Karma's Yummylicious Vegan Fare

Gluten-Free Brushcetta with Fresh Tomatoes and Pesto Garnish (you don't have to have Celiac to enjoy this bread!)

Tomato Stack with Cashew "Mozzarella Cheese", Sun-Dried Tomato Viniagrette, and Baby Greens (Don't knock the "cheese" until you try it!)

So if you have not guessed by conversation yet, I work at a "high organic, vegan" restaurant called Karma on Main street. I worked there for most of the summer and now work once a week, and it's hard to pull me away from the place. In fact, I am here now, enjoying a raw cacao brownie with vegan vanilla ice cream. Lunch was an inexpensive dish (just 5 bucks for a meal size) of lime flavored black beans, brown rice, and sautéed African spinach called "mchicha".

A lot of students ask, "Where's Karma?" when I tell them that I work there. If they passed by GoBerry for once and went across the intersection, it is right there! It has the qualities that most yuppie vegan restaurants have: nature-inspired paintings, light green decor, and the catch phrase, "Eat Well, Drink Well, and Be Well." So, people might be put off by it at first, but the vibe is not pretentious or "holier than thou" at all. I know, I'm a bit biased, but the people who work there are really nice people who love sharing this type of food with any and everyone. The restaurant serves lunch, dinner, and a late night menu late in the week. A juice bar features a case full of raw desserts and fresh green juice and smoothie options. Some of the beverage prices are steep, but let me tell you: juices are a bitch to make, and you can develop pretty strong arm muscles making them. Upstairs has more dining space as well as a mini stage for open mics and world music performances. I like to study upstairs when I need some peace and quiet (the Woodstar can be a wee bit too frantic, for instance).

I'm not writing this post to just plug the restaurant, though inevitably that is a part of it, but I honestly love the food here. It's always fresh and I never leave feeling too stuffed or with a food baby. And of course, those are important things to consider when you have to study for an exam for four hours after! Here are some of my favorite dishes that never cease to please me:

Dahl (Looks like baby food, but the pappadam is great for dipping into the lentil mash)

Thai Basil Coconut Curry Rice and Vegetables (I practically drank the sauce on the bottom)

Banana Cream Pie with Chocolate Banana Ice Cream (also called Heaven in my eyes)

Vanilla and Chocolate Banana Ice Cream (It has a cashew base; you would never tell!)

Vegetarians and vegans: you will be at home here. And for the rest of us (including myself here), it is a warm space perfect for a comforting meal and a relaxing place to study. Come by on a Saturday and say hi to me!

All photos are taken by me and my mad skillz.

Food vs. Emotions.....how does this work?!

In general, eating food is a pleasurable experience that makes us feel...well good, right? Whether it be as simple as an apple dipped in honey or everybody-share-your-very-spicy-Indian-curry-with-the-whole-table-night, the moods that food can put us in is one of its greatest gifts!

That being said, when I sat down to eat a delicious meal of mac and cheese, corn, buttermilk rolls, and a hefty supply of vanilla ice cream blanketed in creamy caramel sauce last night, I was not really that excited. After trying the mac and cheese, I realized that it not only blew the gym shorts off of the boxed Kraft Cheese and Macaroni that had been one of my childhood staples, but that its very consistency with thick globs of cheese and fat noodles poking out was the ultimate comfort food. I eyed it and basically wondered, "why isn't this making me feel good?"

I came to the conclusion that, when you're not in the mood, food isn't going to get you there on its own. In fact, it can be dangerous to invest too much emotional value in food. This is basically because it's really not the food that is doing anything to you. You feeling sad or stressed or frustrated is not going to poof away just because you spoon up some fudgy, ice cream concoction and stick it in your mouth. In my opinion, food is more of an enhancer and if you're emotionally in the right place for it, it will do its job and make your feel good. But not before.

So if the PB and J isn't doing it for you today, consider what the real issue is and invest your energy in working though that before you picking that sandwich back up. It's sure to taste better the next time. :)

Chemistry in the Kitchen

A cutaway of vegetables in the canning process.

Photo Credit: Modernist cuisine, LLC

I read this article a few months ago in Wired magazine, and it definitely provides one of the more interesting perspectives on food that I’ve come across: really experimenting with every aspect of a certain dish to make it perfect. It’s like looking through the eyes of a hardcore chemist in the kitchen. Then again, what would you expect from a scientist– in particular, the former Chief Technology Officer from Microsoft, Nathan Myhrvold?

For example, to create the perfect French fry, Myhrvold takes all of two hours, using everything from vacuum-sealing to ultrasound to produce crisps that Mark McClusky, the author, describes as “amazing […] The outside nearly shatters when you bite into it, yielding to a creamy center that’s perfectly smooth.” Obviously, there are few people in the world with the time or money, much less the interest, to experiment relentlessly with their food, but thankfully, Myhrvold has done most of the work for us in his new (six-volume) cookbook, Modernist Cuisine.

Granted, there are different opinions of “perfection,” and it’s unlikely that you have the materials in your kitchen to give your potatoes an ultrasonic bath, but it’s important to recognize that food preparation involves chemistry, too. Not just the unpronounceable-ingredient-in-your-chips sort of chemistry, but the type that has to do with heating that egg up at just the right temperature for just the right amount of time with just the right amount of oil in the pan. Personally, I think that if I understood these idiosyncrasies more clearly, I would appreciate my food more.

In-N-Out: That's what our haaaaamburger's alllll about

Many of you have probably heard about the In-N-Out burger. It's easy as 1-2-3, where the menu consists of only three choices: Double-double, Cheeseburger, and Hamburger. A "double-double" consists of two burger patties and two slices of cheese. A "cheeseburger" and "hamburger" both have one patty and one slice of cheese. People with a larger appetite generally tend to order the "double-double" and I must say, one must try the "double-double" if they truly want to experience the "real" In-N-Out burger. In-N-Out's business model is based on freshness. Their key phrase goes something like "We never have freezers or microwaves or heat lamps." Of course we have always doubted restaurants that were so confident with their motto, however after years of having In-N-Out in my life, my doubts are gone. Waiting in the drive-thru line, countless times I have see through the window, a worker scurrying back and forth, working like a machine, using the potatoe slicer machine where he puts a skinned potato inside the device and pulls the lever down resulting in fresh slices of potatos. However, it is not always guaranteed that you will get fresh french fries. There were a few times when I have gotten fries that were not "fresh". Like in Anthony Bourdain's, "Don't East Before Reading This," restaurants or fast-food chains have their ways of operating. For example, it is not recommended that you go to In-N-Out after the lunch rush hour, say around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. I have noticed that they then to re-fry their fries left over from the peak hour during the afternoon. Therefore, I don't get that "fresh" batch of fries. But, In-N-Out has never failed to satisfy me. Whenever I was not satisfied with my fries, I would ask for a fresh batch of fries and they would fry some more fries and give me the new, fresh batch of fries. As for the burger itself, it is heavenly. I don't think In-N-Out has ever been considered "overrated". I can tell that their meat is fresh and not frozen. Of course, it is probably not the best type of ground meat out there, but I know for a fact that it is a much better quality than Mc Donald's or other fast food chains. Tomatoes and lettuce are a given that it is indeed fresh. I could go on and on about how delicious their burgers are, but I am craving it more and more as I go on. In conclusion, ignoring how the kitchens in fast-food chains operate, In-N-Out produces quality hamburgers and fries that never fail to satisfy its customers. I really wish I could bring these burgers to class and have everyone try them.

The Sriracha Life

(Never Not the Sriracha)

I was introduced to spicy foods at a young age. My mother, from an Indonesian background, could not go through a meal without incorporating some sort of spice. She would cook fried rice with intensely hot jalapenos, or saute beef and onions with Sambal Ulek sauce. It was the spiciest sauce I had ever tasted, and especially at age eight, my young taste buds could not handle its flaming spirit. My mom, being the caring mother that she was, would make a slightly less spicy version of dinner for me first, and then she would add hotter peppers for herself. I didn't hate spicy food, but I just couldn't compare to my mom's standards.

One day, I approached the kitchen cabinet and rummaged through all the condiments, ready to try something new with my food. The sriracha sauce bottle stood there, glorious even in all its loneliness. I pulled the cap up, squeezed the sauce gently onto my rice and within the first mouthful, I knew. I had found the "perfect-amount-of-spicy sauce"!

You've probably seen it in Asian restaurants. Its vibrant green cap and fiery red body are no stranger to me. They are my very, very dear friends. Also sold in many grocery stores, the sriracha sauce is a popular, addictive chili sauce that can make any dish infinitely better. I promise you.

When my mom makes fried rice, or any dish for that matter, I grab the sriracha sauce, squirt some onto my plate, and indulge myself in the ultimate mouth-watering experience. I even bond with my brother over it, although, I think he loves it a little too much. Without the sauce, we both agree our food remains a little less flavorful, and a little more lonesome.

A dish my mom recently concocted this past winter: Sauteed beef and onions, with provolone cheese, on a warmed, crispy piece of pita bread. Don't forget the sriracha!

This past summer I was at the Super 88 supermarket in Boston. There was so much sauce - I felt compelled to take a picture.

Dannon's Sprinkl'ins Commercial

“Mommy! Can’t I have this?! Pleeeeease!!!”

Having grown up in a health conscious household, ingredients like high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavoring have always been the demon that kept my mom from purchasing popular kids snacks. While she never explained why these ingredients were so forbidden, she made it clear that we would never have them at home or at school.

Despite her efforts to shield our family from artificial additives, I desperately desired one particular product and remember incessantly begging my mom for the heavenly “Dannon Sprinkl’ins Yogurt”—the sweetest snack known to kid-kind. Each individual cup of yogurt came with a sealed pouch of rainbow sprinkles under the lid which one could use to playfully decorate and dye their yogurt an unnaturally neon hue. Some packages, such as my personal favorite, “Danimals Vanilla Surprise Sprinkles,” even came with animal shaped sprinkle sets that would not only dye but also enhance the flavor of the sweet treat to include say artificial orange or grape.

Every outing with my mom at the supermarket consisted of me constantly comparing her to all the “cool moms” who actually loved their kids and bought them sprinkl’ins for a school snack. When she’d ignore this harassment, I’d divert my efforts to my younger sister, whom I’d coax to join in my nagging for sprinkl’ins, focusing her argument on the appeal of the package which featured her favorite Disney cartoon character and a puzzle game.

Yet, no matter how hard we protested, my mom absolutely refused to cave in. Instead, she always bought boring plain greek yogurt, which tasted all too similar to sour cream. Regardless, I found ways to secretly consume the forbidden fruit. Snack time was a perfect opportunity to barter and sometimes a naïve kid would fall prey to my trickery, convinced that the choice to swap me my nectarine for their cup of sprinkl’ins was a worthy trade. Boy, did I have ‘em fooled!

I was obsessed. I would even methodically plan sleepovers with friends whose moms bought them sprinkl’ins. When they suggested we have the play-date at my house, I’d always find a way around it, convinced we’d have a better time at their house, especially during meal times.

With age, my fixation with Dannon Sprinkl’ins faded and by now my palate has developed to despise the taste of overly sweetened artificial flavors. I am positive that if I had a Sprinkl’ins yogurt now, I would feel sick and wish I’d stuck with say, a succulent, natural nectarine.

Haymarket Café and Restaurant

As I stood in line for my café mocha at Haymarket the other day I witnessed an encouraging sign for humanity: the barista having a genial conversation with a man waiting for his coffee and slice of cake. Judging by the manner of their banter, he was a regular. They chatted pleasantly about Northampton events and their lives, using first names all the while. After she had made her goodbyes with Mr. piece of cake, the barista, a woman in her twenties with large doe eyes, a messy bun, and clink-y jewelry, swept her giant smile over to me, and asked with overwhelming friendliness “was that mocha a small or medium?”

At Haymarket, they serve up more than really delicious free-trade coffee in radiating warmth. Downstairs is a hidden gem of a restaurant, with fare ranging from classic sandwiches to curry to seasonal pasta dishes. You seat yourself at small wooden tables without tablecloths, grab a menu, and when you’ve chosen (a process that took my friends and I about twenty minutes), place your order at a counter, behind which two women are working to prepare your food. Once your order is up, you collect it from the window, and when you’re done eating, you bus your own table.

The selection was so tantalizing that I had to make a vow to myself that I would come back to try everything on the menu before the year was out. I ended up settling on pasta alla norma: house-made linguini with roasted tomatoes, eggplant, olives, fresh herbs and a spicy tomato sauce. My friends chose: 1) pasta primavera- house-made linguini with summer squash, roasted tomatoes, pine nuts, and basil in a creamy sauce, 2) spicy curry with peas, zucchini, and mushrooms in a ginger coconut sauce, and 3) a heaping spinach and beet salad with roasted goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and walnuts. The food was both light and satisfying, and you could taste the quality of the fresh ingredients. As an added bonus, the menu doesn’t hit too hard on your wallet (an important factor for us college kids); entrees are about $6-$10, but if you want something with a little more substance, you might have to go up to $12.

Below is a photo of the pasta primavera:

Missing Mom's Sunday Dinner

This past month of school has flown by. Between becoming acclimated to the new environment, playing a college sport, making new friends and, of course, trying to keep up with the school-work, I have had very little time to think of what I left behind when I came to Smith.

However, with my brother’s visit this past weekend, I had a chance to stop and think of just what I’ve been missing since leaving home. The first thing that came to mind was that my brother would be returning home tonight to one of my mom’s Sunday dinners. This really hit me hard.

My family is very close but because we have such busy schedules, we make a point to always have dinners on Sundays together before the week picks up in pace. My mom, being the one parent who can cook something besides eggs or pancakes (sorry dad), has taken the job to cook the dinners. They are always different- fondue is always a possibility; sometimes it’s breakfast for dinner (my favorite growing up), other times an exciting salad with beautiful French bread and brie (my current favorite).

Tonight, my family will be having the simplest Noonan classic:

Organic spring mix lettuce with diced local orchard apples, chopped, tamari almonds, cherry tomatoes, crumbled feta and dried cranberries. When I was home the grilled chicken was cut into thick slices but placed on the side if the vegetarian in the house (me). My guess is that it has been tossed into the salad without me there, which is one of the small changes that have occurred since my moving out.

The dressing is homemade, and the only dressing I used up until coming to Smith (I now just use vinegar). It was quite simple: balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, pepper, and sometimes some fruit jam (ie: apricot).

So, this is roughly what I will be missing tonight:

I could easily have made this at the salad bar tonight at dinner; this by no means is a difficult dish, nor is it that exciting. But it's not the same knowing that my mom isn't the one preparing it. That, I think, is what I’m really missing.

The Best Sauce I've Ever Made

Last Summer my friend showed me how to make this eggplant puree. It was the end of the summer and we were both living on a farm in northern Massachusetts. Both the eggplants and tomatoes looked beautiful. It was the perfect time to harvest. We usually use this puree as a type of pasta sauce. I ate pasta for a whole week just so I could use an excuse to eat this sauce.

Ingredients:
-One medium sized eggplant
-1 large tomato
-6 tbs of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
-3-4 Garlic Cloves
-1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper
-Balsamic Vinegar or Red Wine (whatever is handy)
-Roasted pine nuts (optional)
-1/4 Cup of Mint (optional)
-Water

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Cut eggplant and tomato into 1-inch cubes
3. Add whole garlic cloves, salt, and pepper with veggies and mix with 3 tbs of EVOO
4. Roast vegetable mixture in oven on baking sheet for 35 minutes
5. Blend cooked vegetable mixture in blender with 3 more tbs of EVOO, mint and balsamic vinegar. Pour a little bit of balsamic at a time and continue until mixture tastes to your satisfaction
6. Blend water as needed for texture. Add 1/2 cup of water at a time while blending.
7. Sprinkle on pine nuts

ENJOY!

The recipe that got me an “A”

My final project second semester, senior year, was a “how to”. Clearly the teacher did not want to be in class just as much as we were aching to finally be done with high school. My how to was “how to make puppy chow” I brought in all of the ingredients and measuring tools that I needed. I talked the whole class through the process. After about fifteen minutes the class and especially the teacher were “chowing” on the puppy chow that got me an “A” for my final grade!

9 cup Chex

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Put cereal in large bowl. Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Pour over Chex cereal, put into a large plastic bag with powdered sugar and shake well to coat.

Spread mixture evenly on wax paper and allow to cool.

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

This summer, with too much time on my hands, I set off on a quest to discover the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. With little baking experience, I began with the Nestle Tollhouse recipe, and began baking a batch a week. Each week I experimented with the ratios of sugar and flour, and tried adding a variety of different ingredients such as coffee, various kinds of nuts, peanut butter, and in one dramatic batch, I tried adding Red Hots. As you can imagine, my results were often unappetizing, albeit entertaining.

When I finally gave up on tampering with Tollhouse Tradition, I found a recipe in the New York Times, and could not resist making one more batch. The recipe is an adaption from Jacques Torres, the famous chocolatier in New York City. His secret ingredient is sea salt, sprinkled over the cookies right before sliding them into the oven. It is such a delicious recipe, I will never feel the need to play “Cookie God” again.

Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)
Sea salt.

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

My advice: I find that the cookies taste better if you use only 1 cup brown sugar, and 1 cup granulated sugar. Also, I stuck with Nestle dark chocolate chips, there’s no need to buy fèves. So, enjoy!

From Molecular Gastronomy to the Kitchen Table

Tempura fennel flowers from chef Ferran Adrià

Photo Credit: The Wall Street Journal

Those of you who know of Ferran Adrià will be interested to read this Wall Street Journal article about the world-renowned chef's transition to family-friendly cooking. Those of you who have yet to hear of the culinary genius, he's the one who "foams" foods like potato and mushroom to deconstruct the flavor of a dish. His latest culinary endeavor concerns your family's dinner table, and how best to feed those sitting at it in a cheap yet interesting way– I know, so overdone, right? But the creator of elBulli, that Michelin-starred restaurant that apparently had 2 million people vying for a reservation, coming out with a home cookbook? That's pretty enticing.

Katy McLaughlin, the author of the article, tested Adrià's recipes on her family for a week, and found that, even though her children weren't the biggest fans of every dish, the unexpected twists on the preparation of things like chocolate mousse were exciting enough to make up for the lack of kid-desired meals. A few of the recipes she mentions are included at the end of the article, and the Melon and Mint Soup with Pink Grapefruit sounds particularly delicious to me– and easy to make, which is a plus for someone who's afraid of boiling water.

The idea of breaking down a complicated dish– or even a simple grilled cheese sandwich, for that matter– into its constituent flavors and textures sounds amazing, to say the least. Since I heard of Adrià's now-closed elBulli, it's been a fantasy of mine to taste a liquid olive or foamed beetroot– basic flavors delivered in unexpected ways. In a phrase, molecular gastronomy is playing with your food. And what's so wrong with that? We've all tasted apple juice, but who's tasted spherified apple juice? Who even knows what that is? My point is that food is not only something that we need to physically survive. Of course that PB&J is going to satisfy your growling stomach, but I think there's some intellectual or mental satisfaction from learning different ways that a food can be prepared, be it by foaming or sautéing.

"the crunchy rice at the bottom is the best..."

Bibimbap is a tradiational Korean dish -- simply made up of rice mixed with meat, vegetables, an egg, and chili pepper paste. It is one of the popular Korean dish, because it has reputation of being the "healthy" food. It is a delicious way to eat lots of vegetable, like a salad, in one sitting.

I've introduced Korean food to many of my friends, and this dish was never disappointed me. They all loved it because you can choose to not have meat (usually beef), control the amount of chili paste you're adding, whether you want fried eggs or not, etc, if you have any food restrictions. Bibim, in Korean means mix, and bap means rice/dish. You basically get to mix all the ingredients in a big bowl, which is always fun. Bibimbap is also very easy to make, because usually most of the ingredients like vegetables that are sitting in your fridge.

So, how do you make Bibimbap? Here's a very simplified version:
Combine soy sauce, 1 tbsp of sesame oil, sugar, garlic and ginger in a large bowl. Add beef and let it sit for 30 minutes to add flavor. Start cooking rice either using rice cooker or regular hot pot. Meanwhile, cook various vegatables you want, like mushroom, carrots, onion, zucchini, bean sprouts, spinach, into a large skillet with little bit of sesame oil for 5 minutes or so. (Don't forget, for bean sprouts and spinach, you have to boil in hot water for a minute and drain in a colander before). Cook your meat now until browned on all sides. Crack one or two eggs in and cook until the whites have set.
Add rice to a large bowl first and add little bit of each of the ingredients around the edges of the bowl. Put the fired egg on top and you're ready to eat! This dish is served with red pepper paste, and you can control how spicy you want your food to be.

In Korea, bibimbap is served in two different dish. 1) regular bowl and 2) hot stone pot. The hot stone pot keeps the food sizzling when it arrives at the table, plus the rice gets toasted and coated in sesame oil on the bottom! -- which is the best part!

The Reintroduction of Home Economics

New York Times article “Time to Revive Home Ec” by Helen Zoe Veit

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/opinion/revive-home-economics-classes-to-fight-obesity.html?scp=2&sq=food%20obesity&st=cse

When I think of the high school class home economics, I imagine girls in aprons kneading dough and baking sweets. These girls represent to me the stereotypical view of “home ec” because they are learning how to become the perfect housewife. Even though I have this image stuck in my mind, my view has been challenged when I read Helen Zoe Veit’s “Time to Revive Home Ec.” She argues that Americans do not know how to cook and should be taught by taking home ec classes. When I first read the article, I felt skeptical of Veit’s opinion. I told myself that of course Americans know how to cook. Americans watch dozens of cooking shows and idolize the celebrity chefs of the Food Network. When I thought this over, I realized Veit makes a legitimate claim when she presents the facts that about one-half of Americans adults and about one-third of American children are either overweight or obese. I have read countless times about the effects about being overweight: heart disease and diabetes. Veit writes that Americans do not know how to cook the “right foods.” Our American diet is composed of a couple of basic products: corn, sugar, and deep fried grease. We do not eat enough fruits and vegetables and we overindulge in sugary and salty snacks.

The cooking channels make cooking look easy because the meal is already half prepared. The hardest or the most time consuming parts of cooking have already been completed. The food shopping is done, all the vegetables are chopped and the ingredients are laid out on the table. The celebrity chef just has to throw all the ingredients in a pot and then the meal is finished in thirty minutes. A home ec class would teach students all the components of cooking. They would learn how to make a meal instead of watching some superstar on TV. Home ec should be brought back to schools but now male and female students could learn to cook fresh produce and quality meats. This becomes an enormous task because these classes would be expensive. However, the obesity in America is more costly in the long term than the home ec classes that could change our diet.

Tastey, tastey food

So my sister has recently returned from the Republic of Georgia after a year of teaching basic English to small children, and sometimes their parents. As with many great advantages to being immersed in a new culture, my sister partook in a wide variety of ethnic veges and meats.

Behold: Nigvziani Badrijani!!
Picture courtesy of the Notes and Recipes blog.

This is a dish that I was lucky enough to try out over the summer with her in DC. I know it's eggplant, but it's slathered in olive oil! With walnuts!

The most basic recipe calls for:

2 sliced eggplants

4 tbs. of olive oil

1 and 1/2 cup of walnuts (crushed via food processor or blender)

1 cup of finely chopped cilantro or coriander

2-3 cloves of garlic (crushed)

salt to taste, or as desired.

(If you like mayo, aubergines, or anything special then more power to you and feel free to adjust this recipe to your specific needs.)

Directions:

Rinse and slice the eggplants as thin as you can get them (usually about 1/3rd of an inch before they start breaking apart) to ensure that they will cook evenly and quickly. Apply the olive oil to the frying pan and fry slabs till brown. Set aside on a plate to cool. Next, mix the walnuts, salt, garlic, and cilantro or coriander in a medium bowl until you get a homogeneous consistency. Finally, take out a spoon and generously apply the walnut paste mixture to the the open face of eggplant slabs. Roll them up like jelly rolls!

Notes: Though it is tempting to eat them straight away, the Badrijani taste best after sitting in the fridge for several days, as it lets the paste set inside the eggplant. Also, I would recommend ignoring the 4 tbs. of olive oil and just aim to cover the base of the frying pan to ensure maximum browning of the eggplant, unless you are in no mood to mess with your diet.

Ice Cream Bars Beat Vegetables by a Large Margin

I just finished reading this article from the New York Times about Novato High School's decrease in cafeteria lunch sales due to an increase in food trucks near school grounds that lure students away from their fruits and vegetables. According to the article, California has made a law prohibiting public schools from certain high sugar and salt snack products. Despite the school's attempts at getting students to eat healthier, it appears that most students don't seem to care-they go after the sugar-laden sweets anyway. And why wouldn't they-to them, it "tastes better."

This news is a perfect example of how even when schools attempt to feature healthier foods, students still have no interest in them. Clearly, this formula isn't working as well as it could be. Residents of Novato are working to prevent these food trucks from being closer than 1,500 feet from the school, but meanwhile, there remains a lot to be done about students' attitude around food. Perhaps if we did not have labels such as "healthy but tasteless" and "unhealthy but scrumptious", these issues wouldn't exist in the first place. Then again, that is oversimplifying the issue; teaching children important but realistic nutritional habits is going to take a lot more effort from all of us.

Image Source

Shel Silverstein

I just came across this wonderful poem by the children's poet Shel Silverstein:

Italian Food

Oh, how I love Italian food.
I eat it all the time,
Not just 'cause how good it tastes
But 'cause how good it rhymes.
Minestrone, cannelloni,
Macaroni, rigatoni,
Spaghettini, scallopini,
Escarole, braciole,
Insalata, cremolata, manicotti,
Marinara, carbonara,
Shrimp francese, Bolognese,
Ravioli, mostaccioli,
Mozzarella, tagliatelle,
Fried zucchini, rollatini,
Fettuccine, green linguine,
Tortellini, Tetrazzini,
Oops—I think I split my jeani.

The language of food, much like that of gardening (zinnia, gardenia, daisy, beebalm), can be a meal in itself.  For some of us, it's our only real point of familiarity with other languages and cultures.  I love how Silverstein plays with these words; you can imagine a little kid memorizing this poem and reciting it at top volume in the kitchen.

Food Porn Daily!

A former student of mine introduced me to this blog last year: food porn daily grabs photos from food blogs all over the web, and serves one up every day.  If you want to make the food pictured, you can click on a link below the photo and go to the original website, where there's usually a blogpost and recipe to enjoy.  I've been saving the above "soft nutella and reese's pieces cookies" in my reader for about a month, now, wondering when I'll get around to making them.

There's a kind of side-bar interesting thing about this blog, too, which is the use of the word "porn" in the title.  It's accurate in a way, at least as a very good metaphor: these are sexy sexy pictures of food, and you glance at them and feel a kind of charge--or not, depending on your tastes.  Not turned on?  Flip to the next photo, of wasabi-encrusted Tuna, or Penne in fresh mozzarella, or burgandy-infused poached pears.  But the word "porn" has gone mainstream, and is now used for all kinds of different things, since porn itself has become less and less hidden from mainstream sight.  Using that word to describe something like pictures of cookies weakens our associations with actual porn, though--which might be a good thing, I'm thinking.  The less hand-wringing and mock-shock we muster about actual porn, the more we'll be able to judge it accurately.

All that from a picture of a cookie.