The Mexican Aisle

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Recently, I've started to become acquainted with the section of my Publix that houses the Hispanic ingredients. The bit that I particularly like right now is the selection of Hispanic spices. They come packaged in clear plastic baggies, which isn't the greatest thing in the world for freshness, but if you only need a couple tablespoons of something, it can be just what you're looking for. The variety is pretty good, and many of them come whole, like star anise, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg. I bought a little bag of pine nuts to make Lebanese stuffed eggplant this week. I only need a few tablespoons for the recipe. Why waste the money on a bottle?

And check out the difference on prices:

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These are the sesame seeds I bought to top an Asian coleslaw a few months ago.

From blog

And these are the ones I didn't buy. Holy cow. What a difference. And sure, you get more with the bottle. But how often do I use sesame seeds? They'd go to waste. And I don't have to traipsing all over town to find a place that sells high quality spices. It's amazing what you can find in your neighborhood grocery store these days.

Learning to Eat More Veggies

One of my projects this summer has been learning to eat more vegetables than I did before. Don't get me wrong, I eat my veggies. I love green beans, corn, carrots, broccoli, brussel sprouts, spinach and more. I think I do pretty well on eating a variety of vegetables. However, there's always room for improvement. I was especially motivated to improve my palate when I realized I was passing up so much of the beautiful, freshly grown produce at the local farmers market. I feel like I missed out on some great stuff, just because I was too picky to try it.

For some things, the problem was that of exposure. I've always said I didn't like beets, but I'd really never tried them. My mom never cooked with them. They only time I ever saw them was when they were quivering on my school cafeteria tray, oozing an unappetizing pink juice. Yuck. But I saw a couple slices on a tapas plate at Veranda in the spring and impulsively decided to try it. It was...not poison. Still wasn't sure I liked it, but I was willing to try again. It turns out I do like beets. Raw beets in a salad are delicious, but I especially like them roasted in the oven with olive oil and salt. Yum.

Zucchini...Not a success. My mom loves it, so it was on the table frequently as a kid, usually steamed. I cannot stand it steamed. Recently, I tried it grilled at home and breaded and deep fried at Figo. No good. There's something...not food about it. The flavor is too mild, the texture too soft. My brain rejects it. I think I'll try it again as zucchini bread, but then I'm done. It's too bad, because my husband loves it, but he doesn't want me to make it just for him.

Next up is eggplant, which I'm working on currently. I bought one last week and turned it into home made eggplant Parmesan. I did like it, but not as much as I thought I would. I don't think the fault was the vegetable, but the breading. It was a little bland for me. The actual eggplant wasn't terrible, just unfamiliar. I'm going to try it again, stir fried with garlic sauce. My husband loves ordering this at Chinese restaurants, so I'm hoping I'll enjoy it too.

Next summer, I may tackle the most terrifying of all vegetables: okra.

Rainy Day Links

I don't know about the rest of you, but rain like we've had this week makes me sluggish and sleepy. I did manage to hit the Alpharetta Farmers Market and host a bridal shower yesterday, but today has been spent either reading or surfing the internet. I didn't even have to cook yesterday, as there were ample leftover finger sandwiches and mini-quiches for all. When I finally rouse myself this evening to cook, it'll be a nice hearty bowl of chicken veggie soup.

Anyways, since I'm trying to keep a regular update schedule around here again, I thought I'd share some of what I've been reading.

Eat Me Daily recently posted some of the ads for the Sydney International Food Festival. These really appeal to the social studies teacher in me, as it's food shaped like flags. Seriously, check them out. And in a related note of coolness, a friend showed me The United Steaks of America, which is a gallery of steaks cut to resemble...you guessed it, the United States.

Gale over at Grocery Cart Challenge posted her incredibly easy looking cheesecake recipe this week. I'm tempted to try it, as I've got all the ingredients sans the graham crackers in my kitchen already. But if I did that, then I'd be missing out on this also incredible looking cheese cake marbled brownies that Smitten Kitchen posted. Both of these sound OMG amazing. Maybe its a good thing I'm knee deep in purple frosted butter cookies right now. Otherwise I'd be happily smeared in chocolate right now and my husband frowning over the mess I've made of the kitchen again.

Here's an interesting article from TIME about the social aspect of obesity. Apparently you eat more with friends or with other overweight people. I believe it. I'm always catching myself thinking "I should order a salad now, so these people won't think I'm fat." Completely ignoring that they can just LOOK at me and see I'm fat. My ordering habits won't change their opinion.

Speaking of ordering the salad, Creative Loafing reposted an article claiming that the presence of salads and other healthy sounding options on menus makes you more likely to order the unhealthy options. Interesting. I haven't noticed that behavior in myself, but it's not outside the realm of possibility.

Woah!

I just checked my referral logs and realized that I've been named Site of the Week by the ladies over at Atlanta Dish. I'm very flattered! In case you're curious, this is what they have to say about me:

Click on Northside Food and see what’s waiting for you on the up-side of Atlanta’s perimeter. This blog knows its demographics. For locavores -- farmers markets and local produce drop-off spots, specialty food shops and local products. For hurried parents -- links to recipes for “A Year of Crockpotting” and packing vegan lunch boxes. For nights out -- restaurant review sites and personal favorites on the top side of town. And for staying home -- book suggestions and info on how to write your congressional rep about food safety issues. Link, look, grab the GPS and go!

Thanks Atlanta Dish!

Bits and Bites

I have a lot of small stuff to say today, so I'm rolling it all together to make a longer post.

First, the bad news. Poster "Secret Chef" reports on Atlanta Cuisine that Slice has closed. Slice has been a favorite of mine for about a year, I think. So I am very sad to see it go. It does seem like some of the food has migrated over to Durty Kelly's Irish Pub, which has the same owners. So I know where to go when I feel nostalgic.

I ran across this article on Mother Jones this morning about Fiji Water, which made me REALLY glad I gave up drinking bottled water last year. It makes me sad that a bottled water company can somehow convince everyone that it's environmentally friendly. Its all smoke and mirrors, unfortunately. And I had no idea that Fiji itself was run by a dictatorship that relies on sales of Fiji Water to bolster its image overseas. Really interesting article.

In the New York Times, Michael Pollan explores the difference between Julia Child's TV show and the celebrity chefs on the Food Network. In short? Julia encouraged us (Yes, I'm old enough to have watched her on TV. Barely.) to get into the kitchen and take risks. The Food Network wants us to sit back and watch them perform culinary feats impossible for mere mortals, then assemble a meal made of branded products sold by their sponsors. I think he's got a point here. I quit watching the Food Network years ago, when I realized I wasn't learning anything from it.

My new favorite recipe this week is Peach Tomato Salad, courtesy of Cheap Healthy Good, one of my favorite blogs. Its nothing I ever would have thought to put together on my own, but now that I've had it, I don't know how I lived without. I had it for lunch on Friday and I'm serving it again tonight as a side dish alongside grilled bratwurst. I don't bother with peeling my fruit like the recipe calls for. That's far too fussy for me. I just chop it, dress it, and serve.

Book Review: A History of the World in Six Glasses

During my recent summer vacation, I whiled away an idle few afternoons reading a very nice bit of pop history by Tom Standage, A History of the World in Six Glasses. This book examines the impact of six beveridges on human development. The drinks considered are beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca Cola.

I love books like this that make me consider history in a different light. The section on Coca Cola was fascinating. Since I live in Atlanta, I know the Coca Cola company has tried to align itself with Americana as much as possible. But I hadn't realized how well it succeeded, especially during World War II, when Coke was exempted from sugar rationing so that production of the brown, fizzy liquid wouldn't be jeopardized. In fact, Coke was considered so necessary for the war effort that factories were built all over the world for American servicemen, hastening the global spread.

But I'm skipping ahead. Reading the origins of beer as an ancient method of preserving grain was enlightening. Learning about the impact of wine on the ancient greeks and Romans provides great context for studying those cultures. Any school child (especially if you've been in my US History class) can tell you about the rum trade in the colonies and how it especially affected the African slave trade. Coffee is connected to the rise of the financial markets and insurance business. Tea was a way of sanitizing water, especially in the filthy, plague ridden society of 18th Century London. And the thumbnail sketch of the British East India Company's engineering of the Opium Wars to ensure a steady and cheap supply for their monopoly is fascinating, especially as it connects to the origins of the American Revolution.

Standage's book is full of engaging details that illustrate the big picture point he makes regarding the development and use of each drink. I was strongly reminded of the old PBS series "Connections" while reading it. I highly recommend this to anyone interesting in learning a little bit more about how what we drink shapes who we are.

I am of the opinion...

That when I bring my own bags to a grocery store, I should get a discount. Not a huge discount. No more than the cost of the bags they would have used to bag my groceries. But I'm saving them money when I bring my own bags, in addition to making less waste. And I'd like to be rewarded for my extra efforts. I'm always seeing people say that we should let market forces find us the best solution to our problems. So why not a monetary incentive to bring your own bags?

Some stores already have incentives in place. IKEA started charging for bags a few years ago. Trader Joes puts your name in a drawing for free groceries. Even more recently, Whole Foods stopped offering thin plastic bags and now only provides reusable bags you buy at the check out line. I still do the majority of my grocery shopping at Publix, but I'd like to see them shave a few cents off my grocery bill for bringing my own bags each week.