Keep it Simple. Keep it in the family of Green

I guess the biggest message of my blog is to fully enjoy food by building social networks and keeping it in the "family" of green. I'm not asking you to spend thousands of dollars on organic foods or to become Hill Billy Lou by growing your own food. Food is just such an incredible, all encompassing thing in our lives that will follow us to the day we die. In this world of growing populations and finite resources, I find it very important to care a little bit about the future generations along with my future. It takes very little effort to eat within the family of green. Just keep an open mind, an open ear, and an open mouth.

To see how important and great food is within our social networks, I recommend watching Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman.

Summer Fruitanza

Summer is such an incredible time to take full advantage of all the fresh produce. It is the one time where you need to venture forth into the farmer's markets to look for fresh fruit and vegetables!

I recently just reconnected with strawberries. I have these food phases where I really love something and I continue to eat it nonstop until I get really sick of it. So, strawberries are on the rise of the standard curve for me. They are so incredibly sweet and aesthetically pleasing. No need to bake or cook with berries for me, I love them fresh and fully ripe.

So, save the boxed oreos, chips, and other boxed goods and head for the farmer's market. You would be amazed at how much better the food tastes at the market! Plus you're supporting the local economy!

Biscuit Clarification

Biscuits are becoming more and more widespread. As a result its potential to become bastardized by commercial kitchens is becoming greater and greater. To prevent this, only buy biscuits when they are
1. Tender, soft, delicate.
2. Flaky - you should be able to taste the richness of the butter.
3. Crunchy exterior
4. Fresh!!!

Add...
a. more butta
b. jam
c. bacon
d. egg
= deliciousness

Jell-O..not so friendly

I think one of the funniest things that are unknown to most people is how animal unfriendly gelatin is. It comes from the bones of animals and is used to make friendly foods such as gummy bears and jell-o. Can you imagine Bill Cosby making a Jell-O commercial while standing in a slaughtering house?

Chocolate!

Chocolate is so delicious...can't stop eating it. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, bittersweet, dark, bars, chips, curls, chunks, brownies, cookies, cakes, mousses, ice cream, gum, coke, skittles.

Those are just a few of the forms chocolate is available. Life is too short. Eat as much chocolate as you possibly can! It's been proven to make you happy and it just melts in your mouth.

Bread Making

WHY WON'T THE DAMNED THING RISE???

Bread is one of those things that is WORTH every cent that you pay for. It takes so much time and effort to mix all the ingredients to the right consistency, letting it rise, beating it down, letting it rise again, forming the loaf. If this process sounds easy, don't be fooled. It takes a lot of skill to know how much liquid to dry ingredients to use. This all differs depending on the humidity and temperature of the room. In addition, shaping the loaf usually requires a lot of skill as well.

Take my advice, buy bread. Savor every bite and appreciate the fact that everytime you eat bread, your kitchen is not covered in flour!

The beauty of bars

After recently turning 21 and spending many, many hours in the swanky Crunkleton with a large group of friends, I have learned to appreciate the social networking that goes hand in hand with cocktails, dimly lit bars, and the barkeepers.

There's something so refreshing about being in a room full of strangers of alcohol. For one, the people are usually nicely dressed and very talkative...there's this constant excited chatter that goes on.

I do wonder why people are so attracted to bars. Is it because they lead such congested, isolate lives that they need cocktails to loosen their personalities and unwind? Or is it because we're all just alcoholics?

SAVOR THE FLAVOR!!!

There are so many food magazines!!!!! My all time favorite is by far and away Saveur . It captures such a full length picture of food. It focuses on food, culture, and people. There are beautiful, glossy picture of food and community. I guess that's why I love it so much. Those are my two favorite things in the world! The articles are in depth, including much more than recipes. They include stories. This magazine is truly unique because it somehow manages to captivates the emotion of food.

Coffee

As a result of being in exam week and therefore being in a pure week of hell, I am fully unleashing my coffee addiction that I've miraculously kept at bay for the past 6 months. I drink my coffee black because I love having something sweet with it that usually enhances the boldness of my coffee. It's been my experience that granola, chocolate, or a DONUT are really good accompaniments!

Why do I usually try to keep this addiction at bay?
- It's expensive. Sometimes I crave venti caramel macchiatos from Starbucks with extra gooey caramel.
- It takes a LOT of energy to produce. So if you do have to have a cup, please try to be eco friendly by buying fair trade, organic, shade grown coffee.
- I tend to drink three cups at a time...so much liquid

Good ol Southern Food

Having lived in NC for the past 21 years, from the mountains to the ocean to the Piedmont region, I have to say I know a little bit about "southern food". As I go into further detail, please keep in my mind that these are my personal accounts and it in no shape or form fully captivates everything that falls under the umbrella of southern food.
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=676561364630834531
When I think of good ol southern food I think of piles of tender, smoky, bbq pork slathered with vinegar and vinegar based bbq sauce. I think of deep fried hush puppies, mounds of coleslaw and gallons of sweet tea. Another favorite is the beautifully, tender, deep fried chicken. Perfect friend chicken consists of a crispy exterior with a steamy, tender inside. I love it all and I usually congratulate myself after each semester at school with a plate of this comfort food!

Fruit Looped Colored Plastic

What is the deal with these multi colored plastic bottles??? Is this just another fad gone wrong - something generic that all the kids are doing? ---I hope not. The idea of reusing containers has been around for a long time in the form of Tupperware and has only recently caught on in the shape of disposable drinking containers. Nalgene and Camelbak are making nice looking, durable, reusable bottles that are essentially odor free and will not easily degas like the regular plastic bottles that drinks are usually disposed into. By "degas" I mean the plastic will not easily break down in the sun and release its many toxic gases in your beverages, later acting to poison the body. These are great investments and last for years! I have two large Nalgene bottles used on hikes and a 500 mL, smaller Camelbak bottle for everyday use that I just throw in my bag or purse.
This is a great invention and I hope everybody reduces their per capita waste production by investing in a disposable bottle! News flash: water in Aquafina or other bottled forms are just bottled tap waters!

Heaven on EARTH

So, the most beautiful and delectable foods to ever have been created is seared sea scallops with white truffles! Try it when you can!

Food and Celebration

Last week my 21st birthday took place and the greatest thing that I enjoyed about it was not the infinite amount of drinks that everyone at the bar continued to pour for me, but the great company that surrounded me. I think one of the most rewarding and satisfying things is sharing good food with great people. For some reason, the fulfillment of the senses of smell, touch, taste, hearing with the combination of good company is always enough to send me into a state of pure happiness and bliss. So, please, fulfill your sense of community and network through one of the best outlets: food.

I love you like a FAT KID LOVES CAKE!

As my English 300 class raps up, I want to stress the importance of keeping an open mind about all the different types of food out there in the world. Remember that the vast majority of the time food is an extension of one's culture and tradition. When a friend, an acquaintance, a colleague offers to share some of their food with you, keep in mind that they are sharing much more than food with you. Another reason to keep an open mind about trying different foods such as chicken feet, chitlins, squid, black pudding, is that these "different" foods promote the idea of sustainability. Try to diversify and eat more than one part of an animal. I'm not asking you to become vegetarians, but to try and be a little more sustainable in your food practices. Try to be a little more thoughtful and don't let the slaughtering of animals go to waste. Let this one small idea of sustainability propel you forward into further thoughts of how you can live more sustainably. This earth has neither infinite amounts of resources or space. Start with the smallest thing such as reducing the amount of waste you create by using a Nalgene bottle or another reusable liquid carrier. Every little bit counts. : ]

Hamburgers...clogging your arteries never tasted so god!

This hamburger is called the double bypass and it comes from a restaurant called the Vortex. Instead of a bun, there are two grilled cheese sandwiches! There was also two fried eggs, lots of bacon, and a half pound of beef! The restaurant was a little unorthodox because if you were done eating, you were not allowed to sit and chat because so many people were trying to get into the restaurant for dinner. The waitress proceeded to get on the mike and say, "if you are done eating and not drinking anymore, please get the hell out."

Ikea!

So, I was in Atlanta, GA last weekend and had my first eye-popping experience at Ikea! For those of you who have never experienced this phenomenon, you need to do it whenever the first opportunity pops up!Ikea exists of three different parts: the cafeteria where you can get fabulous cake for cheap and Swedish meatballs with mac and cheese and lingonberry jam (yes, it's really that awesome!), the Model floor where there appears to be an infinite amount of rooms with different themes (kids rooms, space efficient rooms, mod rooms, etc), and the fabulous, fabulous market place where there are thousands and thousands of items from spoons to comforters to paintings!

Where my largest question arose was when I was in their cafeteria and their little foody market place. They sale an array of Swedish foods and I really started to question the authenticity. Do Swedish people really eat stuff out of tubes? Do they really eat their daim chocolate candies, milk chocolate cylinder discs filled with bits of nut and toffee? How well do novelty stores such as Ikea represent goods in their home country? After talking to a friend who has visited Sweden, it was confirmed that Swedish people indeed to like stuff in tubes! I think it's great how you get little snippets of a different culture by experiencing some of their goods even if it is cheese and fish in a tube! I did thoroughly enjoy Ikea's Swedish milk chocolate encrusted with hazelnuts also!

You paid what???? Part Un

ORGANIC!!!!!! [cringe]

The first thing I think about when I hear the two words, organic foods, is overpriced, overbearing, pretentious food. Does anyone else have this same phobia? I think of the grocery chains, Whole Foods, the Fresh Market, Weaver Street Market, and I see wooden floors, cute, little bakeries, and a $70 GROCERY BILL! Now don't get me wrong. When I start wearing Pradas and drive my Bentley, I will be more than willing to pay those prices, but until then, I can't afford it.

On the other hand, what is organic? For produce, it usually means that the farmers don't use herbicides or pesticides. For meat, it typically means no hormones were used to induce the rapid growth of animals.

What is the point of eating organic foods?
1.)Animals are more likely treated more humanely. I don't think they're crowded one on top of another in pens like most animals farmed for consumption.
2.) It's probably healthier. I don't love the idea of eating animals that have been hormone injected to the max and maybe aging prematurely in the process. You are what you eat.
3.)Organic produce just tastes better. I feel like organic produce has real flavor; so much flavor that you can saute it in olive oil and a little bit of garlic and have a great, tasty, non bland meal.
4.) Saves E (energy). Pesticides and herbicides take a lot of energy to make in chemical labs.

Although I can't always afford it, in theory, if you buy organic foods, it's win win!