Ahi Aha!

I took my dad out to lunch for Father's Day. He chose The Cheesecake Factory, because when I took my mom out to lunch for Mother's Day (I try to be equal, not that they'd notice) she chose Cheesecake Factory and raved about the eggs benedict.

Dad could be a better foodie if he focused more on chewing rather than inhaling- although he likes talking about food and planning what he's going to eat next, he really doesn't focus much on portion control. And there are certain things he just refuses to touch- he likes a big plate and can be kind of wierdly macho....like tapas would be considered "too girly".

So I was surprised when he asked if I'd like to share the Ahi Carpaccio appetizer. "You know that means it's raw, right? Raw tuna?" I asked the question because not long ago, anything sushi fell into that gray girlie area. He reminded me, with a sadly endearing prideful attitude that he enjoys tuna a great deal, thank you very much. I totally take credit for this, because I often try to expose him & my mother to new things and made them eat some of my seared tuna from the Wegmans sushi area a while ago. Maybe one day, if they are not dead in 10 years, my parents will be ready to go to a...gasp! Asian restaurant. They went for the seared; I didn't know if he could handle raw.

Well, this was one of the most amazing things I've eaten in the past couple of weeks. Amazing tuna, accompanied by a "wasabi pesto". I don't like wasabi, really, so I was pleasantly surprised by this condiment creation that had only a hint of wasabi. It was mostly creamy. There was also a cucumber slaw/garnish. I didn't directly eat it, but enjoyed the bits of carpaccio that had been infused with the cucumber. A highlight was the toasted sesame seeds sprinkled on top, which really blended well with the wasabi sauce and brought out the best of the amazing tuna. A ramikin of a presumably soy based sauce was also provided, although neither of us touched it as we were so enthralled with the other elements.

So, I was surprised that my parent could still surprise me. He even offered me the last bite, which I emphatically turned down ....because it was a pretty small and girlie plate.

Too much food, too little time!

Alright, so I admit that I am bad about this blogging thing. I have better things to do with my time...like eat! Speaking of which, I've been eating like it's going out of style. In no uncertain terms, I am blowing up like a tic! Why, do you ask? Well, I've had a miserable year at work (remember the black eye?). Now, I'm not an emotional eater, but I am a social eater. And, when I am unhappy at work, I try to plan other fun things to do in my life to make up for it. Like eat with my friends. When I am home for dinner, I am more than happy to eat microwave popcorn and call it a night. When I am out for dinner with friends, well, unless it's cooked in butter, slathered with sauces, or fried and salted, it's not worth eating. So, here's a list of some of the favorite bits I've noshed on this year:

• Parmesan Truffle Oil Tater Tots at Common Grounds in Cambridge with Neal

• Macaroni and Cheese with Prosciutto at Stephi's on Tremont with Patti, et al.

• Bacon Cheeseburger with Onions and Mushrooms on Brioche at Pop's with Brent

• Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes on a Polenta Cake at Stella with the Card Group

• Applewood Smoked Pork Chop with Brussels Sprouts at Eastern Standard with Reena

• French Toast with Bacon at Union with Wil

• Black Bean Veggie Burger at Highland Kitchen with Meg, et. al

• Chicken Tacos at La Verdad with Scott and Mark

• Pancakes, Bacon and Hashbrowns at Magee Country Diner with Natalie

• Roasted Chicken with Chive Mashed Potatoes at Franklin Cafe with Kristin and Andrew
  

• Mojitos, Gin and Tonics, Cosmos, and other nefarious drinks at Drink with whomever would join me

So, this is just a sampling of what I've eaten in the last year. It's no wonder I haven't ended up in the cardiac ward at MGH. With that said, looking back, I don't think I'd have ordered any differently. Yeah, my love handles now have super grips. Of course my summer clothes are too tight on me. My body absolutely looks like I've eaten all of the above, but it was worth it. With the help of my friends and comfort food we shared, I survived another year of work and am now on summer vacation. Thank the Pope!

Now, if I could only put the grill together...I'll be all set for another season of food.

Local food, made at home

It's been FOREVER since I last wrote. I don't know where the time goes. like seriously.

I recently signed up for a CSA from Red Fire Farm in Granby, MA (no idea where that is). For those who don't know, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. So anyway, I pick up my share every week near my house. It started two weeks ago and goes until the fall. I'm sharing it with my friend Biz. We get one veggie share, one egg share (6 eggs) and one fruit share (just for me). She tried to talk me out of the fruit share, but I love fruit, so f her.

I'm going to try to blog once a week and share what I got and what I made and how I feel about it. OK? Great. As a side note, I'm also growing basil, rosemary, mint, strawberries and tomatoes so since they count in this "local" thing, I will include them when I use them. Here we go:

Before the CSA started:
Caprese salad with fresh basil
Pasta with fresh basil
Whiskey smash with fresh mint AND homemade simple syrup (it's just bourbon, lemon juice, crushed ice, simple syrup and mint and sooooo good)
Mint Julep with fresh mint
Ice cream sundae with fresh mint

week 1 (I was not here. but luckily, they didn't have enough eggs and fruit, so we got double in week 2!)

week 2:

Includes: 6 eggs, 2 quarts of strawberries, 1 kohlrabi, 3 beets, 2 carrots, kale, a head of lettuce, spinach, garlic snapes, and oregano

Made:
Roasted beets, kohlrabi and carrots with fresh rosemary, olive oil and garlic

Two spinach and lettuce salads with fresh egg and the roasted veggies (plus some other "store bought" veggies) and store bought goat cheese. enough for two people to eat twice. dressing was either store bought or olive oil and vinegar. The salad really hit the spot especially since it has been H-O-T. The kohlrabi, unheard of before this adventure, was actually quite tasty. Like most root veggies but also kinda like a broccoli stem.

Pesto with the garlic snapes. I didn't have pine or walnuts so just made with what I had: olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, snapes, parmesian all in the food processor. It was quite garlicky but still very tasty. It probably needed the nuts.

Strawberry scones with all the strawberries. They were the only fresh ingredient so it's not worth telling you about all the others. They were tasty but wet because of the fresh strawberries. I might be inclined to use dry or dry them more next time.

Blueberry muffins. The only CSA ingredient I used here were the eggs. But these might be the best muffins I have ever had. Mostly because of the sugar, butter crack sprinkled on the top. yeah.

I still have some strawberries, eggs and kale left. I will finish the strawberries throughout the week on cereal or as a snack. The eggs might go in another salad or for breakfast one day. Or maybe an egg salad sandwich. The possibilities are endless with eggs!

You will notice I left out the kale. Isn't it a garnish? I suppose I could get some salmon and sautee the kale for a side or something. But meh. Who likes kale?

lunch in the 'hood, fer ril y'all

Last Thursday, I overheard my coworkers talking about a fish place: what kind of fish they like, how they like their fish breaded or battered. So, when shortly thereafter, when I received an invitation to go get fish fry for lunch, I gladly signed on.

This is probably the best place to mention that I am generally the only caucasian involved in most work related situation these days. We were going to lunch in the 'hood. I was prepared for an impoverished neighborhood, and much like my favorite misdirected Liz Lemon, to casually brush aside any stereotypes I might encounter on the journey. I also expected, quite honestly (and totally stereotypically, also ala Liz Lemon), an amazing clique "hole-in-the-wall" that would someday end up on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives", or perhaps "No Reservations" if Anthony Bourdain ever decides to do a show in a non-Asian country.

Driving there, in my colleague's absolutely shitty Mercedes, I was alerted to landmarks including, "This is where my friend got shot", and "If yo car 'bout to get repo'd, sell it to them Puerto Ricans". Once the conversation turned, for the second time that day (long story), to how much food stamps everyone gets, I finally admitted to myself that I was out of my element.

But, just as all hope was about to be lost, we arrived at the fish place! And I lost all hope. Concrete floor, and an absolute terrible smell of.....fish. Not in an "Oh, good! I'm in an undiscovered treasure of an eatery!" way, but in a "yup, stank fish fry in the 'hood" way. I ordered a shrimp dinner priced at $4. My coworker, who initiated this fish fry field trip, ordered chicken fingers, which says a lot. As our food fried, we went next door to the meat market. I tried not to look like a caucasian in an Old Navy cardigan while my hostess priced pork ribs. We returned to the fish place to collect our food, and I went to get money out of my wallet. My companions, already showering their fried food with so much hot sauce that my eyes began to water, did not accept my cash. Chicken lovin' coworker had already swiped her EBT, i.e. paid for all 3 meals with her food stamps.

I struggled with this for a few minutes, as I watched her try to secure her lunch on the dashboard. This resulted in the windshield of her once fine Mercedes Benz being smeared with Boss Sauce as soon as she turned out of the driveway of the sad ghetto plaza we'd just patronized. Homegirl had used a fucking lot of sauce, so much that it was leaking out of the plastic bag that housed the styrofoam container that housed the gross chicken (review of my meal: shrimp was gross) covered in sauce.

Epilogue: We just went back to work and ate our respective lunches on our own. Which is kind of good because I didn't have to pretend that I liked what I ordered, because that shrimp was totally from frozen and not seasoned well at all. It was also kind of disappointing because I still wanted a chance to bond with my coworkers, whom I really like in a lot of ways. I decided not to feel guilty about my food stamps lunch. I felt like it was my good reward for paying taxes and therefore it wasn't a free lunch; I paid for it indirectly. And if I'm being honest, I'm glad to know firsthand how shitty my coworker's Mercedes really is. Because I had often wondered, "How the fuck do you drive a Mercedes when you're on food stamps?" But it's a piece. Especially now, with the sauce on the windshield.