Geek vs. Food
How to Encourage Kids to Eat Vegetables
I am a mother and I am a professional cook. It’s a source of pride for me when my kid eats the food I make. And I am very often successful with this, even when I cook vegetables. Yes, that’s right. I don’t brag about my kid too often because my Asian sensibilities of humility prevent it, but I will say that he has a pretty flexible palate for a four-year old. He eats arugula salads like it’s candy. Raw vegetables are a favorite snack. He has gone olive oil and balsamic vinegar-tasting and he really got into it- slurping and offering suggestions on what flavors he tasted.
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Repurposed Leftovers OR How I Deal with Leftovers
Every Monday I go grocery shopping. And every time I come home, I am faced with the prospect of putting the groceries away. This is normally a pretty simple task, but I face it with a bit of dread. In order to make room for the NEW groceries, I have to make use of last week’s groceries- peeled onions, the handful of lemon and lime halves, chicken carcasses, pieces of cheese, nubs of butter, etcetera.
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Some Thanksgiving Lessons
The Halloween decorations have been put away and we found a new hiding place for the leftover Halloween candy. We’ve now brought out the decorative Thanksgiving foliage and the baby-geek’s cartoon turkey from last year. That can only mean one thing- Thanksgiving is almost here. I LOVE Thanksgiving because it’s one of the last pure holidays we have. It’s about giving thanks and breaking bread with your loved ones, although the retail establishment seems to be working hard to remind us that Thanksgiving is merely a precursor, a holiday dress rehearsal to (whispering) Christmas. Shhh. Not too loud.
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Chocolate Caramel Tart aka Twix Tart
About 3 years ago I was at the beginning of my maternity leave. I was also busy making the husband-geek’s traditional three course birthday dinner. I rolled out and cut fresh pasta, while a beefy ragout simmered on the stove. I then set about making the crowning glory of the meal- a chocolate caramel tart. It looks like a chocolate tart but it tastes like a Twix candy bar.
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Conquering Homemade Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise is a magical food. A true example of culinary alchemy- taking three disparate and separate ingredients- egg yolks, acid and oil, and mixing them to a beautiful, luxurious ‘sauce’. It can morph from a simple sandwich spread to a binder for a potato salad. Thinned out with a bit of liquid and it becomes a sauce for fish or vegetables. The addition of aromatics and herbs and it becomes even for exciting. I didn’t always have this enthusiasm for mayonnaise though. As a child, I wasn’t crazy about the mouthfeel, that rich oiliness was too much for my simple palate.
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Sad Discount Potatoes become Fancy Spanish Tortilla
Here’s a few things you should know about me- I’m frugal and I like being challenged. These two attributes serve me well in the kitchen. So this time, I’d like to tackle the Discount Produce Bin. You are familiar with this part of your grocery store or produce market- plastic bags full of not-so-perfect produce that is discounted to sell. Now, I can’t resist a bargain of any kind, especially when it comes to food. I feel as if the Produce Gods are challenging me and giving me these sad vegetables and fruit to see if I can make something delicious.
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