Author Archives: beyondpaisley

About beyondpaisley

All email will be gleefully made fun of. Is beyond paisley a geographic ideal or a state of mind?
Jun17

Nosh: Chapatis (Spiced Flatbread)

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Q:  Do you know how hard it can be to find a decent flatbread?

A:  It’s pretty difficult.  They’re either so overly-full of preservatives and additives to keep them pliable that their texture turns almost–weirdly–chalky, or the manufacturers think the right thing to do is coat them in some gooey spray oil, so you pull them out of the bag and immediately have to wipe off your fingers.  Yuck.

Related Q: Do you know how easy it is to make a decent flatbread?

Related A:  It’s actually quite easy.

So, chapatis.

To be fair, this is probably an Americanized version of the noble chapati and thanks to this and one other flatbread recipe I’ve played with in the past, I’m invested in learning more.  Full revelation: I should have used whole wheat flour (and will next time), and I probably could have rolled it out a little bit thinner (note to self: walk the five feet to the pantry and grab the rolling pin).  But.  This is an easy jumping-off point into the world of flatbreads, full of basic technique with a delicious outcome, so start here and then see what else you can do.

Here’s the recipe:

  • 1 cup flour (feel free to use whole wheat flour)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin (or coriander or ground fennel or nigella)
  • 2 teaspoons crushed garlic (2, 3, 4 cloves finely chopped, who’s counting?)
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons oil (olive oil has the best taste, but use what you have)

First, combine the flour, salt, cumin and garlic in a bowl.

Yeah, just like that, only mixed up.

Yeah, just like this, only mixed up.

Make a well with the flour mixture–this facilitates the liquids incorporating into the dry ingredients quickly and evenly, so you don’t get dry patches or lumps and end up overworking your dough in order to thoroughly mix it–and put in your water and oil.

Stir the water and oil into the flour, it will incorporate quickly.

Stir the water and oil into the flour, it will incorporate quickly.

Knead your dough for 2-3 minutes, until it is a beautiful, soft, cohesive ball.

Dough, ready to rest a while.

Dough, ready to rest a while.

Let your dough sit in a warm, draft-free place for about a half an hour.  Before you go and panic: where could that be?  Where can I put it?  Yes, a cabinet will do nicely.  But I like to put my dough in my oven (as long as I’m not using it, of course).  You know it’s draft-free.  It’s about as safe and untouched as it’s going to get.  Bugs won’t get it, the cat won’t be able to get it.  (As an aside, does anyone else have a cat that goes berserk over raw dough?  No, just me?  Okay.)  Cover it with a lint-free cloth (a towel that isn’t terry cloth, or a cloth napkin) and leave it alone for the next thirty minutes.

Then?

Divide your dough in quarters and roll out a ball until it’s nice and thin.  Don’t try and cut corners (like I did) and stretch them flat with your hand, because it won’t get it quite as thin as they should be.  Once you have a nice flat disc of dough, put it in a hot pan.  It’s important to remember that you’re not frying the bread; you’re going to let the oil you’ve already added to the dough be your browning agent, so don’t put any oil in the pan.

One chapati, coming up!

One chapati, coming up!

The first side will probably take two minutes or so to cook.  You’ll see that the dough will look less “wet” on the side facing up.  The cooked side should have some lovely charring from the pan, which is perfect.  Flip it and cook it for another minute or so, until you’ve got charring on the other side as well.

Ready for dinner!

Ready for dinner!

Traditionally, these are coated in some kind of butter or ghee as soon as they’re cooked, but since I was planning to serve them with a curry with a lovely sauce, I figured I could hold off on the butter.  They were wonderful.  Chewy and dense and crisp all at once, they brought a starch to the table that was thoughtful and fun.  And easy.  I cooked them while I was cooking the rest of my dinner, so they barely added any time to my cooking at all.

Dinner, voila! She is served.

Dinner, voila! It is served.

We served this with Thai Spinach-Potato Curry and a salad with fresh blackberry vinaigrette.  Yes, that’s sauteed asparagus you see, too, but that’s a different blog for a different day.

Happy flatbreads!  Let me know how you like it.

~XOT

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Jun14

Epic Mega-Spamku

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I got the most deeeeeranged spam in my (thankfully, incredibly useful) spam folder yesterday.  As I was looking at it I realized it was a) completely unintelligible and b) read a little bit like an epic, vaguely cohesive haiku.  So here it is, only minutely modified for space and syllabic timing, arranged as epic poetry, with illustrations and some zen-groovy koto music to accompany you on this epic poetic journey (scroll to the bottom for music).

Chinese chili sauce

on type of basket, wicker

basket, straw basket,

normal_chinese-new-year-hamper

champagne bucket, an-

tique trunk, hamper, Asian-style

trunk, picnic basket,

seas’nal container.

Aiming to please they offer

everything you need

 to shop pertaining

to wine are two possible

causes. The beauty

and allure of a

cheeseless ground beef lasagna

made with organic

 

grapes, Hungarian

 Sauvignon Blanc costs about

 two thirds as much. The

greatest most severe

types classified as cante

jondo or cante

grande plus came here

initially from inside

the past have largely

in truth disappeared.

As well as have various.

Eternity calls.

p.s.  To anyone concerned that I am freely juxtaposing Chinese and Japanese artistic works I say to you now: well, duh.  I’m not shooting for accuracy.  

Photo credits:

Basket of goods: 
http://memory.singaporeshots.com/displayimage.php?pid=232

Baby in a basket: 
http://www.bryantblueberries.com/Fun-For-Kids.htm

San Francisco Chinatown: 
http://geektreks.com/48-hours-in-san-francisco/

Wine Spa: 
http://www.spitpress.com/2012/yunessun-spa-resort-red-wine-lips-2/

Cheeseless Ground Beef Lasagna (yes, way!): 
http://careermommy.hubpages.com/hub/Easy-Cheeseless-Lasagna

Hungarian Wine Regions Map: 
http://www.carpathianwines.com/winemakers-region.php

Cante Grande flamenco dancer: 
http://www.asiaspain.com/

Snake eating itself: 
http://stuffershack.com/the-cult-of-eternity%E2%80%99s-path-steal-this-snake-cult/

Cherry blossoms: 
http://blog.jiamoderne.com/2012/03/cherry-blossoms-spring-is-in-the-air/

Jun12

Ellis Paul at the James V. Brown Library

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Or rather, at the “liberry”, as I like to say.

Ellis Paul, the folk singer I’ve written about once or twice before, finally played somewhere that’s a reasonable driving distance from my little hamlet of a town.  I’ve been known  to make the three+ hour trek to Philly to see him, or drive an hour and a half to Harrisburg.  Twenty-six miles?  Less than thirty measly minutes?  To Williamsport?

Pfft.   Chump change.

OK, so it was a children’s show and I don’t have any kids.  Understandably, one might think that was a little quirky (Hello, my name is Terri but you can call me Aunt Creepster) BUT I am friends with one of the programming coordinators at James V. Brown Library.  The library, opened in 1907, is a gorgeous building bequeathed to the city by lumber baron James VanDuzee Brown (and thus not to be confused with a certain other James Brown, regardless of the music being performed).  Performers–Ellis, and anyone who plays there for First Friday events–get to play in the Rotunda Room, which boasts a beautiful stained glass rotunda and wrought iron gazebo.  It’s kind of an amazing place to spend a day regardless of why you’re there.  I got to help set up and hang out and feel all cool.  What a different person I’ve become, now that I think hauling chairs around a library on a Saturday morning to prep for a kids’ show is “cool”.  And yet I was.  A girl can’t help it, even if I wasn’t quite a roadie and was more of a…ummmm…venue monkey.  Or something.

Here’s the thing: even when he’s putting on a kid’s show, Ellis Paul is a great act to catch.  He’s funny and engaging.  He keeps the kids entertained and throws in enough references so the parents “get” that he’s winking at them.  He plays long enough to be worth it but not so long that the kids are losing their minds.  And even though these songs are written for children, they’re still conceptually interesting.  I didn’t know there was such a thing called “wabi-sabi“, never mind that it was a Japanese aesthetic that focuses on the acceptance of imperfection.  Not until I heard a song about it at a kid’s show.

It’s a great message for kids.  Not a bad one for adults either, when you come down to it.  But it’s one that’s far more challenging and evocative than “I love you, you love me.”  Which I suppose is nice too, but a little pedestrian and not always true.

Here’s some photos from the show.

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Jun10

Nosh: Blackberry Vinaigrette

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A moment, if you please, for the glories of a fresh vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette is an amazing thing.  I realized a long time ago that if I learned how to make things like sauces and dressings, I could experience an enormous range of foods in the comfort of my own home.  A common complaint about vegetarian cooking is that it’s “boring”.  It’s just a bunch of vegetables, right?  Only wrong.  When you take beautiful fresh fruits and vegetables and put them to work for you, even salads rock out.

You can make a vinagrette from a wide range of produce (and I know you can make salad dressings with bacon, too, but seriously, people…dial back the processed meat obsession just a notch, your colon will thank you for it) and it’s eeeeeeeeeeeeeeasy peasy so long as you have a few basics down.  Plus, you can make however much you want.  It’s just me and my boyfriend, so we make small batches of a dressing that we use over the course of a week.  We don’t have extra bottles cluttering up our fridge (how many times have you said, “Wait…I have this?  When did I buy this?  Hmmmm…it’s of indeterminate age, let me eat it.”) and we can alter the taste of the dressing depending on what we’re in the mood for.

Did I mention it takes about five minutes to make?  Ten, if you’re really, extraordinarily anal retentive and feel like you have to precisely measure every grain of mustard.

So let’s get to it.  For enough blackberry vinaigrette for two people for three or four days of salad (depending on how much you use, of course) you’ll need:

  • 1 Ball jar (or other container that can be securely capped and summarily manhandled, you’ll see)
  • 1 small shallot (about the size of a votive candle cut in half), finely diced
  • 8-10 blackberries (about 1/4 cup)
  • 1 healthy teaspoon of mustard (I prefer the really grainy kind)
  • 1/4 teaspoon thyme (or whatever herb works for you) (poppy seeds would be nice, too!)
  • 1/4 c mild vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar, but white wine or champagne vinegar would be equally lovely.  Save the strong and/or fruity vinegars for another dressing)
  • A good pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper (if you don’t have a pepper grinder, a) get one and b) if you need more than a quarter teaspoon of pepper I’d be surprised, since it’s really not that much dressing you’re seasoning)
  • Olive oil (to taste and yes, I will explain)

Here is one of the few times I will say this: I generally don’t use garlic in my vinaigrettes, people, so no, I didn’t forget to put it in the ingredient list.  Have you picked yourselves up off the floor?  See, as much as I love garlic, I think it has a tendency to take over the flavor of a vinaigrette, especially if it’s going to sit in the fridge for a few days without benefit of artificial stabilizers keeping the food in check.  Which this won’t have, because it’s all freshy-fresh.  Shallots deliver a savory impact that’s kind of a cross between onion and garlic all on their own and don’t tend to take over the flavor like garlic does.  Moving on.

First, take your shallot and cut it into a fine dice.  For many people this will be the most trying part of their dressing-making experience but hey, it can help perfect your knife skills!  Cut it into a small dice using the exact same planks/sticks/cubes method I talked about in my blog about potato-spinach curry, when I cut ginger.  If you’re getting stressed out about cutting shallots that small just remember, they don’t have to be perfect, they just have to be.  If you’re still getting stressed out, feel free to shred your shallot with a fine cheese grater.  Put your diced shallots in your Ball jar.

It's shallots. In a jar. Really, it gets better.

It’s shallots. In a jar. Really, it gets better.

Mash up the blackberries.  I used a mortar and pestle, but use whatever you’ve got.  A mixing bowl and the back of a spoon.  A fork.  I would advise against using either mallets or the heel of your shoe, both for ease of cleanup and because yuck, but hey, it’s your kitchen.  Then take your smooshed blackberries and put them in the jar.

Aha! So you see where I'm going with this, no?

Aha! So you see where I’m going with this, no?

Then add: mustard, vinegar, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Closing in on what actual dressing looks like.

Closing in on what actual dressing looks like.

Next, put in the olive oil.  I generally use a 1:1 ratio of oil, so since there’s about a half-cup of *stuff* (berries, vinegar, etc) in my jar already, I use an equal amount (or even slightly less) of oil.  It’s way less fatty than traditional vinaigrettes; 3:1 is the “classic” ratio for vinaigrettes but when I follow that recipe I always feel like I’m sliding my way into a salad.  I don’t care for it.

Much more to my liking.

Much more to my liking.

Once you’ve got all your stuff in your jar, it needs to become dressing.  Cap it securely and–I believe this is a legitimate technique taught in the finest culinary schools around the world–shake it.  Really hard.

Voila! Le dressing, she is done!

Voila! La vinaigrette, she is done!

Remember to re-shake it when you’re ready to eat it.  Once you grok your vinaigrette basics you can do tons of things to it.  Use ginger and soy sauce instead of shallots and salt.  Throw in some fresh parsley/dill/basil you have hanging around your crisper.  Add a shot of honey if the berries are tart and you think it needs a touch of sweet.  Use strawberries or raspberries instead.  Your options are wide open and regardless of what you put in it, the fact remains that you’ll know exactly what’s in your salad dressing, instead of eating a bowl of stabilizers and preservatives.

This vinaigrette will last at least a week in the fridge.  I don’t know how much longer than that it would stay because we tend to finish it.  Since it’s all fresh ingredients without preservatives, the (only) downside (that I can see) is that the vinaigrette will go bad if it’s left in the fridge too long, sitting in the back next to those pickles you got…when?

We all have those.

So.  Have a salad!

Easy. Tastes good. Good for you. What could be better?

Easy. Tastes good. Good for you. What could be better?

We served this with Thai Spinach-Potato Curry and chapatis.  But it will go with pretty much anything and would be really lovely alongside some chicken.  I hope you enjoy!

~XOT

Jun7

Travel Theme: Peaceful

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Ailsa’s travel theme this week at Where’s My Backpack? is: peaceful!  While there are many out there who think I wouldn’t have an idea of what that meant…that I am a rageitarian and my anger sustains me…the fact is, I like a good, Zen, groovy moment as much as anybody.  I’m just spiky on the outside.  Inside, I am constantly trying to groom my cosmic bonsai.

Oh, come on, admit it.  ”Cosmic Bonsai” is a great name for an art rock jam band.

Anyway, “peaceful”.  Here we go!

This first picture was taken this past December in Baltimore, while walking around looking at the zazz-dazzling Christmas lights in Hampden.  Up on the main drag the street was teeming with people and lights and street vendors and…lights…and people and noise and cars and more people.  Which was great and festive and fun but also an incredibly high-performing way to spend an evening.  Just a few blocks over?  Silence.

IMG_0172-002

Crowds, schmowds. Just breathe.

The next picture is taken from my back yard.  We have a farmlet just behind us and right past that?  A creek.  Flat land + water are conducive to good fog, and I was incredibly grateful to walk out on my back porch at exactly the right moment.  I literally ran into my house, terrifying the cat in the process, lunged for my camera and ran back outside.  Because this.

No, that's not mountains in the background. It's just trees and fog.

No, that’s not mountains in the background. It’s just trees and clouds and fog.

The next photo was taken in Waltham, Massachusetts, in February 2013.  I’m not sure why, but I’m always incredibly put at ease by the image of aqua-friendly birds just hanging out on the ice.  The ice isn’t going anywhere, and if it does they can swim.  The birds don’t look frantic.  Nobody’s boating or swimming and the ice is too thin for skating, so they have this spot all to themselves.  Good for them!  Enjoy your day, geese!

Geese, doing they thing.

Geese, doing they thing.

We spent a week at Keuka Lake a few years ago.  I’ve written about it before; it was most wet and foggy, and we stayed indoors for much of the trip.  Which was fine, because what I really needed for that vacation was total downtime.  So here is a picture of George, sitting in the bedroom, looking out onto the lake, as the sun set through the fog and the light turned deep blue.  Just looking at this photo makes me breathe a little easier.

George playing the day's closing theme music.

George playing the day’s closing theme music.

And finally!  I snapped this picture of a massive soybean field a few miles away from me, this past fall.  I thought it was pristine and vast and beautiful; it made me want to run through the field and collapse in the middle like the lady in that Andrew Wyeth painting, only without the polio-blasted paralyzed limbs (seriously, it’s kind of a magnificent piece of dark artistic commentary, just take two minutes and read about the painting).

Welcome to central Pennsylvania.

Welcome to central Pennsylvania.

That’s just about it for me.  Head on over to Ailsa’s page and see how other people have contributed to this week’s travel theme.  And let Otis Redding sing you a song on your way out.

~XOT

Jun6

Zamboni Lady Commiserates with an Advice Seeker

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DISCLAIMER: The Zamboni Lady is not a doctor, nor does she play one on TV.  She is, simply, a busybody who wants to know everyone else’s business.  The advice, while well-meant, is not meant to substitute for legal advice or protection, indicate a definitive way to live one’s life, or in any way imply that you should take her advice any more seriously than you would the advice of the bestie of your bestie, given out over a long and tear-soaked evening of nachos and margaritas.

***

Bad advice.  It’s everywhere.

Though the following isn’t bad advice so much as it is advice not to make waves and cause a potentially embarrassing family problem, which all things considered isn’t all that terrible (who needs a rift?), but then again…the family in question seems like they need a verbal kick in the ass.

I really felt like the lady who wrote this letter was looking for someone to commiserate with her.  And I?  Am just that gal.  :)

So.

Here is the letter as it appeared in an advice column:

Dear Advice People: My husband is a high-ranking officer in the military. He has worked hard to achieve his current position and is highly respected.

The problem is, his family treats him like a child. In a few months, there will be a formal ceremony to mark his change of command. My in-laws will be in attendance, and they are certain to embarrass him. They insist on calling him by his unusual childhood nickname (he cringes every time). They talk down to him and give him gifts meant for children, such as books for teen boys (last Christmas), a small child’s backpack (last birthday) and now a child’s piggy bank, which they intend to present to him in front of his unit at the ceremony. These gifts are not intended as jokes. My husband is always gracious on the outside but horrified on the inside.

Is there some way to remind his family that he is indeed an adult and has certainly earned the right to be treated like one? — Proud Military Spouse

***

And Zamboni Lady says:

Seriously???

I’ve italicized the advice this woman was given, with my responses in regular, rant-friendly font.

Dear Spouse: It is difficult to change ingrained behavior without the cooperation of all the people involved.

No kidding, it’s difficult!  Especially when the people involved are infantilizing control freaks.  Part of the process of being a relative (aunt, parent, older cousin, sibling, similarly aged cousin, childhood friend, whatever) is accepting that your relationship is going to change with taste and propriety as you both get older.  Stevie McPoopypants might gain control of his bladder and probably won’t always love dinosaurs.  Unless Tooter goes into the world of fashion design she’ll probably lose interest in Barbies.  ShellyBelly won’t want to be ShellyBelly any longer, dig?  Look…I have a niece with an embarrassing childhood nickname.  Should we slip and call her that hated name (which I think is adorable but hey, it’s her call)…even when there’s wine involved, and it’s late at night, the doors are locked and the windows shuttered…we still have to face her wrath.  And that’s OK, because her decision to not want to be called an embarrassing childhood nickname in no way reflects on me.  Unless I’m the asshole who keeps calling her a name she can’t stand.

Your husband apparently has determined that the best way to handle his parents is to leave things as they are. That is his choice.

His parents have apparently decided the best way to handle their son is to pretend he’s never grown up.  Books for teen boys?  Child-sized backpacks?  I get your anger, sister.  There’s some serious neural misfirings there.  Assuming they’re not mean, terrible people whose only joy in life is derived from humiliating their son, I have to ask: do they realize he’s an adult?  Do they know he doesn’t have the same taste in things he had twenty years ago?  Is his room still decorated in the Lone Ranger wallpaper of his youth?  Did nobody read The Dead Zone?  Don’t you people know what happened to the infantilized Frank Dodd?

While we appreciate your desire to be supportive and protective, you might also be adding to his stress because your reaction is one of anger and embarrassment.

Yeah, advice people, you’re right.  It’s not the toy piggy bank they want to give him in front of a room full of the soldiers he commands that stresses him out.  It’s the wife who wants to see his parents give him the respect they would any other adult that causes him anguish.  Yup.  You troublemaker.

Ask your husband whether he wants you to talk to his parents.

OMG, advice people!  You’re infantilizing him all over again!  This is like saying your mom should call the mean kid’s mom to talk about that unfortunate incident on the playground.  (Nuh-uh, Mom!  Don’t call!)  Honestly?  My guess is “talking” to his parents will be equally as effective as talking to the cat about learning how to drive.  I don’t think it will result in anything good.  Here’s how I picture it:

Wife: Hi, inlaws?  Yes, this is your DIL. I’m fine, thanks.  Listen, you know how you always get “Bob” gifts more suited for a nine-year-old?  And he hasn’t actually been nine in a really long time?

Inlaws: What are you talking about?

Wife: Well, you know how you get him age-inappropriate books and toys and things, right?

Inlaws: No, dear.  He’s always liked those things.

Wife: Well, actually, that’s where you’re mistaken.

Inlaws: I’m afraid I don’t understand, dear.

Wife: Some of those things are a little young for him, see?  And it’s embarrassing.  And you call him “Snoodgiepants” in public.  That’s embarrassing.

Inlaws: Do you PRESUME to tell me how to behave with my own son?

(this is where the trouble starts, because what do you say?  ”Yes” = WW3 territory, and “No” = defeating the entire point of opening this dialogue)

Annnnd so on, until you’re so frustrated you hang up on them and drink gin straight from the cat’s bowl, while they call your husband behind your back to tell you what a busybody you are.  If they’re the arrested-development, controlling weirdos they seem to be, then take care that you don’t get painted as the interloper trying to ruin their happy family.  The last thing you need is for them to try and tear at your marriage, too.

If he says no, we urge you to separate their behavior from your husband’s reputation.  His patient tolerance of their inappropriateness says many positive things about the strength of his character.

I’ll give them this.  Everyone has flaky relatives they have to deal with.  Unfortunately for him, his happen to be his parents, but he seems to have grown up well despite them.  The problem is, the person who really needs to say something to his parents, is him.  It is ultimately his decision as to how he conducts his relationship with his parents.  No matter how much you may hate it (and I hear you) and no matter how much they piss you off (and I’m with you), it’s his call.  Let him be the adult in this situation, and decide how his parents are to be dealt with, without your stepping in.

Advice grade: C-.  Ultimately reasonable advice (let him conduct his own relationship with his parents), but doled out in a really dumb way

Jun5

About Food and Habits and Being Present

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And now, for some food-and-health-philosophy-related brain sputterings.

I like to write about food.  A lot.  I like to talk about it, read about it.  Cook it.  Eat it.  I read cookbooks like they’re book-books.  Sometimes I wake up talking about what I want to cook for dinner, like it all came to me in a dream.  Did I mention that I like to eat it?  Because I like to eat it.

Generally I think I eat pretty healthily.  I limit my fried food, I make a lot of things from scratch, I control a lot of my intake of things like sodium and empty calories.

Or so I thought.

A few things came together in my life recently.  First, I read an article about a TED talk that fascinated me.  Economist Keith Chen explored different linguistic characteristics and whether the structure of language impacts a population’s behavior.  He found a strong correlation between speakers of languages with a strong, separate future tense and a tendency to not save money (39% less savings), not exercise (29% lower incidence of exercise), not eat well (13% higher incidence of obesity).  Think of the philosophical shift between, “I will start my new workout program tomorrow” vs “I work out,” where “tomorrow” is implied by context.  Or “tomorrow’ could even be stated, but the verb “work out” is still present tense.

Don't worry! I'll post more about this book! Soon... ;)

Don’t worry! I’ll post more about this book! Soon… ;)

Second, because I am a foodie with an interest not just in eating but also in the philosophy and mechanics of food, and a growing interest in general health, I enrolled in a “Massive Open Online Course” (a MOOC) called “Nutrition, Health and Lifestyle“.  It’s purely for personal development and maybe a dose of perspective.  By the end of Week One, it already worked.  The first assignment for this course asked that we track our food intake for three days, one of them a weekend.  So I did.

The third thing that happened was that I was clearly open to examining this information instead of deflecting it behind excuses.  Because HOLY SHIT, I am an eating machine.  I eat how much processed food?  How much sodium?  How much sugar HOLY CRAP!  What the hell?

I used to smoke.  When I (finally) quit (for real, seven years ago, after quitting but not sticking to it once every six months for years and making the joke that quitting was easy because I’d already done it a hundred times), the secret was being present in my quitting.  Yes, I felt like shit.  Yes, I was craving cigarettes like crazy.  And no, I didn’t chew nicotine gum or use the patch because it may keep you from smoking but it doesn’t break your addiction, and why prolong the agony?  But I also knew that giving in to the cravings and thinking, “I’ll do better tomorrow” wasn’t going to help one little bit.  I am better than that, I thought.  I am not the cigarettes, and they don’t dictate me any more.  It was hard to see past the cravings because they were always in front of me.  But you ride it out.  Eventually, they subsided.

Having had that experience, I started thinking about why tracking your food is an effective tool for health maintenance.  Essentially, it keeps you in the present tense.  And with the breaking of any bad habit, the present is all you have.  You can’t guarantee that you’ll get more money tomorrow (look at the problems caused by payday loans) or lose extra weight tomorrow or work out doubly-hard tomorrow or reverse the effects of a sodium overload, tomorrow.  You’ve only got today to take care of business.  And when tomorrow gets here, it will be today all over again.  That’s what tracking does for me.  It keeps my food consciousness active.  Mindful, not mindless.  It’s hard to concentrate on what you’re having for breakfast when you’re already dreaming about lunch.

It’s not about austerity.  I’m not about austerity–trust me, I was out enjoying some delicious adult beverages with my peeps on Saturday night.  It’s more about developing an overall schematic for how you approach food every day, and making the necessary adjustments.  At least, that’s what it’s about for me.  Four weeks and minus six pounds later, I feel like I’m on to something.

Funny how a confluence of events can cause a major gear shift, isn’t it?

Jun4

Sunshine Award? Me? Awwww!

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This was a pleasant way to start the day.

I opened my blog yesterday and saw that I was nominated for a Sunshine Award by the lovely, thoughtful blogger booksbytrista.  According to what I’ve read about said award, it’s given to blogs that the giver considers inspiring.  Sweeeeet!  Thanks, Trista!  I am honored.

Of course, there are rules for accepting this award, though I’ve seen several permutations of them on different Sunshine Award pages.  So I’ll go with what I like best.

Yes, you must post the picture of the pretty flower.  Mandatory.

I’m a weiner!

I’ve seen “tell us about yourself” and “tell us these specific things about yourself”.  I’ve got a little bit of a sinus headache today and am out of creative sorts, so I’ll just let the other Sunshiners determine what self-relevant factoids I should spill:

1. Favorite color: Green, in just about every variety except that dusty pale green.  To quote Flora Poste from Cold Comfort Farm, “…dull greens are very trying, I always think.”  p.s. If you haven’t read this book/seen this movie yet, do yourselves a favor and make haste to your nearest retailer.

2. Favorite animal: Singularly?  Sammy, the kitty who is currently and unquestionably the boss of my house.  Collectively, I’m a little bit in love with owls (particularly if they’re ceramic and kitschy) and sloths (non-ceramic).

3. Favorite number: 27.  Because of reasons.

4. Favorite Non-Alcoholic drink: Coffee.  Or water.

5. Favorite Alcoholic drink: All of them?  :)  OK, it’s summer, so right now Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy is a the top of my list.

6. Facebook or twitter? Facebook, though I’ve been known to tweet.

7. My Passions: Writing. Cooking.  Writing about cooking… ;)  I do a LOOOOOOOOOOT of Zumba, mainly because of all that cooking.

8. Giving or receiving gifts: Yes.  What?  There are benefits to both.  Though some day, I WILL convince my boyfriend to get me that goddamned pony.

9. Favorite city: Oy.  Lots!  In the US: Boston, with Savannah at a close second.  In Italy: Venice, though not for the food.  And there’s always gorgeous, amazing Paris.

10. Favorite TV show: You know, I watch too much paranormal stuff.

Now you’re supposed to nominate fellow bloggers (five bloggers?  Seven?  Ten?  It seems to be a toss-up) for the Sunshine Award.  I know that a lot of people don’t necessarily want to participate in the award-go-round, and I get it.  But I’m happy to take this opportunity to nominate the below bloggers and let them know that I always look forward to their posts and they are, certainly, inspirations to me.

So here, in no particular order, are my nominees.

Johna and Vladimir at Wind Against Current, who make me want to kayak despite my non-outdoorsy nature.

Ici & La Nature Pictures blog, where you can swoon over luscious pictures of France.

Jack Flacco at jackflacco.com, where you can always get into an intelligent discussion about a looming zombie apocalypse.

Ouch My Back Hurts!  Whose writing style is fun and funny, and always reminds me that I need to get back to Dublin.

Shelli at howsitgoing-eh.com, because her energy is tremendous and infectious and awesome and leaps off the computer at you!  Read her blog!  You’ll be better for it.

Want to know what’s happening in Myanmar from the perspective of a US expat?  Read Late for Nowhere.

So when I first came across the blog ididitforjohnny, I dared to hope that it was named as an homage to the Julie Brown novelty hit, “The Homecoming Queen’s Got a Gun“.  Imagine my delight when I found out that was exactly the thing for which it was named.  Yes.

Stephen Kelly Creative, because his photos are gorgeous and his commentary is funny.

Feast your eyes on the gorgeousness that is Savory Simple.

For a wonderful, intelligent discussion about movies, check out curnblog.

There are so many more interesting and inspiring blogs out there; it’s hard to stop!  But really, ten’s my limit.

Thanks again, Trista!  Here’s to future blogging!

~XOT

Jun3

Nosh: Thai Spinach-Potato Curry

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Here’s what it’s currently too hot to do in my neck o’ the woods:

  • Bake
  • Roast
  • Move more than five feet away from the couch
  • Which is then gross, because you spend all your time sweating into your couch
  • I hate summer

But a girl’s gotta eat, and for a hungry girl like me that ain’t no joke.

For the last few days I’ve been craving some sort of vaguely Asian-ish food that isn’t as heavy or fried or sugary as Americanized Chinese food can be, and I haven’t been willing to hit up a restaurant because I’m a) a little tired of the local restaurants (remember, I live in a small town, so local restaurants are limited) and b) who wants to put on pants when it’s this hot?

I dug through some cookbooks because yesterday was “avoid the computer for the bulk of the day” day and found a recipe for potato-spinach Thai curry and I really only needed a few things that could be acquired with a trip to the grocery store.  Said trip was more like a covert raiding party–get in, get the stuff, get back home and into the AC before dissolving into a puddle of lip balm and flip flops–but it got the job done, sticky humid heat be damned.

It’s remarkable I survived in Texas.

Anyway.  Here’s what I used.

  • 3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 1/2-inch ginger, finely chopped (or galangal if you have access to it, which I do not so purists, give me a break because I have to work with the resources available)
  • 1 piece of lemongrass, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 2 tsp Thai red curry paste
  • 1 jalapeno (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp ground turmeric (be careful not to get this on your clothes or they’ll be yellow forever)
  • 1 can coconut milk (I highly recommend using “light” coconut milk; the taste is still rich, but it cuts nearly 2/3 of the fat and calories that you’d get from regular coconut milk)
  • 1 large potato, up to 1 lb, cut in 3/4 inch cubes
  • Enough vegetable stock to make your sauce the consistency you’d like
  • 2 tsp honey/brown sugar/agave nectar
  • 7 oz spinach/arugula/chard/whatever kind of leafy green you prefer, but if you use something with a tougher rib (chard, kale) make sure the rib is removed
  • Juice from 1/2 lime
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • Oil, salt, pepper…the usual suspects
  • Cilantro, thinly sliced shallots, and crumbled unsalted peanuts for garnish (all entirely optional)

First: Thinly slice your onions and start their browning.  You don’t need to pay relentless attention to them, just show them some love and give them a stir every so often.    They’ll take a while to caramelize so you should start them early but because they’re a garnish, once they’re browned they can sit quietly on the sidelines until you’re ready to eat.

Get these babies nice and rich and sweet and dark brown.

Get these babies nice and rich and sweet and dark brown.

Look at that, you’ve already got part of it started!

Next, get your spices ready.  The cookbook says to finely chop the garlic, lemongrass and ginger/galangal and grind them together with the coriander seeds in a mortar and pestle until they’re a smooth paste.

I've always loved the look of coriander seeds.

I’ve always loved the look of coriander seeds.

But here’s the thing: that’s a ton of work.  I only had arm enough to take it so far before I decided I was through and declared it “uh…yeah, sure…that’s smooth”, though I did make sure that at least all of the coriander seeds were crushed open and fragrant.  So if you neeeeeeeed to process this into a paste and have the appropriately sized food processor then by all means do so.  Otherwise, just crush the seeds in a mortar and pestle and finely chop the rest.

How do you finely chop ginger? Planks->sticks->cubes, works every time.

How do you finely chop ginger? Planks->sticks->cubes, works every time.

Cut your jalapeno in half and seed it if you want, or cut it into thin slices with the seeds fully attached, depending on how much heat you want.  (Or leave out the jalapeno entirely, it’s your kitchen!)  From here, the recipe progresses pretty quickly.  Saute the garlic-ginger-lemongrass-coriander seed combination and jalapeno at a medium heat for 30 seconds or so, to create a nice base.  Add the curry paste and the turmeric and let them cook for a minute or two, then add the coconut milk.  You can add as much coconut milk as you’d like so long as you put in at least half the can; I put in the whole can because what the heck am I going to do with leftover coconut milk?  However much you put in, stand back in amazement as the half teaspoon of turmeric totally wins over two teaspoons of red chili paste in the battle for color-of-the-curry supremacy.  Bring it to a boil.

If turmeric were a supervillain, its dastardly plan would be to turn the whole world yellow.

If turmeric were a supervillain, its dastardly plan would be to turn the whole world yellow.

Hey, how are those onions doing?  Don’t forget to check them.

Once it’s rolling along, add the potatoes, the honey and some veggie stock.  I used one of those box-stocks and probably put in about a cup’s worth.  I wouldn’t recommend getting too stock-crazy because you do want the sauce to have some body to it; you’re making curry, not soup.  Let the potatoes simmer for a few minutes; check them at 10 minutes and I’d be surprised if you need to let them cook as long as 15.  While they’re cooking, clean and chop your cilantro and shallots and shell your peanuts.

When the potatoes are nearly tender, add in your choice of leafy green–I used spinach and arugula–and let them wilt into the curry.  Check your seasonings and add salt (or if you’re feeling completely devil-may-care, soy sauce) and pepper to taste.  Finish with the juice from a half a lime.  Top each individual serving with onions, cilantro, raw shallots and peanuts, as you will.

We mixed our ethnic foods at the table (see: devil-may-care) and served this with chapatis, sauteed asparagus and a salad with blackberry vinaigrette.   Healthy.  Delicious.  Really easy.  And it’s flexible!  If you want to make this with chicken, just saute some chicken before adding the ginger-garlic mix, and then follow the above.  Saute the garlic-ginger in the chicken drippings for extra yum, and use chicken stock instead of vegetable.  Or toss in some tofu at the end if you want to both incorporate a protein and keep it vegetarian.  Whatever, it’s all good.

This, friends, is good eating on a hot summer's day.

This, friends, is good eating on a hot summer’s day.

Enjoy!  See you ’round the kitchen!

May31

Travel Theme: Costume

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Ailsa’s travel theme this week involves costume.  How do people wear them?  Where do they wear them?  Why do they wear them, if they’re not on a stage?

Admit it, we’re all, always, on stage.  Some of us are just more apt to dress that way than others.  So here are a few memorable costumes I’ve run across while going about my business.

In Boston…which is always good for finding some kind of people in some kind of costume somewhere…a historical re-enactor grabs a sandwich and a beer at The Green Dragon, which was home turf for the planning of the battle at Lexington and Concord.  Bonus: the food is good, and the bartenders are awesome.

Hail, barkeep! A plate of ye olde nachos, make haste!

Hail, barkeep! A plate of ye olde nachos, make haste!

When I was in Paris, I happened upon a living statue street performer, dressed a little bit like the love child of Neo and Uncle Creepy.  Imagine my total excitement when I realized I immortalized him forever mid-poke.  It’s like catching the ventriloquist moving his lips.  Day=made.

Slick. But not slick enough.

Slick. But not slick enough.

When in Bayville, NJ, I was hanging out with my dreadfully handsome brother, who was handed a pair of costume glasses to return to his wife, who had left them behind at some Halloween party they’d gone to.  One perfectly timed picture later…

I think the fact that the glasses are upside down makes this even more charming.

I think the fact that the glasses are upside down makes this photo even more charming.

Love you, big bro!

Moving on, to the Vatican.  Everything you’ve heard about the elaborate costuming worn by the Swiss Guard?  All true.  (Not accounting, of course, for the many many many  blazered and earpieced and guns-in-forearm-slide-holsters undercover security walking around.  You don’t take pictures of them.  Or maybe you could, but I didn’t want to try my luck.)

Well, helloooo, Mr. Fancypants.

Well, helloooo, Mr. Fancypants.

Annnnd…

Right here in beautiful downtown Lewisburg we have an annual “Victorian” parade (which is much more thematically engaging than your standard Christmas parade), and all the marchers dress up in costumes.  You have characters from works of literature like A Christmas Carol and Mary Poppins.  (And p.s. if you’ve got a problem with me linking to Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, then you meet me in the school yard at 3:00.)  Anyway.  So there I was, at the Victorian Parade and what becostumed thing to I see rolling toward me but…

A Christmas dalek.

EXTERMINATE!

EXTERMINATE!

OK, so normally I stop at five photos (for no reason except for just because), but since I have that picture of my big brother in doofy glasses, I figured I’d include one of me.  In my own doofy glasses.  So we may stand in solidarity.  This was taken at the local Halloween store.

Keepin' it sexy in the 'burg.

Keepin’ it sexy in the ‘burg.

There are so, so many reasons this picture cracks me up.  But mainly, it makes me feel like I should have had a starring role in the Beastie Boys‘ video for Sabotage.

So, that’s what I’ve got.  What groovy costumes have you run across in your life?  Join me at Ailsa’s!