Roving Gastronome: The Blog

Wonderful story in the NYT about the president of the Greater Astoria Historical Society. He’s a doorman! Who knew? And he rides his bike to work. We even own some of his books.

Great story in the New York Times yesterday about preserving obscure native foods of the US: An Unlikely Way to Save a Species: Serve It for Dinner.

The main source for the story, Gary Paul Nabhan, raises Churro sheep (an old variety brought by the Spanish, used by the Navajo, but one that fell away when merino wool and associated weaving techniques arrived with later Europeans) and has written a book about Bronx grapes, Datil chiles and Makah ozette potatoes.

He has also divided North America into regions based on their most indigenous flavors. East Coast: Clambake Nation, yo! Though I of course can’t forsake my boyz in Chili Pepper Nation. (Except, uh, Gary, it’s Chile Pepper.) Who knew there was a Sonoran white pomegranate? And I do feel a simple sentimental attachment to Crab Cake Nation. Who’s gonna design the T-shirts?

Just added to the links list: Notes from the Slippery Slope, which we cognoscenti know better as The Friday Afternoon Update. Naomi has been making me laugh every week via my email inbox for, eesh, years now. She made the move to a blog format a little while ago, but because I still get the weekly FAU email I’ve only just remembered about the newfangled approach–now, for everyone’s enjoyment! The recent post about First Man Bill Clinton was a goodie.

Peter pointed out this nice essay in the NY Times by Kate Stone Lombardi: The Joy of (Still) Cooking.

She’s practical–talking about the fun of listening to music while you cook, and of using up all the leftovers–but I think I like this bit best:

I equate feeding my family with love, which is why I cannot imagine stopping now. What would that say to my husband? What would it say to me? I have a friend who opens the freezer every night and selects a Lean Cuisine to microwave for herself and her husband. They seem very happily married, which remains a complete mystery to me.

Yes, the idea of being a nice wife and cooking a nice dinner for my lovely husband makes me gag. But the practice of it is actually quite enjoyable. Just one of those postfeminism disconnects. And of course it helps that Peter does the same for me.

Not me doing it, fortunately–and it’s more like a reasoned argument against, even if it is from someone who went through it and now teaches.

I’m only mentioning it here because that’s how freakin’ insidious grad school is! I quit ten years ago (and mentally checked out before that), but it still galls me to think about it. I feel like I have to tell the world NOOOOOO! Fortunately, someone else can say it a little bit more rationally than I can.

And hey, I’m married to a professor. Maybe that should be the real advice: marry a prof, and then get a job that allows you too to take summers off.

Oh wait, no, here, this is better: Do two years of grad school with a grant from the government (for Arabic–and the funding was cut! Before 2001! You fucking idiots!…ahem…ten years ago….breathe deep). While you’re in those two years of grad school in the ass of nowhere, TEACH YOURSELF HOW TO COOK. This will get you through the lean years after you quit grad school and have no idea what else to do–you will not only save crazy amounts of money and be able to afford living in New York as a “freelancer,” even after 9/11, but you will be healthy, both mentally and physically. Then, eventually, after cooking a lot of meals for one and loving it, eventually give in and marry a professor.

I am exceedingly grateful. But academia: suck it. But thanks for the cooking classes! It really did change my life.

This is totally brilliant! Thank god it’s animated–no french fries died in the making.

I like how the falafel is a suicide bomber. Genius. Although…are those sausages supposed to be Austria? Those are definitely not Vienna sausages. But thank god for that too. I think I might throw up if I saw chunks of Vienna sausage, animated or no.

(Cheat sheet here.)

Sent to me by Jen, brilliant archivist at the St. Louis arch (friends in high places!): On the aptly named Not Martha website, instructions for making bacon cups.

I especially appreciate an effort in which the author has to say her kitchen filled with smoke, there were open grease fires and it took three hours–AND it was totally worth it, and everyone should try it. Danger is welcome!

Every time I read anything about Alice Waters and how much she relishes local, adorable, fresh-garden-soil-strewn, covered-in-a-hand-knitted-cozy produce, I want to fucking strangle her.

One perfect peach for dessert? Thanks for the tip, lady.

Your little pig that you fed on nothing but green garlic shoots, and then when you ate it, it tasted like garlic? Well, isn’t that niiiice.

But I live in the real world, not California, and transforming supermarket food into something tasty for dinner takes more than slicing it in half and putting it on a plate and garnishing it with fairy dust.

But then…then I actually read a nice interview with the nice lady. She’s pretty freakin’ infectious. I agree with her 100 percent when she says food should be the No. 1 issue in the presidential race. And of course Edible Schoolyard is what we need more of.

Here’s the link: Go Ask Alice (on Slate.com).

Oh, to be in Californ-I-A. I ate some kale tonight. Does that count?

The New York Times magazine this week has a short interview with poet laureate Charles Simic. About whom I had no opinion until now:

What advice would you give to people who are looking to be happy?
For starters, learn how to cook.

Also, recently read in the NYT book review, Michael Pollan articulating my concern with current food media:

On NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” a few weeks ago, Pollan deplored the “heroic” cooking on many food shows. “They make it look really hard,” he said. “You know, it’s like watching too much pornography. You think that that’s how sex is done, and it’s kind of intimidating.”

I’ve been meaning to write a little essay on that very problem, but have not gotten to it. I think I’ve been stuck on identifying the culinary equivalent of the Brazilian bikini wax. Thanks, Pollan, as usual, for being succinct and smart.

The Onion turns its brilliance on gift-giving: Gotcha Gift Box: Pro Whisk Set.

This would’ve made the holidays so much better!