Easily Pleased

I Like it Tart

2006-11-20T15:35:00.000-08:00

Here in the USA it's Thanksgiving week, and so it's time to begin prepping for the feast on Thursday. We're going over to a friend's house for an "orphan's Thanksgiving" - a mishmash of everyone who isn't traveling to visit family and who doesn't have family in town (ie: everyone I know).

I always make homemade cranberry sauce in these cases, because occasionally you get to a feast like this and NOBODY HAS BROUGHT CRANBERRY SAUCE! Which, as you can tell from the caps, is a massive transgression. Truth be told, the stuffing and all that other stuff is actually a vehicle for good cranberry sauce. I feel the same way about chutneys and plum sauces, mint jelly... they are the real reason to eat! Mmmm.

So, I went with a classic this year. First, the fresh cranberries.

I put about 5 cups of them in a big bowl of water to wash them, which reminds me of how cranberries are actually harvested. They grow on bushes in a low-lying, sandy-soil field (a cranberry marsh), and then when it's time to harvest, the farmer floods the field and the cranberries float to the surface! Then, they scoot around in boats gathering up all the berries. The fields are drained, and the same bushes grow the cranberries perenially. Cool, eh?

I also cut up some oranges - best to get organic, since we'll be using the whole orange.

Then, put the cranberries, oranges and about 2 cups of sugar in a bowl and go to town with a stick mixer. Or you could put it all through a food processor, or, do like my mom and use your old-fashioned meat grinder!

I prefer a little less sugar and I leave it pretty chunky.

If you want to, you can get clever and add some fresh ginger (very nice) or pomegranate seeds or walnuts or whatever you like. I don't find it necesary to can it properly so long as you eat it within a couple months. The chemical make-up of those crans won't let anything grow in there, even with the sugar. But don't quote me on that. Disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer.

Make this a few days ahead at least. It's WAY better once all the flavors have had a chance to mingle and mellow.

Tomorrow I'll make some Jalapeño Corn Bread and head over for a delicious meal.

Happy Tofurkey Day, everybody!

If Mrs. C. Was a Fruit

2006-10-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

These are dried Marionberries. I found them at the organic co-op in a bulk bin. (Not to be confused with the Congressman from Arkansas. Or the Former mayor of Washington, DC. It would be real weird to find the Congressman or the Mayor in a bulk bin, and quite dehydrated, at that.)

At first I thought they were blackberries (they are similar) but then this dude next to me buying nutritional yeast (not to be confused with... oh... never mind) told me to buy some, that they're spetacular.

So, of course I slyly looked left, right, and checked for security cameras, then snagged a Marionberry and gave it a taste. Hmmm! Delicious! Chewy and very very berry-tasting. No big seeds like blackberries have. I bought a big bag and brought them home. They were tasty on top of my cereal the next day and turned my tongue bright purple. Bonus!

In Honor of Grandma Sue

2006-10-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made a cake. I made it in honor of my cousin's grandma, Sue, who passed away recently. I never had the good fortune of meeting her, but she was loved by many and left quite a legacy. She used to make a special cake that everyone loved, called Sue's 1-2-3-4 Marble Cake.

Here are some of the magical ingredients:

Can't go wrong, right? Here's the recipe, as it was passed on to me:

It was very easy to make, and I used some whole-wheat flour (I figured Sue wouldn't mind me fiddling with the recipe a little since she famously fiddled with it herself!

It was delicious! Thank you, Grandma Sue!

...And a Side of Gag Reflex, Please.

2006-10-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

Wanna ruin your appetite? If so, check out this photoshop contest of unappetizing food. Some of it is truly revolting. It's funny how we can have such a visceral reaction to the wrong combination of sweet and savoury. The photo above is titled "Herring in Aspic". Not the best flavor for a cocolate-covered ice-cream. Gulp. With pickles, no less.

But then, why are chocolate covered pretzels so good? Mmmm.

Make sure to scroll down each page for full enjoyment.

Cocoa Beans - Who Knew?

2006-10-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

I love chocolate. Hardcore. And look, I know a lot of people love chocolate. It's not that original or anything, so I'm just stating a fact. And I discovered something so great this week:

Whole cocoa beans! They were in a bulk bin at the local organic food co-op. Which means they are organic whole cocoa beans. Bonus. They are about the size of almonds.

I picked one out of the bin and thought, "I wonder what the heck you're supposed to do with these?" And I did what every curious foodie does, I bit into it. Eureka! So that's where those popular "cocoa nibs" come from!

I bought some and brought them home, where I crushed them a little and removed the outer skins. Now I have a pile of pure, organic cocoa nibs.

Chocolate at its purest. It's not sweet at this point, of course, but is slightly bitter and very cocoa-y. I have a friend who uses the nibs in his chocolate mousse - a great counterbalance to the sweetness and richness of the mousse. I happen to like just eating them as they are, but I might try using them in baking or roasting them.

Who needs a 86% cocoa chocolate bar when you can have a mouthfull of 100% coco bean?

Them Balls

2006-09-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

Last time I ate dim sum in NYC I neglected to take a photo of the best part. But this time I did not forget! Here they are, hot fried glutinous rice balls (about the size of small apples) covered in sesame seeds and filled with sweet bean paste. These are the apex of deliciousness. The dim sum lady with the dessert cart snipped them in half with some scissors. (ouch!)

The photo really doesn't do them justice. If you've never tried these, make for your nearest dim sum resto and grab some balls!

Pasta Sauce Ikasumi Special

2006-08-20T18:30:00.000-07:00

I love to try new things from the Japanese grocery in my neighborhood. This week, I picked up some packets of "spaghetti sauce" - my usual favorites being ume (pickled plum) and spicy tobiko (flying fish roe with some chili sauce). I tell you, they are delicious!

This time, I saw a packet called Pasta Sauce Ikasumi on the SPECIALS shelf.

Ok, I thought, I love ika (squid/cuttlefish) so this will probably be good. Lemme read the ingredients:

Corn syrup, tomato, olive oil, cuttlefish, onion, salt, garlic, anchovy, MSG. Sounds good to me! And the photo here looks good - some friendly ingredients... and obviously a little squid ink for color...

I planned to put some tasty tsukemono on top. Pickled garlic with shiso...

Delicious yamagobo (pickled burdock)...

Well, I cooked up some spaghetti and as soon as I squished the sauce packet on there, I got, um... let's say a little apprehensive. Jesus. What is that, tar?

So I mixed it around thinking, ok, it's just a little more squid ink than I was expecting. Ha ha heh! Hmmm.

Ok cool. No biggie. Squid ink's a delicacy, right? And I'm sure it'll taste awesome.

Well, it friggin' did not taste awesome, it tasted like the bottom of a crowded fishbowl that has never been cleaned. Plus salt. And an anchovy aftertaste. And what's worse, they don't call it INK for nothing. That crap dyed my tongue black. I don't even want to know what it did to my insides. If I pee or poo black, I'm gonna have a conniption.

Never mind my Vader guts, look what it did to my pretty Japanese noodle bowl (and ruined a pair of bamboo chopstix)! And this is AFTER WASHING WITH DISH SOAP!

Okay. So. What lessons have I learned for today?

1) When something is on the SALE shelf, in ANY store, no matter how much you like the store, there is probably a reason.

2) Learn how to read Japanese. Because I am quite sure that package says, "Joke Sauce Funnytime! Feed to Gaijin Friends and Make Celebrate Laughter Forever!"

3) If something looks really black and forboding, don't eat it. It's ok to throw it away. It doesn't make you a wuss (yes it does).

Anybody want the other packet? It came with two...

NYC: Candy Fun

2006-07-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

My sweet tooth was acting up (nothing new) so we headed into Dylan's Candy Bar.

They've got quite a nice selection of bulk candies and a good selection of retro, foreign and hard-to-find treats. For example, if you love Violet Crumble from Australia or any Cadbury's from the UK or Sugar Babies, you can find them all at Dylan's.

It's slightly overpriced, in my opinion, but that serves as a good deterrant to completely rotting out one's teeth.

So, over at the main bulk candy area, I met these two little girls. They had some cool Dylan's treasure boxes and were filling them up. You get an empty box for a certain fixed price (I think it was like $16 or something?) and then you can fill it up completely with whatever candies you like.

I would have LOVED this as a kid. Organizing and categorizing candy. Type-A bliss.

NYC: A Walk in Chinatown

2006-07-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

Went to Chinatown for dim sum. On the way, we checked out the awesome seafood selections. Beautiful shrimp, giant prawns, softshell crab (there at the bottom of the photo in the boxes), fish and other...

Wish I had gotten some close-ups because this was some delicious-looking fare...

We walked on. At one Chinatown storefront, I saw a man looking in a trashcan and thought, "It's sad that people have to look for leftovers in the trash." But then more people came up and started looking in. Seemed strange, so I took a look...

AAARRRGGGHHH! And they were alive and squiggling. Gulp. I daresay frog soup is on the menu in quite a few households tonight.

Then we stopped and had dim sum. I did not take photos but the flat shrimp noodles were especially tasty. And for dessert... I ate a delicious sesame ball. It's a fried ball of rice gluten covered all over with sesame seeds with sweet bean paste in the middle. The perfect finish to dim sum.

But had I not just eaten that ball of love, I might have been tempted to buy this:

A GIANT jar of Nutella. Found it on the top shelf of an Italian grocery right at the edge (or now within?) of Chinatown. It's hard to tell from the photo just how giant it was. The smaller Nutella jars you see there are the extra-large size that you can find in some Costco-type places. So that mega one is really huge. Imagine the toast you could slather with that!

MD: Crabshack Love

2006-05-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! Long time no post. Sorry 'bout that, and thanks to all of you who emailed to check up on me. Let's cut right to the chase and get to the food!

Mother's Day made for the perfect excuse to go to Harris Crab House near Annapolis, MD and chow down on some delicious crustaceans cooked in the way that only Chesapeake Bay Area residents know how to do: boiled up in spicy Old Bay seasoning and dumped on a brown paper-covered table for the enjoyment of all.

If you know what I'm talkin' about, then enjoy the show. If you think this sounds crazy, read on and immediately take a trip to that part of the country to partake!

Here's a little shot of a dock on the bay just to set the scene.

And now we go inside!

The pretty waitress has just come to the the table, and never has our hungry demonstrator been so happy to get crabs!

The crabs are encrusted with Harris' special salty crusty stuff. If you take anything away from this exposé, it should be that YOU CANNOT EAT CRABS WITHOUT COPIOUS BEVERAGES. They are salty and spicy and YOU WILL DIE if you don't hydrate constantly.

The number one best thing to have is a pitcher of beer all to yourself. But other drinks work well, too, such as pink lemonade mixed with water. (Water on it's own won't do it. You need something sweet to cut the heat. Carbonated sodas are ok but the carbonation can kinda hurt if you get a really spicy crab.)

Ok all set. Now, here's how you eat a crab. You can do the legs before or after, our demonstrator has chosen to go for the lump-meat innards first. Lift up the little tail flap...

Then insert your thumbs and pull the top apart from the bottom...

Mmm! Now see those feathery thigies on the top part of the photo? Those are the gills, and not edible so pull them off. Then crack that same part in half and you will get a delicious gift of lucious lumpmeat. It takes some pickin', but that's the whole point!

Now, for the legs and claws, you'll need some tools.

People use different techniques, but basically you want to hammer with a good, quick wrist-action (as opposed to lifting your arm up over your head to smash - this is how we spot n00bs). Give it a good snap to crack the shell.

Then you can eat the meat!

In the end, you're left with a massive pile of exoskeleton. The bigger the pile, the cooler you are. Your lips may be swolen up like Lisa Rinna on a bad day from all the salt, but you will be admired by all who witness the carnage.

Some sides that go along nicely with crab are slaw (cools the mouth)...

And fries...

These people had the right idea. If there's no springtime rain, eating crabs outside is very best!

Wheat Berries a la Esiry Preased*

2006-04-12T17:19:00.000-07:00

Ok first you take some soft wheat berries (whole, unprocessed wheat kernels), cooked slowly in rice cooker.

Add steamed broccoli, red bell pepper, edamame. Let cool.

Toss in a selection of random seaweeds and tsukemono, including takuan, little onions and sweet red "munchies" (don't know what these are but I always buy them).

Drizzle on rice vinegar, mirin, soy sauce, toasted sesame seeds, sesame oil, a few drops of red pepper oil, black pepper, and dried red shiso flakes. And admittedly, a few other things may have been tossed in as well, not sure!

Oh yep, like chopped crimini mushrooms - I see them in the photo. So there ya go.

Little shake of nori flakes on top and grab your stix! And how.

*The title is in homage to the Engrish of my old university roomate, Miyuki. Great sense of humor and man could she cook. But she couldn't say the letter "L" for the life of her. (And I speak little Japanese, so she wins.)

I Heart Michal Pollan

2006-04-08T16:05:00.000-07:00

There's a super Michael Pollan interview on Salon today by Ira Boudway. If you care about food, and I know you do, check it out.

And buy Pollan's new book, The Omnivore's Dilemma : A Natural History of Four Meals. I'm going to.

That's How You Get to Sushi School!

2006-04-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

First you take Palms, to Centinela... (sorry, really obscure reference here. Mostly to amuse a certain reader.)

We found our way and arrived for lunch at the California Sushi Academy where you get 2 pieces for 2 bucks... because it's the students who get to practice on you!

C'mon in!

Now, don't fret - these students are being trained by some very serious experts. And Sensei was there the whole time (just off screen to the left of what you see here), supervising and making them nervous, as any good sensei is wont to do.

The students were very friendly and attentive. Greeted us properly with loud Irashaimase! and got to work on our order. First we had a very nice bowl of miso soup that I have to say was better than even most upscale Japanese restos. It had a smoky dashi base, I am assuming made by way of bonito. And generous seaweed. Really delicious.

As for the sushi, there was not a lot of variety - no expensive stuff, as I ascertain it's mostly about their assembly skills. Everyone who listens to his or her Sensei knows that you can't do fancy until you have mastered the basics. And even then, it's about the zen of doing the basics with perfection. But I digress. For $2/2 pieces one really shouldn't be nit-picky. We had salmon nigiri, lightly seared albacore nigiri, tobiko gunkan-maki, tamago nigiri, a california roll and two salmon skin temaki.

I didn't take any photos of the food... suffice to say it looked fine, like average sushi, cleanly presented. The fish was fresh and well-cut. My main constructive criticisms are as follows...

1) I am not very knowlegeable when it comes to this type of roll, but I like when salmon skin in a salmon skin roll is crispy and quite warm. Part of the fun is texture and temperature play between that warmness and cold ingredients like cucumber. Today's was flubbery and just slightly lukewarm... as if it had been microwaved? I assume in a larger operation they place the skin in the fryer (where the tempura goes)... right? Or maybe on a very hot grill. In any case, I missed the crispiness.

2) The rice was not properly prepared. It was either undercooked or dried out. I am not expert enough to tell you which, but it was distractingly dry. And as Partner in Crime noticed, it also did not seem to be seasoned at all - needed some vinegar and some sweet undertone. Not sure what happened here, but you gotta get the rice right. As I once heard it said, true sushi is about the rice - the slices of fish in nigiri are actually "condiments" eaten to compliment the rice which is the main feature.

All of it was most certainly edible. And inexpensive. And we would go back on another day purely out of continued curiosity about the process of learning this tremendous skill. I mention these details because these are students and are learning, and you can tell they care! I think opening the door to lunch customers is a super idea.

Here is their wall of fame with all the graduates of the Academy. Onward, fine students! We shall return!

Nice Stack!

2006-04-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

I bought some quinoa flakes from the bulk bin at the health food store the other day. Quinoa is a supergrain (actually a superseed) because it's a whole protein!

Had no idea what to do with the flakes, but figured they were like rolled oats, only made from quinoa. I was about to make some hot cereal, but then I got another idea.

I combined the quinoa flakes with water and eggs. Mixed it all up and poured into a griddle to make....

Quinoa Breakfast Cakes with blueberry maple syrup (Vermont pure maple syrup heated up with some frozen wild blueberries, then reduced) and dollop of low-fat sour cream.

And then I thought, "Hey, I'm tired of all this flirting, let's go all the way." And I added hulled hemp seeds, flax seeds and sliced organic bananas that I pushed into the batter once it was spooned onto the griddle. I served this version with melted sunflower seed butter.

I made a bunch of extras that I froze. They will be reheated in the toaster oven for another breakfast, or more likely, made into naughty ice cream sandwiches.

It's So Easy Eating Greenz

2006-03-31T13:30:00.000-08:00

I got some interesting greens at the farmer's market.

The name escapes me, something like "broccoli spirella" comes to mind but I tried looking that up online and can't find reference. Mystery greens! If anyone has a guess (or knows) please comment.

Anyway, these greens were really delicious. I discarded the stems (too twiggy) and sautéed the spiral leaves in olive oil with onions, garlic and a little salt.

Wow! Really yum. And it doesn't taste anything like broccoli... maybe there's no connection. It is not like rapini, it's completely different. I would say more like the texture and tase of the resulting baby that would be born if kale got busy with collard.

I will buy more, even if I have to run around asking for it as "that green squiggly stuff."

Now I Might Have to Like Wal*Mart?

2006-03-25T17:51:00.000-08:00

Wal*Mart goes organic. Holy crap. And MSC certified seafood, too? Somebody wake me up...

Thin Mints: Delicious Discs of Death

2006-03-19T16:44:00.000-08:00

Those are Thin Mints, straight out of the freezer, hazed by a little condensation. Yum.

One thing about buying Girl Scout cookies is that you feel like you're doing something good AND you get a tasty treat out of the process. That's why this type of fundraising has worked for so many years. Anyway, I was SOOO stoked when my local Girl Scout returned late last week with my Thin Mints!

I popped 2 or 3 in my mouth (ok, 7 or 8...) and happened to glance at the package. Cute GS's doing some rock climbing or rapelling, and the side of the box says "You'd be surprised what a Girl Scout Cookie® can build: Strong Values, Strong Minds, Strong Bodies, Strong Spirit, Strong Friendships, Strong Skills, Strong Leadership, Strong Community."

Ok, I'll buy that. Well, I already did, right? But then I switched around to the other side of the box and took a gander at the nutritional info. Wha?! No! These suckers have 4g of saturated fat and 1 g of trans fat! PER FOUR COOKIES PEOPLE. That means I just ate 8 friggin grams of sat fat and 2 of trans fat. Great. So much for Strong Arteries.

This really pissed me off, I have to say. And while I was, admitedly, still enjoying the aftertaste of the chocomint flavor I love so much, I sat down to scribble an email to Girl Scouts of America:

Hello Girl Scouts. I supported your program this year by buying a box of Thin Mints, a longtime favorite. I am dismayed to see that they contain not only a relatively large amount of saturated fats, but also TRANS FATS! I think it is disingenuous for the Girl Scouts (of all people) to be selling a product that is proven bad for people. Many baked-goods companies have taken steps to reduce saturated fats and remove trans fats from their products. I hope you will do the same, or this is my last time buying. Thanks for your time.

I don't expect I will ever hear back. But you know you'll read about it right here if I do!

On a positive tip, the amazing Heidi at 101 Cookbooks has devised a recipe for healthi(er) Thin Mints. Good on ya, Heidi!

In a Gotta da Beeta, Baby

2006-03-16T10:15:00.000-08:00

Mmm! Dinner was a most tastetastical Roasted Veggies atop Fusilli wid Garlic Butterbean Wine Sauce. That's a mouthful, no? It features the last organic ingredient from my delivery box: beets.

Beets are sweet and delicious and are high in folate and potassium. The tops contain lots of calcium and iron. The best thing about beets, though, is they make your pee pink and your poo red! (So don't forget you ate beets for dinner or you might get a real scare the next day.)

I cut up beets and carrots. Also a red onion. Coated lightly in oil and herbs, roasted for 1 hour at 400 degrees. See all the veggies so happy in their roasting pan?

The sauce for the pasta was 10 cloves of garlic, 1 1/2 cups vege soup stock, 1 cup white wine, black pepper and Aromat (flavored salt). I reduced it way down and added a can of butter beans, including about 1/4 of the juice. Reduced some more until thicker. Added a pat of butter right at the end. Served over whole wheat fusilli.

Gobble.

Rhussel Up a Lhassi

2006-03-13T16:39:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by my foodbloggy friend Arjuna who made a mango lhassi as a side for a fritatta she made recently. I wrote, asking how to make a mango lhassi, as I have always loved these at Indian restaurants.

Little did I know a lhassi was so easy... mango purée, plain yogurt and Arjuna informed me that I could also put in cardamom. Of course! That's the magical flavour - all of a sudden it's obvious why I love a mango lhassi so much.

I LOVE cardamom, and any chance to use it is glee! The best chocolate bar I ever tasted was chocolate with a cardamom infusion. If anyone knows where I might find another one of these I will make you 1,000 golden lhassis.

Aren't these lovely cardamom pods? (Ok, maybe slightly dried out, but still good...

But it's the little inside seeds you want...

Crush and inhale the scent of the gods. I often drop 3 or 4 pods into my tea in the morning. Now you know my secret.

Po' Man's Paella

2006-03-10T08:05:00.000-08:00

So check it. It was late, I was tired, hungry, and I wanted something hot to eat. There was not much in the house by way of food, so I started rooting around. About 20 minutes later this was dinner:

That's right, foodtastical friends. A tasty meal that's somewhere above white trash and somewhere below authentic. And I did it faster and less annoyingly than Rachael What's Her Name.

Into large pan:
leftover brown & wild rice cooked earlier in the week and frozen in a baggie
frozen peas
frozen artichoke hearts (Trader Joe's)
can of clam sauce (Trader Joe's)
can of fire-roasted tomatoes
teaspoon of Vegeta soup base
turmeric for yellowness (I had no saffron on hand)

Into frying pan:
Tofurkey Italian sausages, cut into long discs and fried golden brown

Instructions:
cook it all up.

I am telling you, it was really damn good for being made almost entirely from stuff that came out of the freezer or cans! Partner in Crime said, "Wow! How'd you make gumbo so quick?!" I said, standing akimbo, "It is not gumbo, it is paella". He said, "Whatever. Can we eat it now or are you going to take pictures of it all night?"

We put some habanero hot sauce on top and it was tasty.

Bodacious FriTaTa of the Organic Variety

2006-03-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

I know, I know... Fritattas are usually the bastard of the kitchen - what chefs tend to make when there are leftover odds and ends around and cash flow is low. But I assure you, this is no garbage-disposal variety 'TaTa, this is a Bodacious Organic one!

It features this fresh, delicious Red Chard from my box of organics...

Mmm! Chopity chop...

I started with a gigantic amount of carmelized onions on the bottom of the pan for a carmelly "crust". Then poured in a mixture of 6 'ganic, free-range eggies, a can of organic fire-roasted tomatoes, plenty of grated Parmigiano Reggiano and various herbs and spices.

Then I laid (a LOT of) steamed chard all over and pressed it down solid. (Because I happen to like dense, flat 'TaTas. You might prefer puffy 'TaTas, this is your perogative.) Broiled with some more parm on top for finishing.

I served it with 'ganic quinoa with Cuban-style black beans and a side of 'ganic grape tomatoes with tarragon. Some chipotle salsa was nice on the side as well.

Okay, I am very happy with my organic delivery box and will likely do it again. Also, I am getting tired of hearing myself write the word "organic" so from now on, just assume all or most fruits and veggies on this site are such. I don't plan to get weird about it.

Ta ta!

Oscar™ Night Organic Celery & Cauli Soup with Fresh Tarragon

2006-03-05T14:45:00.000-08:00

Straight from the organic delivery box into the pot and then down the gullet! This soup was delicious hot and even better the next day served cold.

I'd like to bring it to your attention that I concocted (heh heh I said coc!) the soup to be the exact same color as my Blogger background. Yes, it is because I am such a dedicated blogger and I know you foodreaders will appreciate my dedication to style and form. I love yous for that.

ADDITIONALLY this soup matches the color of 90% of dresses worn to the Academy Awards. You see, this is v. important in an Oscar-day posting! Coordination at all costs.

So basically...

1 head celery
1 head cauliflower
3 onions
3 scallions
1 TBSP butter
fresh tarragon
fresh ground black pepper
freshly-grated nutmeg
sea salt
unsweetened soy milk
a bit of sweetened almond milk
cayenne to taste
dash of vinegar

cayenne or paprika & creme fraiche, sour cream or soy yogurt for garnish if desired

Today I ate one of the organic mangoes from the delivery box - oooooh! It was magically delicious. Mangoes (good ones) are perhaps one of the best tasting things on the planet. I am not religious, but a good mango gets me thinking about thanking someone for that taste. Can I get a witness, people?

Partner in Crime states that the 'ganic pears and apples are also tasty. The little grape tomatoes are not as sweet as the organic mixed yellow/red ones we get from trader Joes, but not bad. But Organic Express' test is not done yet!

Organic Deliverance

2006-03-02T12:44:00.000-08:00

Yay! It's here!

This guy thought I was nutters for snapping a photo of him in delivery mode.

And here it is, the moment we've all been waiting for.

Ahhh! A box of organic delight!

I have to say, the produce is beautiful. The Swiss chard is perfect, the beets and tops are perfect, the fruit looks wonderful.

Is this enough stuff to warrant $29? Well, I didn't have to shop for it, and it's a great selection. I will have to do the math. Stay tuned for taste tests and cooking adventures.

Time to Go 'Ganic

2006-02-26T12:13:00.000-08:00

When I answered the 5 Cooking Challenges meme about a month ago, I stated that one of my goals was to try organic delivery. I thought this would force me to eat more organic, which I know I should do. See, when shopping, I sometimes can't successfully get past the price comparison or the fact that the non-organic stuff frequently looks better to the eye.

But organic almost always tastes better for reals, and this week, I read this UPI report on a study that was just published. And I quote, "Children who switched their diets for only a few days to organic foods dramatically and immediately lowered the amount of toxic pesticides in their bodies, researchers report."

I am not a child (at least in body) but I don't want those nasty-ass neurotoxins in my system, either. And my fridge happens to be nearly empty of veggies except for a bag of organic carrots and some limp non-organic broccoli. Perfect timing!

So, I just went to my local organic delivery's website and signed up. I am so excited. (Ok, reminder that you're reading a FOOD BLOG here, we're allowed to spaz about a delivery of vegetables and fruit to our doorstep.)

It was super easy to sign up - I just picked a box size ($29 or $39) and checked off the items that I DON'T want to receive (like, carrots, for example, because I already have some). My town's organic delivery allows you to do a one-box delivery OR sign up for regular deliveries. I'm doing a one-time test drive.

The box will be here in 2 days. Stay tuned.

Gettin' 2 kno U: Meme of 4

2006-02-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

To all my fabtabulous readers who have emailed, I apologize that I've not been posting in the past little while. This happens sometimes when actual (non digital) life cuts into blogtime. But I'm still here, and...

Well whaddaya know! I been tagged by Liz from Good Stuff for the famous Meme of Four. And though I blog anonymously (mysterious, non?) I will answer the call without blowing my awesome disguise.

4 jobs you have had:
• Lifeguard at local pool
• Food Server
• Salesperson at bike store and surf store
• MYSTERY JOB! (I blog anonymously, so don't want to say what I do as a "career". But someday I will come out!)

4 movies you could watch over and over:
• River's Edge - starring Keanu Reeves and Ione Skye at their best as young actors, also classic Crispin Glover and Dennis Hopper.
• Lord of the Rings - these will never get old. Best trilogy ever made.
• Good Will Hunting - solely because of the acting in scenes between Robin Williams and Matt Damon. Precisely why acting is art.
• Grease - if I need to explain, you wouldn't understand

4 TV shows you love to watch:
• Inside the Actor's Studio - did you see Chapelle? Brilliant.
• NBA - my favorite team is sucking ass, tho
• Project Runway - you either in or you out
• My Name is Earl - some of the best comedic acting and writing out there. I heart Randy Hickey

4 places you have been on vacation:
• southern Spain
• Sydney, Australia
• New York, NY
• St. Thomas, VI

4 websites you visit daily:
• Food Porn Watch
• Huffington Post
• BoingBoing
• Netflix

4 of your favorite foods*:
• sushi - mmmmm... uni, ikura, and Tokyo-style
• Asian food in general - i figure this covers a whole whack of foods that I love and love to cook
• chocolate - this is not merely a food though
• persimmons, pomelos, mangoes and avocadoes... and arugula. and kabocha. and quinoa.

*disclaimer - this category is pretty much impossible to answer in "four"

4 places you would rather be right now:
• I
• am
• here
• now.

4 bloggers you are tagging:
• any ho' who wants this meme. let me know and I will
• put
• you
• here