Thursday, December 31, 2009

housekeeping



I should probably make a disclaimer before I go any further in this blog. As a person, I have very few adamant convictions. I was raised with very few prepackaged tenets: my parents never stressed any sort of religion, my father always emphasized the value of considering an issue from all possible viewpoints, the meals that ended up on our dining room table was an eclectic mix of seafood, meat, and vegetables.

There are many things that I can say - positive and otherwise - about my college experiences that are about to come to a much-prolonged close. One of the most valuable lessons that I received was on the first day of freshman year, when the professor of my globalization class opened the first lecture he ever gave with these words: Whatever you believe, don't believe it too strongly.

From a personal standpoint, this summed up, and also influenced any convictions that I had, and have. I've never been attracted to extremes. My lifestyle has never been too wild or sedate, my friend groups were never centralized, my activities are not too homogeneous, my tastes too singular. The advice jived nicely with the most valuable points that I took away from my subsequent psychology classes - not only in the constructed nature of subjective experience and the value of interpretation, but also in thinking about the interaction of various internal and external factors that result in human experience. It influenced my decision to add a BFA in photography to my BA in psychology, and it had a place in my last-minute impulse to add a minor in education.

So what does this have to do with this blog?

Simply put, my feelings about food are complicated. I have wholehearted respect for my friends (and my roommate) that manage to have completely vegetarian and vegan diets. Pescetarian? Locavore? Organicophile? Fair trade fanatic? More power to all of you. I think that there are good lessons to take away from all of these lifestyle choices.

But for me, it doesn't work. Much akin to my compulsion to consider a variety of factors in life, and in art, I'm not convinced that any one of these ways of life can provide the final solution. Part of it is hedonistic - I like eating meat. I don't like eating a lot of it. On the contrary, meat is reserved for those rare occasions when I go out to eat, and even then, gyros are one of the few foods that make me weak-kneed enough to warrant this. Part of it is skepticism - anything that is nationally USDA certified as organic, or free-range, or x, y, or z is bound to vary. Part of it is less obvious - while there are indisputable benefits to buying all local goods, how does this impact other foreign communities that may subsist entirely on exporting a certain commodity?

So in terms of food, I believe in eating ethically, eating well, eating mostly vegetarian. I believe in trying to mitigate the decision to eat animals and animal byproducts by buying food that is sustainable and ethical. I believe in making meals in a way that nothing needs to be thrown away or wasted. (Big caveat: I know that sometimes, all of these things won't always be possible.) I believe that I can make all of my meals for less than $40/week, and that one shouldn't have to compromise between cost, nutrition, and morals.

I have quite a bit already stocked in my kitchen. For personal house-keeping purposes (and for those of you following that want to be sure that I'm not cheating on this $40/week thing!), I decided to inventory the things I already have. I'll also be keeping track of my weekly groceries, so this documentation should make sense in conjunction with the recipes that I subsequently make that use common ingredients.

STAPLES (in bulk)
rice (basmati, rice blend, brown), potatoes (russet, red), quinoa, whole wheat penne

FREEZER:
vegetarian breakfast sausage (Morning Glory), vegetarian meatballs, salmon, shrimp, edamame, Boca burgers

FRUITS/VEGETABLES

oranges, apples, asparagus, carrots, onions (sweet, red), vine tomatoes, cheese (feta, provolone), spinach, garlic, bananas

CONDIMENTS
lemon juice, sundried tomatoes, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, curry paste, jam (peach, strawberry, raspberry), olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt, unground pepper, earth balance, butter

SPICES
basil, rosemary, curry, tumeric, honey, cloves, bay leaves, thyme, cinnamon, chili powder, oregano, coriander, parsley, nutmeg, garlic powder

PANTRY
chicken soup , artichoke hearts, bread crumbs, garbanzo beans, no-bake lasagna noodles

BAKING NEEDS
baking soda, baking powder, dark molasses, dark cocoa powder, sugar (powdered, brown, white), whole wheat flour, pecans

MISC
rice milk, amber rum, vodka, bourbon, coffee beans (dark Sumatra), vanilla wafers



Today's groceries (all organic, bought at Madison Market):
  • frozen puff pastry (20 oz) - $7.59
  • lacinato kale - $3.49
  • local crimini mushrooms (0.63 lbs) - $3.14
  • barley (2 lbs) - $2.64
  • cayenne pepper (0.05 lb) - $0.67
  • dozen brown eggs (cage free, local) - $4.69
  • nutritional yeast (1 lb) - $7.84
Altogether, it came to $30.06, after tax. Big splurges were obviously the puff pastry and the yeast, though I have a recipe planned for said pastry that should be more than worth it. Paid a little more for eggs that were laid by free-roaming chickens, from a local farm in Yelm WA. The nutritional yeast and barley were bought in bulk, and should last for awhile.

Whew. Done. So now, all of you know my kitchen as well as I do.

I've got a couple of things up my sleeve from a big, timely day of baking here, so stay tuned!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Greek Pasta Salad with Roasted Vegetables


I have never been a fan of salads.

Call it a residual leftover from childhood. Maybe it’s cultural conditioning (not going to lie, I still harbor an immature…wariness of Brussels sprouts), maybe it was the time where I vividly remember almost choking to death on spinach as a kid (I’m not making this up), maybe I’m just not really anything that’s not drenched in salt, sugar, or butter. So sue me.

That being said, I’m not a completely unhealthy person. I’ve never deep-fried anything in my life. When I cook for myself, I'm mostly vegetarian. The majority of the things that I spy on This is Why You’re Fat makes my arteries feel more clogged just through visual consumption (though, handy tip: the site is an excellent appetite-suppressant if you are trying to hold out a little longer until your lunch hour at work).

I began to see the light that is the joy of salad consumption last year, largely due to the herbivorous impulses of my roommate, Maddie. I'm talking about a girl that practically has larger biceps from her salad-spinner usage alone. There were always various scary-looking unlabelled jars in our refrigerator full of unidentifiable leftover dressing (did I mention that she always made her own dressing? Because she did). Though I never made salads myself, I often was lucky enough to be around at the right time and place to poach the leftovers. And the same thought always occurred to me as I chewed on a forkful of romaine lettuce, spinach, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, salt, and pepper – this would be so easy to make! And it is.

The following salad is not the salad I remember from my youth. You know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about that pile of wilted iceberg lettuce salad that languished untouched at all-you-can-eat buffets, limply sporting a couple shreds of carrots and a few shriveled olives. The type of salad that you raced past in favor of loading your plate up with kiddie kryptonite (known colloquially as, "lime Jello").

No, this salad is the type of salad that you feel guilty about because it seems too good to be true. And then you realize that it isn’t, so you bring it home to meet your parents. This is a salad whose shoulder you can cry on when you didn’t get the job, who won’t judge you when you’re still in sweatpants at 4 PM, who will be there for you when you come home after a long day. Am I still talking about salad here? You be the judge.


Greek Pasta Salad with Roasted Vegetables


INGREDIENTS:

1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 eggplant, cubed
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup arugula
1 1/2 cup spinach
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
8 oz (half package) pasta

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil.

In a medium bowl, toss the pepper and eggplant 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, salt, and pepper and pepper to taste. Arrange on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake vegetables 25 minutes in the preheated oven, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned.

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente, and drain.

In a large bowl, toss together the roasted vegetables, cooked pasta, sun-drained tomatoes, arugula, and basil. Mix in remaining olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and feta cheese; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

My favorite thing about salad recipes is that it’s not like baking – you can add, subtract, and substitute anything in this recipe to suit what you already have, personal taste preferences, and time constraints. Depending on the time of TLC you want to put into it, this salad could take anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours to make.

Don’t want to wait for the veggies to cook in the oven? Coat them lightly in olive oil and roast them on a frying pan on the stove (just be careful not to use too much oil, or the eggplant will acquire that dreaded sog factor). Finangle with the proportions of olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper. Vegan? Nix the cheese, and toss in some nuts instead. Add, subtract, and mix up the greens in the salad, throw in fresh tomatoes instead of sundried, chuck in some olives if you’re feeling particularly sassy. This recipe can handle it. It’ll let you use and abuse it until the cows come home, and will still come through for you (deliciously, I might add) in the end. And that’s more than you can say about most things.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

new year, new blog - and chocolate stout ginger cake


i would be lying if i said that this year didn't knock me flat.


somehow within these twelve months, there have been two apartments, three countries, more than a thousand photographs in pixels and film, eight airplanes, breakups, makeups, makeouts, many goodbyes, oceans and deserts, hundreds of cups of coffee and text messages and hours worked.

this is a familiar story, of not having enough. not enough time to divide among too many places and obligations, pages to read, words to write. not enough time to spend time working, to scrape by after bills and rent with enough to remain at equilibrium.

so this year, the new blog will be about food. it will be about trying to have it all - about eating healthily, about the pleasure of making and consuming small things from nothing, about buying food ethically, about being conscientious and taking care.

oh, and of course, about spending as close to nothing in the process.

sometimes it's too tempting to want to crumple and give up. but when that's not an option, what do you do? you make do. you make it work. you make cake.



Chocolate Stout Ginger Cake

[adapted from the Sassy Radish]


INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups stout
1 1/8 cups molasses
1/2 tbsp baking soda
3 large eggs
1/8 cup dark cocoa powder, plus an extra pinch
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp grated, peeled fresh ginger


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a Bundt pan with dark cocoa powder to avoid having white specks on your cake.

Mix stout with molasses over high heat. Bring to a boil, remove, and add baking soda. Mixture will bubble, so do this first to give it time to settle and cool.

Beat together eggs, brown sugar, white sugar. Add oil.

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, spices, baking powder) in a separate bowl.

Whisk the stout mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients.

Add the egg/sugar mixture, and ginger.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick come out clean.