From the mixed-up files of me

Jul
2nd

Thu

The food industry’s insatiable drive toward cheaper, more convenient products has also disrupted the simple pleasures of cooking, eating and/or sharing meals with family and friends, turning food into an accessory, a lofty drop from once being an intimate part of our daily lives.

— from “Sustainable Food Ripe for Entrepreneurs to Drive Forward,” Rob Smart, Huffington Post

Jun
30th

Tue

Love that local flavour This is a nice piece from the Globe Canada, if sprawling.

Jun
15th

Mon

I made this “date meal” so long ago that I didn’t think the story was going to come out. Thanks to Shana, who reminded me to buy the paper yesterday.

… over the past several decades the menus of almost every expensive restaurant in the western world have become an endless parade of caviar, foie gras, truffles, lobster and filet mignon, often flown in from around the globe…

In recent years, however, some forward-thinking chefs, who believe that personal expression and creativity are more important than slavish devotion to symbolic luxury goods, have abandoned this antiquated approach. These chefs are seeking out the highest-quality ingredients, usually from their area, without regard to their place in the traditional fine dining canon.

— Wow article by Daniel Patterson. Replace senseless tradition in fine dining with greater food awareness? I’m in. This article comes to me thanks to Brian Quinn.

Jun
11th

Thu

http://www.thelmagazine.com/newyork/her-little-lame-greek-tourist-comedy/Content?oid=1188312 I just expelled some snark from my system for this, possibly my most negative film review yet (deservedly so!). Who wants to hang out with nice Cathy now??

May
31st

Sun

I followed your recipe for the beets I picked today from my garden. Topped with a little pepper, coarse salt, and some smoked chevre from the farmers market. Best. Thing. EVER!

— recent comment on this post on NEOINY. I really don’t mean shameless ego-boosting, but whenever (and increasingly, it’s more frequently) somebody comments on a post from six months or so back, which I frankly have no idea how they found, and are pleased enough with the outcome of what they cooked to mention it, I’m completely floored and amazed by a public of peers who I once thought never cared to but really do cook at home, for practicality’s sake. Keep ‘em coming, folks, and thanks.

May
30th

Sat

I adore dissonance in food — two tastes fighting each other. It wakes up your palate and surprises you…. The right amount of burning or charring can be seductive: a burnt tomato, for example, has a dark crust bordering on bitter, while the inside is soft and gentle in texture and taste.
I believe that many chefs and cookbooks make entirely too much of harmony. Frankly, it can be boring. If you sleep in a comfortable bed but sometimes take a siesta on the warm ground in the shade of a tree, you now that the experience of one highlights the virtues of the other. In the same way, disharmony in cuisine calls attention to the basic nature of the ingredients. I’m not talking about some of the silly combinations attempted by novelty-seeking chefs — there’s a difference between disharmony and hopeless mismatch. What appeals to me is the element of danger and excitement in creating a burnt taste. Take the burning too far, and it destroys the dish. Stay just this side of the line, and it is lovely.

— Francis Mallman, in new book “Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way”

May
17th

Sun

I don’t understand why people pay to have their nails painted. In a recession, I would think this the first industry to go.

May
16th

Sat

Life is beautiful.

May
13th

Wed

Waistline justified

So I gained something like 15 lbs since last summer, for the most part a testament to my commitment to underground supper clubs and cook-offs. I know this sounds ridiculous to many people, but truthfully, I have been to more than 16 cook-offs since August, and six of them I was a judge for(!). That should count for some sort of leeway to ANYone’s dietary standards, having to critique that many people’s homemade treats.

I will be thinking of ways to whittle down this occupational hazard, since I don’t agree with restaurants nor amateur chefs buttering up (literally) their dishes with copious amounts of animal fat in order to win repeat customers or favors from the audience, as a main strategy (as Nick guilelessly admitted in the Times piece to doing). Who’s with me for a cook-off that for once takes a look at the nutritional toll of the foods? This country has an obesity problem. Anyone?