As I type this entry, the remains of a jalapeno slice is bursting in my throat. I love what food does to me... different flavors. It's the ultimate adventure.
I am deeply grateful that I do not own an iPhone. I can imagine how easy it would be to get sidetracked and get hooked to all the cool applications that they come up with! En route to an airport recently which required about a two-hour drive (translation: I was in the middle of nowhere!), a new friend had an iPhone and asked me to take some quizzes. I guess it was her way of getting to know me better! I had a blast killing those two hours with all the different quizzes: What Kind of Animal Are You?, What Type of a Guy is for You?, What Work Personality Are You?, How Many Kids Will You Have?, How Temperament Are You?... and many more.
One quiz I took led me to the result: "You are a true food connoisseur!" YAY! The commentary following the result was:
"You love eating, but only food that you consider worthy of being ingested into your system. You have a picky palate, but your taste in food is eclectic. You enjoy foods ranging from a simple slice of pizza to a dash of foie gras at a posh restaurant. It seems you have successfully cultivated your own unique style for enjoying food. You truly are a well-rounded culinary master!"
Hmm... I do agree with this assessment to a degree. I would not use pizza and foie gras in the same sentence though....
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
What is a website without a FAQ?
I was thinking in yoga class this evening that it had been a while since I blogged and I really missed it! Holidays came and went with some great dining adventures. I went on a business trip and had some great dining adventures as well. Perhaps I will write about those adventures in the near future. Perhaps not. I am a strong believer in operating on inspiration! While meditating this evening, I was inspired to do a FAQ for the blog. So here I go!
When people discover I cook, they ask me questions. I am going to list my favorite questions and answer each of them.
1. Where do you find time to cook with your crazy schedule?
Well simply put... if you take a look among yourselves, people do make time for things they love to do. Cooking is one thing I love to do. I realize that it is a common thought that cooking is a required, essential routine activity. We cannot survive without food and I choose to spice up my life with good food.
In an earlier blog, I wrote about how the modern technology made it possible for me to make things quickly. For example: I love homemade pasta. It takes about 30-45 minutes to make a batch of fettuccine. If it was not for my toys in the kitchen, it would take me hours to accomplish the feat. I distinctly recall my great-grandma teaching me how to make noodles from scratch using a rolling pin! I admired her patience and dedication to make sure the farming family was well fed. She spent all day in the kitchen working on the next meal.
Many recipes have steps, specific steps to follow. Following directions was never my best suit! It is amazing how my teachers put up with me when I was a kid. Admittedly, the eager part of me would just jump the gun and finish up quickly. I have had some cooking disasters as a result! Example: many baked recipes say to mix dry ingredients in one bowl and then wet ingredients in another. I find this pointless so I just put all the ingredients in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer at once and let it do its work. Viola. Results are usually the same. Sometime better! Once in a while, I do enjoy recipes that challenge me to slow down and follow specific steps at a time.
Finally, I am grateful for the job I have now. I work at home so... that alone does greatly cut down on the commute time and gives me extra time to cook.
2. Do you cook for yourself all the time? If so, do you make single servings?
People ask me this because they know I am single and live alone. Yes, of course! I love me. I am important. I deserve good food. Sometime I do cook single servings, usually if I am cooking meat/fish that would not make good leftovers. Sometime, I love to make double and I have great leftovers for lunch the next day. Sometime I make a lot and freeze them for when I need quick eats. Stuff that freeze well: soups, sauces, waffles, muffins, pasta, burritos, enchiladas, rice, squash, etc!
BUT I do adore cooking for people in my life. I look forward to tomorrow. My co-worker is coming over to work at my place and I will be trying a vegetable frittata recipe on her for lunch. Tomorrow night, a close friend is coming over for dinner to eat Vietnamese with me.
When I travel solo, I like finding host families. I offer to cook for them. Who in their right mind would decline an offer to get a personal chef for a few days?!
3. You say you shop at Whole Foods Market? Does that mean you blow your whole paycheck on food?
Nope! Let's see... I went food shopping on Saturday for the week, already planning on eating out with friends two times this week. Trader's Joe was my first stop: the total cost... $22.29. Whole Foods my next and last stop: $31.48. I would say that is my average expense on food in a week. Some weeks, it is more. Some weeks, it is less. The bottom line... I do not buy packaged foods. I make many things from scratch so it does save money. I have noticed that since I became what I call a "semi-vegetarian", I have saved a lot more money.
Therefore, Whole Foods Market does not mean Whole Paycheck for me. It does not have to be that way.
4. Do you have a set of recipes that you use on a regular basis?
Truthfully, no. I try new recipes every week. I knew that I wanted my kitchen to feel like a restaurant... always a new dish. However, I do have some recipes that I consider to be my favorite comfort foods. Soup is my favorite comfort food: I love tofu-miso-ginger soba noodle soup, turkey pho and garlic stracciatella (30 cloves of garlic in this one!). Of course, there's my famous chocolate mousse that I take pride into. If I LOVE a recipe I tried, I add it to my computer recipe database for future reference. I share them with my loved ones. Some of my host families do not want me to cook food that I have not tried before so I would tell them about the recipes in my database and let them have their pick.
5. You call yourself a food snob. What is the difference between a food snob and a picky eater?
A picky eater is more particular about what foods s/he is willing to try and eat.
A food snob is someone who looks for quality, wholesome food. For example, I do not do McDonalds period! My body is a temple- why do I want to put that crap in my body? Does that make me a picky eater? My friends who have done road trips with me would say definitely so, heh! Luckily for them, I usually pack my own meals/ snacks to go and I would like to refer them to the documentary, "Super Size Me"
One proof I am not a picky eater... I was in France last October. I was excited to try the cuisine in the Lorraine region. I was able to translate the menu written in French for my friends but I could not even figure out two entrees on the menu. So... I decided to ask the waitress, pointing to the two items that I could not translate, which one was better. She pointed to one of the items. I gestured that I would have that. I never knew what I was about to eat. It turned out to be a memorable meal. So... what was it? Quail medallions. Yum. I did not even know what one dessert on the menu was either. I had it. Yum. Would a picky eater take that type of risk? I think not! *grin*
6. So are there any foods you hate?
Well... my taste has become quite evolved as I grow wiser. I now enjoy a wide variety of foods. But yes, there are some foods I detest. Like coffee! Yuck! BUT I willingly drank coffee in Sweden because the Swedes claimed they make the best coffee. I give them that. I hate peas. That is one thing I skip in recipes. I do not eat pork. Growing up, I never ate pork so it became a habit. However, I am willing to try pork when I travel or dine at one of those fixed tasting menu places.
When I travel, I make it a rule to try anything because it is part of the whole experience. I have sampled things aboard that I would not eat here. Like... fermented raw whale blubber. AHEM! That is quite another story to tell!
When people discover I cook, they ask me questions. I am going to list my favorite questions and answer each of them.
1. Where do you find time to cook with your crazy schedule?
Well simply put... if you take a look among yourselves, people do make time for things they love to do. Cooking is one thing I love to do. I realize that it is a common thought that cooking is a required, essential routine activity. We cannot survive without food and I choose to spice up my life with good food.
In an earlier blog, I wrote about how the modern technology made it possible for me to make things quickly. For example: I love homemade pasta. It takes about 30-45 minutes to make a batch of fettuccine. If it was not for my toys in the kitchen, it would take me hours to accomplish the feat. I distinctly recall my great-grandma teaching me how to make noodles from scratch using a rolling pin! I admired her patience and dedication to make sure the farming family was well fed. She spent all day in the kitchen working on the next meal.
Many recipes have steps, specific steps to follow. Following directions was never my best suit! It is amazing how my teachers put up with me when I was a kid. Admittedly, the eager part of me would just jump the gun and finish up quickly. I have had some cooking disasters as a result! Example: many baked recipes say to mix dry ingredients in one bowl and then wet ingredients in another. I find this pointless so I just put all the ingredients in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer at once and let it do its work. Viola. Results are usually the same. Sometime better! Once in a while, I do enjoy recipes that challenge me to slow down and follow specific steps at a time.
Finally, I am grateful for the job I have now. I work at home so... that alone does greatly cut down on the commute time and gives me extra time to cook.
2. Do you cook for yourself all the time? If so, do you make single servings?
People ask me this because they know I am single and live alone. Yes, of course! I love me. I am important. I deserve good food. Sometime I do cook single servings, usually if I am cooking meat/fish that would not make good leftovers. Sometime, I love to make double and I have great leftovers for lunch the next day. Sometime I make a lot and freeze them for when I need quick eats. Stuff that freeze well: soups, sauces, waffles, muffins, pasta, burritos, enchiladas, rice, squash, etc!
BUT I do adore cooking for people in my life. I look forward to tomorrow. My co-worker is coming over to work at my place and I will be trying a vegetable frittata recipe on her for lunch. Tomorrow night, a close friend is coming over for dinner to eat Vietnamese with me.
When I travel solo, I like finding host families. I offer to cook for them. Who in their right mind would decline an offer to get a personal chef for a few days?!
3. You say you shop at Whole Foods Market? Does that mean you blow your whole paycheck on food?
Nope! Let's see... I went food shopping on Saturday for the week, already planning on eating out with friends two times this week. Trader's Joe was my first stop: the total cost... $22.29. Whole Foods my next and last stop: $31.48. I would say that is my average expense on food in a week. Some weeks, it is more. Some weeks, it is less. The bottom line... I do not buy packaged foods. I make many things from scratch so it does save money. I have noticed that since I became what I call a "semi-vegetarian", I have saved a lot more money.
Therefore, Whole Foods Market does not mean Whole Paycheck for me. It does not have to be that way.
4. Do you have a set of recipes that you use on a regular basis?
Truthfully, no. I try new recipes every week. I knew that I wanted my kitchen to feel like a restaurant... always a new dish. However, I do have some recipes that I consider to be my favorite comfort foods. Soup is my favorite comfort food: I love tofu-miso-ginger soba noodle soup, turkey pho and garlic stracciatella (30 cloves of garlic in this one!). Of course, there's my famous chocolate mousse that I take pride into. If I LOVE a recipe I tried, I add it to my computer recipe database for future reference. I share them with my loved ones. Some of my host families do not want me to cook food that I have not tried before so I would tell them about the recipes in my database and let them have their pick.
5. You call yourself a food snob. What is the difference between a food snob and a picky eater?
A picky eater is more particular about what foods s/he is willing to try and eat.
A food snob is someone who looks for quality, wholesome food. For example, I do not do McDonalds period! My body is a temple- why do I want to put that crap in my body? Does that make me a picky eater? My friends who have done road trips with me would say definitely so, heh! Luckily for them, I usually pack my own meals/ snacks to go and I would like to refer them to the documentary, "Super Size Me"
One proof I am not a picky eater... I was in France last October. I was excited to try the cuisine in the Lorraine region. I was able to translate the menu written in French for my friends but I could not even figure out two entrees on the menu. So... I decided to ask the waitress, pointing to the two items that I could not translate, which one was better. She pointed to one of the items. I gestured that I would have that. I never knew what I was about to eat. It turned out to be a memorable meal. So... what was it? Quail medallions. Yum. I did not even know what one dessert on the menu was either. I had it. Yum. Would a picky eater take that type of risk? I think not! *grin*
6. So are there any foods you hate?
Well... my taste has become quite evolved as I grow wiser. I now enjoy a wide variety of foods. But yes, there are some foods I detest. Like coffee! Yuck! BUT I willingly drank coffee in Sweden because the Swedes claimed they make the best coffee. I give them that. I hate peas. That is one thing I skip in recipes. I do not eat pork. Growing up, I never ate pork so it became a habit. However, I am willing to try pork when I travel or dine at one of those fixed tasting menu places.
When I travel, I make it a rule to try anything because it is part of the whole experience. I have sampled things aboard that I would not eat here. Like... fermented raw whale blubber. AHEM! That is quite another story to tell!
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