EatingIsImportant
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Walking Is Important

My dirty little secret

6/24/2014

 
Let me start on a positive note.  I have secured access to a camera!  While this still does not imply that I have the ability to competently photograph things, it does mean I can create images that legally belong to me.  That is exciting.  

For instance, last Tuesday I took a series of photos of the dinner I was making.
Picture
Onions, garlic, rosemary.
Picture
The lima bean stew, in the pot.
Picture
I took this photo of spinach all by myself!
Unfortunately, it took me several more days to figure out how to upload them to my computer, and by then I'd kind of lost interest in the meal.  If I remember correctly, I served the lima bean stew pictured above, with garlicky spinach piled on top, and some good sourdough bread I didn't bake myself.  I did remember to buy butter for the first time in weeks, and we were all pleased about that.  All in all it was an okay, not great, workaday dinner.

I try to cook new recipes three times a week at least; last week it was four, because I had two simple egg recipes I wanted to try.  One night we had the "oaty-eggs" described at the link above, with honey and butter (I think some of us had jam instead), and a big fruit salad.  They were a hit, and simple as anything- especially since my gas stove, with its stupidly tiny burners, is terrible for heating a pancake griddle, and these egg pancakes simply worked.  They didn't stick at all and cooked evenly.  They weren't terribly filling, though, and everybody wanted more.  Next time I'll make more than two oaty-eggs apiece.

I also made the wasabi devilled eggs from the same page (am I really linking to Livestrong after watching The Armstrong Lie?  I can't bring myself to fault the whole community, though).  Conclusion: while wasabi might be a nice addition to classic devilled eggs, this particular recipe- which substitutes sour cream for mayonnaise, adds rice vinegar, and contains nothing remotely sweet- just didn't do it for us.  We found them bland and slightly bitter, and- though we were a little embarrassed to admit it- we missed the usual added sugars.

The fourth thing I cooked last week was... another white bean stew.  Cuban white-bean-and-pumpkin stew, as a matter of fact, which sadly was not as good as it sounded, perhaps because I couldn't find certain specialty Cuban ingredients (cachuchas, culantro), even at my nearby Caribbean grocery.  We ate it over white rice, with some broccoli on the side, green salad, and manchego cheese.  It was bland as all hell, and there were a ton of leftovers.  Some extra salt, and the miracle of flavor-mingling while sitting in the fridge for days, improved these beans over time, but I would not make them again.

Why did I make two different white bean stews in three days?  Well, we've finally arrived at my shameful secret.  Some people, even ones I respect very highly, talk about "cooking their way through cookbooks."  By which they seem to mean, "choosing a handful or two of recipes from a single cookbook, ones that happen to appeal to me, and cooking them one after another in a sort of mini-binge, then assessing the results."

I don't know anyone else who cooks their way through cookbooks the way I do.  (If you do, and you happen to be reading this, please speak up!!)  By which I mean, starting at the beginning and cooking every single recipe, in order, until I get to the end, even though at the pace of two recipes a week this is liable to take years.  (I said I make three or more new recipes a week: the third is generally an internet recipe that I've bookmarked because it looked appealing.  I keep a long list of these, and have a good year's worth in the queue.)

For instance.  Right now I am cooking my way through Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian (published in 1999- no trendy or timely cookbooks for me!  Less than three years ago, I finished a New York Times cookbook from 1961.  I did skip some aspics from that one).
Picture
Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian cookbook, atop my stupid stove. I am not a vegetarian but my ex-husband was.
It's hard to read the fine print in the picture, but at the bottom of that book it reads, "More than 650 meatless recipes from around the globe."  At two recipes per week, I will cook approximately 100 per year, so it will probably take me six years or more to finish this book.  Don't get me wrong, I like the foods in here, though Jaffrey does have a tendency to put too much liquid in her beans, recipe after recipe (I'm in the bean section).  But, I have a lot of cookbooks to get to.

Oh, wait, I just thought of someone who cooked through an entire cookbook- how could I have forgotten?- and she got ultrafamous for it.  The Julie and Julia chick.  I liked her book a lot, but more than anything it was because I couldn't believe there was a kindred spirit out there.  ...And, just now, in the process of going back to find her book and her actual name and her blog and so forth, I've (re)discovered that she also had difficulty finishing the aspics.  I swear I am not an (intentional) Julie Powell copycat!; I've been doing this since, I think, the year 2000 (maybe 2001?), well before I read her book, and it's not so much a project as an expression of a compulsive personality, I would guess.  Which is why I view it as my dirty little secret instead of something that will make me rich.

Regardless, you should expect to hear a lot about beans over the next months.

Cat loves spinach, hates steak

6/17/2014

 
Again.  I need to get a camera.

When I open the refrigerator door, my cat tries to climb in there.  She likes exploring.  Yesterday, though, I had just been grocery shopping, and there was a big bag of raw spinach, barely tied closed, resting on the bottom shelf.  My cat made a beeline for it.  She nibbled on the leaf that was sticking out of the bag, then began determinedly pulling it through the hole and out onto the floor.  I helped.  She ate that whole leaf and, every time I open the refrigerator, she dashes in to grab another one.  Eventually I had to cut her off (can a whole lot of spinach be good for a cat?).  

Meanwhile, she rejected the bite of wildly expensive ribeye steak that I saved for her.  She doesn't care for fish.  She also doesn't care for cheese, or popcorn, or any of the other things former cats of mine have considered delicious treats.  Leave a bit of lettuce on the cutting board, though, and she's on her hind legs trying to swat it to the floor with her paw.
Picture

Too young to vote, but not too young to influence policy

6/17/2014

 
Picture
Appeared originally at Daily Kos.
Picture
Also from the Young Activists' website.
But, of course, the Young Activist Club would vastly prefer heavy-duty  reusable trays- the kind most of us parents had in school- and a dishwasher with which to wash them.  This is apparently a radical proposal.  Those crazy little environmentalists!  Dishwashers cost money!  Use water and electricity!  Use detergent!  Require labor!  Can't be replicated across the school system!  (And that's why we've all given up using them at home and use styrofoam plates, cups and bowls for everything.  So much cheaper and more sustainable, and after all, some people don't have dishwashers-for the record, this includes me- it's an economic justice issue, right?)
Picture
Merry Eisner-Heidorn: Definite Yes!!! To whatever it is those children want.
Picture
Jill Ortman-Fouse is clearly aware of the issue and keeping abreast of recent developments.
My twelve-year-old asked me this morning if I had considered my vote for Montgomery County Board of Education in the June 24th primary.  I had not, yet.  My daughter said, urgently, "Can you please vote for someone who cares a lot about the environment?"

Now, "someone who cares a lot about the environment" is generally an important criterion for me when voting, in almost any race.  But I hadn't thought about it for Board of Education.  I knew immediately, though, what my daughter had in mind.  She was thinking of the Piney Branch Young Activists Club, and friends of hers who were alumnae, and their tireless campaign to end the use of styrofoam lunch trays in local schools.

The kids have been halfway successful.  This year, one of our schools piloted a program using recyclable cardboard trays, and next year the whole county will be switching to cardboard.  That's an average of 57,000 trays per day (over 10 million per year) which will not be made of styrofoam.
Picture
Some food-serving establishments have actual dishwashers. This is radical.
So, which of our Board of Education candidates might actually support the kids in their dishwasher activism?  The Young Activists have been blown off many times, even by progressive local politicians they'd assumed would be sympathetic.  Montgomery's Whole Child Coalition issued a questionnaire to all four candidates, which included the question: "What is your position on student-led initiatives and pilot projects such as the Young Activist Club’s dishwasher project?"  Only two candidates answered the questionnaire.  
Merry Eisner-Heidorn replied: 
I think student-led initiatives are the best. In fact, Start School Later has benefited from student-led initiatives in several school districts across the country. And when I organize testimony, whether it's at the county, state or federal level, student voices are critical. It's what makes a hearing about any education issue compelling. When children recognize that change is essential, we need to support them. When they embrace a cause that they believe will make a difference in the future, we need to find a way to fund it. Because by their very nature, children seek the safety and security of the status quo. So if they're willing to test something new, we need to go with them. The future is theirs. 
Jill Ortman-Fouse replied:
"I fully support and encourage our children's advocacy efforts and hope they continue their courageous battles to protect our world and future. The pilot project for the recyclable trays being launched at a school besides Piney Branch was a slap in the face to the community. Again, we should be on the cutting edge of such efforts. As it is, we are behind all the counties that surround us, as well as the other large school systems."

Ortman-Fouse makes an excellent point (that the children who fought so hard for this change are not the pilot's beneficiaries), and- more importantly- seems to be up-to-date and conscious of the evolving situation.

As for the other candidates, Edward Amatetti and Shebra Evans, I can't find any record of either one taking a position on the lunch tray issue, though Evans attended a public meeting in 2012 where it was discussed (and hence is likely at least aware of the question).
Picture
Edward Amatetti is a mere blur.
Picture
Shebra Evans: Who knows? Maybe.
Personally, I'm going Jill Ortman-Fouse, and my daughter informed me yesterday that my choice was the same one approved by well-known Young Activist Club alumna A.B., whom I respect a very great deal considering that she is barely 13.  No, scratch that-- I respect her a very great deal, period.  She will be president if the Takoma Park community has anything to do with it.

So, children, pester your parents to make their vote based on candidates' position on sane lunch tray usage.  You have a lot of power.  Most parents don't know what the hell is even going on in your lunchroom (what do you mean, there isn't an actual kitchen anymore?).  They're not there.  It's up to you to inform them.  

And remember, as soon as you're old enough: VOTE.

Steak and Eggs

6/15/2014

 
It's Sunday morning.  Last night my husband and I splurged for our anniversary and ate at a classic area steak restaurant.  I had a huge ribeye, priced at $31.99.  (Also, a mixed salad; side dishes of mashed potatoes and creamed spinach, which were both even better than the steak itself; a glass of cabernet; and chocolate mousse for dessert.)  Did I mention the ribeye was huge?  I only ate half.  (Same with the chocolate mousse, which my husband finished off for me.)  I brought the other half of the steak home, for the express purpose of enjoying it this morning.  Steak and eggs.

Sliced and reheated on the griddle, it was still enough to share between the both of us.  I fried us a couple of eggs apiece, over-medium-ish, cut our last hunk of Fonzy melon in half, made toast.  (I keep forgetting to buy butter, but we had three pre-packaged pats that I stuck in my purse after our trip to the diner on Friday night, along with my leftover biscuit wrapped in a napkin.  No, I don't have a delicate little appetite, restaurants serve you too much food.  And I hate to waste anything.)  The toast was bland, some Arnold's affair I bought at Snider's,  claiming to be whole-grain.  Everything else was delicious.

No, I didn't take a picture of this meal, because a) it never occurs to me to take pictures of anything, b) I don't have a camera of my own, even a cell phone that takes photos, and c) this post was utterly spontaneous.  I opened a draft without the slightest idea what I might say, only that I wanted to somehow introduce the site before launching into my next post, a highly specific discussion of a particular issue in some local elections.  That seemed a jarring way to begin, but perhaps steak and eggs are stranger still.  One thing is clear, however.  I need to develop the capacity to take photos.  If nothing else, it would make my mother so happy.  Also, I wouldn't have as many moments like yesterday's, when, after an exhaustive image search,  I chose a mundane Washington Post-owned photo of two empty lunch trays sitting side by side, one cardboard and one styrofoam, and priced the cost of using said image on my website... $1660.  This was a shock.  Being nothing if not honest, I walked away.

So, this is an image-free first post, which reflects my true nature, but is not in line with current trends.  Images, I promise, will be forthcoming.  I'm excited, in a way, to have a site without a clear plan, one that can change and grow without betraying its purpose.  The title came to me, though, as I was using the restroom (swiftly, efficiently) for a moment in the middle of my waitressing shift.  See, eating is everywhere in my life.  It is the mission of my workplace.  It is my preoccupation as an adventurous home cook and a lover of grimy diners and refrigerated sushi.  Any political issue that centers on food or agriculture tends to get my attention, especially if it has to do with the school lunch program.  I read books on nutrition and try out different fad diets, but only if I'm convinced they're healthy.  Grocery shopping is one of my favorite things.  What are we doing tonight for Father's Day?  Why, going out for dinner, of course.

There's nothing unusual about this.  While we may, in our modern arrogance, pretend that eating is no longer the very center of our existence, I would submit that we are totally wrong.  As our food culture becomes ever more complex (PaleoEthiopianTwinkies?UnagiGlutenfreeGeneralTso'sMastercleanseMrPibbFarmer'smarketSmithfieldRawfoodSourpatchkids), we are still animals.

As one of my daughter's favorite teachers would say, eating is important indeed.

    Whodunit

    The author is a waitress, home cook, and foodie who has trouble sticking to a subject.  She currently resides and works in the Maryland suburbs of D.C..

    Archives

    June 2018
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    July 2014
    June 2014

    Categories

    All
    Bon Appetit
    Food Diary
    Guts
    Jennifer Reese
    Kitchen Practices
    Madhur Jaffrey
    Miscellany
    Mridula Baljekar
    Nonpienary
    Pie Of The Month
    Politics
    Rants
    Recipes
    Recommended Reading
    Restaurant Reviews
    Smitten Kitchen
    The Cat
    Things That Have Nothing To Do With Food



    Other people who eat, walk, and/or have to live in this effin' country:
    The Tipsy Baker
    Smitten Kitchen
    ​Orangette
    ​Cooking Without a Net
    ​My Name is Yeh
    ​
    A Sweet Spoonful
    ​
    Jack Monroe
    Lottie + Doof
    Two Red Bowls
    ​VSB




Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos used under Creative Commons from 4MamaMagazine, jdavis, Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, Andy Hay, Andy Hay, Jerk Alert Productions, machaq, vere+photo, AlishaV, oonhs, wuestenigel, NIHClinicalCenter, JeepersMedia, Ly Thien Hoang (Lee), James St. John, N@ncyN@nce, fourpointgo, WeTravel.com, vagueonthehow, paraflyer, Tac6 Media, my little red suitcase, BarnImages.com, Kirinohana, Tony Webster, Lorie Shaull, roger4336, jules:stonesoup, torbakhopper, 2KoP, Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, entouriste, Laura Northrup, Sam Howzit, toniv90, espinr, leostrakosch, ell brown, Calgary Reviews, entouriste, Hey Paul Studios, Nrbelex, Gerry Dincher, kelvinf19, Natalia Volna itravelNZ@ travel app, perpetualplum, NCinDC, AlishaV, m01229, LifeSupercharger, NathanReed, madelinewright, mikecogh, regan76, JeepersMedia, Steiner Studios, spratt504, Matthew Paul Argall, melanie.lebel94, stu_spivack, Calgary Reviews, Kristoffer Trolle, Tambako the Jaguar, Mr.Sai, JeepersMedia, emleung, televisione, Ruth and Dave, Upupa4me, b-j-oe-r-n, Franco Folini, Green Mountain Girls Farm, Roberto Verzo, MAURO CATEB, pacomexico, takomabibelot