On October 19th

Photo from chiotsrun.com

"Still haven't made the vegetable soup I promised to make almost a week ago to clear out the vegetable rack. And now, when there is every opportunity to make a pan of creamy parsnip and carrot soup, I am distracted by half a dozen of the most meltingly ripe tomatoes on the vine, their skins ready to burst with juice. I slice them thickly, then toss them with black olives and pieces of thick toast torn into chunks and drizzled with unfiltered olive oil. No basil, no garlic, no seasoning; just the peppery rush of thick, green oil, ripe tomatoes and black-edged toast." -- Nigel Slater, The Kitchen Diaries

Resolutions (Of Sorts)

Every new year I make a list of resolutions--most of which I abandon at the end of January.

Last year I wanted to bake our bread instead of buying it. I attempted one loaf that was way too dense to eat. I'm okay with buying bread from Zingerman's at Happy Badger; it tastes better. I did cook with rutabagas, though, with much success. There were other resolutions too, but I've forgotten them.

This year my only resolution is to not have resolutions. To not limit myself to list but be open to whatever adventures arise.

And turn this blog into a space for ??? (??? = something but I don't know what).

While I'm figuring out the ???, be sure to check out my BG News column every Friday and From Plate to Palate at Connotation Press.

Until the next post, eat more offal.

"Thank You, Baby Jesus..." I'm Cooking Again. But, First, Check Out My Tree.

Thank you, Kaleidoscope Farms for an amazing tree.

Loveliest tree ever.

Will eventually have a live tree in my office or kitchen that only has food/food-relate ornaments on it.

One of my favs I got from FD's parents the year FD and I married.

LIVE This Week

The leaves are turning colors and the air is crisp.

Fall has finally found its way through our open windows and screen doors.

With Fall, though, has come the mid-point of one crazy semester, which is why my food posts are few and far between. But that doesn't mean I'm not cooking and making a list of all the food adventures I need to blog about soon.

In the meantime, be sure to check out my other food writing at Connotation Press and BG News.

Connotation Press this month is all Potlucks! So join the feast and check out the great dishes from writers such as Kathleen Rooney, Arielle Greenberg, Anna Kauffman, and Katherine Willis Pershey.

And my weekly food column at BG News serves up a variety of topics from tailgating to an upcoming column about Facebook and Food.

Thanks for all your support and readership! I promise more tasty treats are on their way from Everyday Palate to Connotation Press to BG News!

This Week at BG Community Gardens

BG Community Garden at First United Methodist

Sweet carrots

Melon hiding

Baby watermelon

A row of crisp cukes

Cabbage Patch Kid in the making

Squash still growing

Some Potty Humor for Foodies

Toothpaste for Dinner rocks.

If Only I Was the Love Child of Jamie Oliver and Alice Waters...

My obsession with Alice Waters is getting out of hand.

I tried to find her biography on the internet today while thinking to myself, "God, if she was just in Us Weekly and on Perez Hilton, my life would be made."

Alas, the best I have is Waters' recipes, which I am more than grateful for.

And so my obsession with Alice Waters keeps growing and my obsession with Jamie Oliver is as solid as ever. So tonight for dinner, I consummated my "food parents." I planned the meal entirely around what I had on hand and recipes only from Jamie at Home and The Art of Simple Cooking.

No, I'm not that bored, just that crazy.

Oliver's Grilled Lamb Kofta Kebabs with Pistachios and Spicy Salad Wrap are the BOMB! Instead of using the food processor to grind up a neck fillet of lamb, I used ground lamb I had bought from Luginbill Farms at the Perrysburg Farmer's Market two weeks ago. I finely chopped the thyme and pistachios by hand and then mixed, by hand, them with all the spices and lemon zest (in place of sumac) with the lamb. The nutty spicy smell had me under a spell so much so I was considering eating the lamb tar-tare.

Oliver's spicy salad was easy too. I didn't have red onions on hand, but the spring onions that I had just gotten from Homestead Gardens were more than perfect substitutes. And we didn't have flat bread on hand, but we did have tortillas, which worked just as well.

Grilling the kebabs was stressful, though. First of all, watch for flare ups. Lamb is more fatty than most meat. Also, they wanted to slide right off of our metal skewers, so it was sometimes difficult to turn them, and they cook FAST! I was worried when a few of our kebabs (and we got 6, not 4 from a one lb of meat) started blackening. We pulled them off right away with silicone tongs. (Grab them in the middle of the meat. Oven mitts just don't work.) All the kebabs were on the grill for no more than 5 minutes. It was whirlwind well worth it. The charcoal flavor perfectly compliments the game-ness of the meat, the spicy salad, and the cool yogurt. All the stress is forgotten after the first bite, especially if you and/or guests love Middle Eastern food; just be ready to cook FAST.

Knowing I had my Jamie Oliver recipe all ready to go, I needed to pick an Alice Waters' one that would suit the Middle Eastern theme. I knew exactly what recipe I had to try in The Art of Simple Cooking: Lentil Salad.

Waters' Lentil Salad is absurdly easy and beyond flavorful. The red wine vinegar gives it a tang while the onions (I used my green onions from Homestead Gardens) add a little kick. We added diced cucumber to ours because I had one I had to use that I got from the BG Farmer's Market last week.

I made the salad in the morning and served it cold, and it was fantastic. I just added the cuke right before I served it.

What I'm learning to love about lentils is their versatility. They can be the main course. They can be a side. They are crunchy or can be mushy, if the recipes calls for so. They are sweet and sometimes spicy. They remind me of tofu's ability to take on any flavor well, but lentils have their own distinct flavor nutty, grainy flavor and texture.

I've been in a hormonally pissy mood the past two days (thanks to FD for putting up with me!), but I must say after eating this meal all feels right with the world, my body and my hormones again.

I'm sure that's strictly because my "food parents" are always looking after me and providing me with exactly the right food and nutrients I need.

Now if only I could say the same for Bella and Edward or Bella and Jacob.

How About A Little Tongue?: Dinner and a Movie

Hello. My name is Amanda, and I'm a twi-hard.

And I'm food obsessed.

Mixing the two is what I imagine being on ecstasy is like.

Before going to the midnight opening of the Twilight Saga: Eclipse with my sis-in-law Suz and my husband FD, we had an exquisite dinner at Revolver in Findlay.

Dare I say, I enjoyed dindin more than the movie...

While Taj Mahal played in the background, Suz, FD, and I approached dinner from a family-style perspective; we shared all of our first courses and even our entrees.

Though it might be a HUGE stretch to think that our first courses were in any way linked to Eclipse, I somehow concocted a story to connect the two. We started our meal with Pickled Cow's Tongue with roasted beets and a soft boiled farm egg; Crispy Bone Marrow with shiitake mushrooms, braised beef, rhubarb, and star anise; and Local Porkbelly with potato galette, spring peas and curry.

The Cow's Tongue was divine. Imagine a flavor and texture combination of flank steak meets chuck roast. The beets gave it some moisture and the egg complimented the pickling. Eclipse has a lot of kissy moments in it, including the first not-so-romantic kiss between Bella and Jacob, which was a bit "offal"; therefore, the tongue was appropriate.

The Crispy Bone Marrow was juicy and salty with a bit of heat--much like the shirtless Jacob. (Wink, wink.)

The Local Porkbelly was smoky, chewy, and surprisingly light. It definitely represented the Cullens' fighting abilities. (Okay, that's a HUGE stretch.)

Seriously, we had a blast catching up and sharing family stories throughout the courses of our dinner as well as building the anticipation of the movie and the lines to get into the theater.

For my entree, I had Dickman Farms Chicken Breast with heirloom lima beans and black kale. My craving for kale is what drew me to this dish, and it did not disappoint. The tenderness of the chicken, lima beans, and kale worked beautifully together, especially with the slight hint of vinegar.

Suz and FD shared the pork sauerbraten for two with butter poached potatoes. Both are sauerbraten fans because their mum STR made it a lot from them when they were kids. Both really like Michael Bulkowski's stripped down version with a sauerbraten reduction drizzled over a pork tenderloin. The component that made the dish, though, was the butter poached potatoes. If crack potatoes hadn't already been coined, that's what they would be. The fingerlings were perfectly buttered and salted that they could have been mashed potatoes if I was blindfolded.

Quite frankly, even though I am obsessed with Twilight, I don't think the movie could have ever compared to our dinner. Which must mean I'm way more obsessed with food.

We saw Eclipse at the Carmike Theater in Findlay where it was showing on all 12 screens. You can only imagine the lines and the pre-teen mayhem. Unlike my experience of the New Moon midnight showing in Bowling Green who made several in-person announcements to our showing, the manager of Carmike did NOT ensure that there was NO saving of seats, outside food, or recording of the movie on digital devices. Basically, the manager of Carmike was NO WHERE TO BE SEEN. In other words, it was a cluster-mess of an event where every theater had rows of saved seats, aisles were littered with baggies of chips and gummy bears, and pubescent girls recorded all the "hot" scenes on their phones. I vow if I ever go to a midnight screening again, it will be in BG--no matter how geeky I have to feel by checking Fandango every hour to see when tickets can be purchased.

But even after all that frustration and the disappointment I felt with the movie's pacing as a whole, with the lingering of slow scenes, and the sometimes tacky acting, what made the evening so awesome were the fight scenes, the tent scene, the company of two of my favorite people, and the memory of another fantastic celebratory meal at Revolver.

Meal: 5 out of 5 stars
Movie: 3 out of 5 stars

Food as Homage

Quite frankly I'm not good with good-byes.

I think it has to do with an unresolved issue from my childhood. (But that's another story for another blog.)

We've lived in BG for seven years collectively, and damn me, every year I become close to someone who leaves. My last heartbreak was RR.

And as much as I love RR, Babs leaving kills me.

~

brrrrringggg.brinnnggggg.

"Hello?"

"Babs, you want some kale with chicken and mashed potatoes? I don't think I got the consistency right on the taters. You need to let me know.”

“I’ll be there in 5.”

Babs lives one street over from us. Not only is she one of my best friends, she's my neighbor.

~

My all-time favorite movie is The Royal Tenanbaums.

It’s slogan is “Family is a sentence.”

What’s funny is when I think of Royal Tenanbaum I think of my Pops, who’s a very charming, go-getter, family guy.

And when I think of Royal, I think of Babs who is always ready to help, without question or hesitation.

And if anybody can make family a sentence, it’s her.

For crying out loud, she’s leaving a full-time teaching job to get her PhD in Non-Fiction.

This is a woman who knows a sentence.

~

I used to eat a lot of frozen, processed food. As a kid, I swore I would hate brussels sprouts and spinach for all my life.

I never even heard of kale until three years ago.

Most times I think I’m a foodie fraud. I just learned how to cook—pretty well. I just happen to have a good personality that let’s be “cool” with chefs, farmers, and marketers. (Thank God.) But basically, I think with my stomach. Does that make me foodie?

I wondered that until I started bringing samples to Babs. She’s the one who made me believe my cooking was worthy to blog about. When I’d take her something and the next day get an email/review that was 10 paragraphs long describing what was great and what it could use, I was inspired, motivated, and, more important, confident. I owe my decision to dedicate a blog about food to Babs.

~

“I’ll be over in 5 minutes.”

~

As many know I have a crazy black Lab named Bleu. But if you really knew him, he has his mellow moments. I swear. Even though most don’t believe me.

But Babs does.

She always has.

And no matter how high Bleu jumps on her or how inappropriate his sniffing gets, she always laughs and gives him a calm command.

As a dog owner who thinks her dog is a child, I can’t thank her enough for being so patient and calm. Most people find Bleu obnoxious, but not Babs. If anything, Babs sees how Bleu takes after his Mama, and I think she recognizes that sometimes the affection that Bleu and I express is awkward, enthusiastic, inappropriate, and just plain crazy.

I could go into detail but it’s just not necessary.

But every time I’ve called Babs to see if she wanted to go for a walk with me and Bleu at Wintergarden or Oak Openings, she’s always said, “I’ll be over in 5 minutes.”

And every time during our walks we get so wrapped up in our talks about food or family or just “stuff,” I think we’ve both forgotten that Bleu was with us, and unexpectedly Babs witnessed the craziest of black labs heeling and sniffing without any misbehaving or horrible misbehaving.

In other words, our walks have made me and Bleu better a better person/dog.

~

Quite frankly, I only like to go to Revolver Restaurant with FD. Alone.

When I tell people I think about food every minute of every day, I’m not lying. When I’m teaching, I’m thinking about food. When I’m grading, I’m thinking about food. When my boss is asking me to do something in the office, I’m thinking about food. When I’m doing yoga, I’m thinking about food. When I’m on Facebook, I’m thinking about food. When I’m writing about food, I’m thinking about food.

FD knows this. He lives it. For crying out loud, I cook for him. And I know he appreciates it. So when I have that moment of awe as I sip Butternut Squash and Apple soup at Revolver, most on-lookers think “orgasm” and FD just grins.

But it’s not sexual. It’s just foodie appreciation.

Babs gets that.

I texted her that a dish I made with chicken, wild mushrooms and kale would bring her tears. She wasn’t lying when she texted me back—after picking up the dish in 5 minutes and eating it for breakfast—“I wept.”

That’s Revolver.

If you sit there with this “yummo” glazed over-stare, you’re not getting it—the experience.

If you orgasm, obsess, try to break down ingredients and cooking methods, and sigh countless times, you get it.

That’s Babs.

No pretense. No “I’m smarter than all chefs.” No “I have to prove I’m an awesome cook.” Just “I love food and I want to try to make that.”

There’s no other way to put it: Babs and I have a food love affair.

Her blog gets into the juicy details of dishes, and quite frankly I normally would. I love Revolver, and any chance to review them lightens my heart.

But…

That is meal I can’t review objectively.

I’ve had many perfect meals there with FD, or with FD and his in-laws, or with friends, but the meal I had there with FD, Babs, and me probably could bring me to tears if mentioned randomly to me at any moment in my life.

Babs’ go-getter/I’m-only-here-once mentality was divine. Her joy from the morels was the only factor in my food-envy of our first dish. Her portion-control restraint is mesmerizing and her ability to indulge without alcohol is mind-blowing (at least to me).

In other words, Revolver is on their game and using the FRESHEST of ingredients; they rock—as always. But last night, Babs made it rock. Her humor, her family stories, and her passion about food made it one of our most memorable Revolver times.

Well, I have to admit, Dan’s goat dish really helped.

And the fact that you’d only take reallyreallyreallreallyreally special people who love food, are adventurous, and care about where food came from to Revolver.

Babs is one of those people.

~

Babs is only moving to Nebraska, but in our four-year friendship, I’ve told her secrets I only tell my sister.

Who happens to be non-verbal.

I bet both will never spill the beans.

That’s how trustworthy Babs is.

~

I’ve always been horrible with conclusions.

How do you say good-bye to someone who is such an important part of your life?

I don’t know.

All I know is I’ll make her that “good luck” mix of songs, hug her, help her load the truck, and, that night, sob in FD’s arms.

I will miss her. Horribly.

But I plan visit ASAP.

Flat Belly Diet

Even with my food obsession I've managed to maintain my goal weight for over a year. But over the past few weeks I've just been feeling sluggish and bloated. I knew I needed a little jumpstart to get my system back on track and maybe lose a few pounds in the meantime.

After exploring a Raw Foods cleanse and the Candida Diet (both of which seem helpful but not for me due to a number of reasons, especially "NO cheese"), my very dear friends F & C suggested The Flat Belly Diet.

The Flat Belly Diet, on the most basic level, helps one reduce the intake of salt, excess carbs, raw bulky foods, and "bad fats" and increase the intake of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs or "good fats"), such as olive oil, salmon, walnuts, and dark chocolate. (Yes, I managed to use diet and chocolate in the same sentence.)

A strict 4-day Jumpstart menu commences the Flat Belly Diet. The Jumpstart is intended to alleviate water-retention that often happens at the beginning of a diet. Today is my third day of the Jumpstart, and quite honestly it's been a breeze. A breakfast of cornflakes, skim milk, applesauce and sunflower seeds is are more than filling. My lunch of organic deli turkey, string cheese (YES!), and steamed carrots with herbs, spices, and black pepper in place of butter is quite tasty. My dinner of turkey cutlet, green beans and roasted potatoes is light and healthy, a perfect meal after teaching late or before hot yoga. Plus, each day there's a snack, which I can have any time in the day I want it. And they call this a diet?

After the 4-day Jumpstart, 28 days that each include four 400 calorie meals follows. During this time one can use suggested menus from the diet book or the cookbook. The only objective is to stay within your appropriate calorie range, eat MUFAs, avoid "bad fats," and exercise.

As a skeptic and food-obessed maniac, I bought and cooked from The Flat Belly Diet Cookbook well before I embarked on my Flat Belly Diet journey. If the food wasn't going to be good, I knew I wouldn't have anything to do with it.

I was sold on the recipes after F cooked fantastic-after-fantastic meal for us during our visit to Delaware. But I knew I wanted to actually do the diet after I successfully BAKED (yes, me, the woman who can't bake) the BEST cupcakes of my life. A diet with delicious cupcakes--here's a way I can stay on track & not deprive myself of the foods I love.

Because I lost the majority of my weight with Weight Watchers, I can't say if Flat Belly would be as successful. I imagine it could be. Both diets help a dieter rethink portion size and offer good foods. Through my reading of the Flat Belly Diet, I believe it encourages dieters to buy more fresh, less-processed foods and to buy organic and from farmers markets when they can. With that said, one drawback of the Flat Belly Diet is its expense; the organic products and specialty oils can be expensive, especially if one is not used to buying these products. Also, I wish I would have read more regarding how to dine out on the Flat Belly Diet. Realistically, dieters, at some point, must have a meal out. With Weight Watchers, you can anticipate that meal and plan for it with points. I assume with the Flat Belly Diet you control your portions and try to order foods with MUFAs. That doesn't seem too difficult. I'll be trying it this weekend, and that's my plan, at least.

What's definitely not too difficult was making those tasty Lemon Cupcakes with Citrus Icing from the Flat Belly Diet Cookbook. And I will make them again and again, even when I'm not strictly following the diet, which very well might be after I finish the Jumpstart in which I've already lost 3 lbs and am feeling light, cleansed, and energetic.



Vaccariello, Liz and Cynthia Sass. The Flat Belly Diet Cookbook. New York: Rodale, 2008. Print.


Lemon Cupcakes with Citrus Icing

Cupcake Ingredients:
1 2/3c unbleached all-purpose flour
1c sugar
2t baking powder
1/2t baking soda
1/4t salt
3/4c safflower oil
2 eggs
1/3c fat-free milk
1/4c freshly squeezed lemon juice
1t lemon zest
1t lemon extract
1/2t vanilla extract

Icing Ingredients:
1 1/2c confectioners' sugar
2T freshly squeezed orange juice
1t orange zest

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.
2.) To prep cupcake batter: Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Combine oil, eggs, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl. Add to the flour mixture and stir until smooth.
3.) Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake for 17-19 minutes or until cupcakes are lightly golden and spring when gently touched. Place pan on rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan, transfer to rack, and let cool completely.
4.) To prep icing: Combine confectioners' sugar, orange juice, and orange zest in a bowl and stir until smooth. Spread some of the glaze over each cupcake with a small spatula and let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Tips: Use a blood orange for a more colorful icing like the one in my pictures. Also, fill each cup only 3/4 full so the tops are more flat. With the extra batter make a few extra cupcakes; this recipe yielded 16 cupcakes for me.

For the Pets (and Pet Lovers) Out There!

Our food-loving Black Lab Bleu and his best friend Benny convinced me I should do a pet issue for Connotation Press.

And because I believe dogs can talk and why wouldn't I listen to them, check out the March issue of Connotation Press.

It's funny, moving, and has a few great recipes for our furry, four-legged friends.

Let's Skirt Around the Issues

I've been toying with the possibility of reviving my personal blog: A Skirt Around the Issues.

I first began my journey with food and food writing on A Skirt, but lately I've been realizing food is leading me back to personal reflections that might not be so appropriate on a food blog.

If you're interested, please follow A Skirt Around the Issues. I won't be updating it as regularly as Everyday Palate, but I promise, between both blogs, you'll get enough of me to tie you over until the next post.

Carryout

The title of this post is a bit misleading.

Maybe you thought I was going to write about carryout food.

That makes sense. Too much sense, in fact.

This afternoon on our way home from walking Bleu at Oak Openings, FD and I heard the song "Carryout" by Timberland and Justin Timberlake. I love my boy JT, but this song made NO sense. To the point that FD and I thought it was a McDonald's ad or a SNL skit.

We were wrong.

I can only assume that love has become a convenient commodity when people think a song that compares love to an iHop is "sooooooo good" and "sooooo hard." (I'm all for slang but what does "hard" mean? I thought it was slang for thugs, not cheesy pop songs that sing, "Take my order, baby, because you're body's like a carryout?")

As much as I find this song offensive, I'm fascinated by the idea that food is a cool enough topic to warrant a metaphor for a pop song that JT sings and that is played A LOT on popular radio.

I just wish JT and Timberland would have compared love to grass-fed cows, heirloom tomatoes, lacinato kale, community gardening, the Slow Foods movement, backyard chickens, and Revolver Restaurant. Then I would have been on board. To the point that the song would have actually turned me on.

Alas, comparing a woman to an order or thinking of her as a waitress is just setting us all back--to the 1950s.

For your enjoyment, included is a YouTube video of the song. If you prefer not to indulge in the moronic delights that are popular music, peruse the lyrics.

Just some food for thought.

~




Baby, you’re lookin’ fire hot
I’ll have you open all night like an IHOP
I take you home baby let you keep me company
You gimme some of you, I give you some of me

You look good, baby must taste heavenly
I’m pretty sure that you got your own recipe
So pick it up, pick it up, yeah I like you
I just can’t get enough I got to drive through

Cause is me, you, you, me, me, you all night
Have it your way, foreplay
Before I feed you appetite

Let me get my ticket baby, let me get it line
I can tell the way you like it, baby, supersized
Hold on, you got yours, let me get mine
I ain’t leavin’ till they turn over the closed sign

Check it

Take my order cause your body like a
carry out
Let me walk into your body until you
hear me out
Turn me on, my baby dont you
cut me out
Turn me on, my baby dont you
cut me out

Take my order cause your body like a
carry out
Let me walk into your body till it’s
lights out
Turn me on, my baby dont you
cut me out
Turn me on, my baby dont you
cut me out

Number one, I take two number three’s
That’s a whole lot of you and a side of me.
Now is it full of myself to want you full of me?
And if there’s room for dessert then I want a piece

Baby get my order right, no errors
Imma touch you in all the right areas
I could feed you, you could feed me
Girl, deliver that to me, come see me

Cause is me, you, you, me, me, you all night
Have it your way, foreplay
Before I feed you appetite

Do you like it well done, cause I do it well
Cause I’m well seasoned if you couldn’t tell
Now let me walk into your body until you hear me out
And turn me on, my baby, dont you cut me out

Say

Take my order cause your body like a
carry out
Let me walk into your body until you
hear me out
Turn me on, my baby dont you
cut me out
Turn me on, my baby dont you
cut me out

Take my order cause your body like a
carry out
Let me walk into your body till it’s
lights out
Turn me on, my baby dont you
cut me out
Turn me on, my baby dont you
cut me out

What’s your name?
What’s your number?
I’m glad I came
Can you take my order?

What’s your name?
Girl, what’s your number?
I’m glad I came
Can you take my order?

Come over here (what’s your name?)
Come closer (what’s your number?)
I’m over here (I’m glad I came)
A little closer (can you take my order?)

Come over here (what’s your name?)
Come closer (what’s your number?)
I’m over here (I’m glad I came)
A little closer (can you take my order?)

Take my order cause your body like a
carry out
Let me walk into your body until you
hear me out
Turn me on, my baby dont you
cut me out
Turn me on, my baby dont you
cut me out

Take my order cause your body like a
carry out
Let me walk into your body till it’s
lights out
Turn me on, my baby dont you
cut me out
Turn me on, my baby dont you
cut me out

Dont you cut me out!

Lent: A Challenge in Not Eating Meat

For Lent I'm not eating meat on Fridays and on holy days.

As many of you know, I love meat. A lot.

True to my midwestern upbringing we eat meat and potatoes for almost every meal, as you probably have seen.

And the fallout from being on the Atkin's Diet is I have a fear of pasta.

But I've been pleasantly surprised by the pasta dishes I've started making during Lent.

On Ash Wednesday I cooked up my own spaghetti sauce thanks to a Cook's Illustrated recipe from May 1, 1997. (Old school and delicious!)

I was really pleased with the consistency, texture, and flavor. It's definitely one I'll use again and again.

I've been thinking a lot about the connection between food and religion. But I still have more thinking to do before I can post anything intelligent.

In the meantime, I hope you have as much success with this recipe as I did.

Ingredients

	1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes or 1 can whole tomatoes ( not packed in puree or sauce)
2	medium cloves garlic , peeled
3	tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2	tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves (about 8 leaves)
1/4	teaspoon granulated sugar
1 1/2	teaspoons table salt
3/4	pound pasta

Instructions

1. 1. If using diced tomatoes, go to step 2. If using whole tomatoes, drain and reserve liquid. Dice tomatoes either by hand or in workbowl of food processor fitted with metal blade (three or four 1/2-second pulses). Tomatoes should be coarse, with 1/4-inch pieces visible. If necessary, add enough reserved liquid to tomatoes to total 2 cups.
   

2. 2. Process garlic through garlic press into small bowl; stir in 1 teaspoon water (see note above). Heat 2 tablespoons oil and garlic in 10-inch sauté pan over medium heat until fragrant but not brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes; simmer until thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Stir in basil, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

3. 3. Meanwhile, cook pasta until al dente in large pot of boiling, salted water. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water; drain pasta, and transfer it back to cooking pot. Mix in reserved cooking water, sauce, and remaining oil and salt; cook together over medium heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly, and serve immediately.

My Little Burrito Craves Mayo

My godson, Little Burrito, has moved onto baby food, and from what his mama says, he enjoys it quite a bit. Here's a very funny email Little Burrito's mama sent me about his recent food discovery:

"[Little Burrito] tries to grab everything within reach now and he is so close to rolling completely over. He squawks and makes his little pterodactyl noises all the time! He hadn't really started to try and grab things yet and I was making a sandwich for my lunch and he was sitting in the Bumbo and his sister says, "Mommy - Frankie wants the mayonnaise." I turned around and he had leaned clear over the side of the Bumbo and had a fistful of mayo! I almost died!"

This image still has me in stitches.

Say Cheese!

This past week my Honors 1120 students and I taste tested 5 different cheeses to further develop our palates and to practice source synthesis. The five cheeses were:

Raw Milk Sharp Cheddar by Rosewood Products, Ann Arbor, MI bought at Happy Badger.

Canal Junction Grassfed Sharp Cheddar from Defiance, OH bought at Kazmaier's Family Grocery.

Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar from Vermont bought at Kazmaier's Family Grocery.

Kraft Natural Mild Cheddar Cheese from Kraft Foods Global bought at Meijer.

Velveeta from Kraft Foods Global bought at Kroger.

Here's our collaborative narrative. We hope you enjoy it!

Most of us associated cheese with mice, "holes," and pasta dishes. Mostaccoli is one such dish that came to mind. Megan writes, “In Chicago we have a really popular restaurant called Barnelli's and I always get their baked mostaccoli, it's the best I've ever had. Cheese is kind of like a comfort food to me cause I have loved it ever since I was a little girl.” Jessica agrees with Megan and further describes Mostaccoli: “My favorite cheese-related dish is a baked penne pasta in tomato sauce. You can get it at the italian place called DiBennedito's downtown on the same side of the street as Panera. It's penne pasta and chicken, prosciutto, mushrooms, peppers, and all kinds of good stuff in a thick cream tomato sauce and the whole dish is covered in baked mozzarella and parmesan cheese, which is the best part.” As a class we determined that when most people think of cheese, they think of pasta and comfort foods, such as Mostaccoli and Macaroni and Cheese. Megan and Jessica illustrate this love of pasta cheese dishes.

After many taste tests, the Happy Badger cheese turned out to be a well accepted cheese by most of the students in the class. The raw milk sharp cheddar cheese appeared to be white in color and it smelt just like a regular cheddar cheese. Erin says, “I didn’t think that it had a whole lot of flavor but I still enjoyed it.” Her opinion is echoed by Megan: “I like most cheeses, especially cheddar cheese and I thought this one was really good.” Rachel describes this cheese as having “a nice flavor to it.” Several students described the cheese as difficult to cut and it appeared to have a firm consistency. Some students were skeptical about the appearance of the cheese, however most of them decided to try it. Lin-z says, “This cheese looks a lot like the gross Canal Junction cheese, but I gave it a shot.” We would recommend this particular cheese because overall it was well-liked by most of our classmates. It maintains an original cheddar taste, but was not too extreme.

Canal Junction Grassfed Sharp Cheddar from Defiance, OH bought at Kazmaier's Family Grocery is a cheese that is loved by some and hated by others. The majority of the class disliked the Canal Junction cheese. When describing it one person, Lin-Z Tello said said, “This tasted like cow poop. Disgusting. It smells innocent enough but once you take a nibble its like 'KA-POW' and your mouth is fighting against the farm. Not cool.” Erynn was one of the taste testers who preferred the taste of this cheese. When addressing her ideas on the cheese she shared knowledge of cheeses produced in different areas to give insight to why this cheese has the distinct taste. She wrote, “I love this cheese. … There is a distinct flavor you can tell what the cows were eating. It Italy, the people who live on the flat part are so obsessed with their cows and cheese, they keep them in barns and only feed them certain grasses and herbs so the milk tastes a certain way, and the cheese produced is very strong like this.” Though these opinions are very diverse, it appears to be a matter of person taste preference for the Canal junction cheese from grass-fed cows.

The Vermont cheese is one of its own, a truly unique piece of cheese. This variety of cheese is white, has a thicker substance, and was generally liked by the entire class. In regards to this cheese, Eryn writes, “This is a good cheese. It's not to sharp, not too smooth, a good consistency in your mouth. It breaks apart crisply from the brick and sort of cushions your teeth as you chew, truly a pleasure for the mouth.” Stephanie also liked this type of cheese, writing, “It had a little bit sharper of a taste than the Raw Milk one, but way less sharp than the Canal Junction one. Overall, it had a nice consistency.”

In America, when we think of cheese Kraft is a brand that comes to mind. It's a very common and accessible product in all major grocery stores and food chains. There is no preparation involved for this product. All you must do is simply cut the cheese, place it on a cracker and enjoy! People seem to have different reactions to this cheese, with some enjoying it and others not. As one classmate, Jessica, stated, "The Kraft cheese had a sharp flavor, but it tasted a little fake, like it had wax or oil or something added to it. It's after-taste made me feel like I was sick for a split-second." This shows that she was not very fond of the Kraft cheese. Rachel, on the other hand, really liked the Kraft. She said, "I enjoyed the Kraft cheese...the cheese stays together when I cut into it, and long after. The flavor seemed like what classic cheddar cheese should taste like - the flavor I imagine whenever anyone mentions cheddar cheese." These classmates reactions are an example of how different people enjoy different things.

Velveeta cheese is made by Kraft Foods Global and can be bought at Kroger grocery store. Jessica Miller thought that Velveeta cheese was "gross. It looked like margarine...and it kind of tasted like it too." Tracy Zack had like thoughts, asserting that "[it] smooshed together when I cut it. It didn't smell authentic...It was packaged in a foil wrap inside of a box." Jessica believed the cheese was too processed to the point it didn't feel or taste like cheese, and Tracy would agree. Both girls had immediate reactions of distaste for Velveeta cheese, and they would not recommend it to others.

As a class we were struck by the differences between each cheese's texture and taste. We realized, too, that even though Velveeta was clearly the most processed of the cheeses, it was one that recalled many memories and feeling of "home," which we found important because it showed us that all food has meaning.

Food for Thought

Happy cows live in Northwest Ohio.

Look at these lovely ladies at Luginbill Family Farms.

They look quite happy.

And look quite tasty too.

Babs and I went to Luginbill so I could stock up on even more pork, beef, lamb, and chicken. Apparently, we fit the stereotype of the Midwest who eat meat and potatoes at every meal. I can live with that. Especially if I'm eating such high quality, grass-fed meats.

Gifts

This weekend I was blessed with many wonderful gifts.


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Thursday evening my dear friend Babs brought over two samples of carrot cake: Betty Crocker and Holden Village.

She said that many testers preferred the Betty Crocker recipe, but I enjoyed the carroty flavor and density of the Holden Village recipe.

Babs is probably the best baker I know, and I'm always grateful to her for all the treats she brings us. Thanks, Babs!


~

Friday evening my good friend Sarah L. brought over a loaf of her bread.

The recipe seems even easier than Rulhman's and the taste of it rivaled Zingerman's.

It was so warm and fresh and crusty when she brought it over in its little bundle that looked like a happily wrapped baby. This is definitely a bread I'm going to try to make and I think I'll succeed at.

What I love about Sarah is "DAMN, that girl can cook!" And I adore how she so thoughtful about and in her food writing.


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On Saturday, at my parish retreat, I received a box full of letters of support and love from my family and loved ones. I was overjoyed by all the expressions of love I received. FD, my parents and siblings, my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, my close friend DH and AL, and fellow parishioners helped me recognize the good in me that I sometimes forget, and it made me feel better about the world, my life, and myself. My words here are not doing justice to how I feel, but know that I appreciate and cherish all of your kind words with all my heart.

I have to give a shout out to the cooks of the retreat, too. The food was AWESOME! It fed the tummy and the spirit!


So now I'm thinking, How can I give something back? I have ideas. I always have ideas...

Reflection: A Local Foods Presentation at BGSU

Within the last week about 20 friends emailed me this ad for a local foods presentation that was held on the BGSU main campus:

The Center for Environmental Programs is sponsoring a presentation on January 27th at 4:30 in 274 Overman on locally available food. Joshua Pribanic of Eric Country Coalition for Local Resources will discuss community supported agriculture (CSA). John and Diane Riehm from Riehm Farms and Kurt Bench from Shared Legacy Farm then will discuss the local produce programs that they offer to the region.

My Honors Food Theme class meets at the same time, so we took a field trip to Overman Hall.

And, thanks to well-informed presenters, we learned a lot about Industrial Food Systems vs Local Food Systems.

The three pieces of information really stuck with me. 1.) According to The Erie Wire's Food System presentation, "Since the beginning of the 21st century we've experienced almost 50 epidemic food-borne illness outbreaks that have resulted from the Industrial Food System." 2.) Buying organic doesn't solve the problems presented by the Industrial Food System because many organic companies are part of the industry. 3.) Ohioans consume only 2% or less of food grown in Ohio.

I've been making it a point to buy Ohio products whenever possible or from our surrounding states, especially Michigan, when Ohio products aren't available. But what's difficult for me is the produce situation. During the spring, summer, and even fall, we eat up to 95% local produce. But I just don't have the freezer space or time to can, so during the winter I buy mostly organic produce from California and try to buy from stores that showcase "homegrown" foods such as The Anderson's and Meijer. I feel guilty sometimes, but this is Ohio, and I do my best to buy local when I can. I just wish Ohio had the same climate as California.

Last year the guilt overwhelmed me, and we ate very little veggies all winter. And I was more miserable than I am now. Sometimes this battle against Industrial Foods vs Local Foods feels so overwhelming--to the point I wonder what difference I'm making.

But I know I am making a difference. During the spring, summer, and fall, I feel elated when I eat a tomato that grew organically in a garden of a farmer I personally know. Nothing can replace that feeling of being connected to my food. And we buy local meats from a family farm that are grass-fed or from Bellville Brothers Meat Market in Bowling Green. And the meats we get year-round from these fantastic people.

What's inspiring about this movement is the momentum and the hope. While I am IN LOVE with our local farmer (who happens to be one of the instructors in our Composition program), I was really excited to learn about Riehm Farms and their CSA, which I think would be awesome to join. But I'd still buy a lot from Homestead Gardens, especially their potatoes, which I'm craving right now. At this moment...

Local tastes so much better.

Food for Thought

For the next 15 weeks I'm excited to say I'm on a food adventure with 10 exceptional Honors students.

For my food-theme Academic Writing class, we're discussing food as it affects identity, health, culture, economies, and many other aspects of our lives.

Today Lucy Long is visiting our class to talk about foodways and, specifically, her article "Green Bean Casserole and Midwestern Identity: A Regional Foodways Aesthetic and Ethos."

Of course I had to make two versions of green bean casserole to celebrate our special guest. To read about my reflections while cooking up these traditional casseroles, visit my Honors blog, where I'll be posting many more reflections about our class and our discussions revolving around food.

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01/24/10 -- Update

It seems most of the students enjoyed the homemade casserole (the one in the white dish) more so than the Campbell's soup one because it was less salty and had "more flavor." I wonder, though, if there wasn't something subconscious about the term "homemade" that possibly made the students feel more emotional connection with that one. I remember being a student and craving anything "homemade." I'm excited to continue this food adventure with other dishes. Stay tuned.