Would this exist if I were reading a book?
Probably. Maybe.
So the most emailed article on the NYTimes deserves some discussion. (Give it a gander) I'm not sure how to interpret this piece. I can come at it from both sides. I read a book about every week and a half, but I also spend about 4 hours a day putzing around on the internet. I get tons of info from the web, but I think that generally I can chalk the time spent reading it to a predisposition for addiction rather than a choice. (I almost failed my junior year of high school because I got addicted to Counter-Strike. If that was my heroin, checking Digg 5 times a day must be my methadone... It certainly implies some measure of self-control, right?) Too, the stuff I read online doesn't seem to stick as well as book readin'. It's sort of in one ear, out the other. Except no one is talking to me, and I'm sitting alone staring into a bright light.
If I could step back from the computer, I would. Books are a better escape, but far less accessible. It takes a concerted effort to read a book, especially after spending time online. Hell, I have a hard time reading the newspaper in print. I can't seem to switch from article to article fast enough, and I get bored. Talk about concentration issues.
Articles like this one are great for stroking the ego. Take this for example, "it is unrealistic to expect all children to read 'To Kill a Mockingbird' or 'Pride and Prejudice' for fun". I might agree, but I've definitely read both of those books for fun (I definitely didn't read them when they were assigned for class though). It's a tough world out there; having the ability to read books for pleasure must give me some sort of competitive advantage, right? I sure hope so.
I mention all of this because youthful reading, to me, is preparation for creating art. It forces you to think and thought begets art. How your art manifests itself is a conscious choice. If you don't think about what you are trying to create before inspiration hits you, you're left with a racing heart and no way of expressing it.
When is King George Next in Iowa?
Check this out! Four religious workers were arrested while attempting to make a citizens arrest on Karl Rove. Sounds like Iowa is a cooler place than I thought. What I love about it is that an 80-year-old retired Methodist minister tried to take Karl Rove into custody. Not to take away from the importance of what they were doing, but can you picture that? There is humor everywhere in the world, you have to just open your eyes to it.
It speaks volumes that a few religious activists have more cojones then all of Congress. It's no wonder that Congress has such low approval ratings - they're a bunch of pansies.
Here's a blurb: "The four maintained that they were acting within the guidelines of Iowa Code that obligate private citizens to make such an arrest if they believe a felony has been committed"
Brilliant.
Giant in the Woods: Hobo Stew
OK, so Hobo Stew? Doesn't seem quite PC, right? I learned this recipe from my dad growing up. He probably learned it from his dad. I have to think that the term Hobo meant something different 100 years ago. I'm no etymologist, but I have to imagine that there was a time (don't ask me when, maybe the dust bowl) when the word Hobo just referred to itinerant men looking for work.
Anyway, where was I? Right! Camping! So Arianna, my Dad, and I went camping this week. We were at the Mortimer campground on Wilson Creek in North Carolina. It was really beautiful there and I got to play around with cooking on the campfire.
Here's a picture of the creek:
Campfire cooking is really simple when you have plenty of tinfoil. You can pretty much put anything in a tinfoil "envelope", throw it on the coals, and have a great meal in 15 minutes, assuming you already have a campfire going.
For Hobo Stew, you'll want lots of hearty vegetables, and (optionally) some meat. Dice everything up into bite-size pieces and you're good to go. (note: you can do all of the dicing ahead of time, and have it ready in a Tupperware in your cooler.) Take two sheets of foil and lay one on top of the other, making a cross. In the middle of the cross, make a layer of your slowest cooking ingredients (i.e. potatoes and/or meat). On top of this first layer pile up your more delicate ingredients, such as onions, green beans, green peppers, carrots etc. Once you have a healthy-sized pile you're going to want to season vigorously. I used some dried Italian herbs, a bit of chili powder and a good smidgen of salt, but it's really up to you. You could use a fajita seasoning mix, or just salt, pepper and oregano.
After you've seasoned your "stew", you'll want to make a very tight envelope by folding together the opposing sides of foil, making an air-tight seam. Really, you could just make a big ball of it and you'd probably be just fine. This isn't really a science; you're probably going to end up with some burnt food.
The next step is the really difficult part of the process. Take your food envelope and toss it on the fire. At this point, drink a wine juice box. When you have finished your wine (about 15 minutes), your food should be done. Take it off the coals using whatever you have at hand (I used a stick that had split ends, sort of like a divining rod). Open up the tinfoil, being careful not to burn yourself too badly, and check the potatoes. If they are done, you're good to go. If not, close up the foil and toss it back on the coals for another five minutes.
This is definitely rustic dining. You'll have a potato (or two!) that is very crispy, but there is something very rewarding about cooking over a campfire. I know this isn't marshmallows and hot dogs, but with a bit of planning, it's cake.
note: I sliced my fingers up a bit today, so thanks to Arianna for transcribing my dictation.
Play With Your Food
I'm sure some of you have seen this, but talk about the art of food... this is epicurean melodrama!
Giant in the Kitchen: Awesome Cast Iron Chicken
Ok, I'm about to blow your mind. I have the best technique for cooking food indoors. Seriously, your mind is going to explode. Take a deep breath.
I'm demonstrating this with chicken breasts, but it works for just about any meat or vegetable you throw at it. Case in point, using this magical technique, I made shrimp taste good. I know, I know, you're thinking, "What??? But shrimp is boring. It HAS no taste. When I got that spinach and shrimp salad at Applebee's last year, the gummy shrimp made the salad unpalatable!" You're exactly right! Shrimp is like the wonder bread of the sea - chewy and uninspired. Arianna and I were making shrimp spring rolls, and the shrimp ended up being the best part of the rolls because of my wundiferous technique. (It's a good thing the shrimp was awesome, ‘cause the spring roll wrappers had the consistency of a condom...)
The only hardware you need is a cast iron skillet and an oven mitt. You can use whatever ingredients and seasonings you have around. It really works for anything.
Here is the fantastic chicken breast recipe using the technique:
I made a simple marinade for the chicken using 1 part soy sauce (maybe ½ a cup), 1 part olive oil, 2 parts orange juice, 2 tablespoons of grated fresh ginger and 2 diced garlic cloves. The measurements are approximate. I really just eyeballed it. (This part is totally up to you. For vegetables or a good steak, don't worry about a marinade; just give it a good dash of salt. For shrimp, go with a flavorful marinade)
Set an oven-rack at the top level and turn on your broiler to full kick. Heat your cast iron skillet on the stove top until it starts to smoke. At this point put on the oven mitt, quickly toss the chicken into the skillet, and transfer the skillet to the oven-rack, right under the broiler. This is going to cook the chicken extremely fast because it is getting seared both on the top and the bottom. This locks in the moister and keeps the chicken juicy and succulent. After about 5 minutes, flip the breasts. Let cook for another 4-5 minutes until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
The whole point of cooking food this way is getting this amazingly intense heat and applying it to very basic ingredients. It is the closest thing to grilling you can do indoors. This is important for me because I live in an apartment and don't have the room to store a grill. The cooking technique is quick and has always worked for me. Be aware that it can be really smoky, so make sure to open a window or turn on a kitchen exhaust fan. Also, make sure you are using cast iron. Not much else can handle this kind of high heat.
Awesome, right?
Is Local Food A Trend?
So, there's another local food article in the times today. It seems like they have one at least every other week, probably more often than that. I guess it's generally a good thing if it raises public awareness of local food, but this emphasis on eating local as fashionable worries me. Trends are a passing thing, and the New York elite seem to be a capricious bunch. I'm sure they're good people, you know, salt of the earth and whatnot, but what happens when the local food "trend" fades? Will the small scale farmers and local distributors be hung out to dry?
I think the whole locavore business is here to stay, but it is definitely not yet entrenched as a way of life. Fortunately for the movement, oil prices will continue to rise (contrary to what some presidential candidates are saying) and local food will become relatively more affordable for the working classes.
Sangria Wine???
I was at Target today, 'cause, you know, I like to hang out there. They have these wine cubes (read: boxed wine) which I really like. I have a pretty good palate for beer, but I have no idea when it comes to wine. I can drink just about any wine (as long as it's red) and enjoy it. What's great about boxed wine is that it's cheap and it doesn't go bad too quickly. The Target cubes are about 16 dollars and carry the equivalent of 4 standard wine bottles. It's no 2 buck chuck, but it does the job. Another added bonus is that boxed wine is really a bag of wine in a box, i.e. instant Bota Bag, handy for parties and dreary family gatherings!
Here's a picture of a cube in action on my fridge...
Anyway, I was at Target today walking past the wine section when what do I see? A big display at the end of the row of red and white sangria wine cubes. Does this seem kind of silly? Sangria is a cinch to make and there's no such thing as sangria wine - it's just whatever cheap wine you have around. Granted, boxed wine is the perfect low end stuff to make sangria, but at least when you make sangria with boxed Merlot, you know you're drinking Merlot...
On a side note, Target is marketing wine juice boxes under the same wine cube label. Amazing, right? I think I want to take this to work when I brown bag it. It'd be the best lunch ever....
Check it:
Giant in the Kitchen: Odd Sushi Fillings
My friend Tory had a sushi making party last night. It was mostly filmmakers at the party, and we ended up having some pretty interesting filling combinations. You should try some of these out following the basic sushi recipe.
I brought over roasted red peppers and homemade sweet potato fries. These actually worked really well. For the fries, I just sliced some sweet potato into strips and sautéed them for about 2 minutes. Take a look at the pictures - it's dead simple.
Initially I was attempting to make some sort of sweet potato tempura strips. I tried to bread the fries in whole wheat panko bread crumbs, but that didn't work at all. It ended up being a hot, delicious, mess. I used scrambled egg as an adhesive, but the panko bread crumbs are a bit too chunky to get a good grip on the thin slices of potato. Next time I make the fries, I want to try baking them. I don't really like frying food, and I bet the potatoes will crisp up nicely in the oven.
We also had red cherries and a couple jalapeno peppers. The cherries were awesome paired with cream cheese and sweet potato. I know it sounds strange, but it was a very subtle flavor - it kind of tasted like summer.
The jalapenos were just a pain in the ass. In the rolls, they looked just like green onion, so it was always a surprise when you got a bite of one. I definitely tried to wash away a bit of the heat with my drink. The thing is, all we had to drink was wine, so I think the jalapenos led to a bit of drunkenness for all involved.
What I had for Dinner
I don't want this site to be another blog about "what I had for dinner". That whole vein seems rather silly ‘cause, in the long run, who really cares? However, I do have broader ideas about food that I think are important to share.
Eating local food is important for me. It is a priority, more so than eating organically. I prefer to eat organic, but it is cost prohibitive for a poor artist. Eating locally, if well planned, is very affordable. I want to touch on this further, probably Thursday when I talk about blueberry picking.
There seems to be a bourgeoning segment of the organic consumer which eats organic on an instinctual level. They know it's better for them and they can afford it, so they buy it, but they really put very little thought into what it is to eat healthy. I've lately been trying to think beyond organic. I want to figure out a personal approach (or even philosophy) towards food. I know that I want to eat locally whenever possible, I feel healthier when I do, but why is that? I don't think that it is psychosomatic. Obviously it is fresher, but that is a superficial answer. I think the real reason is that when I eat local food, I am eating seasonally. I can't buy local watermelon in March.
Everything elemental in life comes in cycles. Tides, tree leaves, trendy jean designs - all of it is cyclical by nature. Historically humans ate whatever was readily available. They probably didn't understand nutrition like we do, but I can't think of a food that was around 150 years ago which is bad for you. Hell, I'd take lard over Crisco any day.
So how do we eat seasonally? I don't think it should be a strict thing. I'm going to grow lettuce in my closet in the non-summer seasons. But generally, eating seasonally means going heavy on produce in the spring/summer/autumn months, and heavy on meat, cheese and bread in the winter. Only in recent years have we been able to get great apples from New Zealand in February. This might be a nice treat occasionally, but the environmental cost should keep it an occasional treat for anyone with a conscious.
Like I said, I don't want this site to be another blog about "what I had for dinner", but seriously, check out my dinner. It was totally seasonal. 3 plums, 20 red cherries and ½ of a honeydew melon. How awesome is that? Hydrating, delicious, and no cooking on a 90 degree day. You can't do better than that.
A Bukowski Thought
ART
as the
spirit
wanes
the
form
appears.
--Bukowski
Huh. I guess I could use some more waning.