Kettle corn and blueberries are fighting for domination of my soul.
There are times when I pause at sentences like that and wonder two things: Has that sentence ever been uttered by anyone else AND Do I need to up the medication?
While I'm not much of a snacker, I've been taking enough supplements lately that if I don't have something on my stomach at all times, I'm liable to curl in a ball and start twitching from stomach pain.
I think it's a positive thing that I feel the need to balance my chi by washing a handful of supplements down with a bag of kettle corn that I bought at the Duluth Days sidewalk sales yesterday.
Of course, I'm trying to do the "right thing" and snack on a bowl of blueberries. They are delicious and full of anti-oxidants.
But they just don't go with coffee the way that kettle corn does. And they just aren't as fun.
And it's all about fun, isn't it? As I was walking the dogs this morning and Shuggie was going about his normal routine of trying to eat EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE, I realized that the world must look very different to him.
He's Augustus Gloop and EVERYTHING is EDIBLE!
He would no sooner decide between blueberries and kettle corn as he would decide not to eat the neighbor dog's feces.
It's ALL delicious!
And really, what would a world look like where blueberries were the ONLY option and shit nibbling were discouraged?
When I was first married, I really only had a couple dishes that I could make with anything even close to pride. One of the selling points of marrying my husband was that he TOLD me he could cook. Of course, it wasn't until after we were married that I began to learn a key fact about my husband...while not necessarily making stuff up, presenting it in such a way as to make the listener believe that there is a lot more going on than is technically accurate, is THE NORM.
Having a job as a cook in a Mexican restaurant for six months when you are in your stoner twenties does not make you Rick Freakin Baylis. A week, A WEEK, after our marriage, I was informed that he had reached the limits of his talents in the kitchen and it was now MY turn to cook. Seventeen years later, no one has wrenched the baton from my hand and this relay race has turned into a marathon.
The thing that he failed at is the realization that the human brain has the capacity to learn new things. Being brought up in the midwest surrounded by jello with marshmallows and grated carrots (seriously, WHAT THE FUCK???), and then moving down to Oklahoma where they serve chicken fried steak along with vegetables coated in goo and fried, it is amazing that I have actually survived at all. Also, while I desperatly enjoy reading the church lady cookbooks that have 421 recipes, all involving velveeta and mayonaise, in the end they are best left adorning the shelf and giving your guests the impression that once in your life, just perhaps, you actually stepped into a church.
As I've said before, the more weight I lose (70 pounds so far), the more I want to use calories to eat good things, not just things to fill the gob hole. I've always been a sucker for cooking shows and since getting hi def tv, I've been learning a lot from America's Test Kitchen and it's sister show, Cook's Country. Up until now, most cookbooks and cooking shows just tell you what to do, not WHY you're doing it. Now that I'm learning a lot of the "why", I'm getting better in other areas of cooking as well. Also, not being one for blind allegiance, I'm finding that I really do follow their recipes because they've already done every single one eleventy million times and you know that in at least one of those eleventy million times, they changed it and did it the way that you're thinking and OBVIOUSLY, it sucked so don't waste your time.
I've recently gotten the last two annuals which have all that year's magazines in hardcover and I've also gotten the Cook's Country Cookbook. Thus far, every single recipe I've tried has been amazing. Nothing has fallen down, leaving me with my arms in the air in a gesture of supplication as the smoke roils through my kitchen and I shout to the heavens "Ming Tsai! How could you lead me to believe that you could make a damn pot of rice that way????"
Although I think I'm getting some skillz, I must admit, I don't really press my kids to learn to cook. My daughter is EXACTLY like I was at her age. "Call me when it's ready and NOT UNTIL!!!" (She recently asked if I knew that I didn't HAVE to grate my own parmesean cheese. "Do you know that you can just get it in this green can and it's all ready to use?" I told her she was giving me Vietnam flashbacks to my childhood.) My son, on the other hand, actually asks me ahead of time to be in charge of something when I cook a big meal. While it used to be things like making the Jiffy cornbread mix for the cornbread stuffing (cornbread stuffing is the ONLY good thing from the south), he has now graduated to bread and roll making.
So that's where I'm heading now. Into the kitchen to start cooking. I'll be listening to my favorite holiday tradition, Turkey Confidential, lighting some of my favorite candles (thank you Amy! Still enjoying the Cinnamon bun candle!) and sharing the very small space with my personal baker. The food is secondary and the meal is an afterthought but that time in the kitchen together? That's what I'm thankful for.
Holy Crap! I went to the Harvest Festival today at Bayfront for the first time since the very first Harvest Festival fifteen or so odd years ago. Back then, it amounted to a couple pick up trucks with their tailgates down and a card table with three legs, all laden with the fruits and veggies of the area which amounted to four tomatoes and an ear of corn. I was so disappointed that I never returned, until today. Yes, I can hold a grudge for aloooooong time.
I was really impressed! It was like a REAL Farmer's Market. You know, with REAL produce and REAL crafty items to purchase. I mean, I go to the Duluth Farmer's Market about every other weekend and enjoy the people there and what little produce is available but every since I went to the Farmer's Market in Toronto, I have held a deep and abiding belief that Duluth could do so much better. I know the building sucks and a few years ago there was talk of raising money for a new one but I wonder how many people are breaking down their doors to become vendors?
With as many people that turned out to sell today, it seems like a happy medium could be found. I picked up a handy booklet that lists area sustainable farms and I have to believe that some of these folks would come, at least part of the season. I am also convinced that craft types could also be booked in. Hmmmmm. Now all I need is a ton of money to make a new building and get this baby off the ground...right after I take a nap.
I will be placing another buffalo order soon and I sent in a reservation for a half a pig this fall. The pig will come already butchered and not as a horrifying discovery on the doorstep when I come out to get the mail in the morning, although that would be a cool way for vegetarians to force their opinions on people. I've also sent out emails to lamb and turkey suppliers. The less food that I eat, the more I am finding that my sense of taste really picks up on shitty food. Everytime I put something in my mouth I ask myself, is it worth the calories?
Now that I am nine weeks into a fifteen week CSA share, I am finally getting the hang of what must be done to use my veggies up. I am a rather slow study and unfortunately, quite a bit has ended up in my compost bin. We're only getting a two person share and the growing season started out really crappy but DAMN! Now it is crazy! I am so glad I didn't buy a family share because there is no way we would ever use that much produce.
Today I blanched peas and beans and made homemade marinara sauce which I'll freeze. I made it from a variety of heirloom tomatoes, some red, some yellow, and some orange. It turned out a most interesting shade of pink. With basil from my garden, some garlic that I got today at the Harvest Fest, and some olive oil that I purchased strictly because Lidia told me to (Goddamn PBS!), I believe I am turning Italian. My son and I have been cooking together from her cookbooks and recently we made pizza with homemade sauce and REAL mozzerella.
Although I may be very French and I always adored Julia Child, the idea of pate' makes me gag. Someday I want to grow up and get a pasta machine and make ravioli with my son as well.
Somewhere, Madame Defarge is adding my name to her list.
On a totally irrelevant note, my son placed the order for my birthday present a few days ago. It is actually featured in this handy clip:
Our office finished moving last friday and as I plugged my various peripherals into my new CPU, I actually ran out of ports. This was after he placed the order and I started giggling. I can't wait!!!
Now I need to decorate my office...yeah, everyone else wants empowering posters that inspire people to save the world. If I decorated my office like I really wanted to, I do believe my co-workers would shit their pants.
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