Happy belated 4th of July! I love the 4th of July–nothing says celebrating your country’s independence like too much food, booze, and explosions. It’s the American Way.

All kidding aside, I really do love the 4th. My friend Rabbit holds a potluck, then we all walk down to the Berkeley Marina to watch the fireworks. This is the 2nd year in a row I’ve been, and I always remember on the walk down how horribly painful the walk back will be. I really should contemplate that sooner in the future. But I probably won’t.

For my contribution, I baked a southern coconut cake. The theme was bringing a traditional dish from your family/heritage. I was horribly tempted to really go what would be traditional for my family and do the cheating version, made with boxed cake mix and cool whip. But I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, so I used this recipe from Tender Crumb.

It turned out really well. We also had real NC BBQ (pulled pork, vinegar sauce), fried pickles and potato salad. I was very, very happy. I could eat like that all the time and be perfectly content. Gives me some ideas for planning what to cook next week, that’s for sure.

Surprise, surprise, those corn refiner’s association ad extolling the harmlessness of high-fructose corn syrup? Well, it turns out they’re not exactly true. A report from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy tested 55 common products containing high-fructose corn syrup and found–guess what?–mercury in several of them.
Green LA girl posted a full list, and I was pretty stunned. Here’s the list:

• Quaker Oatmeal to Go
• Jack Daniel’s Barbeque Sauce
• Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup
• Kraft Original Barbeque Sauce
• Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars
• Manwich Bold Sloppy Joe
• Market Pantry Grape Jelly
• Smucker’s Strawberry Jelly
• Pop-Tarts Frosted Blueberry
• Hunt’s Tomato Ketchup
• Wish-Bone Western Sweet & Smooth Dressing
• Coca-Cola Classic
• Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt
• Minute Maid Berry Punch
• Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink
• Nesquik Chocolate Milk
• Kemps Fat Free Chocolate Milk

Now, I admit to not using most of these, but I do use ketchup. And jelly. I’m pretty horrified at the idea of mercury being in those foods, since I (sadly) drastically reduced my tuna consumption to avoid mercury. I guess I’m going to have to work on making my own ketchup and jam, because I’m really beginning to distrust any product that I don’t make myself.

Tarot Card of the Day: The Devil

I feel relatively unfestive this Christmas Eve–I’m working from home today (alas) while watching Top Chef reruns. Since I’m not going home again this year (next year, I promise Mom!) I’m keeping everything low-key. I got some fancy appetizers from Trader Joe’s to heat up tonight in lieu of my family’s traditional fondue–Christmas Eve is not a time that should require cooking! I can always save the leftovers for snacks, though let’s face it, I can totally eat the entire tray of feta and carmelized onion bites in one sitting. AND I’M NOT ASHAMED OF THAT.

Ahem.

Later on today, I need to do some cleaning up around here, finish wrapping a few things (for cats, and one box that my Mom had shipped to me), finish making some kitty toys, and start my eggs portugal for tomorrow. If I get really adventurous, I might try making some goats milk egg nog. Then, I plan on finding something festive to watch on TV and working on my Purple Monkeys.

Aren’t the gorgeous? I started these I don’t even know how long ago, but I picked them up again after the holiday rush. I’m definitely a huge fan, and I can’t wait to finish and wear them. I also need to find the ball band for this yarn, because I LOVE IT! It has a fantastic elastic, yet firm, quality that I think is going to hold up to wear really well.

I have to say, that’s the on bonus of not going home. Everything has to be finished and shipped off early, so I get to spend Christmas Eve happily knitting on whatever project I chose, sipping eggnog, and watching movies. It’s definitely more relaxing. I even found a small prime rib at Trader Joe’s for tomorrow, so I’ll have a real Christmas dinner this year!

Whatever you’re doing or celebrating, I hope you have a fantastic holiday!

Tarot Card of the Day: Four of Wands

So, my Mom is visiting me for a couple of weeks (which goes a long way towards explaining the lack of knitting and blog posts) and we’re both Top Chef fans. Since a number of the cheftestants come from San Francisco, it only made sense that we would try to eat at one of their restaurants. Since Mom’s far less spendy with food than I can be, I figured I’d skip dinner at Absinthe (though I still desperately want to go; need to round up some friends and get on that) and then I saw the brunch menu at Circa.

Little known fact about me: I love eggs benedict. To a slightly unhealthy degree, I love eggs benedict. I would happily eat it every day for a week if I could. (My inability to poach an egg makes this impossible, as does the fact that I am far too lazy to actually assemble a complicated breakfast most mornings.)

So, this morning we headed off to Circa for brunch. I’d checked out the menu online, and it was slightly out-of-date, but most of the things were still the same. I had, of course, the eggs benedict sampler, which involves a choice of TWO types of eggs benedict. Oh, Circa, how you know the way to my heart. After much debate, I settled on the Bernaise (beef tenderloin and tarragon hollandaise) and the Spanish (serrano ham and saffron hollandaise) and Mom went for the apple crumble french toast. (She reacts to french toast the same way I do to eggs benedict.)

First off, though, a few pet peeves. Aside from the Marina crowd (I moved here to get away from preppy frat boys, thanks) which obviously isn’t the restaurant’s fault, I was a little annoyed by the lack of a drink menu. The only thing listed for brunch were bloody mary’s and mimosas. Both delicious, but I don’t always feel like drinking at 11:30 on a Sunday morning. They had tea when I asked for it, but still, a list of beverages wouldn’t hurt. I also felt like the tables were kind of close together; I could overhear the conversations of the people on either side of me. In addition to feeling kind of awkward, it severely curtailed my ability to mock them.

The food, however, was delicious. We started the meal with the complimentary basket of cornbread. I was  a bit wary, as I could smell the jalepenos as soon as I picked up my piece; I’m a pretty big spice wuss, and the only person I’ve met who is a bigger one is my Mom. Seriously, the woman’s ideal salsa consists solely of tomato, onion, and garlic. We are not a spicy people. But, once it was spread with butter and honey, the bread was deliciously flavorful, and not at all spicy.

The bite of french toast I tried was delicious as well; the apples were fresh and sweet, and there wasn’t an overwhelming amount of syrup. The cinnamon cream looked fantastic as well, but I skipped that, since hollandaise sauce pretty much triples the amount of dairy I should be eating (but, alas, is totally worth it. Hi, my name is Stephanie, and I suffer for the sake of yummy food.) and I didn’t want to tempt fate. The eggs benedict though–that will bring me back to Circa. It may take a BART trip, and an insanely long ride on a ridiculously crowded bus to get there, but it is so worth it. The Bernaise was my least favorite; the tarragon hollandaise was wonderful, but the tenderloin seemed a tad overcooked. Which means it was about medium–I prefer my meat rare (or even bleu) if at all possible. Plus, the amount of beef seemed a little bit much next to the egg and english muffing. It was still very good, but I think I’ll try another variety next time.

The Spanish, though–I would sell my soul for that breakfast. The Serrano ham was wonderful–salty and bursting with flavor–and the saffron hollandaise was incredible. Only the fact that we were in public stopped me from licking my plate. It was that good. All of the flavors complimented each other perfectly, and achieved a perfect balance of rich egg yolk and sauce and salty ham. If you’re ever in San Francisco, make the trip to Circa and try this; I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Happy Thanksgiving! Right now, I’m sitting on my couch watching the Macy’s Day parade and enjoying the smell of the apple cake filling my apartment.

(And, oh hi, I just got Rick Rolled by the Macy’s Day Parade! When Internet memes go too far….)

My Mom is visiting, so it’s going to be a quiet Thanksgiving, with just the two of us. Which is kinda sad, but it is nice to see my Mom. And by see my Mom, I mean, have her make her homemade stuffing. Mine is never as good.

I’m pretty happy with the menu, though; there are a few new things but I still have my favorites.

Our Thanksgiving Menu

Turkey (Not brined. We baste. We’re old school like that.)
Stuffing (Homemade, plain stuffing, none of this cornbread or sausage nonsense.)
Gravy (Also homemade. Sans giblets; the kittehs get those.)
The Pioneer Woman’s Sweet Potatoes
Cranberry sauce (From a jar, as cranberry sauce should be.)
Brussels sprouts
Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce

It’s a lot of food, but I think somehow, I’ll manage to bring myself to eat all of it.

Tarot Card of the Day: Four of Cups

So, I appear to be turning into a little bit of a hippie. The kind of person who wants to buy local produce and grass-fed beef and all that jazz. Now, I’ve read The Omnivore’s Delimna and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and like many other people, was totally inspired.

But I’m wondering if this is necessarily a good thing.

Let me explain. I live in California, where we have lots of farmer’s markets open year round. Theoretically this is great. Lots of fresh, local produce available. Except that I’ve noticed something. These farmer’s markets seem to becoming more spectacle than useful–the produce is more expensive than I’d pay in a store (even certain organic stores) and half the booths are already prepared food to eat there. Now, there’s nothing wrong with this on first glance, but it worries me that we’re creating a two seperate spheres of food.

So much emphasis has been put on eating local/sustainable food that it’s become trendy to certain people. And a lot of those people? Have money. So of course that food becomes more expensive, because there are people willing to pay the price. But by doing this, aren’t we really worsening the food culture of our country?

Right now, we have a system where the middle-to-upper class can go to farmer’s markets and good grocery stores and buy nice local produce and meat and cheese and whatever. But other people, people with less money are still stuck with the cheap, junky food. Food that’s available in supermarkets and convenience stores. And that’s not right.

I think of Anthony Bourdain, and how he frequently writes that some of the best food is peasant food, food made from some of the worst parts of the animal that tastes delicious because people found a way to season and cook it and make it good. We’re losing–or have already lost–that part of our food culture I think, because now poverty doesn’t mean beans and rice and cheap cuts of pork or beef, it means Wonder bread and McDonalds and soda for $0.50 for a 2 liter bottle.  I also think of some of the health problems that disproportionately affect lower income people in our society. Part of that has to do with lack of access to healthcare, but it also has to do with the fact that the cheap, available food in this country is crap! Now, I’m not saying that rice and beans and cheap cuts of meat are an ideal diet–they aren’t. But they’re better than fries and Big Mac.

So my worry is this–it seems like so much emphasis is being put on individual choices and, as the American way, relying on the system of capitalism. If we eat it, they will sell it. Yes–but only to a select few. That’s great for luxeries, but shouldn’t be the case for necessities. I wonder if there isn’t more we can do–building local community programs that make good food accessible and affordable, for instance.

Beyond that, why aren’t we demanding more from our government? The more interested I’ve become in this, the more I’ve started trying to understand the way our government regulates the food industry, and from what I’ve seen it doesn’t look so hot. Why aren’t we demanding change? Not as individuals, but getting organized! Because you know what–as a citizen of this country, I think we should ALL have access to affordable, healthy food that comes from THIS COUNTRY. So why not give incentives to farmers who sell produce to stores in low-income areas in their communities instead of giving them subsidies to produce massive amounts of one or two crops, the majority of which don’t even wind up as food? Why not get rid of the stupid, picky regulations that disproportionately affect small farmers and don’t really have much bearing on the actual quality of food? I can honestly tell you that I care less if the slaughterhouse has a seperate bathroom and office for the FDA inspector, and more about the fact that the cows weren’t factory-farmed and killed in cruel and inhumane fashion.  Why not require that food labels are accurate? I’m on the fence about genetically modified food, but I would like to be able to make the decision to eat it on my own. Why don’t we demand these things?

I don’t know. Maybe people are and I just don’t know about it. But really?  I think we need to stop patting ourselves on the back for buying the $5 organic, local arugula then forgetting about the rest of it. Healthy, good food should not the privlege of the wealthy, and those of us who do have the luxury of being able to think about these things should start speaking up for the people who don’t.

Tarot Card of the Day: Seven of Pentacles

I haven’t got much knitting to talk about (read: I forgot to take pictures again) so instead I’m going to talk about bacon mints.

Yes, bacon mints.

Now, I am generally a fan of bacon. I believe that most things in life are improved by the addition of some bacon–I haven’t tried bacon chocolate or bacon ice cream yet, but I’m willing to bet they would embody some sort of bacon-y deliciousness. (I know, it sounds crazy, but I’m totally imagining, like, maple syrup ice cream with bits of bacon. Like breakfast, only yummier!)

So when one of my co-workers sent around an email saying that he had bacon mints at his desk, how could I not try?

Um..yeah. Photographic proof of my reaction can be found on his blog, with a more detailed version of events, but blech. More than anything the mints just tasted burnt, though the aftertaste was significantly more bacon-y. Still…not a winner, so I guess there’s at least one thing bacon doesn’t go with after all.

Tarot Card of the Day: The Magician

I felt compelled to cook this weekend, and try new recipes.  This is potentially dangerous, since it’s virtually impossible for me to follow a recipe all the way through without changing something along the way.

This time, everything worked out. I made a delicious corn pudding, and some roasted potatoes and roast chicken. The chicken almost did not happen, but at least I didn’t set off the smoke alarms this time.

It seems that lately all the chicken recipes I find involve roasting the chicken for a shorter period of time at a high heat–say, 400 degrees. I’ve tried this, and maybe I’m doing something wrong, but every time I wind up setting off the smoke detectors and finding a chicken that’s cooked well on the outside and raw in the middle. (Yes, my oven is heating correctly. I checked. My old oven actually ran under temperature and this still happened.)

So, I finally found times for cooking a chicken at low heat. Problem solved, right? Except that even after the chicken had sat in my fridge for two days, it hadn’t defrosted! Plus, it was a brand that apparently doesn’t believe in putting the giblets in a bag, so there I was alternating between microwaving and running hot water on a frozen chicken, while trying to chip the giblets out of the inside. I had been watching The X-Files all weekend, and all I could think was that it was like some sort of bizarre chicken necropsy.

(Mulder: Something is freezing these chickens. The aliens must be conducting experiments about the effects of cold.
Scully: Maybe somebody just got fed up with trying to defrost the damn thing…)

Ahem. Where was I? So after finally defrosting the stupid bird, I smooshed herb butter under the skin, shoved a lemon and onion in it, and let it roast for 2 1/2 hours at 300, then 1/2 hour at 325. It worked fantastically, though it did mean I didn’t get to eat dinner until 8….

I’m going to consider this a success however, since  it was all tasty, cooked properly, and made a great harvest-y feast for Lammas weekend.
Tarot Card of the Day: The Emperor

So, this weekend was a lazy, stay-at-home kind of weekend, largely due to the migraine that killed me ded on Saturday. I made it to knitting and to run essential errands (food for cats, food for me) but after that, all I felt up to was lying on the couch with a blanket over my eyes (What? I’m out of clean washcloths!) waiting for the pain to vanish.

It’s a shame too, since I had all sorts of ambitious baking plans. Some of those were postponed, but I did manage to bake some bread for this week. I love homemade bread, and it just tastes so much more like, well, bread than the store bought stuff! As I was eating it this weekend, tasting all the yummy bread goodness, it just reinforced how much store bread tastes like air. With a side of preservatives.

Sunday for dinner I made Shepherd’s Pie. This was mostly a success–it makes a ton, but I’ll bring it for lunch and have leftovers, so that’s not a problem. But it didn’t turn out quite like I had envisioned.

I should preface this by saying that I’m used to my Mom’s Shepherd’s Pie. Not being British, she’s made her own alterations to the recipe which include adding a boatload of garlic and not adding as much water. She also usually does her own mix of seasonings, since the cute little packages of Shepherd’s Pie Seasoning aren’t so easy to come by in North Carolina (or at least they weren’t when I was a kid).

However, since I some how have one of those cute little packages, I decided to follow the recipe on the back. It definitely turned out different–much more liquid than I’m used to. I’m kind of torn. On the one hand, it’s a comfort food to me, and my Mom’s Shepherd’s Pie never had gravy.  On the other hand, I love gravy and would practically drink the stuff by the glass if I could, so part of me is over the moon about so much delicious gravy. (The other part is pouting that it’s not like Mom’s.)

I also vastly underestimated the amount of mashed potatoes needed. Much like gravy, I love mashed potatoes, and I should have gone with two packs of instant instead of one. At least I know for next time, and it still turned out pretty well. Even if it did make quite a bit–luckily for me, this is one of those dishes where I’m sad when I run out of leftovers instead of relieved.

Tarot Card of the Day: Judgement

So, I recently ran across this article from The New York Times, which talks about the amount of food Americans are wasting, despite the fact that grocery prices are skyrocketing and there’s serious talk of a food shortage.

They linked to Wasted Food that has some really interesting things to say. I have to admit, this is making feel especially guilty, since I’m going to wind up throwing away a bunch of food–at least 3 pre-made salads and possibly some chicken salad–this weekend. Though at least it’s because I got struck with an unexpected flu and couldn’t eat anything, not because of poor planning.

It’s difficult, though. As a single person who lives alone, I find it hard to use up all the food I buy; everything seems to be geared towards a family of four and I just can’t eat it all. One option, of course, is to not buy it but that’s not always realistic. I like cereal, though not every day, and I don’t want to forgo my bowl of cornflakes–but why must they come in a giant box? I bought hamburger buns last week, and I suspect I’ll be alternating between Trader Joe’s bison burgers and chili chicken lime burgers (delicious! especially with guacamole) for a solid week, once I can keep real food down, just to use them all up. Would someone please explain to me why I can’t go to a regular grocery store and buy hamburger buns from a bulk bin (like bagels or rolls) for a reasonable price?

It’s yet another sign of this culture of consumerism–bigger is always better, more is always good. Except it isn’t, because how often do you eat that entire jumbo-sized entree? Or do you just toss half of it in the trash? Does all of that cereal get eaten, or does it languish in the back of your cabinets?

It’s something I’m going to try and be more mindful of, and to force myself to actually cook dinner after work instead of collapsing on the couch without and leaving the veggies in my fridge to die a lonely death. Or at least, I’ll cut them up and put them in the freezer for later.