda cool really. Long tables in the front and wavy ones in the back (if you walk in from outside.) I'm not sure what I think about the visible kitchen feature.
So, I got in line and no one was there because it was three. Still one of the cashiers seemed to be talking to her friend.  The other one called me over, I ordered and sat down.
Pistachio milkshake: good. burger: good, very filling.  I had Bobby's Blue, the Bacon and Blue cheese.  Presented well, but I didn't like all the sesame seeds on the bun.
Here's the thing: didn't like the sweet potato fries. However, I didn't eat the dipping sauce. Sweet fries are hard to make because you really need to make them taste like sweet potato.  I promote Kraze burger and a burger joint in Georgetown I forget the name of. But they have pink sauce.
Service was ok. If you want to go, it might actually be really worthwhile in a month when they get their liquor license.  It is entirely possible that the alcoholic milkshakes could be to die for.

I'm a gastrovist

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I recently got a job building digital anthologies for BiblioBoard. We're working on an Archives of the World project and I decided to create a culinary collection. It is still a work-in-progress of course, but I''m excited.

You really should've seen me nerd out the other night when I found cookbooks from the late 1800's and early 1900's. I was giddy about archaic spellings, hand painted covers and wondering how and when the format of cookbooks went from recipes in paragraphs to a scientific procedure. It seems the writers of turn of the century cookbooks expected you to know something, and figure it out if you didn't. Cookbooks today have lists of ingredients and step-by-step instructions hmmmmm.....

There were also archaic measurements. About 10 minutes ago, my mom went silly about a archaic measurement in a New England cookbook: A Suggestion of white sugar.

So...I need to explore this further for I cannot believe the sheer amazingness of what is on my computer screen right now. If I believe what my eyes are perceiving, I am looking at a digitization project of mass extent. It is a digital archives of cookbooks- handwritten cookbooks- from 1760, the 1900, prob earlier. And this project-tagline"have you ever tried to read your great-grandmother's hand-written recipes'- is a project brought to you by the library of- no, not New York or Boston or Berkley- IOWA. IOWA. Well, there are geniuses all over! Hallelujah! Someone has their head on straight.

http://diyhistory.lib.uiowa.edu/transcribe/collections/show/7

Here are some old cocktail books:

http://goldenagebartending.com/library/


It is imperative to document how different cultures have interacted with food over the years. We must preserve, and we must teach our children to preserve, for there is no way to have a historical party without preparing the food they ate. Right? Right.

The best way to learn some of these traditions is through primary sources. For example, The New York Public Library has a digital database of its city's menus throughout the centuries. This effort parallels other efforts I have recently seen of community involvement in archives. These types of projects rely on volunteers to transcribe text from hand-written or typed recipes or menus into a more legible format.


Christmas presents!

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I was seriously interested in canning for about a week. I still am somewhat, but I shouldn't start projects I don't finish. I still have a guitar I never played. Luckily my mom already had the SLR, but not the accessories. Through if it has to do with culinary, it might stick.

So, when I ordered my Ball jars, I'm sure my roommates rolled their eyes. BUT, never fear because I decided on a not-so daunting task. While talking about frugality with a friend, I decided I was just going to candy nuts for Christmas. That idea has been paired with something else:

A few days ago I went to buy some drinks. I got the stuff I wanted, but I thought I'd better use the vanilla vodka for more than one cocktail. I had apple schnapps at home, so...apple and vanilla..apple and..apple pie? But, I needed spice! I went to the local barkeep to learn how to infuse the vodka. He brought forth information that had been swimming in the further recesses of my brain and taught me some stuff I didn't know. So, I'm infusing vanilla vodka with cinnamon and nutmeg. It'll take two weeks, and then I'll mix with apple schnapps and apple cider.

The combo of these ideas lead to my resolve to candy nuts and infuse vodka for all my friends. I urge you to do the same.

Right now I am working from two candied nut recipes to candy walnuts, almonds and pecans. For almonds there's Cinnamon Roasted ones from Barbara Bakes (my original title of course) and of Pecans and walnuts Taste of Home. Now, the almonds are fine as is, but the pecans ans walnuts are going to be a bit sticky and if your gonna give them as presents, you should take them off the sheet, while their still hot, and toss them in some brown sugar. If you do wanna leave them alone on the first run, they're good for salads.

On the vodka front, I have made the nutmeg-cinnamon vodka and some Georgia vodka. Neither of these took two weeks.

(I've been reading Kitchen Confidential and thanks to watching No Reservation marathons, I hear Tony while I'm reading as well as while I'm writing this post.
Ti amo tony, anch'io ho trovato che una vita felice è piena di manipolare carne, formaggi e alcolici. Manipolarla al massimo!)

09 October 2013

Homemade Rav a la Matt and Babs

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So, one night we decided to make fresh pasta. I really think that's the full story. We'll be putting up more soon-Matt made a really good soup, I just have to get the rights.

 Shrimp mix:
5 shrimp
1/2 cup ricotta
1 teaspoon dill

Pork mix:
Pork sausage
ball pepper
1 teaspoon rosemary

1. Prep pasta, shrimp, and pork mixtures.

To prep pasta dough: Divide pasta dough in fourths. Use two fourths at a time, one lump for the bottom sheet and one for the top, roll it out into 1/8 inch of roll it in a professional pasta roller.

To prep shrimp mixture:Cook and chop shrimp, crumble ricotta and crush fresh dill.

To prep pork mixture: Crop peppers and rosemary, mix mix sausage using oil, cook.

2.Scoop shrimp mix in 1/2 teaspoonfuls about 1/2 inch apart on bottom sheet, cover with top sheet.
3. Repeat with Pork mix.
4. place 2-3 rav in boiling water at  a time in order not to crowd. They aren't done until they rise to the top.

27 July 2013

Ginger Lemon Kefir

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2 cups plain yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon curd
2 tablespoons ginger preserves

1. Your standup mixer, combine all ingredients and whisk until drinkable.
2. Enjoy!

30 May 2013

Tropical Treat!

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I just whipped up the smoothie from a recipe I've had since I was a kid. However, I've made some fresh, and some wacky, substitutions.

1 kiwi
1 cup fresh squeezed tangerine juice
2 1/2 tbsp. Banana curd
3 ice cubes

1. Blend all together in blender and serve immediately.

07 April 2013

A strange fusion

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Libraries are struggling, which is why they have undertaken so many new programs lately. One such program is seed libraries. Get this: it promotes heirloom varieties! So, I think we might all benefit from it. I am not a gardener, and thus have not tried these programs. In fact, I do not know of any libraries in my area that are doing this. Then again, I live in built-up suburbs around a big city. It is very important to have genetic variation in all species and to preserve some of those varieties that make a dish a little more authentic. As far as I gather right now, one borrows the seeds from the library and gives seeds back of the plant that they have grown. Don't you want to go back to our roots and produce a genuine product rather than buying it at the store?

06 April 2013

Grapefruit's Bite

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The other day on Howcast got a tip about making fresh juice.  Apparently, to get more juice out of your citrus fruit, put it in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes after removing it from the fridge.I couldn't believe it! I went the bartending school! Why didn't they teach us this?

But, that resulted in this great twist on a Gin & Ginger. 

1. In a rocks glass add 1 oz. gin and 1 oz. fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
2. Fill rest of glass with ginger ale
3. Drop in a squeeze of ginger puree and serve.



Spiced Gin Pucker

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I had just been introduced to Gin and Ginger and was serving it up at a party, when my mom wanted a gin and bitter lemon. My boyfriend at the time took me to a international food store we love, I saw the bitter lemon and said I had to get it for my mom. He also got me some great ginger and lemon gummies. Following my taste buds and what we had in stock, I simply combined these ideas.

In a rocks glass combine:

1 oz. Gin
Equal parts Ginger Ale and Bitter Lemon

23 January 2013

Dichotomies

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1. The dichotomy between health food in American society today and unhealthy, canned and frozen foods.

2. The dichotomy between the artisan/local and mass produced frozen food that is filled with preservatives.

3. The dichotomy between over and under valuing food.
1. Americans have been "obsessed" with health for years. There have been countless articles published about health foods, diets and exercise. However, even with this obsession-which includes all new health-food products- prepackaged food with harmful preservatives still rain supreme. Why? Well, part of it is because we have become accustomed to that kind of food.

Another reason why we eat prepackaged food is because we are so busy. In our individualistic society, we measure success individually. This reflects a different lifestyle and value system than collectivist cultures, which place more emphasis on relationships. Because we must work harder to become "successful," we have less time to devote to other activities. This includes cooking.
I was conversing with my friend today about how she is accordingly busy. She sometimes will make a salad with her own vinaigrette, but she is one of the few people to use fresh ingredients. This is a commendable practice. However, she is so ravenous when she gets home that, at times she simply grabs something that is quick and unhealthy. Because there is only at Starbucks in her building, when she grabs food, instead of walking a few blocks because she does not have time, she goes to Starbucks and gets a pastry.
After our class tonight we found vending machines because I was hungry. Catholic University of America is rare in that it does have a health-food vending machine. Most places only have crappy candy bar vending opinions. The American palette has been significantly changed from what it used to be so that people predict food high and calories of sugar and fat.
2. There is a dichotomy today between the sub-culture of people retreating to local and artisan foods and the majority which eat mass produced food. Even so, going back to a localized food production structure is not the answer. A Ted talk in the series " Chew on This," a researcher discussed how food should neither be localized nor globalized, but rather become regionalized.
My mom says she has not tasted that good apricot since she was a little girl. This makes sense because pesticides are used on a regular basis.
3. Americans today seem to have been an interesting view of food. They will go out f for a nice meal in a restaurant that might cost them an exorbitant amount of money. This cannot be done on a regular basis. Most Americans seem not to understand is that if they learned to cook, they could have food equally exceptional if for a fraction of the price.


17 January 2013

Frozen Foods

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I must admit I was in the frozen-food section of the supermarket today, and not just for research. I was there buying frozen prepackaged meatballs. Don't hurt me! However, while buying these, I did notice some even more atrocious items available. Thus, the research part is that I was noticing how many foods are unnecessarily frozen because they are so easy to make. Pancakes. Pancakes! One of the easiest things to make is readily available so it's made even easier! Who cannot make pancakes? The companies that make frozen pancakes should really be ashamed of them themselves. To make pancakes one needs butter, flour, and milk. Nothing could be easier. Sure, there might be some things in the frozen section it is hard to make or take a long time to make, such as waffles and meatballs, but there are also pancakes.

I like ice cream. Ice cream isn't that hard to make if you get an ice cream maker. And I suggest you do it! Make any flavor you want! And add fruit, chocolate, nuts, liquor. You can make chocolate whiskey ice cream and won't have to search around for the perfect combination of flavors, chips or candies you crave. I can even make sticky toffee pudding ice cream! How wonderful! No specialty foods here! Learn to cook and you should never have a one-time dish experience
.
But, this trend is also creeping into other sections of the supermarket. Do you understand how to cut an apple? It seems some people don't...or at least they don't have time to. You can now get pre-cut apples. Now, I actually see one pro to this, but at least two or three, maybe four cons. The pro- it might be possible that when hunting for a snack, one grabs pre-sliced apples instead of a Snickers. Even though they usually aren't near each other...
Here are the cons:
1.DO YOU KNOW HOW TO CUT APPLES? Then just do it.
2. Are you too busy to cut apples? If you are, slow down. Not taking the time to cut an apple is unhealthy. Consult your neuroscience book's section on stress.
3. Do you realize you are paying someone else to cut your apples? Or its probably a machine... but I think buying pre-sliced apples, or prepared anything, it is more expensive than buying a dozen apples
4. Are you teaching your kids that this is the natural state of apples? Take your kid to a farmer's market and buy a juicy, organic apple that won't kill him. Actually...the killing him part might apply more to the bubble-gum flavored apples.
5. *facepalm* I am a bad Obie {Oberlin College graduate}..a very bad Obie, but oh right....the environment. Mother Earth really doesn't like it when we make extra packaging for our convenience, which means she has more landfills with too much waste that won't degrade for thousands of years.