Tag: #Cooking

  • Mom’s Out of Town! What to Eat?

    Not that this happens very often, but the wife is out of town for a work conference, which means it’s just me and the kid this week. This situation means different things to different people. For my wife, this conference is an opportunity to network, gain more knowledge, and further her career. For me, it is a little more work taking care of the kid by myself, but I am happy that I can help support my wife’s career while at the same time, I get the home office to myself, so I can work on my writing projects. For the kid, who is a little sad that mom’s not around, but she is tempering this because in her mind, she gets to eat fast food with dad. And I know that’s true because the kid said that to me last night.

    Now, let me explain…

    See, on the whole, we really don’t eat fast food in our family. We try to cook at home as much as possible, and when we don’t feel like cooking, we either order out, or go to a local restaurant. When we do eat fast food, it’s usually because we are traveling on the road and need something quick. When the kid usually gets fast food, it’s because she’s over at a friend’s home, and it turns out to be a big treat for her – in the “forbidden fruit” kind’a idea of a treat. The wife is more adamant about no fast food as compared to me, but we are both in agreement that the kid needs to have a healthy relationship with food, and she needs to know how to cook healthy for herself when she heads out on her own.

    That was a real long way to go to say that dad get her Chipotle last night. And I do really like Chipotle, it is my one weakness; if I can get it without catching any grief from the wife, I will.

    But the kid has upped the ante; She wants to try Taco Bell. And I am torn on this one. I used to eat a lot of Taco Bell when I was in college, but I didn’t eat it for flavor – I ate it because it was cheap. I am pretty sure the kid wants it because normally she would never get it, but we have good Mexican food in our neighborhood; two good restaurants, and three taco trucks. Maybe they are a little more expensive, but they taste way better!

    I know that I will cave, and I know that I will suffer for it.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Ravenous Day, Cooking, and Don’t Be an Angry Old Dude

    ODDS and ENDS: Ravenous Day, Cooking, and Don’t Be an Angry Old Dude

    (Sweet Dionysus
    She never really liked us…)

    I was hungry all day yesterday. And I mean all day; morning to night, and then again this morning when I woke up. I remember that back in my twenties this would happen to me often enough to name this affliction – A Ravenous Day. On these days, no matter how much I ate, or how often I ate, I would never feel full or satiated. Yesterday was A Ravenous Day, and I did my best to handle this situation in the healthiest way possible, but fruits and veg wouldn’t cut it. I tried salty, but that wouldn’t end it. I tried sweet, but that seemed to make everything worse. I even tried cold pizza at 2am. Nothing worked. I stayed hydrated, and out of the heat, as if that had something do with it. I am bottomless pit.

    I really love cooking for my family. Even with the kid at camp, and it’s just me and the wife, I want to cook for her. I tried Thai fried rice and spring rolls the other night. I had never done it before, and I thought I should try. The rice turned out well, but my ability at rolling rolls was very much lacking. More practice is needed. It was fun for me to try something new, and in a sense, fail at it. I like the idea that the kid is going to come home from camp, and I will have this new meal for her, and it will be something that she will like. But that feeling, of knowing that I am going to make a food that she likes, that we haven’t made at home before, gives me a feeling of providing for, and taking care of her.

    I refuse to be an angry old dude. Anger will not be my driving emotion. I will not be bitter about how my life has gone. I will be a happy silly old man. I’ve met a few in my life, and I aim to be like them.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Facebooks is Alcohol, Bad Art Friend, and Gravy Recipe

    “Odds and Ends” is my continuing series of random thoughts and follow ups…

    I am clearly going to say I told you so, even though we all agreed beforehand, and I really wasn’t the first person to say this either… Everything is Facebooks fault. Every evil in the last twenty years, the root of it all goes back to them. Is that true? Not really, and I don’t believe it. But I believe the better way to think of Facebook is like alcohol. See, alcohol doesn’t make someone an asshole, but that person might have had a little bit of asshole in them that they could control before they started drinking. The alcohol just heightens their assholiness. And also, like alcohol, the more an asshole drinks, the more of an asshole they become, and sadly then they can’t stop drinking nor remember what life was like being a non-asshole. That was a long way to go to basically say alcohol companies need alcoholics to stay profitable. Check out the story from The Guardian, if you don’t believe me.

    Just read the story. There are so many takeaways from this piece, it’s hard to put it in one post. It’s about a writing group, but really, I see it as a story about how awful and needy people can be, especially creative people.

    And I have a gravy recipe that I am very proud of.

    Ingredients:

    1. 1/4 cup butter
    2. 1/4 cup All-purpose flour
    3. 1 cup chicken stock
    4. 1/4 cup cream
    5. ½ a teaspoon dried thyme
    6. Salt and Pepper to taste.

    Instructions:

    • On low heat, melt 1/4 cup of butter in a sauce pan.
    • Sprinkle 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour into the melted butter and stir this roux continuously for about 5 minutes.
    • Take 1 cup of chicken stock, and whisk into the roux, a little at a time, until well blended.
    • Whisk in 1/4 cup of cream, until well blended.
    • Add ½ a teaspoon of dried thyme, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Again, whisk it all together.
    • Simmer gravy until desired consistency.

  • Making a Sauce

    I think I was like most people, in that I had dabbled in cooking. Before Covid, I had a few solid dishes that I knew I could make which would come out great, and then the rest of the time, I was serviceable in the kitchen. Let’s just say, I never cut off a finger.

    Now that we are in the land of Covid, I like most people, started spending more time in the kitchen; cooking, planning and prepping meals. I didn’t get all bread crazy, but I started taking a more active role in helping out with food. When it became clear that I was going to be a stay at home parent for the foreseeable future, I started taking cooking and food prep more seriously.

    My friend, Erin, writes a really great food blog, BIG SIS LITTLE DISH, which I visit for ideas and to get inspiration. It also helps that my wife is a trained chef, and spent several years working in professional kitchens around NYC. If I am in the middle of a recipe and get lost, I can call on the wife to help me out.

    I have been at it for six months now, and last night, I needed to make a gravy to go with dinner. I took 3 tablespoons of butter, and melted it in a pan. Then I added an equal part of flour to the melted butter, and stirred the mixture with a wooden spoons. When the rue was a good color, I whisked in a cup of homemade chicken stock, a little at a time. Once the stock was incorporated with the rue, I whisked in salt, pepper, and dried thyme. The last part I added was about a quarter cup of cream, stirred it in, and lowered the temperature to a simmer so the gravy would thicken up.

    I made this gravy all from memory with ingredients that I now always have on hand. I had a deep feeling of satisfaction that I could just “whip this up,” and make a sauce that would complete a meal. I had unlocked a new life skill, and I guess I realized the wholesome fulfillment of being able to provide a good meal for my family.