Bye Bye Black Bear
According to The Valley Observer, a small black bear was captured this evening just a few blocks from my house.
A bear?! I live DOWNTOWN, folks…
dear God, please send me a pony
We’ve probably all read those cute children’s prayers that go something like this:
Dear God, my brother told me about being born but it doesn’t sound right. They’re just kidding, aren’t they? -Marsha
Dear God, did you mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident? -Norma
Dear God, we read Thomas Edison made light. But in Sunday school they said You did it. So I bet he stoled your idea. Sincerely, Donna
And of course there’s always one about a pony:
Dear God, please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before, You can look it up. -Bruce
I’ve never understood this, but ponies seem to be one of the classic things that children supposedly ask for. Apparently, neither God nor Santa came through on one child’s request, so the kid’s mom headed to Freecycle. Actually, the woman didn’t say it was for her kids. Maybe she’s just a grown-up kid who has never lost hope.
Freecycle is a web-based network of people who exchange items that might otherwise be thrown away or dropped off at a thrift store. Last week someone posted a message to our local group with the subject “Wanted: Large Pony.” No dinky ponies, please.
The message began: “I know it is a long shot, but there are tons of unused ponies that are hanging out in fields eating up money.” Unused ponies? What exactly do most people “use” ponies for? Since there are “tons” of these creatures hanging around, I hope this woman has an opportunity to figure that out. Meanwhile, I’m having fun picturing massive herds of enormous ponies standing in a field, munching on Ben Franklins…
what I’ve been wanting to tell you about food
A friend of mine (who will soon be a friend-with-a-blog!) emailed me the other day and said that she’s sort of sad that NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) is over, because she enjoyed reading my blog. Oops. I didn’t intend to cease ALL blogging as soon as July ended… it’s just that I haven’t been able to think of anything to write about except food! After posting about food for 31 days in a row, I thought I should post about something else, but I’ve developed a habit, I guess.
On Friday I wanted to tell you that I have no idea how much I spend on food each month, so I’ve decided to start keeping track. During the month of August, I’m going to make a list of every food item I buy, where and when I bought it, and the price. I’m mostly interested in observing my food purchasing habits for now, and then later I’ll see whether I ought to make changes.
On Friday I wanted to tell you that I am finally a proud owner of the Simply in Season cookbook. I’ve tried one recipe already, and I’m eager to try some more.
On Friday I wanted to tell you that the flavor of the week at Kline’s Dairy Bar on Wolfe Street is caramel & pralines. Does anyone know if this is a new addition to their flavor lineup? I had never had it there before, but it was as delicious as you could imagine.
On Saturday I wanted to tell you about the beautiful little light purple eggplant I bought from my friend Radell’s stand at the Harrisonburg Farmers’ Market. I still think cooked eggplant looks absolutely terrible, which is exactly why I hadn’t eaten eggplant in many, many years.
On Saturday I wanted to tell you about the delicious pork I enjoyed at our church campout. The pork roast is an annual tradition, as is the auctioning off of the leftover pork after the talent show. Half of a pork tenderloin is now in my freezer. The word “loin” always reminds me of a family friend who had a combination of physical, emotional, and mental challenges in life. Wayne once referred to a certain grocery store as “Food Loin,” so our family occasionally calls it that just for kicks.
On Sunday I wanted to tell you how bummed I was that I’ve given up eating chocolate for two weeks. I think all but two desserts at the church picnic featured chocolate, and when I went to find a non-chocolate dessert, my friend Mary was standing next to one of the tables telling everyone that Joan’s chocolate dessert was amazing.
On Monday I wanted to tell you that the fourth annual Eat Local Challenge has been announced. Participants will commit to eating only locally grown foods for the entire month of October, which will be a bit more challenging than it would be in, say, August. Some people declare exceptions for things like coffee, and as a non-coffee drinker, I think that’s ludicrous.
Finally, today I simply wanted to tell you about the weird mutant onion I discovered as I was chopping some veggies this evening. It had a second layer of brownish-orange skin underneath the two outermost white layers of onion. Very strange.
Meanwhile, my mouth is watering just thinking about the delicious fresh blueberries, peaches, cucumbers, and tomatoes I ate today. I love summer.
a month of breakfasts
During the month of July, I’ve been blogging every day as a participant in the expanded version of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been posting about food for 31 days in a row. I figured I could come up with 31 things to say about food, and indeed I have. In fact, early in the month I made a list of ideas of things I could blog about, and there are still quite a few things on the list.
I made two food resolutions for the month of July. One was to never eat the same thing for lunch and dinner on any given day. This may sound strange to some of you, but for me, it was an issue of self-respect. As a single woman who lives alone, if I end up cooking more of something than I intended, the options are to either eat it every day for a week or eat it for both lunch and dinner for a couple days. Throwing it away is never an option… and during the month of July, neither was eating it for lunch and dinner.
The other food resolution was to eat something different for breakfast every morning during July. Several years ago, I used to eat bran flakes every morning. Then I started alternating that with cooked oatmeal. Later on, I stopped buying the bran flakes because they contained high fructose corn syrup, and added homemade waffles to my morning menu. Somewhere along the way I started eating more eggs. Waffles, oatmeal, eggs. Waffles, oatmeal, eggs. I was stuck in a breakfast rut.
For the past thirty-one days, I’ve eaten something for breakfast that I hadn’t eaten on any of the July mornings prior to that. An omelet is different from a soft boiled egg… which is different from creamed eggs, scrambled eggs, or poached eggs, so of course I ate eggs in every way I could imagine. I also enjoyed various types of waffles and oatmeal, as well as breads, applesauce, dried fruit, fresh fruits, tomato juice, pancakes, polenta, french toast, pumpkin mush, smoothies, hash browns, muesli, bacon, a peanut butter and banana sandwich, yogurt, grits, and more.
It was a wonderful change of pace from my routine cycle of waffles, oatmeal, and eggs. The breakfasts weren’t decadent, but some mornings I felt like I was operating a bed and breakfast… except that when breakfast was ready, I was the only one who sat down at the table. And I didn’t have to make coffee. And I got to read the newspaper.
Egg Thoughts
If you were to look at the “Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data” inside the front cover of the book lying on my desk, you would read, “Summary: Twenty-two poems reflect Frances’ observations on the events in her life.” You might be tempted to return this book of American poetry to the shelf… until you realize that Frances is a badger. This delightful children’s book is Russell & Lillian Hoban’s “Egg Thoughts and Other Frances Songs.”
I’ve always loved eggs, and if I could eat only ten foods for the rest of my life, eggs would be at the top of my list. Our little friend Frances, however, has not yet learned to appreciate eggs; lucky for us, her dislike of eggs has been turned into charming little bits of poetry.
EGG THOUGHTS
Soft-Boiled
I do not like the way you slide,
I do not like your soft inside,
I do not like you many ways,
And I could do for many days
Without a soft-boiled egg.
Sunny-Side-Up
With their yolks and whites all runny
They are looking at me funny.
Sunny-Side-Down
Lying face-down on the plate
On their stomachs there they wait.
Poached
Poached eggs on toast, why do you shiver
With such a funny little quiver?
Scrambled
I eat as well as I am able,
But some falls underneath the table.
Hard-Boiled
With so much suffering today
Why do them any other way?
(Author: Russell Hoban)
Yes, Virginia, There Is a Potluck
Sometime during my backpack-and-lunchbox days, I learned the meaning of the words omnivore, carnivore, and herbivore. Many years later, in 2005, a clever person coined the word “locavore” to describe a person who seeks to eat food that is grown and produced locally, and in 2007 the New Oxford American Dictionary selected “locavore” as its word of the year.
People have been primarily locavores since the beginning of time, but as a result of globalization, food now travels an average of 1500 miles to reach the plates of North Americans. By contrast, locavores eat foods that are grown or produced within a relatively small radius, whether 50, 100, or 150 miles.
During the past several months, I’ve read quite a few books about food:
- “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life” by Barbara Kingsolver (my top recommendation)
- “Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally” by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon (founders of the 100-Mile Diet)
- “Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal” by Eric Schlosser
- “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals” by Michael Pollan
- “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto” by Michael Pollan
Thanks to these authors and the locavores I know personally, I’m becoming a locavore too… at least in theory.
August 3-9, 2008 is Virginia Farmers Market Week, and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is encouraging Virginians to choose one day during that week to eat only food grown in Virginia.
Of course, for me, Virginia-grown is not necessarily the same as local, as there are certainly locations in neighboring states that are closer than parts of my own state, but legalistic is the last thing I want to be when it comes to food. The map below shows the area my food could come from if I were following the 100-Mile Diet. You can see your 100-mile radius area by entering your zip code into the nifty little mapping tool on the 100-Mile Diet site.
I’m not sure yet which day next week will be my Virginia-only day, but I’ve decided to host a local foods potluck at my house on Wednesday evening… and I’m calling it “Yes, Virginia, There Is a Potluck.”
Not every ingredient needs to originate in the Commonwealth of Virginia, but every dish should at least feature locally grown or produced food. If you’d like to come to “Yes, Virginia, There Is a Potluck” and you haven’t gotten an email from me with the details, either send me an email (if we’re already friends) or leave a comment here (if you’d like to be friends). You don’t have to be a locavore or a gourmet chef; the only requirement is that you like to eat good, local food!
egg McMuffin knockoff
Seven o’clock on a Monday morning is not exactly my favorite moment of the week, so this morning I decided to kick-start the day with a homemade egg McMuffin… otherwise known as a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich. I had never made one before, and I’m not even sure what inspired me, but it was So Good.
I beat an egg and poured it into a small frying pan. After frying the egg on both sides, I removed it from the pan and laid a slice of ham in its place. Meanwhile I toasted an English muffin. While the ham browned a bit, I folded the circle of egg into quarters, sprinkling some cheddar cheese among the layers. Moments later I assembled my sandwich. It was a fantastic way to start the new week.
In other news, don’t you think mealtime would be more delightful if you ate off the plate on the left instead of the one on the right? I thought so too. Four bucks at Ross. Sorry, Harrisonburgers, but I bought the last two in stock.
Pop-Tarts: edible entertainment
Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t think food is something you should be able to read… and I’m not talking about tea leaves.
In his book “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto,” Michael Pollan suggests that most of what we eat is not actually food, but rather “edible foodlike substances.” I feel quite certain that Pollan would join me in doubting that Printed Fun Pop-Tarts would legitimately qualify as food. This Kellogg’s product recently caught my attention in the grocery store, perhaps because it looked more like a toy than food. I haven’t eaten a Pop-Tart in years, and I’m perfectly OK with that.
I have no problem with finding the imprint of the word “Ghirardelli” on a chocolate square, of course, and like it or not, we’ve grown accustomed to seeing the letter “m” on M&Ms and phrases like “Be Mine” and “Let’s Kiss” on candy conversation hearts. But an entire knock-knock joke on a Pop-Tart? That’s just ridiculous.
squash soup with sauteed mushrooms
I spent most of today thinking about mushrooms while holding either a paint brush or paint roller in my right hand. Through no fault of my own, the walls of my master bedroom were blue and orange, and I decided that it was time to finally change that. The walls are now the color of sauteed mushrooms. At least that’s what the paint chip says… and I tend to agree.
After I paint the trim and get the room all fixed up (it has been sitting empty), I’ll be sure to post dramatic before and after photos. Meanwhile, I thought I’d share a delicious recipe for squash soup that contains sauteed mushrooms. I discovered it in the “Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites” cookbook this past winter and it immediately became one of my favorite soups.
:: NEW ENGLAND SQUASH SOUP ::
1 c. diced onions
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 c. unsweetened apple juice
1 butternut squash (about 1 lb.), peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 potato, diced
3 c. water or vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. nutmeg
2 c sliced mushrooms (about 6 oz.)
3 T. dry sherry
1 T. soy sauce
pinch of dried marjoram
2/3 c. evaporated skimmed milk
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Combine the onions, celery, garlic, and apple juice in a large soup pot. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables soften. Add the squash, potato, water or stock, bay leaf, thyme, salt, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat, and simmer until the vegetables are very soft, about 20 to 25 minutes.
While the soup simmers, saute the mushrooms in an uncovered skillet with the sherry, soy sauce, and marjoram until the mushrooms are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
When the squash and potatoes are very soft, remove the soup pot from the heat and, working in batches, puree the soup with the evaporated skimmed milk in a blender or food processor. Reheat gently. Add salt and pepper. Serve topped with the sauteed mushrooms.
wanted: a perfect brownie recipe
I cook from scratch as much as possible, so it really bugs me that my favorite brownie recipe involves dumping a mix out of a box and adding an egg, oil, and some chocolate chips. The best brownies are chewy and fudgy with a beautiful, shiny, flaky top, and so far I’ve only been able to get these desired results when I use a boxed mix.
Occasionally I’ll ask around to see whether anyone might have a recipe for making brownies completely from scratch that will guarantee a flaky top, but I’ve never gotten an answer to the affirmative. What about you? Do YOU have a recipe for chewy brownies with a flaky top? If so, would you be willing to share it with me? Please…?
