Wee Feast

“Very rarely does anyone go into a garage, phone store or shoe shop and ask for ‘the cheapest, most rubbish one.’ So why do we walk into supermarkets and support those companies that are producing cheap products?”
—Jamie Oliver

Growing up, it was not so easy to find organic rBGH-free milk and free-range eggs if you lived in an urban area. And yet that’s the type of grocery staple I grew up with: berries in summer, turnips in winter, and meat as a side dish at our weeknight dinners. Some of it cost a little more, like paying top dollar for pesticide-free produce or ethically raised animals. And that’s the way I prefer to continue to eat these days (although I pass on the meat).

Food in-season tastes better and has more nutrients. Food made in smaller batches by smaller companies tastes better and has more nutrients. I can’t understand why people eat synthetic crap all the time (although synthetic crap has its occasional place), and it makes me want to yell screaming from the rooftops. Your food is not just fuel for your entire body, it is the raw building block that composes your body. I think people act like your body is a static thing, and you are just providing it energy to function by feeding it. It’s so much more than that. Your hair, your nails, your skin, your cell membranes all must be made and remade from what you eat. This, to me, is not an area to be cheap.

It’s like the idea of forcing yourself to eat whatever fruit is the cheapest, like navel oranges. If you only allow yourself to purchase bulk navel oranges at the grocery store, you are not going to be much motivated to eat your fruit. They’re bland, they’re boring, and they are really only good in winter (did you know citrus has a season? It does.). In case you’re wondering, I justify the increase in my enjoyment of food and overall health by upgrading my grocery bill to a “somewhat high” cost.

Only one more day of work (today), which I am hoping will be an early dismissal if we’re lucky. I baked some homemade gingerbread from Bread & Honey, which is delightful but makes entirely too much cake for me to consume on my own. I took it to work so my coworkers can help with the onerous task of eating half the batch.

A slightly warmer day here than the rest of the week, which was windy and freezing. No snow on the forecast which is fine with me. Ready for my four-day vacation to begin, one where I get to sleep in, finish even more books than usual, and enjoy the apartment to myself as my lovely roommate’s visiting family.

Tonight I’m cooking a dinner of sorts featuring a sweet potato and caramelized onion galette based on this recipe. Pictures to come for certain if all goes well.

And of course the gingerbread will surface as the perfect Christmas Eve dessert: spicy and sweet but not too filling.

Hope everyone has a good holiday, and gets to eat something delicious this week.

Edited 12/26 to add some commentary on Smitten Kitchen’s savory galette recipe (or, if it’s less intimidating-sounding, fancy biscuit-like pizza). Oh my goodness, this was delicious, and made equally awesome leftovers.

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Last night, committed to a night in, I pulled out the bag I bought on Sunday of roasted “jewel” potatoes. They came already bagged from my grocery store, and included yellow fingerling, white creamer, purple, and red potatoes. Follow the jump for more…

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I’ve been solidly keeping up with cooking a few “real” meals each week for dinners, which is an informal goal of mine. In between that, I tend to stick to the basics. It’s generally relaxing, and far more cost-effective than a restaurant meal. I also find it satisfying to make something from scratch.

The first dinner I’ll share with you is zucchini pasta with goat cheese and lemon peel. I also added some parmesan cheese and fresh basil. It’s a Real Simple recipie. Don’t feel like you can only eat “light” meals in summer and “heavy” meals in winter; this one was delighfully refreshing.

It was served with a mixed mesclun salad and some garlic bread.

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12:05 p.m. In the car, driving to Olive Garden. Hungry. Anticipatory.

12:15 p.m. Arrive at Olive Garden, get seated immediately. Discover a new soup. We decide that this time will be different, that we can eat moderately.

12:19 p.m. Order soup, salad, and breadsticks. Request extra breadsticks with order. Uh oh.

12:25 p.m. Food arrives. Demolish salad bowl. Salad is light and crunchy. Discuss how the dressing is probably $1.09 at the store. Eat 1 breadstick.

12:30 p.m. Eat some soup. Eat 1 breadstick. Feel confident that we can finish lunch without an overdose. I believe this is referred to as hubris in Greek mythology.

12:40: p.m. Request the check. Eat what’s left in the salad bowl. Decide we’re full.

12:42 p.m. Order more soup. Eat 1 breadstick.

12:50: p.m. Definitely feeling full now. Eat 1 breadstick. On a sugar high. Food coma seems inevitable.

12:52: p.m. Hyper on carbs, giggle the entire way back to the car. Estimate crash will come in about 9 minutes.

1:01 p.m. Car is in park in the garage, and can only lie back against seats enjoying “easy listening” music. Work seems nearly impossible.

1:02 p.m. In a state of fullness that can only be described as meditative. Attempting to walk back to desk is difficult.

1:03 p.m. Stare at monitor.

Hello, Friday!

It’s a payday, which brings me a good, glowy feeling and makes me feel that I can afford to splash out and take myself to lunch. Olive Garden’s soup, salad, and breadsticks here I come! This is a pretty big deal since I go out to lunch about every other month. The rest of the weeks are brown-bag central in my world. I like that in its own way too, but am already counting down the hours until my glorious restaurant lunch.

I had a wonderful road trip last night, accompanied by a few favorite artists blasting through my speakers: Common, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, The Streets, and—because I got moderately lost, and needed something relaxing—The New Pornographers and Mike Doughty. Driving moderate to long distances is fun because I can immerse myself in music differently than any other time. Car trips always help me to reflect on the sound without much distraction.

Robin Williams put on a fun show. His energy level is pretty manic; I’ve no idea how to maintain that level of sustained intensity. The general crowd was a bit older, but we all laughed loudly, clapping in synchronized bursts at particularly amusing moments.

As promised, I uploaded a photo of my free-form (weekly) pizza from Wednesday evening. I topped it with a few tablespoons of Newman’s Own garlic pasta sauce, torn chunks of buffalo mozzarella, caramelized onions, and thin slices of red bell pepper. I also mixed in a couple of teaspoons of dried herbs (oregano, basil, parsley) and parmesan cheese when I was making the crust.

I”m eagerly anticipating a relaxing weekend that’s pretty unplanned so far. That leaves room for spontaneous adventures, beginning tonight!

Inquiring minds want to know: what’s your ideal Friday evening?

Trying to combat the Terrible Tuesdays (a poor night’s sleep, a 30-minute public transit delay, spilling tea on the bottom third of my pants, among other things) with a random few positive thoughts:

Beautiful fall weather, first off. I went apple picking in not-on-the-map Syria, VA for the Graves Mountain Apple Harvest Festival. It was everything a country festival should be: apple butter donuts, fresh apple cider, bluegrass music, goats, cows, and hay bales. I wound up with a big bag of from-the-tree apples for only $4!

This was my first time making friends with an apple tree.Michael Pollan’s article for The New York Times titled “Farmer in Chief,” on sustainable international agriculture and the local food movement was an interesting read. He does a great job of presenting facts in an engaging way. Be forewarned—it’s a 9-page article.

On that note, I love libraries. At the rate I read (i.e. like lightening), free books are a must. On hold for me this week are:
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Cringe: Teenage Diaries, Journals, Notes, Letters, Poems, and Abandoned Rock Operas by Sarah Brown

My lunch of homemade lentil soup today was very satisfying. Soup in cold weather is the best! If you are interested the recipe is as follows:

1. Cook a small diced onion and a couple of sliced carrots in a little olive oil at the bottom of a huge soup pot.
2. When the onions are translucent (don’t worry if the carrots are still crunchy), throw in a few teaspoons of herbs you like. I used oregano, parsley, and basil.
3. Pour in a carton (4 cups) of stock. I prefer organic vegetable stock, but you could also use chicken stock. Top off with 2 cups of water.
4. Open a 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes, and drop the whole thing, liquid and all into the pot.
5. Rinse about 1 ½ cups of lentils (buy the greenish/brownish kind, my preferred brand is Goya for most legumes) in your sink, then add them.
6. Cover the pot and leave at a gentle boil for about an hour and a half, stirring every 20 minutes or so.
7. Soup is done when lentils are tender. If you’ve boiled away too much liquid, and depending on how much broth you like in your soup, feel free to add in a cup or so more water towards the end. I usually serve with bread, apples, and cheese.

I’m also looking forward to tonight. I’ve made plans to drink a margarita on the rocks and go see Vicky Cristina Barcelona downtown, which should be delicious and relaxing. I’ve heard good things so I hope the movie doesn’t disappoint!

So, what’s getting you through today? Come on baby, light my fire.