A good friend and some mac and cheese

Tonight I heard some news and my reaction was, gross. I can't tell you the news(private information people!!!), but I can tell you that the proper response to such news is not gross nor should it ever be gross. My mom went along with my gross never questioning the inappropriateness of it(she's my mom and thankfully she tends to humor me every now and then). I called my friend and she totally called me out. "You're jealous." "No I'm not." "Yes you are." "No I'm not." It was an intense conversation and in the end I knew my friend was truly one of my best friends in the whole world, because she was right. Of course solving my underlying feelings did not make me feel any less jealous so I sent Matt a ranting email about how I wasn't jealous(he's my boyfriend he doesn't bother calling me out anymore). I then knew I needed dinner and upon close examination decided that the only meal that would do tonight was Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

I might take a minute here to tell you that I love Kraft Mac and Cheese and I sing the "blue box blues" in my head every time I make it. Everyone has their own way of making perfect mac and cheese. Mine is actually a day old. There is something so fabulous about the way the fake cheese coagulates and never actually becomes liquidy again no matter how much you heat it. Unfortunately it is hard to achieve this consistency without waiting for a few hours. In Oregon my wonderful roommate and I actually tried baking Kraft Mac and Cheese after cooking it according to the box directions. We put bread crumbs on top and baked it for maybe 15 minutes. I'm telling you the consistency was like mac and cheese after sitting in the fridge for a day only warm. I know amazing.

I will probably only enjoy my perfect mac and cheese tomorrow as I was hungry, depressed, or jealous as my friend would call it and ate half of the mac and cheese just as it was coming out of the pot. Being in a rush is always the thing that stands between me and perfect bowl of day old mac and cheese.

In other friend news, Matt's friend is up for an assistant manager of cutters at Shaws. I feel like that is such an unfortunate name for a butcher, but he uses it and I aim for extreme accuracy in all I do(and it makes me laugh a little). I just really hope if he gets the job that he'll change his job status to assistant manager of cutters, because it will cause all sorts of misinterpretations. Being a butcher seems like such a cool job to me. I wouldn't like the smell of blood on my hands all of the time, but to use that big knife and just hack through a chicken faster than anyone else, so cool. Matt's friend is so cool without the assistant manager position, but I really hopes he gets it. I may be slightly biased, but he's just the best cutter around.

My nails are bright Barbie pink right now. I love being in a kitchen, but I am loving having nails again and being able to wear nail polish. If for nothing else, I have something to chip at during history class when I'm bored. Time for some leftover bread pudding and hopefully bed soon. I hope you are all reveling in the end of Wednesday. It does mean the weekend is one day closer.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

Does that soda smell like jello to you?

I thought you all might appreciate photos of my amazing tag sale find. It is terribly food related, because imagine how amazing ice cold water will taste out of this pitcher and cups. I thought you would all appreciate my pictures of them too. Matt's foot is in the one and my shoe is in the other; I think it's a entirely unrelated, but if you didn't notice that before, you now will every time you look. I wish I could have shown you a picture of the set on top of the shelf in the bright sunny morning when I found it. The pitcher and cups were glistening like red diamonds. I obviously fell in love.

The water for this pitcher is going to have to be as amazing as the pitcher itself. Cambridge water obviously will not do. My parent's well water with insane amounts of iron would be my first choice, because it is the water I grew up with.

I am actually quite picky about water. Bottled water is only good when it's ice cold; otherwise it tastes like plastic. City water tastes like chlorine. I can maybe handle it ice cold, if I gulp it down before the after tastes kicks in. New Hampshire water is an exception, at least Concord, New Hampshire water; supposedly it's city water, but it tastes so very fresh. If someone was going to do water fresh and delicious it would be New Hampshire(let's be honest).

The water I grew up on tasted fresh. Our clothes randomly got stained because of the overabundance of iron, but at least I never had to worry about becoming anemic. Water is such an important thing. I have a tendency to dehydrate(so when I'm drinking water I am obviously doing nice things to my body), but I feel healthier when I am drinking a lot of water regardless. Unfortunately I just never have the time. I know terribly lame excuse, but I never really made it a habit to do homework and drink something.

My dish experiment has been successful for 3 weeks now, and I have been successfully Ramen free. Maybe it is time to change my water habits. If only I could have my perfectly tasty well water to drink out of my pretty pitcher and red cups.

On the other end of the liquid world, Matt and I bought soda tonight(because Matt loves soda regardless of all of my attempts to convert him of his sugary ways). I suggested Matt buy the Big Fizz Red Pop, because the Big Fizz Root Beer sounded too safe. I assumed that Red Pop was simply their version of Cream Soda. *set scene* I am standing at the sink washing dishes. Matt is at the stove being amazing and making me dinner. "You should try this soda." (M) "Why what does it taste like?" (E) "I don't know. It's like juice with seltzer water." (M) "Like fruit punch?" (E) "No I can't explain it. Just try it." (M)

The soda smelled like jello. It was that sweet sort of fruity smell only jello before it it is coagulated could smell like. I tried it and it tasted like overly sweet seltzer water. Maybe the taste of the five million pounds of sugar that somehow fit into one 2 liter bottle overshadowed the "red" flavor. I needed a good glass of water just after trying it. Unfortunately I am living in Cambridge at the moment; no good water in site.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants"

If you are not aware of the phenomenon that was Michael Pollan, then you might not know this phrase. It sounds like a really good philosophy, I guess. I personally think that his books describe a Utopian society(where everyone sends their compost to the farmers who then grow our produce) and if I want to dream about a food Utopia it would not be made of mostly veggies.

Something that was said in an article has renewed my interest in Pollan. Supposedly a few farmers in Wisconsin called Pollan out on his Utopian dream. One of them even wrote an article about the ridiculousity(totally not a word - don't you wish you could make up words too)of Pollan's views. He gave examples about why the compost idea wouldn't work, and even showed how it would actually hurt the environment instead of helping it.

Stage opens, Farmers come marching out looking rather intelligent and thought out. Pollan congratulates the farmers and says how encouraged he is by this debate. Head blogger of FairFoodFight Barth Anderson jumps onto the stage, disrupting the whole things and says, "until now I don't think that a lot of farmers paid attention." WOW. I hope you have realized that none of this happened on a stage. I just needed a little added drama to help you see what my semi-fogged up brain was seeing when I read the story. I am kind of curious if Kanye wasn't sitting around taking notes.(If you missed it at the VMA music awards Kanye West appeared out of nowhere when Taylor Swift was receiving an award to tell the crowd that he thought Beyonce should have gotten instead. All of facebook was a buzz with quizzes about when Kanye would interrupt you.)

Calling farmers stupid really isn't at all worthy of even a facebook quiz. It is just simply ignorant. I know this man might not have entirely meant for his statement to be twisted the way I just did, but assuming that farmers are uninterested in a book that claims they are doing things the wrong way, is so rude. It's 2009 people farmers can read.

I hope that farmers continue to stand up and tell the world their often untold story. My parents house is right near a dairy farm. We are close to the farmers, and when I was little I remember my mom talking to the farmer's wife. She told my mom that they never took a vacation. She never got a day off. Every day was the same. Even as a little girl I didn't think that was fair. Why should someone work all of the time when we got to take trips and go places? Everyone wants to go to Whole Foods and see local produce, but have you ever considered the farmer who does not get a day off so that produce can fill you up. These people are hard working and they all have a story. Oh and they do have opinions. If anyone knows how to make this world a better place, it would be a farmer.

I am sick. My nose isn't a faucet yet, but I feel achy and tired and just unsettled. Unfortunately I react strongly to cold meds, so I'm on a diet of tea and my mom told me to go out and buy some fruits and veggies. I barely made it to Trader Joe's and we all know(oryou will know from now on) that Trader Joe's is a fabulous place, but their produce is less than desirable. I am afraid I will have to wait on my fruits and veggies till tomorrow when I can go to Whole Foods or the Coop. I am just hoping that my dinner of banana bread pudding(I made it because I had a loaf of white bread that was just awful and needed to use it before it was moldy. It's kind of like French toast with bananas, so semi-healthy right?) will hold off the sneezies from getting worse.

Right now I am going to get back to my tea and my novel for my interdisciplinary class. And new goal of the week: try to have someone epically interrupt me with an ignorant statement.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

And how many calories is that Hersheys bar?

I am skinny. I just thought I should clear that up before I started this post. I might not be able to understand what I am about to write about, but please bear with me.

I was just surfing for food news and news in general because as far as my Beat Reporting professor knows I am reading news every day(I am as of right now!!!). Anyway back to my googling. I noticed a story about a new iphone application that will actually count your calories by scanning barcodes. After careful reading I am sadly wondering where this world is coming to.

I live in one of the busiest stressed out areas of the country; I know about being busy and not having time for anything. I do though still have time to eat and it really only takes two seconds to look at a label and think, "oh wow that sub was probably enough calories for two meals maybe I shouldn't eat a burger and fries for dinner."

I really have to wonder if people really are this ready to give up all brain functioning in their lives. We already check weather.com before walking outside(just to see how warm it is of course). We cradle our computers and spend more time with them than probably any other inanimate object we own. All I'm saying is, couldn't you spend a couple extra minutes and use your brain instead of letting your iphone do the work.

Thinking and problem solving are some of the keys to a long and healthy life. Eating healthy food is another one of those secrets. Maybe by ignoring the new iphone application and telling Mac that you don't need them to think for you when it comes to your diet, will help you live longer and make healthy eating choices.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

how very Un-American of me

I don't like apple pie. Scowl, argue, convince all you want; I will never like apple pie. I think it's a texture thing and an "I don't like cooked apples thing." I will make apple pies till my arms fall off; I just don't like eating them.

Now before you go all self righteous and hometown American on me, I know that apple pie is supposed to be an American instituetion and I know that EVERYONE likes apple pie(suposedly). I also know that I have some hometown blood in me and the only part I like about an apple pie is the crust. I am a purist when it comes to apples. I like them raw and unaltered, and I prefer the more sour firm varieties. Give me a hard crispy apple and I'll be a happy girl.

I suppose my lack of interest in cooked apples is why I tend to avoid fall desserts. They're ok, but too often they are just full of apples. I'll make them for other people, but I'm just never enthused by them.

I was rumaging through recipes tonight after passing my ethics test and avoiding my philosophy reading and I found this beautiful recipe that reminded me why I loved winter. A few winters ago I volunteered at The Fairmont Coply Hotel in Boston for this visiting chef thing they were doing. Their banquet chef was brilliant, and he had this recipe that symbolized what everyone needs in February in Boston.

Lemon Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Blood Oranges:

1.5 teaspoons of gelatin - 4 sheets if you are using the sheet variety
1/2 cup of sugar
1 lemon
1.25 cups of heavy cream
1.75 cups of buttermilk(if you are not into buying buttermilk since you won't use it for anything else you can make sour milk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice per cup of milk.)

3 blood oranges
1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon of sugar
A coupld of grinds of black pepper

Disolve the gelatin in 1 tablespoon of cold water. Let sit for 5 minutes to soften. If you're using the sheets just melt it in the microwave.

Grate the lemon rind and add it with the sugar to the cream in a small sauce pan. Gently heat until a bare simmer. Add the gelatin and stir to dissolve. Add buttermilk and 1 tablesppon of lemon juice. Strain and pour into small molds(cups, bowls, whatever you think would create a fun shape). Chill thoroughly until set.

Grab the blood oranges. You're going to make supreme cuts. Cut off the skin of the orange by cutting off the ends of the orange and then cutting down the fruit making sure to take off all of the white part. You can probably see now the seperate segments. Cut the fruit part out of each segment, so you'll have a perfect piece of an orange. Combine the vinegar, sugar, and peper and toss gently. Let this sit for about 30 minutes.

Serve the dessert by turning out the panna cotta out of the molds. Add some of the oranges around the panna cotta. It is the perfect combination of sweet and tart. Blood oranges normally start showing up in stores around January/February and in the middle of winter there really is nothing like the bright flavors it contains.

I know winter is not here yet and you're all just getting ready to enjoy your apples and cinnamin and bland pumpkin pies. My Puerto Rican self was just so excited about the thought of tropical fruits and winter that I couldn't help but share.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

I really don't want to know...

Being a terribly public person now that I announce to the internet world what I'm eating and how I'm eating it, it is hard to believe that there are things that I would rather not know. This week a plethora(I love that word and hope that you use it at least once today)of things have crossed my path that I would rather not know.

Number one on the list and the only food related one is a story in Biloxi Mississippi Sun Herald about the smell of pig farms. People are suing the farmers because of the stench. I grew up in the country near plenty of farms and it is true that pig poo smells worse than most poo. Why in the world though would someone feel the need to sue the farmers because their pigs poo? People frustrate me. I bet those same people eat pork chops and don't think twice about the fact that whereever those pork chops came from originally probably smelled like pig poo. Come on people!!! If you want to eat the food, then let the farmers do their job and stop complaining about the silly things.

My mom and I used to always joke about fresh country air scented things, because real fresh country air smells like manure(at least it does where I am from). Anyone who envisions a fresh country air that smells like the flowery and at times semi-nauseating sweetness found in that candle, probably should stick to living in a cute little developement close to the city. If you can't handle the country get out; please don't sue the farmers who already work 7 days a week 365 days a year.

Emerson College is the most dangerous college in the country. You know that sweet little school with all of the artsy free thinking students that I attend; yes it happens to be the most dangerous school in the country. I knew that the Boston Common smelled like urine every time I passed it, and that there was always an overabundance of homeless people on benches. BUT most dangerous!!! Come on people how are you judging this? Whether true or a faulty study because Emerson Police have to report violance within a certain area around the college and not just violance that happens to students, this really is just something I'd rather not know.

Just as a side note. Emerson Security is a full time joke. I walked in one day and the man said, "leave now, because I have an emergency I'm dealing with." WHY WOULD ANYONE WALK INTO YOUR OFFICE IF THEY DIDN'T ALREADY HAVE AN EMERGENCY??? I felt oh so safe after that moment in my Emerson history, and am hopeful that maybe this study will force the college to hire someone else to help that poor man deal with more than one emergency.

25 drug dealers were arrested in an area of Boston I traverse every day. Supposedly the one woman was dealing crack cocaine out of her baby's stroller. Why? I really feel like that is the only thing I can say right now. Let that why sink in for you and maybe you'll come up with a better question. Honestly just one more thing I wish I didn't know today.

Now I get to give you some factoids you might not have asked for but I am sure you will want to know. The burrito makings that were left over made the best lunch today. I just put the rice, beans, and ribs in a container; heated them in a container and just ate it like a fake version of red rice and beans. I am still eating my homemade bagels and in love with my own creation; probably a little self-indulgant of me, but it happens with me and bready things. Well it's time for tea and organization before my monstrous day tomorrow.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

Burritos made super easy

Matt's favorite food that I make for him is hands down burritos. I took a long time and careful planning to make them for him the first time, but every time since then I haven't have the time commitment and the burritos kind of suffered. I tried steak sandwich meat and thin steaks and everything proved to be a tad bit stringy and hard to chew in a tortilla. My idea of a perfect burrito is in the bite. You don't want the meat to be too hard or the tortilla to be too crispy. Everything should just kind of meld together in a nice smooth bite.

My most recent of plans on how to recreate that perfect burrito without the perfect burrito cooking time(the first time I made them I cooked beef cubes down to a perfect fall apart consistency) involved boneless ribs. I love boneless ribs. They really are an amazing thing, but how often do you eat boneless ribs without a bbq sauce? Well I hardly ever follow the rules, so I diced up half an onion and threw it into a crockpot. I also added some(ok a lot) of adobo, sazon(red coloring and some flavor), some garlic, the ribs, and I added enough water to cover the ribs. I would have probably added some recaito too; but I didn't have it so I stuck to what I had.

I cooked that on high in the crockpot and Matt and I left to run some errands. I put it in the crockpot around 11 and it was done probably around 2; I just judged it by it falling apart. It was at perfection for me when I stuck a fork into it and couldn't pick it up. The flavor of the ribs was not incredibly strong, but you could really taste the flavor of the meat and it was the perfect consistency to melt in your mouth with the rest of the ingredients.

Now onto the other ingredients. I made about a cup of rice and I heated a can of Trader Joe's Cuban style black beans. I was kind of experimenting with TJ's beans, but it really worked out. They tasted just like the beans you would eat at a typical burrito place.

Matt and I have only have one other problem with burrito making in the past. This problem was the burrito shells. They always tend to fall apart or get kind of messy. I bought small soft shell tacos, hoping that making the burritos kind of like a taco and being able to fill less and have one more might make things easier. Another success!!! I know it's hard to believe that I'd make so many wise choices in one meal, but I was definitely on for some reason.

For the finished product, I put a layer of rice, a layer of cheese, a layer of beans, and a layer of meat in each of the taco shells. Of course the key was to not overfill the shells(a lesson I am always trying to teach Matt). If you want more filling, have another.

I am proud to say I've finally created a burrito success I am excited to recreate. There were plenty of leftovers, so I can't wait to enjoy the burrito again for dinner later in the week when I'm stressed and have no time. Matt seemed like a very happy customer(he called them a success too), and the best part I could feel the Ramen quivering in its package. Real meals are not impossible, and a little extra work can make you so much happier and fuller(not sure if that's a word, don't judge).

I have a terrible headache tonight, so I'm going to resign to a cup of tea and hopefully going to get to bed early.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

Dunkin Donuts has officially lost my business...

No I am not angry at Dunkin. The place will still hold a happy place in my heart. I just won't be needing them anymore now that I know how freaking easy it is to make bagels. Yes I am a baking and pastry school graduate and yes I have made bagels before, but class life isn't real life. In the big scary real world that does not require a chef coat, skull cap, and checkered pants I have not made bagels, until today.

Soft pretzels are something that I started making when I was in Oregon. I have never made them without my friend Jillian. Well one time I think I made them at home, but it just wasn't the same. Last week Matt brought up the fact that he had heard all about these pretzels, but he had never tasted them. I felt bad, but pretzels are Jillian and my thing. I had to come up with a new thing for Matt. Bagels!!! Why didn't I think of it, oh yeah I did.

Whenever I make bread related stuff it normally involves a lot of dishes and work. This is probably why I choose to buy the stuff. There really is nothing as exciting as bringing some yeast to life, letting it make some flour delicious and doughy and then killing it. The problem is the time and clean up involved normally scares me away. Today I had worked ahead on all my homework, so I knew I had the time and I had Matt to tell me that he finds dishes gross(no actually Matt was super helpful flipping the bagels and taking them out and all sorts of stuff); what more could I need.

I am slightly ashamed to say I went online as my first source for a bagel recipe, but it worked out so if you're interested in looking at other bagel recipes that may or may not be as good as the one Matt and I tried go to bagelrecipes.net. We chose to try the New York Style bagels, but we changed a few things, because I'm just Emily like that.

Emily Style Bagels:

A large pot of water
2 large eggs
1 egg white
1 packet of active dry yeast
4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of warm water
¼ cup of vegetable oil
1 ½ tablespoons of sugar
½ tablespoon of salt

In a small bowl pour 1/2 cup of warm(if it feels warm on your hand it's good; if you feel heat, no good) and sprinkle the packet of yeast on top. Mix the yeast into the water and let sit till a little foamy.

In a large bowl add the flour, 1/2 cup of water, 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, 1 and 1/2 tablespoons sugar, and 1/2 tablespoon of salt. Add in the yeast mixture and the whole eggs.

Knead the dough for 10 minutes or until smooth. Pour some oil into the bowl and turn the dough into it so that it is all slightly oily. Cover and let sit in a warm area for 60 minutes.

Separate into 16 equal pieces. Roll into snakes about 6 inches long and 3/4 inch thick. Form it into a circle. I find the easiest way to do this is to kind of roll the ends around each other and pinch and reform around. This way it won't come undone during the boiling process.

Cover the circles and let rest for 20 minutes.

Bring the large pot of water to a boil. I have a pretty big pot, so we were able to do 4 bagels at a time, but consider that the bagels will double in size so don't over crowd. Boil each bagel for 3 minutes and flip half way.

Mix the egg white and about 2 tablespoons of water in a bowl. Beat till sort of foamy. Wash each boiled bagel with the egg white mixture and bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes or until toasty and brown.

I think I could eat these every morning. And the best part I bought flour and yeast so cost of 16 homemade bagels around $1. How sweet is that?

Bagel day was a success. I hope you enjoy the pictures and the video of me kneading. Matt felt if you saw it you would understand a little better. I hope to make bagels again soon. Maybe next time I'll play around with flavors and toppings. I would be in heaven if I could make the french toast bagels I had at that little cafe at home.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

DISHES

What is the one part of cooking that almost everyone hates, can't normally be avoided without causing another dirty job, and tends to make the cooking experience last so much longer? You guessed it and I told you before we even started, dishes. They are miserable things aren't they? I don't have a dishwasher and even if I did I probably wouldn't use it because I would end up paying even more in electricity than I already do.

Dirty dishes really are a miserable chore,especially when you're eating alone; or if you're like me and you're eating with someone who despises dishes so much he would rather scrub your toilet. I kind of think that the repugnance of dishes is one of the main reasons why 20 somethings turn to Kraft Easy Mac, frozen meals, or the dreaded Ramen Noodle. It is just so much easier to open a box and throw something on a pan, and in all honesty it involves less dishes.

My list on i-google right now is and I quote "Don't go to bed with dishes in the sink." "Don't go to bed with a messy room." "Maybe just don't go to bed." It really is one of my serious goals to not wake up to a full sink of dishes. It just brings you down. You wake up, you go to make your breakfast, and right there staring you in the face is yesterday. Yesterday's crusty food left on yesterday's now crusty dishes. Even if they aren't my dishes I can sense the stress level rising as I look over at the pile.

It has been a week of school and I have actually never gone to sleep with a full sink of dishes. Yay me!!! Yeah whatever it's not a big deal, but after a week of doing it I really feel like my days just start better. It also helps the ending part of the day. Doing dishes and cleaning up before bed really can make you sleepy.

I know most of you are probably using your dishwashers and laughing at me and my goals, but I am quite honestly sick of lists of things to do that involve philosophy and history and icky homework. Living day to day and reducing stress is about small goals. Dishes are such a wonderful small goals and they tend to crop up every single day. I guess that means I'm eating food, which is a good thing.

I am going to continue my procrastination and avoidance of Kant and his eye drooping philosophies by going out and trying to buy ingredients for bagels. Yes I said bagels. I made them at school and I really want to try to make them tomorrow when Matt is here. Why bagels? I feel like maybe it would be a fun thing to make and I'm kind of curious if it might even save me some money if I can manage to make my own bagels to eat for breakfast every morning. Matt's also been on my case about the fact that he's never eaten my mind altering soft pretzels. I want to make them with him, but I kind of want to try something new too. So here goes nothing, well no Kant at least, don't worry I'll let you know all about it.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

Venison Chocolate and my insatiable love of meat

The other day I was talking to a vegan, you know those people who don't eat meat, milk, eggs, and yet normally own at least one leather object(shoes, purse, belt, ect.) In all fairness this vegan might not own any leather objects and I just totally stereotyped, but I am in desperate need of some street cred by way of blog haters so we'll just go with it for now. This vegan is a very well educated person who is very nice and doesn't look at all like the lack of butter is drying out her soul, like it would be doing to mine.

I asked her my standard meat loving questions. Why do you eat tofu that is flavored like meat? What are you eating? Couldn't you just ignore the dead pig scenario when you are biting into bacon? You know typical probing annoying questions I am absolutely positive she has never heard before. I then did my famous "oh I have the coolest vegan friend ever rant," which is absolutely true and might have caused forgiveness for all of my probing. In the end I had this strange urge to kill a pig and make a pulled pork sandwich. All of the Cambridge Wilburs must have been on vacation that day, so my urge wasn't satisfied.

Before you think I am a blood thirsty, meat eating, greenhouse gas forming, gun toting cave man. Well ok minus the gun thing(I live in MA. They don't even let you carry pepper spray up here) and the man part; I try not to hurt the ozone layer when I remember. I eat meat. There you go I said it. I eat meat and I like it, actually I love it. I love it so much I try to do it multiple times a week. Now before you go getting your panties in a knot(if they are in a knot already remember I'm looking for potential blog haters so go to town)let me explain my food chain philosophy.

A snake eats mice. You will never be able to "convert" a snake to being a vegetarian and eating grass instead. You can try, but a snake eats mice. Those mice might be adorable little guys like in Cinderella and they might help someone make it to the ball just in time, but the snake really could care less. It sees mice and it thinks food.

My first dog ate groundhogs. There truly is nothing attractive about a groundhog, but it never asked to be grabbed by the scruff of its neck and shaken until my dog had killed it. The dog rolled in it too, but that's a whole other disgusting story that always ended smelly.

I, being a human, eat meat and meat products(BUTTER...it is heaven on earth. Why would you want to say no to it?). I have the choice to eat vegetables, and I quite often do so I remain a healthy person. In the end I pretty much survive on meat.

Back 100 years people ate meat. Some cultures and people groups do not have the resources to eat meat often, but given the opportunity they would eat meat as long as it wasn't a religiously separated meat. I would propose that it would be very difficult to find a culture that is purely and rudimentary vegetarian for reasons other than lack of meat. Humans were meant to eat meat.

In the advanced age that we live in, it is possible for vegetarians and vegans to take vitamins and supplements for the lack of nutrition they are subjecting their body to because of not eating meat. We also have a wider range of produce and seasons thanks to a more global food market.

I do agree with people who say that Americans consume too much meat. We have built giant super farms that have caused the price of meat to be so much less than it used to be; meat can be an every night meal for most middle class Americans. Eating a salad for dinner would not kill you every now and then and it might remind you to be thankful for what you have. Children in India are starving damnit!!!

There is one more baffling thought I must consider I have met very few male vegetarians in my life time. I'm sure they are out there, but I really haven't met any of them. Most of the men in my life enjoy red meat. In fact some of them are quite passionate about it. Hanna Frederick, chocolatier and food chemist, has invented venison chocolate. Supposedly it's a big hit with the men in New Zealand. I can not say I'm surprised. I personally prefer my Hershey's milk chocolate, but I am pretty sure you would not have to twist Matt's arm too much to get him to try meat flavored chocolate. I don't know what it is about men that makes them prefer meat, where women are more willing to give it up and go for a salad. I suppose it is the last meat mystery in my life.

That urge for pulled pork is coming back. Wilbur where are you when I need you?

Happy Eating!!!(even if it is veggies)

Emily

Adobo and celery

Today I had to bring an item that defined my cultural identity to my Moving Out Moving In class(codeword pointless Interdisciplinary class that turns out might be the only bright spot in my current Emerson life). Last night I paced my room and tried to decide what makes me who I am(you know the lovable Puerto Rican/Pennsylvania Dutch ball of quirk and foodyness). I kept staring at the PR survival kit Rob gave me but somehow just the adobo didn't seem to define me completely. SO I looked for my other side. I looked deep inside and thought to myself if I could bring in the PA Dutch version of adobo what would it be. Thank goodness for Matt being sick last week because I had the perfect thing just sitting in my fridge.

Celery is the Pennsylvania Dutch version of adobo. I don't know why it didn't come to me sooner. My mom's spice cabinet is full of celery seed. What one does with celery seed as a spice is completely a mystery to me, but I am not joking when I say that cleaning out my mom's spice cabinet resulted in at least 3 full containers of celery seed. Celery is added to almost everyone of my mom's best recipes. It really is a cool veggie. It even turns blue if you put it in a container of blue food colored water. You can't say that about many vegetables.

Celery is wholesome. It is chicken noodle soup. It is chicken and dumplings on a cold night. And at the same time celery can be cold and refreshing. I was never a huge celery and peanut butter fan when I was little(the whole lack of bread bothered me), but simply eating a stick of celery can be refreshing and according to Matt you actually burn more calories eating it than are in it. Ugh I totally just contradicted myself right in the middle of a paragraph. If you were reading my comment about celery being wholesome, and then my Matthew fact about celery being pretty much no calories, you might be confused. Celery is in wholesome foods that my mom makes, so I consider it wholesome; the fact that is not wholesome at all is just a cool little perk.

It was obvious that food had to define me and my cultural identity. Adobo is delicious with anything. I make an omelet in the morning and add some cheese and adobo. Ok let me take a step back. Adobo is delicious with almost anything. If Rob were to make me a good chocolate adobo gelato I would not be surprised, but only Rob would be able to actually pull that off. Normally adobo goes good with all savory foods. Salt, pepper, garlic, and a little bit of yellowness(which I really can't explain)all meld together to form a party in my mouth.

Being Puerto Rican is loving the food. Getting together involves lots of food. Family involves who is the best cook and enjoying their food. Being Pennsylvania Dutch is intricate. It is stubborn and frugal and warm and comforting and at times completely standoffish and untrusting. Being both is me. Sassy and somehow still comforting with a skeptical side that does not trust easily. Adobo and celery.

So what are you? If you were one food, what food would you be. Is it a cultural food? I hope you think long and hard and find something completely crazy like I did.

In other news I celebrated a week at Emerson College. I bought the largest Hersheys milk chocolate bar they sold and ate the whole thing on the way home. People looked at me like they've never seen an Emily walking down the road eating a Hersheys bar. I felt bad for them because this experience was new and decided that I should continue the weekly tradition so they were given the opportunity to not think this an abnormal occurrence. Hersheys chocolate puts me in a happy place. I love that happy place.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

Frozen burritos with a little stress on the side

Emerson College is a torture chamber that students enter every September hoping they will come out alive. You may think I am overreacting and that every college is rough, but when looking at a syllibi for a class sends me into a panic attack I know that there is something more going on here.

The first week of college at a normal college is spent looking over the material, discussing what you will do in the class, and possibly writing a paper on who you are and what you want to do with your life. Yesterday was my second day of my first week of school. I already had a story due by Sunday. I was assigned 200 pages of reading, a quiz, 20 pages of boring reading(the professor himself called it boring reading), a definition on cultural identity with a source, and the need to answer a discussion question online yesterday. So if you're keeping track that is story assigned day one and "you can now say goodbye to ever doing anything fun" assigned on day 2.

I am a sort of masochist when it comes to doing homework and doing well in school. If I like the professor, I will be willing to do anything even if it means no life for 6 months. The problem is that my history professor who is the evil man assigning 200 pages of reading and discussion questions to make sure you did the reading, is an insane nut job that is rumored to be on every drug known to man. I am the primary supporter of this rumor, but in all fairness I have heard it from another more reliable source(roommates are reliable right?). This guy stood up in front of the class and spent an hour calling role while cracking jokes about everyone's chosen career path, making sure to add crude comments wherever he felt it was appropriate. I worked in kitchens. I have heard my fair share of what some may determine to be inappropriate, and I can live with it. I don't however pay $40,000 a year to listen to some guy crack bathroom jokes. Just teach me the damn history so I can get the A and move on with my life.

Yes I am ranting. Yes I am bemoaning my fate and wondering what the next few months will bring. For all of you who are terribly upset and wondering what in the world all of this has to do with food, I had a frozen chimichanga for dinner. Why? Did I not have time for dinner? Was I too busy doing homework? This week has broken my spirit. I know that sounds overly dramatic of me, but I could have made time to make dinner and I got all of my homework that needed to be done tonight done. I just really couldn't bring myself to cook and then clean up.

Cooking is something I love to do. It is something that I wish I could do all day, but cooking is work. It is a necessary work, but it is still work. When I'm watching a rerun of Grey's Anatomy and crying in the dark because I haven't had the energy to turn the lights on yet, I know I won't have the energy to cook. I didn't resort to Ramen. I don't know if a frozen chimichanga is a better option, but it at least has something resembling beef in it.

Emerson is a torture chamber that students enter every day of the week. Entering this chamber may mean that I won't be able to have the perfectly clean room that I wanted or the sinkless sink of dishes every night. But tonight I ate something for dinner. It wasn't Ramen. I also got the list of impossibilities done. One day at a time. One day at a time.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

Matt might be a little bit of a wimp when he's sick...

Ok let's be honest he's a total wimp and today he claimed that my allergies made him sick. He did bring my groceries to Boston; so I felt bad, like a good girlfriend, and decided that instead of cleaning all of the chicken I bought I would make him some chicken noodle soup.

My family was a big Campbell's family. If we were sick and needed some soup my mom would probably open a can. Now before you go about judging my wonderful mother understand that she was a very good cook and her chicken corn soup was always life altering. We just left sick food to the professionals; I mean let's be honest can you really taste it anyway?

But back to sniffles. His mom makes chicken noodle soups whenever someone is sick, and it really is a good chicken noodle soup. Not only did I have to make a chicken noodle soup that didn't taste like water, but I also had to live up to Matt's mom's chicken noodle soup. Does that sound impossibly to you, because I was worried just thinking about it.

I had skin-on, bone-in thighs. We went out to buy carrots, an onion, celery, dill, and parsley. I bought the dill at Star Market(my community's version of Shaws) and I paid $2.39 for fresh dill. My Matthew is worth it and fresh ingredients are always worth it, but I was disappointed when we went to Whole Foods to buy the onion and parsley that we had originally forgotten and a giant bunch of dill was $1.69 and looking fresher than the small container we had bought. Now what have we learned? Buy fresh herbs at Whole Foods; it's cheap and fresh, so pretty much a no-brainer.

We chopped and diced all of the ingredients and threw 3 of the thighs into a pot. Actually Matt did most of the chopping and dicing and I cleaned the other thighs while he was doing the soup stuff. We covered the ingredients with water(should have put more water in and had to add more at the end, but that's what I love about cooking you can always adjust). I added a little bit of dehydrated garlic, some adobo(because honestly what does adobo not make better), and a little bit of salt.

Once the chicken was almost done I took it out and cut off the skin and I cut the meat off the bone. Then I threw it back in the pot. We started the water for noodles(you can just throw the noodles in, but Matt wanted to do them separately).

DDay was coming closer. Did I manage to make a good chicken noodle soup? I had been tasting the broth and adjusting the seasoning pretty much every 20 minutes, so I knew it tasted good. The real test came when Matt tried it. "We did good Em, we did good." It really was good. I still say leave sick food to the professionals at Campbells, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad to make my own chicken noodle soup every now and then. It definitely is coming on the season for it.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

Is this safe to eat and other questions college students ask about food

I have re-entered the world of college and thankfully there is nothing more exciting than the joys of college food.

Is this safe to eat? Can you smell this milk for me? How do you know if eggs are still good? Can I make a meal out of noodles and a package of lentil soup mix? Food tends to be a mystery to most overworked undernapped overly hungry college students.

I think this mystery partly comes from the fact that college is really the first time that most people are responsible for feeding themselves. Some people still manage to avoid the inevitable by living on campus all 4 years and choking down the dining room slop, or by living with their parents and enjoying their mom's cooking. Eventually all of us have to face this time in our lives when food becomes a personal responsibility, and that experience is normally a comical one.

I shared with you my first "what happened to my life" moment last fall when I started my bad Ramen habit. Last summer my boyfriend called me frantically begging for recipes, because he had been eating pasta for a solid month. He went into his whole moving out experience so proud and sure of the fact that he would be a perfectly happy typical bachelor, and a month later he was so tired of eating pasta he was avoiding the aisle in the supermarket so he didn't even have to look at it.

Coming of age with food can be awkward. I know I've made a lot of mistakes. I've also learned some amazing short cuts. Thin steak meat is not only cheap; but it is also quick to fry up, tasty sprinkled with a little bit of adobo, and can be made into a complete meal if you add a side of rice and broccoli. Chicken is cheaper if you buy it with the bone in and skin on. I promise you that it will take you possibly an hour to cut off the skin and to cut the meat off the bone and the dollars per pound you'll save will bring a smile back to your face while you watch meat prices go up and up and up and your pay check go down and down and down.

Once you've figured out where your food journey is going to take you, it is time to show off a little. I don't know about you all, but I really enjoy bringing people to my apartment and making a meal for them. It makes me feel like I really have grown up. *standing on soapbox in pigtails and overalls(yes I own overalls, don't judge)* Hey all you who think I look like I'm 12, I'm an adult and I can make you a really great meal if you come to visit me!!!*stepping off of soapbox* Maybe you don't feel that urge to prove yourself like I do, but I am sure you have friends in food puberty like yourself who would love to enjoy your new recipe for beef stew.

Tonight I am eating questionable stuffed shells. I say questionable because none of my roommates remember buying them and they were in our freezer. Frozen food is safe right? I think we're hungry enough that it doesn't matter, and school doesn't even start till tomorrow. Food puberty is so much fun isn't it? If you are beyond mature in your food life and don't understand a word of what I am talking about, I apologize and hope that you will forgive my imperfection.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

Papa Gino's Time

Tonight I tried my Matt's favorite pizza chain and for a chain I must say it was good pizza for a chain. It wasn't overly greasy like Pizza Hut(ok we all know I secretly like the grease, but there are moments when your stomach isn't up for it and the thought of the heartburn is just more than you can handle). It wasn't overly topped like Dominos(I love my cheese and peperoni, but where's the sauce?). The sauce wasn't terribly sweet like Papa John's(love that garlic butter; I think they should just sell the crust). The crust was crunchy and fresh like real bread(think back really far to Chuckie Cheese's cardboard crust pizza, yeah this was like 100 million times better).

We got a large peperoni pizza, and I was slightly regretting the peperoni choice because of the grease on the pizza. The flavor did make it worth it though, and I am not sure if I would have liked the pizza as much without a topping. The sauce was a little bit sweet for me. It wasn't Papa John's sweet, but it didn't have that nice salty spiced base I like in my pizza sauce. The crust was gorgeous. It had the crust of a baguette and the soft center a slice of white bread that when made into peanut butter and jelly and left to sit till lunchtime could be squished to a paper thin.

Honestly I felt like Papa Gino's pizza was the closet thing to a NY style pizza to be found north of CT. If you do not live in New England you might not understand the search for a nice large slice of New York style pizza. It is a terribly hard challenge. I never really thought it would be hard to find a nice large slice of pizza, until I went to school in RI. I grew up in the tri-state area; deep dish or not-sure-what-kind-of-pizza-we-make New England pizza just doesn't cut it for me.

I of course prefer my pizza from the tiny place down the street. Chains are ok, but there is nothing like calling Tony's pizza and hearing "numba 24" and then discussing if he really did say 24 or if it was 34 or maybe 44(fresh off the boat Italians in PA Dutch country, such a funny combination). It's almost midnight, and what would be a better end to your Saturday night than pizza. I'm almost hungry again, almost.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

Gas Stove oh how I love you

I just ate dinner(chicken pot stickers from Trader Joes, because I needed something easy on my first night here) and I got to use my gas stove again. I wanted to kiss it after I was done.

The ability to be home and turning a switch for a real fire to heat my food and not just a hot coil. What is it about a fire that makes me happier? Oh come on, that's like asking why my dad feels that spraying hairspray in a fire to watch it get bigger is fun. It just is.

Not only can you make your own smores by toasting marshmallows inside on a freezing cold night. But you can also broil a pork chop to perfection.

The other thing I love about gas stoves is that the cleaning is a breeze. Whoever thought of putting those silly tin things under the heat coils was probably on drugs. Have you ever tried to clean one of those things? Some people cover them in aluminum foil so when they get dirty they can just throw away the aluminum foil and there is no scrubbing involved, but that just looks kind of icky. Other people, like me, grab an S.O.S pad and scrub their little hearts out. Normally this will get most of the gunk off, but your fingers might hate you. Still other people just buy new ones every time they get dirty. I was never in a family privileged enough to feel that when you dirty something you just throw it away. Oh how my parents ruined me(said with the utmost facetiousness).

I am still rather sad about the fact that home seems so far away right now, but food really does cover a multitude of sadnesses. If you don't believe me please go out and buy Boursin garlic cheese and a package of water crackers. Sit in front of the TV or turn on your favorite cd and just dig in. It will be gone before you know it and you won't even feel bad. It's that good.

I know you all aren't feeling the sadness I am right now from lack of family and home, or maybe you are and you just don't have a public way of announcing it. The picture is one of my puppy who has nothing to do with food, but is right now sitting in a kennel wondering where her family went. She's going to get so big while I'm gone. Please humor me just this once and appreciate her adorableness.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

Toto we're not in Kansas anymore

Well I'm finally back at school and away from home and my mom's meals. I went shopping at Trader Joes with my mom this morning as my sister and dad waited at the apartment for the Comcast guy. It was kind of sad walking to a store where I get my weekly dose of bread and chili and potstickers with my mom, who will not be there during all of the rest of those weekly trips. Ugh it was so sad that I actually started tearing up just typing that.

I would love to be able to eat something warm, homey, and salty right now; but I am not going to ruin my "no ramen" campaign on the first night. Some tea and potato chips will have to do the trick. I also have some hummus and snacky things, so I should be able to survive till Matt brings up my groceries on Monday.

Shopping in Boston is expensive. When I say expensive, I mean that I have looked at Shaw's adds with their sale items on them from Providence and Boston, and the Boston adds have the same food for at least 20 cents more. Shaws is of course more expensive than other grocery stores; the difference between the food I buy at the grocery store Matt and I go to compared to the Shaws in Boston is probably close to $1 difference for most things. Times are tough. I am a college student who saved all of my summer salary just to survive in Boston for the school year, so every dollar needs to go far. I love food and I love to splurge on food, but why splurge because of a high cost of living in the city that I live; I'd rather splurge because the food I'm buying is really good. I travel an hour to go grocery shopping and I save a lot of money(thankfully my wonderful boyfriend drives my food up to the apartment, so I don't ever have to travel on a train with all of those groceries).

Here I go into the crazy world of Boston and school and apartment life. The ramen will be avoided and the drama will most likely be rampant. Tomorrow I'll be in Providence for groceries and supposedly I am missing out on life because I have never had Papa Gino's pizza. I'll let you know if I have really been missing anything or if this New England chain is just as disappointing as the fact that my family is driving back home and I won't get to see them till November.

Well enough sadness. I'm hopeful that Papa Gino's is as mind-blowing as Matt keeps telling me. I'll be letting you all know very soon.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

Just say no to Ramen

Last year I hit an all time low. I was sitting on my bedroom floor, newspapers covered the floor, I was sitting with my back to the wall, and I was drinking Coca Cola and eating a bowl of Ramen Noodles. For most college students this might have been an all time high, but for a college student who has a degree from Johnson & Wales in Baking and Pastry Arts I felt like an absolute failure. I went to a school where I learned how to cook and I was subjecting my body to overly salted chicken stock and strange noodles that kind of taste good dry.

I of course excused my way through the Ramen low by eating Ramen at least once a week. I told myself that I wasn't at JWU anymore, and real college students have less time than culinary students AND Emerson students have even less time because we are proven to be strangely over-achieving. I just didn't have time for meals, or so I thought.

This year I have decided to challenge myself a little bit more. I am going to try to go the entire first semester without resorting to Ramen as a meal. I know this doesn't sound very daring or courageous or even challenging, but this means that I am going to be making meals real home-made meals. I have no idea how this is going to work, and I am praying that I won't be longingly watching the Ramen.

Besides the Ramen I really would like to eat healthier this year. What? Aren't new years resolutions and healthier eating for after New Years? Yeah I know, but who feels like eating healthy in the middle of a New England winter. All I want to do in January is bake bread and survive on fresh bread and chicken soup all day long. I know that this summer I have been healthier and happier because my mom's been helping me by making meals every dinner. Now if only I could figure out which bag she could fit in.

My bags are packed, and soon the van will be packed. Tomorrow at 4 we will be on our way to Boston and I will be embarking on this journey. Will I actually make it or will the cheap, quick meal that is Ramen noodles lure me away from my goal. I really can't tell you right now, but stay tuned because you know that I'll be filling you in on every close moment and every fabulous meal. If you want to join me on this challenge let me know. I think college students, singles, and young adults everywhere need to just say no to Ramen and end the stereotype.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

The day in which we labor, or eat

As most of you know today was labor day. If you didn't know then I hope you will take the last 3.5 hours available and grab yourself a burger, because it is never too late to celebrate a holiday 75% of the citizens of the United States could not tell you the meaning of. I can honestly say that this holiday doesn't mean terribly much to me. I don't mean to anger members of labor organizations, but I just kind of like to use the day as a chance to hang out with my family and eat good food.

Thankfully good food and my family just come with the territory. As you can see we had quite a feast and that's just dessert and appetizers. Titi Stella made babaganoush and humus. I am personally a bigger fan of the baba, but I would gladly finish a whole plate of eat of them with some pita. I am not a fan of grape leaves, but Titi said that for the amount of work saved buying the can of the grape leaves made the shortcut really worth it, considering that amount of grape leaves would have taken close to a day of work for her.

The caprese salad was my mom's idea. Our beautiful freshly grown tomatoes and our basil made most of the dish. If you remember our pesto day, we actually clipped the basil down to almost nothing; it is now just as big if not bigger only about a month later. My mom bought the little mozzarella balls; she chose the kind that were already marinated in seasoning and stuff, which were a slightly more flavorful addition to the dish. We put a thing of balsamic near the dish, but the freshness of all the ingredients made the need for the balsamic pretty much nonexistent.

When I entered the dessert scene my Titi Carmen pretty much stopped making her famous(if you tasted it you'd know why I feel it's famous; no not many people know about it, but it is famous in our family and our family is fairly large) cheesecake. I don't care how much I learn at school nothing compares to eating Titi Carmen's cheesecake. She added a little bit of sugar to the raspberries and let them sit for a while till she put them on top of the cheesecake. This took away the sometimes sour bitter taste that raspberries sometimes have. Of course the cheesecake would have been completely perfect on its own. I am a sort of cheesecake purist. I prefer plain cheesecake; raspberry flavoring will never taste as good as adding some fresh raspberries to the top of the cheesecake. In my eyes there is also nothing more appealing that fresh fruit and plain cheesecake.

For dinner we had sausage sandwiches, hamburgers, red rice and beans, enchiladas and potato salad. Red rice and beans can change your life; no let me say it differently. Red rice and beans will change your life. It is quite possibly the most amazing dish known to man; yes I am slightly prejudiced being Puerto Rican, but professionals(don't ask me for names because I have no idea)have said that Puerto Rican rice and beans is the best form of rice and beans in the history of rice and beans. The enchiladas were also incredible and my dad's sausage and hamburgers were out of this world(of course they were, he is my daddy).

I hope you all enjoyed some yummy food today and if you didn't I really hope you take my advice and run out for a quick nighttime picnic as your local McDonalds. The people are making double time for working a holiday; you might as well make it worth it.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

Sometimes more sausage is not a good thing

Rob spent a good couple of hours tonight stuffing sausage. I think he had maybe 20 pounds of two different kinds and the sausage just kept coming. "Sausage has the potential to change your life." Rob was not in the best of mood over his sausage. Something went wrong and for the first time since I have been working at the country club, I saw a side of Rob that made me remember why I like Rob so much.

"All I want to do is to make really good sausage." Rob, who I had up until now assumed did not make the kind of mistakes that I made, had something he wished he was better at. This was refreshing and hopeful. I do not know how to make sausage, but I'm ok with buying it. It's really not my thing, but when I make creme brulee and it just never seems to come out just perfect I understand Rob and the sausage.

I actually had two Rob epiphanies this week. I had a sort of conundrum over the fact that Rob seemed to easily get frustrated at other prep cooks and he hardly ever got frustrated at me. I assumed it might because I never really messed up his work, but the prep cooks that got on his nerves never worked on his prep. As I was watching a prep cook frustrate him I knew why people said that it must be hard working with me.

I like to work. I don't like to stop working. I don't like taking breaks while working. I like to be getting stuff done and to be doing it well. Unfortunately for everyone else I kind of expect this kind of work ethic from everyone I work with. As I watched Rob picking up the extra work that this prep cook was slacking on, I knew why Rob and I got along. He understands people make mistakes, but he also(like me) knows when people aren't trying and that is by all means the most frustrating thing on the face of this earth. Maybe sometimes that comes off as expecting too much; I don't think so.

Rob is a very talented cook. He can think up a new gelato flavor for every day of the week, and every one will change your life. He takes a piece of fish and fillets it and comes up with a whole dish surrounding it and people love it. I personally think that his recent failure in sausage does not make him any less of a cook, but I know that he won't be content until he can make the best sausage you've ever tasted. That's just the way he is. Food with Rob should be life changing, not just sausage. If something does not wow him, he doesn't want anyone to taste it.

Today was my last day at the country club. I am hoping to be back in November for their gingerbread house making festival, but no one knows what time will bring. Everyone at the country club played a different character in my summer performance. There was a dishwasher who played the bad guy I just never had the chance to vanquish. Alice was the teacher, who patiently showed me every knife cut and procedure. Rob was my inspiration. I wanted to know how to make an awesome graham cracker so I could help him create the dessert he was dreaming of. I wanted to be better so when he needed my help I was right there with an answer.

There are very few people in this world who I can say inspired me. I guess I'm pretty hard to impress in the first place. At the end of the day it is the people in my life that push me harder and expect the best out of me that make me a better person. I don't know where Rob will be in 5 years, but I know if he is running a restaurant that is in need of a P.R. Betty Baker I'll be there.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

Can I have a little airplane dirt with that?

Yesterday Matt's sister left for Italy. Matt called me up to tell me all about the 3 course meal that she was going to get. I started laughing the second he called it a 3 course meal. He said it, as if just the phrase made it a good meal.

I have had my fair share of international flight meals. Some have been awful and other ones have been really awful. I have no idea what it is they do to the meal that makes it that awful, but it tastes like the smell of the airplane. That stale air smell and turns into a rancid air smell after about an hour in. I think the food can be best described as a bland sour taste. One you take a bite you don't get the taste out of your mouth and the fact that you're hungry and feel like you should eat forces at least one more bite which will probably be exactly the thing to throw your stomach over the edge.

My advice pack food. Thankfully all of the neurotic no liquid rules have not affected food, so my bags are packed with munchies even for a short flight. Food helps you get over that nauseous overly tired been in the air too long feeling, but the wrong food makes it worse. I normally pack the snack mix with M&Ms and peanuts; I mean who does not love that mix and when you need something sweet you can pick out the M&Ms and when you need something salty you can eat the peanuts and if you hit rock bottom and become terribly desperate you can eat the raisins.

Does anyone know why they put raisins in that mix? I mean who likes raisins anyway. I personally don't. They are all sweet and wrinkly and chewy. I am not a fan of raisins, so most of the time when I get the peanut mix all that is left is the raisins unless I am smart and pick them out before hand just so I don't get desperate enough to try one just in case I might like it this time(I never do.).

I hear that the meal up in first class are actually tasty. How one can make 200 meals taste awful and 20 taste good is beyond me. I mean if there is potential for a satisfactory meal what makes the coach meals taste so bad. I'm sticking to my plane dirt hypothesis, but who knows. If McDonalds can make a satisfactory tasting meal that can be put in a bag and eaten 40 minutes later, then I'm thinking the airline companies can start rethinking their meals.

Matt's sister has probably already had her "3 course meal" experience. Lucky for her she is going to Italy for 3 months, so I am sure the food she will be enjoying there will make her forget the tragic experience on the plane. For any of the rest of you who are planning a vacation to France, Italy, or wherever your international dream vacation may take you; pack food and if it's the M&Ms mix remember to take out the raisins(unless you like raisins).

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

And over here is a biscuit that lasts 2 minutes in boiling hot water

The UK's Daily Post had an article about this chef who they made out to be a hero who had come up with a top secret formula that made this biscuit strong enough to last 2 minutes in hot water. Gorilla glue wants their job back. I mean seriously why in the world would you want something that strong, and would I break my teeth on it? No it's silly to ask if I would break a tooth on it, because I feel like it would. The shocking thing is that people actually think they taste good. This is the UK so maybe they are living up to their reputation of enjoying the bland and rock hard.

I kind of remember learning American History(during 1st to 6th grade we hardly ever got past WW1 in American History so I learned a lot about the Pilgrims and their journey). We had a discussion of the food they ate and I believe something called hard tack was on the menu(or what fits in the boat). I feel like this biscuit probably is a close resemblance to that.

Maybe this biscuit isn't as hard as I am imagining, but I just can't imagine that it tastes good. The last record holder for longest time in tea without crumbling was a chocolate digestive at around 30 seconds. If you haven't been to Europe a digestive is this cookie thing that is pretty much fiber. They actually taste pretty good. I think my dad brought back at least 3 boxes when we visited Prague. They are pretty hard and compact, so I feel like a cookie should reasonably last 30 seconds or less.

If you are not a teetotaler like myself, you might not understand the significance of cookies in tea. There really is nothing quite like it. To sit with a biscotti and dunk it in till it is soft and then drink the tea with it. The only unpleasant part of this experience is the crumbs of the cookie that end up at the bottom of the cup. They really gross me out. I guess the English know their tea and the crumbs probably bother them too, but I feel like there is one thing this biscuit might be falling short of(besides my calling it tasteless and hard as a rock). For a cookie to be a good dipping cookie it has to be porous enough for the tea to soak in a little bit. With the gorilla glue cookie I feel like it is possibly impervious water which kind of defeats the point of dipping it.

All of this cookie and tea talk has given me a hankering to make biscotti and to go to England so I can actually try this biscuit. Supposedly the chef who invented the cookie didn't think that it would be at all profitable or sell(hmmm red flag?), so there was really no intention to market it until someone said it was good. I'm thinking that now that I am his biggest hater he should send me a batch. It's just a thought.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

Preeti was not so pretty

In case you are not following my very distinct instructions to cancel all plans on Wednesday night at 10 p.m and watch Top Chef, I will now inform you that Preeti(the Indian chef that was a handsome young man er woman is officially gone. Maybe with longer hair and a little more grace in the way she stood she'd kind of look like a woman, but anyway there is no more preeti; now if only the dirty looking hobbit would get eliminated so we could all watch the show without being bothered by her sweaty hair contaminating the food.

Last night I watched the episode with Rob, Alice, and Rob's fiance as a going away get together for me. I think I might just have to take a flight from Boston every Wednesday night to be able to watch it with them till the end of the season. We did what a bunch of cooks(and sous chef)do best, gossiped while being as tough as nails on the competitors and the failure of a pasta salad. Sunday is my last day at the country club and I am honestly already feeling like I am kitchen deprived. How one is deprived before they are actually away from something I don't know, but I can honestly tell you I am already feeling deprived.

This summer has been one big lesson for me. I had a lesson in home. I have called many places home since I started college, but I had never had the chance to really come back home and spend time at home. Home is priceless and you really only have one real one.

The kitchen lessons were at times more painful. Sharp knives are a lot less likely to give you bad cuts. Doubt me? Try it. Not only will the whole cutting experience be easier, but you'll also be using less force when cutting that bell pepper so the knife will be less likely to cut off the tip of your finger.

A willing learner and a hard worker can do anything she(I can't speak for men since I am not one)puts her mind to. I'm a pastry chef and I must say that I was a little worried about my lack of knife skills and culinary knowledge, but thanks to very patient teachers I am doing a lot better. I can't say I'm going miss my hands smelling like onions or salmon every time stag day comes around.

Kitchen family is like no other family. We work together, we drive each other crazy and if someone decided to mess with one of our family at work(by someone I mean one of the people that are totally left out of the family; kind of the red headed step child in the bunch)we'd all make their lives miserable. The best part of the whole deal is that normally you aren't related to one of them. I know it sounds silly that that is the best part, but quite honestly you probably wouldn't put up with as much if it were your family(it's kind of one of those life rules you never understand but follow like your life depended on it).

Every Puerto Rican needs a PR survival kit, and thanks to Rob I have my travel sized bottle of Adobo to make sure I am never without it. Rob was pretty disappointed when he found out I didn't keep it in my knife kit, so now I can be a good PR and never disappoint him again. Well I might disappoint him, but I'm going to try my hardest not to because of lack of Adobo.

You can take the girl out of the kitchen and she'll probably be sad till she gets back in. Sunday I will definitely be a not so happy Emily. I promise I won't bemoan it too much longer, but in the middle of a recession I found the job at the country club by emailing a woman in HR. I hate people in HR; they normally hate me, but this woman liked me and then the chef liked me and somehow I landed the job. So life worked out and it's been an awesome summer. I guess all summers come to an end. I'm going to try to enjoy every last bit I have.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily

Danger Food!!!

I know that I have in the past commented over and over about people becoming increasingly neurotic about the dangers of food, and I feel like it is about time I took a step back and told you that food can make you sick.

Why the sudden urge? Yesterday my family(dad,mom,and sister) and I went out to breakfast for my sisters first last day of highschool. It's just one of those silly things my mom feels makes the first day of school a little happier and makes her feel better about her baby being in 12th grade. Anyway we went down to this adorable little breakfast and lunch place in Topton. It's one of those places that only someone who lives in the town(or up the hill from the town as is our case) or someone who is driving through Topton(obviously lost, because you probably wouldn't be driving through Topton PA for any other reason) and simply starving would find. This place really has good food and it is one of my mom's favorite places to eat, so we schlepped into town at 8 am for breakfast.

Being the annoying group of people that we are it took a while for us to know what we wanted. We all ended up getting bagels and cream cheese(I know that sounds like it shouldn't take too long to decide about, but amazingly enough it did.) I got a french toast bagel(perhaps the yummiest thing ever) and plain cream cheese and a white chocolate milkshake, because contrary to most people's beliefs that milkshakes aren't for breakfast it just sounded like a good idea. Everyone else got what they got(I really don't remember) and my mom got a blueberry bagel with blueberry cream cheese.

We all ate, were happy, and left so I could get a shower for my haircut and so Mara could get started with school. By lunchtime my mom was complaining about not feeling well. She sometimes has a sensitive stomach so I assumed it was the earl grey tea she had with breakfast. The pains got worse and as I was leaving for work she was curled up on her bed in pain. She almost went to the emergency room the pain was so bad and the only thing she had that morning that the rest of us didn't have was the blueberry cream cheese. It would be unfair to say that the cream cheese was bad since it hasn't been tested since my mom's illness, but I have this funny hunch that the cream cheese was bad.

Food really can make you sick. I am always wary of discounted specials in restaurants involving fish. If the restaurant has fish on its menu daily or consistently has fish specials and you trust the integrity of the restaurant then go for it, but special (by special I mean not a daily or weekly special made to give returning customers something to look forward to, but a discounted menu item the waiter/waitress pushes as a "great deal" "fresh" from the kitchen) to me says something is being reused or about to go old. I have never worked in a kitchen like this, so I really don't know where I get the stereotype; but I have it and I am a big fan of the truth that there is hardly such a thing as truly good food cheap.

Old food, bad food, or improperly handled food is so very dangerous. In some cases people can die from food born illnesses. The shocking thing I remembered from my food safety was that cantaloupes are on the dangerous food list because they can carry salmonella(you know the reason you don't eat raw chicken). I can't say I know of one person who has contracted food poisoning who has ever forgotten the experience.

I love food. It really is quite possibly one of my favoritest things, but I guess like all favoritist things it deserves a healthy dose of r-e-s-p-e-c-t. I bet most of you are going to or are having a Labor Day picnic. Remember be careful of leaving any food out too long(not just the salads with mayo in them) and everyone will have happy memories of your picnic.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily