Category: Uncategorized

Uncategorized

April Food Day 2010

by Wendi4 Comments on April Food Day 2010

In 2009 Pigtown Design and Easy and Elegant Life teamed up to raise awareness of the challenges faced by food banks across the nation in these challenging economic times.  They called their mission April Food Day.  365 days later, the need is still great.  People are still unemployed, underemployed, and financially overwhelmed.  Food banks are a lifeline for a growing percentage of the population.

It’s been a year since I wrote my post for AFD2009.  In that time, The Mistah and I became intimately acquainted with the recession and unemployment.  We looked for ways to save money.  And honestly, one of the first things to get cut was the food budget.  It was  a challenge.  It was psychologically bruising to go from grocery shopping at Harris Teeter, Safeway, and (sometimes) Wegman’s to food shopping at Target and Walmart.  But when your income is cut by 60%, you do what you have to do.

It’s about survival.  And for some people, grocery shopping at Walmart, or Target, or at the local off brand grocery store is a luxury.  While I know that eating can be luxurious, it should never be considered a luxury.  Here are a few things to chew on:

  • Feeding America is annually providing food to 37 million Americans, including 14 million children.
  • That means one in eight Americans now rely on Feeding America for food and groceries.
  • Feeding America ‘s nationwide network of food banks is feeding 1 million more Americans each week than they did in 2006.
  • Thirty-six percent of the households served have at least one person working.
  • More than one-third of client households report having to choose between food and other basic necessities, such as rent, utilities and medical care.
  • Feeding America food banks provide food and groceries to 33,500 food pantries, 4,500 soup kitchens and 3,600 emergency shelters.

If you are able to, I hope you will consider making a donation to Feeding America through the link that has been set up for April Food Day.  Even if you can’t make a donation, I hope you will participate in AFD by spreading the word.

Uncategorized

Spring Cleaning

by Wendi1 Comment on Spring Cleaning

"Belgian Brownies"

I’m spring cleaning the recipe folders.  One of the challenges to this is deciding when it’s time to say that I’m just not going to make a recipe and get rid of it.  Admitting that I’m never going to get around to making something is like admitting defeat.  And I don’t like to lose.  So I find myself hanging on to some of these recipes out of pride more than anything else.  But is that any way to live?  Is it better to be bogged down by the weight of things untried because it’s easier than letting them go?  I think not.  So Belgian Brownies and I finally gave it a go. And in an unkind irony, we realized that we really didn’t get along so great after all.  After almost  four years of hanging around, biding our time, and waiting, we didn’t click.  Now that we’ve gone our separate ways, there’s room in my folders so I can jump into The Sweet Life In Paris recipes without feeling like a complete jezebel.

Uncategorized

Why We Cook

by Wendi10 Comments on Why We Cook

I’m always going on about the Universe this and the Universe that and how the Universe knows when things need to happen and why.  Of course, it’s much easier when the Universe allows me to help other people see this in their lives, not so much when I need to see it in my own.  But that’s exactly what’s happening.  And it is ironic that what got me thinking about all this was a post I read over at Bon Appetempt talking about why we cook.  That led me to pay a visit to Mr. Ruhlman and Ms. Reichel and made me stop and ask myself why I cook.  And I kept coming up with the same answers.  I cook because that is how I show that I care.  I cook because it nourishes the people that I love.  I give of myself when I cook in one of the few ways that I really know how to share what’s in my heart, especially when I don’t have the courage to find the words to express my feelings.

But the Universe has decided to challenge me to find other ways to share what’s in my heart.  And for the time being, that means that I need to focus myself on the people in my world, to be present with them, to find the words before it’s too late to say them.  So I’m going to take a step back for now and go where the Universe says I need to be.

There are still new posts scheduled to go live here at BAH for a while, as well as all of the Exit 51 archives on Flashback Friday.  And I hope to be back soon to cooking and writing and commenting and following along with your adventures.  Until then, Bon Appetit Hon.

Uncategorized

A Tisket, A Tasket, A Brisket In My Basket

by Wendi5 Comments on A Tisket, A Tasket, A Brisket In My Basket
image from http://www.istockphoto.com

I grew up with a meat cutter in the house.  So you’d think I might have picked up a nugget or two about cuts of beef and how to make the most of them.  Sadly, you’d be wrong.  I can’t tell a porterhouse from a t-bone (actually, these two are pretty similar according to the pdf chart put up by these folks, so I’m going to give myself a pass on that one) or a skirt steak from a bottom round.  I have even been known to pull out my smartphone in the grocery store to try and find substitutes when I can’t find the cut of beef specified in a recipe on the week’s menu.  So I thought I was on easy street when I decided to make Deb’s Southwestern Pulled Brisket because it seemed like I was always seeing brisket in the meat case.  Until I went to look for it that is.  And then it was nowhere to be found.  Not at Bloom or Safeway or Harris Teeter.  Was this some brisket conspiracy by the beef lobbyists?  Finally, I spied a lone brisket at Giant which was good because the internet connection on the Pre sucks in that store and I refused to go to yet another place in search of a cut of brisket.  Actually, Costco had huge briskets in the meat case but I’ve got neither the storage space nor the appetite for $30 of brisket. Continue reading “A Tisket, A Tasket, A Brisket In My Basket” →

Uncategorized

Cook Wise 101

by Wendi15 Comments on Cook Wise 101

Waffle Fail

The Mistah gave me Cook Wise for Christmas and no sooner had we cleaned up the wrapping paper and bows than I cracked it open and started reading.  And I immediately felt like I was back in college, struggling to understand Man In A Chemical World which was basically Science For Dummies Who Need An Easy Science Credit For Graduation.  I don’t know why or how but I’m starting to suspect that my ability to learn new information has abandoned me.  It’s a good thing I already have that college degree because if I can’t understand a book about food science specifically written for non-scientists, I sure as hell wouldn’t make it through Stat 331 or 332.  Nevermind that I had to retake 331 or that none of what I was taught in those classes has ever been used in my life outside of that classroom. Continue reading “Cook Wise 101” →

Uncategorized

State Of Confusion

by Wendi9 Comments on State Of Confusion

math
image from http://www.istockphoto.com

I like to think I’m a fairly intelligent person who can usually figure things out.  Except math equations.  I was horrible in math.  I don’t care what ‘x’ equals in the equation.  It’s not important to me so I don’t make an effort to understand.  I’m happier to exist in a state of confusion.  So if you’ll agree not to put me on the spot and challenge me to find the value of ‘x’, like some bizarre hazing ritual, I’ll agree not to call you a big jerk.  And I’ll just go on my merry way as Governor of the State of Confusion. Continue reading “State Of Confusion” →

Uncategorized

Fine Cooking Shrimp Stew

by Wendi6 Comments on Fine Cooking Shrimp Stew

screen shot of finecooking.com

Since our break up, I haven’t decided on a replacement for Cook’s Illustrated.  I scope out the grocery line to see if any of the other cooking magazines catch my eye with their glossy pages and full color photos.  A few I can eliminate straight away.  Rachel Ray makes me run from my HDTV.  I’m not bringing a pint sized print version of her into my home.  Martha Stewart is too fussy for my taste so she can just cool her heels with Miz Ray at the check out counter.  I’ve already had a relationship with Cooking Light and I don’t see us getting back together in the near future. Continue reading “Fine Cooking Shrimp Stew” →

Uncategorized

Deb’s Cream Biscuits

by Wendi10 Comments on Deb’s Cream Biscuits

Cream Biscuits

I’m a sucker for biscuits.  So when I see a biscuit recipe, I’m inclined to want to try it.  Sometimes I’m happy with the results.  Sometimes, I’m not.  But by and large, I’ve never met a biscuit I didn’t like.  Most recently, I gave Deb’s Cream Biscuits a go.  I’d like to tell you that I fell in love with these cream biscuits.  But I didn’t.  Maybe it was an off day in the kitchen.  Maybe my ingredients weren’t as fresh as they could have been.  Or maybe the Universe was telling me not to fall in love with these biscuits because it knew that there’s a heavenly looking biscuit recipe in my copy of Cook Wise.

But just because these particular biscuits and I didn’t make a Love Connection, that doesn’t mean that you won’t.  Click on that link up there to hop over to Smitten Kitchen.  Who knows, maybe it will be love at first bite.

Uncategorized

The First Rule Of Fight Club

by Wendi19 Comments on The First Rule Of Fight Club

Glazed

BAH Note:  This post was already written and queued up before my breakup with Chris Kimball.  I considered deleting it but the mental image of Chris Kimball turning into Tyler Durden amuses me.  I refuse to let him rain on my parade.

It’s no secret that I am was a home cook recipe tester for Cook’s Illustrated.  There are many of us out there testing and tasting  the dishes that will eventually show up in some form in the pages of Cook’s Illustrated.  But you’d never know it because we all agree to an honor code that we will not write, blog, or publish recipes in testing.  There’s good reason for that.  These recipes go though multiple rounds of development before they get published.  So who is to say that what I tested is what goes to print?  Besides, I wouldn’t didn’t want to get kicked out of the club for breaking the rules.  Remember the first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club.  I wouldn’t didn’t want Chris Kimball to go all Tyler Durden on me, so until now I’ve kept my mouth shut about Pan Seared Scallops. Continue reading “The First Rule Of Fight Club” →

Uncategorized

Introducing Flashback Friday

by Wendi4 Comments on Introducing Flashback Friday
Flashback Friday
calendar graphic from istockphoto.com

I’ve been thinking for a while how nice it would be if I had my posts from Exit 51 here at Bon Appetit Hon.  Actually, what I’ve been thinking is how much I wish I would have just been all BAH from the start of my life as a blogger but there’s no changing the past, only moving forward.  So to kick off 2010, I’m introducing Flashback Friday.  Each Friday I will feature a post from Exit 51.  My terminology over there was slightly different so please translate Exit 51 as BAH and SFC as The Mistah.  Without further ado, I give you Flashback Friday! Continue reading “Introducing Flashback Friday” →