The Kitchn featured a short post about food at the White House. A fabulous picture of President Obama's afternoon snack plate here. You will see that for such a simple snack, the amount of cutlery and china is quite amusing.
Here's the full post.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Homegrown strawberry dreams...
While I do have a small patio space, there unfortunately isn't enough sun exposure for much gardening to be conducted. When I move next, I will definitely put more effort into finding Southerly windows or patios. In addition to growing more herbs and attempting some sort of container potatoes, these strawberry planters look like a must-do. The thought alone of homegrown berries has my mouth watering!
{Photo Credit: Stephen Duckworth}
Friday, April 17, 2009
Realisic Dinner Previews
Thanks once again to Lifehacker, I stumbled across this great comparison of Fast Food Advertising pictures compared to real-life photos of the food product being marketed. While it makes sense that food is styled (and often, not even real food) for photographs in ads, it is amazing to see the contrast between the ads and reality.
Check out this contrast of the Arby's Beef n Cheddar sandwich. The real one just looks so sad. Imagine if food marketers/advertisers had to use actual food products, like what is made in the restaurants. I think a lot more people might make the effort to eat at home!
Check out this contrast of the Arby's Beef n Cheddar sandwich. The real one just looks so sad. Imagine if food marketers/advertisers had to use actual food products, like what is made in the restaurants. I think a lot more people might make the effort to eat at home!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Grow 100 pounds of potatoes on your balcony!
My gardening skills are at the level that would require the purchasing of an AeroGarden if I want to sustain green life for a period of time longer than a month. I am always impressed with those who have the ability to care for plant life in a way that results in getting to eat fresh produce (opposed to the greenery dying in the garden or being eaten by critters, which would happen to me).
Since I live in an apartment, I thought I had a pretty good excuse for not attempting any gardening of my own. This article on Lifehacker, however, puts me to shame. Someone with a lot of ingenuity came up with an idea to be able to grow 100 pounds of potatoes in 2 X 2 foot space. It reminds me a little of the upside-down tomato garden that I always seen in the SkyMall catalog on planes. But way cooler because 1) it's homemade and 2) it's friggin 100 pounds of potatoes!
It's not too late to plant some tomatoes or herbs on my patio, so maybe if I start small and have success this summer, I can work on growing potatoes next year. But probably not 100 pounds of tubers (though that does sound quite delicious). We'll see what happens! This is something I need to try with baby steps!
{For the planting instructions, see the Lifehacker article or the original article from the Seattle Times}
Since I live in an apartment, I thought I had a pretty good excuse for not attempting any gardening of my own. This article on Lifehacker, however, puts me to shame. Someone with a lot of ingenuity came up with an idea to be able to grow 100 pounds of potatoes in 2 X 2 foot space. It reminds me a little of the upside-down tomato garden that I always seen in the SkyMall catalog on planes. But way cooler because 1) it's homemade and 2) it's friggin 100 pounds of potatoes!
It's not too late to plant some tomatoes or herbs on my patio, so maybe if I start small and have success this summer, I can work on growing potatoes next year. But probably not 100 pounds of tubers (though that does sound quite delicious). We'll see what happens! This is something I need to try with baby steps!{For the planting instructions, see the Lifehacker article or the original article from the Seattle Times}
Sunday, April 5, 2009
One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns!
As I've mentioned before, I love eating my way through London. On almost every visit, I manage to procure Hot Cross Buns from the grocery store. While this is not gourmet by any means, they're something I enjoy thoroughly for breakfast or a snack or just because. I can easily justify this layman's indulgence to myself with knowledge that even the grocery store variety of Hot Cross Buns in England is far better than any I've had in the States. Furthermore, in the US, these flavorful delights are only available a few weeks in the year (which might actually be part of the problem).
Since it has been two years (gasp!) from my last trip across the Atlantic, I have been eager for Hot Cross Buns to start showing up in my local grocery stores for Easter.
I try to have a grounded perspective on my expectations of US Hot Cross Buns by having clear memories of previous disappointments. However, I do get sad when I eat Hot Cross Buns in the States, and they simply don't taste as good as their name implies they should.
Central Market has a great bakery and is also my Houston source for many hard-to-find grocery items. Unfortunately, I don't think their bakery makes their Hot Cross Buns because they certainly don't live up to Central Market's usual tasty standards. While I will admit, they did satisfy my Hot Cross Bun craving to some degree, I found them lacking. The texture was dry, and there weren't enough pieces of fruit. It was disappointing that the only fruit were raisins, especially because they were also overly dry. While non-traditional (and not necessary for well-made Hot Cross Buns), the icing was the only saving grace. The iced crosses provided a nice level of sweetness and needed moisture to the buns.
Will I buy them again next year? Chances say that I will. But maybe I'll grow enough courage to try making my own instead. Only time will tell...
Since it has been two years (gasp!) from my last trip across the Atlantic, I have been eager for Hot Cross Buns to start showing up in my local grocery stores for Easter.
I try to have a grounded perspective on my expectations of US Hot Cross Buns by having clear memories of previous disappointments. However, I do get sad when I eat Hot Cross Buns in the States, and they simply don't taste as good as their name implies they should.
Central Market has a great bakery and is also my Houston source for many hard-to-find grocery items. Unfortunately, I don't think their bakery makes their Hot Cross Buns because they certainly don't live up to Central Market's usual tasty standards. While I will admit, they did satisfy my Hot Cross Bun craving to some degree, I found them lacking. The texture was dry, and there weren't enough pieces of fruit. It was disappointing that the only fruit were raisins, especially because they were also overly dry. While non-traditional (and not necessary for well-made Hot Cross Buns), the icing was the only saving grace. The iced crosses provided a nice level of sweetness and needed moisture to the buns.
Will I buy them again next year? Chances say that I will. But maybe I'll grow enough courage to try making my own instead. Only time will tell...
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Eating meat leads to... global warming?
If you call yourself an environmentalist, why do you still eat meat?
That was a slogan I commonly heard during college that was tossed around by the well-intended veggie lovers in attempts to convert omnivores that were otherwise fairly "like-minded".
So, while it's clearly not a spanking new idea, I am glad that it's getting more press again. I don't want to get into ethical debate about whether it's wrong/right/inhumane/human-nature to eat the flesh of other animals, I think it is important for the public to know that the choices we make about eating are just as important (if not more important!) as the decisions we make about the cars we buy or the light switches that we turn off.
If we were to have a dialog about eating meat today, it would not just a health discussion or a debate about animal rights, as it may have been years ago. It would also be a conversation about environmental consequences that have great impact on the earth we live. Case in point: It is said that reducing your consumption of meat by one day a week has the same amount of impact on reducing CO2 emissions as driving a care 1000 miles fewer per year. I paraphrased this from Mark Bitten's recent book Food Matters. Please forgive my lack of preciseness (I don't have the book in front of me), but you probably get the point about the picture Bittman is trying to paint. The resources that go into modern meat production, such as water and oil, could be used more sparingly if instead they went into growing vegetables, grains, and legumes (thus, feeding more mouths).
Given the amount of resources needed to produce a pound of meat, it is not sustainable for humankind to continue eating meat at the rates we do. (Think about it: Over 5000 gallons of water are need to produce a pound of beef, while only 25 gallons are needed to produce a pound of grain according to California Soil and Water specialists.) What's scarier to think about is that meat consumption is increasing as less-wealthy countries become both more wealthy (in terms of good ole cash money) and more Westernized. We are literally eating ourselves to death, in the literal sense for many individuals (due to health consequences like diabetes and heart disease) and in a metaphorical sense as we tip the world's biological equilibrium further away from being balanced.
Post your thoughts below--whether you agree or disagree. I have a feeling this will be an increasingly hot topic, as climate change because a greater concern to the public. It will also be interesting to see how the Obama administration addresses this part of the issue (if at all).
That was a slogan I commonly heard during college that was tossed around by the well-intended veggie lovers in attempts to convert omnivores that were otherwise fairly "like-minded".
So, while it's clearly not a spanking new idea, I am glad that it's getting more press again. I don't want to get into ethical debate about whether it's wrong/right/inhumane/human-nature to eat the flesh of other animals, I think it is important for the public to know that the choices we make about eating are just as important (if not more important!) as the decisions we make about the cars we buy or the light switches that we turn off.
If we were to have a dialog about eating meat today, it would not just a health discussion or a debate about animal rights, as it may have been years ago. It would also be a conversation about environmental consequences that have great impact on the earth we live. Case in point: It is said that reducing your consumption of meat by one day a week has the same amount of impact on reducing CO2 emissions as driving a care 1000 miles fewer per year. I paraphrased this from Mark Bitten's recent book Food Matters. Please forgive my lack of preciseness (I don't have the book in front of me), but you probably get the point about the picture Bittman is trying to paint. The resources that go into modern meat production, such as water and oil, could be used more sparingly if instead they went into growing vegetables, grains, and legumes (thus, feeding more mouths).
Given the amount of resources needed to produce a pound of meat, it is not sustainable for humankind to continue eating meat at the rates we do. (Think about it: Over 5000 gallons of water are need to produce a pound of beef, while only 25 gallons are needed to produce a pound of grain according to California Soil and Water specialists.) What's scarier to think about is that meat consumption is increasing as less-wealthy countries become both more wealthy (in terms of good ole cash money) and more Westernized. We are literally eating ourselves to death, in the literal sense for many individuals (due to health consequences like diabetes and heart disease) and in a metaphorical sense as we tip the world's biological equilibrium further away from being balanced.
Post your thoughts below--whether you agree or disagree. I have a feeling this will be an increasingly hot topic, as climate change because a greater concern to the public. It will also be interesting to see how the Obama administration addresses this part of the issue (if at all).
- Meat vs. Climate: The Debate Continues (Green Inc Blog, NY Times)
- World Hunger and Meat Production (World Hunger and Poverty Blog)
- Why Veg? For the Planet (Animals Australia group)
- Rethinking the Meat Guzzler (Mark Bittman, NY Times)
- Feeding Livestock vs. People (older article, but the science and main message haven't changed)
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