Jan 21

The Internal iTunes

I have a weird memory for music. Sometimes a song I haven’t heard in years will suddenly pop into my head, complete with lyrics and the right musical arrangement. The scientific term for this phenomenon is earworm. I prefer to think of it as my internal iTunes.

There are bad earworms and good earworms. The bad ones are sappy pop tunes where the choruses can run through my brain for days. An example of good earworms occurred in the last two weeks, after learning of the deaths of David Bowie and Glenn Frey. I’ll admit that I don’t know much of Bowie’s oeuvre, but “Space Oddity”, “Changes”, “Young Americans”, and “Under Pressure” came to mind. This week the internal iTunes featured “New Kid in Town”, “Desperado”, “Best of My Love”, “Lying Eyes” , and “Heartache Tonight”. After seeing the latest Bernie Sanders political ad, the complete version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “America” appeared.

Tomorrow I’ll probably return to something more aggravating. I don’t dare mention an example, lest it get stuck in my internal iTunes for days.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/01/21/the-internal-itunes/

Jan 17

Democratic Debate Drinking Game Postmortem

It’s a good thing I didn’t participate. Donald Trump would have given me an epic hangover. He was mentioned more than any of the other terms combined.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/01/17/democratic-debate-drinking-game-postmortem/

Jan 17

Democratic Debate Drinking Game

Julian said, “I may need hard liquor for this.” So we devised a drinking game. Not that I’m going to have any alcohol, since I had a beer mourning the Seahawks’ loss.

Income Inequality: Take a drink.

Progressive: Take a drink.

Top 1%: Take a drink.

Donald Trump: Two shots. (Julian made the universal sign of a pistol to the temple.)

Results later.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/01/17/democratic-debate-drinking-game/

Jan 15

I Got Your New York Values Right Here, Bubba!

We were out celebrating Julian’s birthday last night, so we didn’t watch the Republican debate. I read about the disparagement of New York values by Senator Ted Cruz, and my native Upstate New Yorker blood commenced to boil. First, I don’t want my values conflated with Donald Trump’s. Second, I lived in Dallas for 10 years and got a glimpse of some of the worst of Texas values by their politicians. This isn’t to disrespect my friends who are from Texas and who still live there. However, let’s compare and contrast New York values versus Texas values in a few areas:

Highest-Paid State Employee

New York: The chief of Gynecologic Oncology at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, ~$500,000

Texas: The University of Texas football coach, $5.1 million

Source: http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/09/11/highest-paid-employee-in-each-state/

Percent Uninsured, Adult

New York 8.7%

Texas 19.06% (highest in US)

Percent Uninsured, Children

New York 3.26%

Texas 11.03% (highest in US)

Source: https://wallethub.com/edu/rates-of-uninsured-by-state-before-after-obamacare/4800/

Minimum Wage

New York $9.00/hour

Texas $7.25/hour

Source: http://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wage-chart.aspx

Yes, I cherrypicked these statistics. (Who doesn’t?) These reflect MY New York values.

 

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/01/15/i-got-your-new-york-values-right-here-bubba/

Jan 14

Postscripts to “Tasty Rules”

I’m not one who subscribes to feeding my friends only pre-tested recipes. I’ve experimented on my family and friends so many times that they should sign consent forms every time I feed them.

As luck would have it, about the time I uploaded Michele’s post I got an email from our mutual former roommate Suzanne. (I took Michele’s room in the apartment when she graduated.) Suzanne’s son is working his way through music school at Boston University at a gourmet grocery store called Pantry, and had one of his recipes featured on the website. By sheer coincidence, it’s a recipe for chicken with figs, polenta, and arugula.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/01/14/postscripts-to-tasty-rules/

Jan 13

Shrimp and Grits

I lived in North Carolina and Texas for many years, but never tried shrimp and grits until we moved to the Northwest. Most recipes I’ve seen involve obscene amounts of bacon fat, butter, and cream. I may work with cardiologists and heart surgeons, but I don’t want to become one of their patients. So I produced a quick gemisch with what I had hanging around the fridge:

I made grits for two people, using chicken broth as the liquid. I altered the ratio of liquid to grits to keep them a bit on the thin side. Adding salt wasn’t necessary, thanks to the broth. While the grits were cooking, I frizzled up some Canadian-style bacon in a nonstick pan. I removed the bacon, added a little olive oil, and briefly sautéed a shallot. I then threw some peeled, deveined shrimp into the pan. I cooked them until they were cooked, adding a little Cajun seasoning along the way. Just before serving, I grated some Parmesan cheese and stirred it into the grits. The shrimp and grits were served with steamed kale.  This was a relatively quick dinner, since I used quick grits.

This dish can be gemisched in a number of ways. The shrimp mixture can be augmented with bell pepper, celery, or tomatoes. Cheddar cheese can be substituted for Parmesan. Ham can be substituted for bacon. Even vegetarians can use vegetable broth in the grits and red beans or black-eyed peas in place of the meat. Of course, then it’s beans and grits.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/01/13/shrimp-and-grits/

Jan 13

Tasty Rules!

From time to time I’ll post content from others. Julian’s already posted one or two items. Today’s feature is by my longtime friend Michele. Enjoy!
I’ve tried to teach my daughter the rule of thumb that the first time you make a recipe, you should follow it exactly, to see how it is supposed to taste. After that, feel free to tweak. Of course, some recipes are easier to tweak than others – pastry being the hardest.

There’s another “rule,” so I understand, that says something about not trying recipes for the first time for company. What if it fails? Won’t this be embarrassing on two levels: the food isn’t tasty and guests might go home hungry? (I suppose that embarrassment could work the other way: guests would be too embarrassed not to eat and, thus, go home full albeit not satisfied.)

But, as many people have done before, I brazenly ignored both these “rules” last Thanksgiving. I wanted to serve the traditional sweet potatoes, but not plain baked (too boring) and I’ve never understood the appeal of sweet potato casseroles. Fortunately, Jerusalem, A Cookbook, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi (Ten Speed Press, 2012) offered a recipe for “Roasted sweet potatoes & fresh figs.” The supporting text rhapsodizes on the glories—and availability—of fresh figs in Jerusalem, and reports that the success of this dish “wholly depends… on the figs being sweet, moist, and perfectly ripe.”

Yes… well… I live in the northeast (no local figs, ever) and it’s winter, so what the heck. I bought a pint of dried black mission figs from Trader Joe’s and forged ahead. The result was wonderful, and my guests thought so too!

So, the heck with cooking rules! Tasty rules!

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/01/13/tasty-rules/

Jan 09

Thunder Thighs

Turkey thighs deserve a little respect. Sometimes they’re cheaper than chicken thighs, and can be used in the same way as their more diminutive counterparts. One thigh can easily feed two people. You also have a hefty-sized bone to gnaw on in the middle of the thigh.
Earlier this week I made a recipe out of Bon Appétit that called for a whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds). After browning the chicken on all sides in an ovenproof frying pan, one puts sliced fennel, parsnips, scallions, and lemon zest in the bottom of the pan, places the bird atop the veggies, and bakes at 425° until the chicken tests done. All of the birds at the grocery store were much bigger than that and would have been too large for our pans. So I grabbed a pair of turkey thighs and substituted them for the bird. I also added some shallots to the pan. Both of us were impressed. The parsnips practically dissolved into the mixture. This was good, because I was too lazy that night  to cut the woody core out of the vegetable. This is one gemisch we’ll try again.

 

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/01/09/thunder-thighs/

Jan 02

Pizza Raccoon

Friends, I can’t possibly make this stuff up. In addition to the pizza rat video that’s gone viral, another intrepid person with a smart phone captured a raccoon enjoying a slice in Central Park. I don’t think it’s a native New Yorker. It didn’t fold the slice to eat it.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/01/02/pizza-raccoon/

Jan 02

First Saturday in Seattle

We had to run downtown today to pick up some coffee beans for Julian. We figured that it would be a quiet Saturday without too much in the way of crowds. Wrongo bongo! The crowds resembled the height of tourist season, except there were more down jackets and fewer sandals being worn. Our first sign that something was a bit uncharacteristic of January was a line snaking around the flagship REI store. Everyone must have decided to redeem their gift cards today. Pike Place Market was slammed. Luckily, our friends at Long Provincial had plenty of room to accommodate us for lunch. A pork noodle bowl or duck soup is a great cure for chaos.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/01/02/first-saturday-in-seattle/

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