Nobody's Fool: What's for Dinner? March 2002

Has anyone noticed the new jingle for Goldfish crackers? The chorus goes, "The snack that smiles back... until you bite their heads off!"

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I love going to the grocery store. Is that weird? I had an extremely stressful day today, very busy with work. I was really tired and didn't feel like cooking dinner, so I went down to the store to buy one of those pre-roasted organic chickens. For some reason, just wandering around the aisles fills me with a sense of calm. (Libraries do the same thing for me.) I don't know whether it's because I have a minute to myself, out of the house, and away from my obligations, or whether it's just taking my mind away from the things that are causing me stress and instead thinking about making simple decisions. Chianti or zinfandel? Muenster or jarlsberg? Cabbage or kale?

By the time I've paid for everything and I'm walking to my car, I'm calm enough to notice the color of the sunset, the temperature of the air, the smell of the ocean. Such a simple antidote to a busy day.

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Our landlady came from Stockton today and brought us a huge grocery bag full of asparagus from her garden. The stalks are thick - almost an inch across - and the buds are nice and tight. They look delicious. So, asparagus tonight for dinner, and pretty much every meal for the next few days.

I love asparagus and eggs - asparagus omelettes, steamed asparagus dipped in poached eggs, asparagus and mayonnaise. (Don't you think mayonnaise counts as an egg, if you make it yourself?) And then there's always roasted asparagus, sautéed asparagus, stir-fried asparagus with black bean sauce... It's definitely spring around here.

I had a terrible computer crash yesterday. The kind where your computer repair person says to you, "So, how much is your data worth to you, in an actual dollar amount?" That's not a good prognosis. Well, my data isn't worth $1500, which is how much professional data recovery costs. The main thing that I'm crying over, which I need to make public, is the loss of the last six months' email. Ava in Texas, Michel in (Idaho?), Celia in Chicago.... and everyone else who I only know from this site - I'm missing all of your email addresses.

Of course paid work is all backed up, but my personal work is not. Please don't anyone make any suggestions about backup systems. The horse has already escaped, but I'm working on plans for a barn right now!

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Micro greens seem to be the trend of the moment. You know, they're mentioned in newspapers and magazines next to exotic imported fruits and purple carrots. Seemed a little "twee" to me (I've been watching a lot of Changing Rooms lately), until I tried them. New Natives Farms have started selling them at the Saturday farmers' market. I was buying some wheat grass for my cat (so that he would PLEASE stop eating the houseplants), and tasted some of these tiny little greens that were out for sampling. Itty bitty little arugula sprouts, just two or three leaves - but man they pack a punch. So much flavor for such a tiny little thing.

We had them tonight, tossed with Greek olive oil and Meyer lemon juice, on top of oven-roasted salmon. Pretty yummy. I'm helping with the hors d'oeuvres at my sister's wedding, and I think we should have micro greens on top of toasted baguette slices with goat cheese. Very pretty and wedding-y.

Speaking of green, Catherine celebrated St. Patrick's Day by having a green gin and tonic. I knew I was holding on to that food coloring for a reason.

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Is everyone having corned beef and cabbage tonight? I completely forgot until I was at the store this morning and the person next to me was buying corned beef. But I've got it simmering on the stove with all the regular vegetables - potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. I'll give Catherine some mustard for hers, but I like mine plain.

When I worked at Carried Away I learned how to make corned beef from scratch, curing it for three weeks. It's so good to make yourself, but relatively impractical. You know, a lot of the things that restaurants cook are not actually that difficult, but they require space. I can't imagine taking up that much space in my fridge for three weeks. If you have a big refrigerator, it's worth a try. Julia Child has a recipe in The Way to Cook that's very easy to follow. This would have been more helpful information about three weeks ago, huh? Corned beef is good any time of the year, though - go make some!

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We are having the craziest week. Catherine and I have been looking at houses, but everything has been terrible. Just when we decided to stop looking, fix up our rental, and stay here for a couple more years, our real estate agent called. It's the first house that we've seen that's both affordable and liveable. So this week has been a roller coaster of buy or don't buy, invest in real estate or add to our nest egg, termite reports and septic tank codes and retaining walls. Whew!

So instead of cooking we've been eating diner food and takeout chinese and leftovers from the freezer. The antidote to all of this drama is a decent cocktail.

"The Beachcomber: Juice of 1/2 lime, 1/2 ounce Triple Sec, 2 dashes of Maraschino, 2 ounces of Puerto Rican Rum. Shake and strain into a saucer Champagne glass with shaved ice banked on one side and serve with short straws.

"A trifle fancy, but very nice when the elegant touch is in order. Its authority is not to be uunderestimated, however."

We used a Meyer lemon, served it on the rocks, and called it a Pleasure Point Beachcomber. Yum!

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"Coca-Cola takes a lot of pride in being the world's favorite soft-drink, but it's got some tough competition in Scotland. More popular than Coke on a local level, and available with your Big Mac at the local McDonald's, IRN-BRU is an inexplicable hit in Glasgow and the surrounding area. There's no question about it: IRN-BRU is one-of-a-kind. Its orange color reminds the consumer of orange soda, but not exactly; it also possesses a sort of deep, zesty hue that recalls shades of rust, or wine. The initial smell is clean and cool, and vaguely reminiscent of tangerines.

Drinking IRN-BRU is an experience unto itself. There's an initial rush of flavor, but of what sort is unclear; and then the distinct taste of water. Utilizing Scottish techniques that elude explanation, IRN-BRU somehow manages to taste more watery than water itself.

The verdict is positive: IRN-BRU is refreshing, oddly colored, and unique. It's only a matter of time before American eccentrics are washing down their fish and chips with its sparkling flavour."

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We drove up the coast today to Pescadero, about an hour away, to have lunch at Duarte's Tavern. They are famous for their artichoke soup - which is good - but the best thing to order is the steamed mussels with a side of french fries. The mussel broth is salty and ocean-y and buttery. Duarte's french fries are the best - my favorite - and they are even better than bread to dunk in the broth. Be sure to ask for some mayonnaise on the side, to add to the broth and as a dip for the fries. Homemade pie for dessert. It was a tossup between ollalieberry and blueberry; ollalieberry was a good decision, with ice cream, of course.

Had a nice long stop at the beach on the way home. Spec got to do a lot of running, Catherine climbed on the rocks and looked at tidepools, and I collected piles of colored pebbles. Another good California day.

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If you were eating at Chez Panisse tonight (I'm not), this is what you would be eating:

Chez Panisse Friday, March 8 $75
An aperitif
Artichoke, chicory, and mâche salad with roasted herring
Sautéed Maine scallops with cardoons and crème fraîche
Larsen Ranch pork loin stuffed with wild fennel and green garlic;with rapini and risotto bianco
Muscat-poached pear with wildflower honey ice cream

Doesn't that sound lovely? I've shut myself off from the ice cream maker - bikini weather is approaching, people - but wildflower honey ice cream is going to be the first kind I make when I go back to it.

Today is International Women's Day. In a completely un-food-related item, I heard on BBC News/NPR this morning that a city in Russia was honoring women today by forgiving minor traffic offenses. As long as the women in question aren't causing any immediate danger to anyone, the police are handing out perfume and flowers instead of tickets. It's a nice gesture and all, but doesn't it completely miss the point? It seems to me that what started out as a protest against unfair wages and working conditions is being reduced, in this case, to a pat on the head. Am I overreacting? Probably...

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I think I gave myself food poisoning. Serves me right for not wanting to throw away food that clearly should have been thrown away. Instead of saving the $6, I ended up costing myself $40, because I had to go to the doctor. It's very scary to have sharp shooting pains in your belly!

So I've spent the last couple of days eating rice. Nice, plain white rice. And once, some nice, plain, white pasta. And mint tea. And lots and lots and lots of water.

Catherine was very worried about me. So worried that she's still doing the dishes as I write this, even though I'm feeling better today. She did both of our work for two days, so that I could lie very still, and even nap. (That's how you know I really was feeling bad.) She brought me things, like tea in bed and extra blankets, and kept the house clean and took the dog out. It's so nice to have someone to take care of you when you're ill.

And she never said I told you so. Although I'd bet that the next time she wants to know if something in the refrigerator is still good, she won't ask me.

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I just discovered a very exciting thing. Straus Creamery has started home delivery! Straus milk is very delicious, and it's a small, family-run business. I'll buy other organic milk - Horizon or whatever - if I have to, but I'd rather buy from a small business rather than a huge conglomerate. Straus milk isn't homogenized, so it comes with cream that has floated to the top. Their half-and-half makes really good ice cream, and their butter is very yummy. And their milk and cream come in glass bottles, which you return to the store. Reusing is even better than recycling!

And home delivery! Unfortunately, I don't live where they deliver, but I love that they're doing it, whether I get to benefit or not. They sell a galvanized steel insulated box to keep on your porch, or you can use your own cooler. They drop off your milk - and eggs, tofu, olive oil, fruit from other farms - every Thursday before 8am, picking up your bottles from the week before. Their delivery area is pretty limited, but hopefully they'll expand. Don't you love the idea of the return of the milkman?

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I've recently reacquainted myself with oatmeal, steel-cut Irish oats, to be accurate. I've got my routine down for how to cook them. When I get home from my morning run, I put 2/3 cup of water on to boil while I make Catherine her coffee. As soon as it boils, I put in 2 T. of oats and some salt, then let it come back up to a boil. I put the lid on very slightly ajar (so that it doesn't boil over, which is incredibly messy), and turn down the heat as far as I can. At this point, I usually wish for a flame-tamer. Then I hop in the shower. This is a good way to keep my showers to 20 minutes - that's how long the oatmeal takes to cook.

I used to eat oatmeal with brown sugar, but lately I've been liking butter and honey. Add a couple of soft-boiled eggs, and you've got yourself a perfect breakfast.