A few words on oatmeal

I eat oatmeal for breakfast almost every day. So does my Dad, and so did my Grandma, it seems to be a family habit. Dad eats it in the morning to “fuel up,” zapping it in the microwave plain with just water, although occasionally he’ll remember to throw in a few raisins to make things exciting. Grammy Bev did the same thing. For them, oatmeal is about the fiber and about the stick-with-you energy it gives.
Oatmeal is a slightly different endeavor for me. Sure, I insist on using the old fashioned rolled oats like Dad since it’s healthier for me, but I cannot stand to make it the same way. I make my old fashioned oats the old fashioned way: in a pot. Strange concept, I know, in a world of fast or instant meals and high tech devices like microwaves. Yet it tastes better that way. The oats keep more of their texture. It also helps that I use milk instead of water. There are very few things blander than plain oatmeal made with water. Not just bland, but mushy, the oats unable to stay in oat form, instead disintegrating into a grayish mass in the bowl.
The great thing about oatmeal is that you can do whatever you like to it. It can be sweet from adding brown sugar or honey. It can have texture by adding dried fruits, fresh fruits, nuts and pretty much anything that sounds good. One of my favorite ways to make it is with cranberries, bits of candied ginger and a splash of vanilla extract. It’s also tasty to throw in cranberries and a spoonful of apricot preserves; the oatmeal turns out wonderfully creamy. I’ve not tried it yet, but it seems like oatmeal could easily become a savory dish, adding veggies and some spices. But probably my favorite way to prepare oatmeal is with lots of cinnamon, a bit of nutmeg and a very generous handful of raisins for sweetness. Its simple, it’s easy and there is no reason to mess it up with a microwave.

Recipe for oatmeal:

2 parts milk (or water for those of you who love blandness) to 1 part old fashioned rolled oats.
(I tend to go rather heavy on the liquid side)

Dump it all in a pan along with any dried fruit, spices, sweeteners, etc. that you want to add in. Putting in the dried fruit like raisins in during cooking causes them to warm and plump up for even better flavor. Turn on the heat and cook, stirring often, until it reaches the consistency that you like. Grab a spoon and go at it!

*oatmeal picture borrowed from Google Images

The County Fair

The fair, you know it has arrived the instant you catch a whiff of the fry oil and wood smoke. For most people this odor evokes memories of childhood and a sense of anticipation for all the rides, events, concerts and yes, food that is soon to be enjoyed. However, for me, this odor connects to nothing but a job. That’s right, I work at the fair and no I’m not a carnie, I just work the fine arts exhibit for a month and I do not travel around the state. Nevertheless I come home each day with a trail of wood smoke and grease following and clinging to my hair and clothes. It is not exactly a job perk.
It is the second year for me to be working at the fair and despite the sugary and fried temptations surrounding me, I have tried very few items. The thought of the fry grease is a huge deterrent for me and the clingy wood smoke is so chokingly overwhelming that it’s hard to get close enough to the food vendors to buy anything. Not to mention the fact that everything is vastly overpriced and less than vegetarian friendly. Yet the fair does offer some interesting items which seem to draw the crowds and the curious. There are always the old favorites; the grilled corn, the funnel cakes, giant turkey legs, fries, hot dogs, cotton candy and ice creams can be found everywhere. Yet the food does not stop there. Last year the big deal was the macaroni and cheese on a stick (fried of course) and the fried Twinkies and Oreos at Chicken Charlie’s are always a hit. To be honest I’ve only tried the fried Oreos and was less than impressed. The cookie basically turns to mush inside the fried batter and, of course, I managed to accidentally inhale the powdered sugar they put on top.
The new items for this year are the “Zucchini Weeni” and the “Kookie Cookie.” The first is a zucchini that has been hollowed out with a hot dog put inside then deep fried. The latter is a mind boggling creating which frankly turns my stomach. It involves taking a fried chicken patty and making a sandwich (seems safe enough, right?), but the “bun” is made of two oatmeal raisin cookies and it is spread with cream cheese and strawberry jam. Just pause and think about that for a second… am I alone in being totally baffled by this combination? Other delights of the fair include chocolate covered bacon (it must be a salty-sweet sort of thing), Bar-B-Que Spaghetti, a sandwich with pasta inside (the Marinara Pasta Pocket or Mac and Cheese Pasta Pocket) and fried S’mores. The fair seems out to make even seemingly healthy items unhealthy by frying any vegetable that crosses its path, including fried zucchini and fried green beans. There are also the items that seem unlikely to hold up under the pressures of frying without falling apart, like fried bread pudding and fried Mexican ice cream, yet they manage to make it work.
That is one thing that I have to say about the people who own these food booths. Not only are they cranking out tons of food in kitchens that are not permanent and can usually be pulled by trailers, but they make time to be creative with food. The fair creates a unique venue where people are willing to try something new and experiment with their food. There is a mentality of “it’s only once a year we might as well go all out.” So this once a year splurge means that people are willing to dive into the fried goods and the bizarre concoctions. Maybe this is not haut cuisine with trained chefs bending the rules of gastronomy but it is innovative and people seem to love it. It’s the one time where it is okay to have fun and play with your food.
Personally I’m a bit too uptight to enjoy the fair fodder. I do mean to give the artichoke sandwich from Roxy’s a try this year, its one of the few healthy and vegetarian items to be found and it is supposed to be quite good. Plus the fresh squeezed lemonade always looks tasty and so do the ice cream cones (and who doesn’t love ice cream?). I absolutely love Orange Julius though my wallet squeaks in protest any time I get near a booth so I haven’t really indulged. In a hopeful note, the fair is offering a sort of farmer’s market where you can get fresh produce which is a nice alternative (it helps that the fair is sponsored by Albertson’s this year). Basically, I was going to rant about the disgusting things offered at the fair and vent a little about how much I hate fried food and the smell of the fair and I did that. Yet, I have to admit that it is not all bad. It is a fun place for food which all bets are off and most people’s taste buds are ready and willing to experiment. So yeah, maybe I should ease up on it a bit, but I draw the line at fried things that should not be fried.

A veggie for meat eating*

Vegetarians are typically held under the stereotype of being hyper healthy and preachy. We are generally grouped with PETA members who splash red paint on the fur coats of the rich while yelling fanatically. However, not all of us believe the “meat is murder” mantra. Personally, I have no problem with meat eating, I simply chose not to myself.
Let’s think about this logically. Humans are omnivores. Sure there are lots of vegetarian and vegan articles out there claiming that human teeth are designed for eating veggies, but that is only partly true. Our teeth are able to process both veggies and meat. This is likely due to the fact that in the early days of evolution we had to make due with whatever we could shove in our mouths in order to survive. I don’t blame our ancestors for this, and neither should anyone else really. Humans are incredibly adaptive animals. Unlike other members of the animal kingdom we are not restricted in what we eat. We do not just eat meat and we do not just eat plants, we are neither leopard nor bunny. As explained somewhat in Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food, humans are able to survive off of incredibly varied diets. There are cultures that eat almost no plant material and there are others who survive almost exclusively on grains. Ironically it seems to be that our modern Western diet is the most harmful, but that is a different subject. Really, we are able to have any kind of diet we like, so long as it is executed sensibly. I’ve always believed in the philosophy of eating anything and everything in moderation, that includes meat.
It comes down to the fact that humans are animals and it is simply just part of the food chain for a predator to eat the flesh of its prey. No one can get angry at a bear for making a meal out of a rabbit or a squirrel (though many of us will squeak and moan about how sad it is for something cute and fuzzy to die). By feeding himself, the bear is assuring the success and balance of the ecosystem. For example, without that bear, the rabbit population might become extreme. When there are a lot of rabbits, there are a lot of mouths to feed and the plants get eaten down excessively instead of delicately because of hunger. When too many plants are eaten, there are not enough seeds left for the next year’s growth causing starvation to the rabbit population the next year, along with that of any other species who survives on a similar diet. Then those prey animals are not enough to satisfy their predators and the whole system goes out of balance. This is a very simplistic yet convoluted explanation of the food chain yet it must be acknowledged that humans do have a spot in this process. Our main problem is that we have messed with this food chain to the point of creating feed lots, mono-agriculture and other non-natural processes of providing ourselves with food.
What I am trying to get at is that I feel that no one should be prevented from eating meat, if that is what makes them happy, but we should be aware of where that food is coming from. The days of going out and hunting for food are long gone and are replaced by grocery stores filled with prepackaged and pre-proportioned food items. Even as vegetarians we are not necessarily involved in ethical ecological practices when it comes to our food. No, this is not here to tell anyone that they have to purchase only seasonal, organic, farm fresh produce. I’m just as guilty as the next person of wanting those bananas that have been trucked in from South America or buying apples year round and ignoring the proper season for fruit growing or snagging a dark chocolate Milky Way bar at the cash register. But I think it is great when people buy free range chickens and beef that never left its field for a feed lot. Getting produce from the farmer’s market is not only eco-friendly, but its fun! It’s also wonderful to check the labels on the food bought and try and get things with less than five ingredients, hopefully all of them pronounceable.
Sure, if I had the time, I would like to live like Barbara Kingsolver, on a farm, growing my own food and maybe even raising my own chickens and turkeys for the table. (As a side note, Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is a great read about her first full year growing and eating only home grown or local food.) But I admit, I would miss bananas and I most certainly could not give up chocolate despite the fact that it most certainly is not a local product. So, for the moment I am just sticking with being vegetarian. It is more a matter of health than of ethics, despite how this article is turning out to sound. I feel better, happier, and healthier when I am vegetarian. A year ago I realized that I didn’t really like chicken or beef; instead I liked the flavors put on them. It just didn’t seem worth it any more. Only after I became vegetarian did I discover all the ecological implication of eating or not eating meat. All that mattered was that the beef-y taste that got on my grilled Portobello from sharing the grill with steaks was unpleasant, to me. If the taste of flesh and blood appeals to you, more power to you. So here is my declaration from one vegetarian to the world, eat what you want, enjoy those burgers and bacon, just do me a favor and be aware of what you are eating, even if that does not change any of what you put in your mouth.

*note: I do not claim to be an expert in this subject and this little note does not cover all aspects of my beliefs or those of others. The facts given here may be incorrect, exaggerated or misinterpreted, for this I apologize. Feel free to let me know if there is anything to be corrected.

Here are a couple links to things I find interesting:

First, this was sent to me by a friend, it is a different way of looking at food and will make you think when you watch food tv. I'm just as guilty, if not more guilty, as the next person of watching stations like the food network and it is rather interesting to see what they are doing when they are filming, whether they know it or not.

http://www.barbaranitke.com/harpersmag.html

Next, this is a wonderful oven ratatouille from one of my favorite food blogs, Chocolate and Zucchini. I made this last night, with a couple changes, and it is so easy and tasty I can't imagine ever wanting to make ratatouille the slow, old fashioned way, one ingredient at a time. You have to have far more patience than I do to put up with that. This recipe really makes the house smell wonderful. It is well worth using the fresh herbs, it really enhances the flavor, but dried still works out okay. I have a ton of herbes de provence, a well intentioned, appreciated but rather overzealous gift, and love to have an excuse to use them.

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2005/04/ovenroasted_ratatouille.php

Flowers

With such pretty zucchini, who needs to plant flowers?

The lemon bars: No awards for looks, but they ended up being quite tasty.

Lemon Bars

You know what the best part is about baking? By the time the food is done, the kitchen is all clean. I love that. I hate having dishes sitting in the sink. However, the worst part about baking is the waiting. I'm a hoverer, the reason manufacturers install lights in ovens. Every couple minutes that switch is flipped and worried eyes peer in.
Is it doing anything? Is it doing too much? The recipe said to beat the filling till it was light and fluffy, what if wasn't fluffy enough?
Okay, so I'm a neurotic cook, at least I'll admit it. While cooking the spatula rarely leaves my hand and the oven light is never off. But at the same time, I do love it. I seem to thrive off the moderate panic that sets in any time a new recipe comes out. Its fun to put things in the oven and see what comes out. It is so cool and weird that something will go into this hot box and, without my intervention, turns into something tasty.
Right now I'm making lemon bars for dessert day in class tomorrow. It seemed like a good compromise since lemon meringue pie, one of my favorite desserts, does not travel well and the meringue weeps if you make it too far in advance. That good old Betty Crocker cookbook came out again (I swear I do have other cookbooks, too!) and the recipe seemed fairly do-able. My measuring technique, while fairly precise for a cook is a bit lax for a baker, but we can only hope the filling is forgiving. I've already made one mistake of melting the butter instead of softening it, so I put that in the freezer for awhile till it went to the right consistency. I'm still moderately worried about the "light and fluffy" part.
As I've been writing this, in an attempt to moderate my hovering, the lemon bars came out of the oven. The oven apparently runs super hot, which I've suspected for quite awhile, so they had to come out way early. Is is bad that the top is a pretty tan color? It won't matter too much since they'll get covered in a generous helping of powdered sugar, but its nerve wracking that people will be trying this tomorrow and who knows if it is right. I really like feeding people, however, I'd rather not poison them. But,hey, at least there was time to clean up the kitchen before it was done, at least that anxiety is out of the way.

Here's the recipe for Betty Crocker's lemon bars if you want to one-up me on actually following the directions:

1	cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/2	cup butter or margarine, softened
1/4	cup powdered sugar
1	cup granulated sugar
2	teaspoons grated lemon peel, if desired
2	tablespoons lemon juice
1/2	teaspoon baking powder
1/4	teaspoon salt
2	eggs
	Powdered sugar

1.	Heat oven to 350ºF.
2.	Mix flour, butter and powdered sugar. Press in ungreased square pan, 8x8x2 or 9x9x2 inches, building up 1/2-inch edges.
3.	Bake crust 20 minutes.
4.	Beat granulated sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice, baking powder, salt and eggs with electric mixer on high speed about 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Pour over hot crust.
5.	Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched lightly in center. Cool; dust with powdered sugar. Cut into about 1 1/2-inch squares.

Growing Things

I used to hate gardening, but I now find myself missing the brand-new planting beds I helped build at my parent’s house a few weeks ago. I get even more nostalgic over the big vegetable garden we had when I was a kid. So out on the patio of my cozy little apartment I now have pots of plants. It started last summer with pansies and snap dragons, a camellia and a couple other flowers whose names are not forgotten. But now that spring has come, so have the veggies. A couple of different tomato plants, sweet 100s and a general-variety tomato for pots are happily transforming little yellow flowers into cute little tomatoes. A couple of zucchini are soon going to take over the pot they share with some snap dragons. The lettuce plants are being babied indoors on the widow sill, their tiny delicate leaves bringing out a previously dormant maternal instinct of protection.
One of the tomatoes is starting to turn red, its one of the most exciting things of my life. I love tomatoes and generally feel that if a day passes without eating one in some form, then that day is wasted. But to eat one from my own patio, oh my gosh, it is going to be out of this world! This beats the organic tomatoes bought from the co-op any day. Hopefully the waiting will make them taste that much better. Its cliché, but my mouth is watering just thinking about it, and my stomach is growling too.
(Here is one of my enthusiastic zucchini plants, like I said, they are taking over their pot!)

While we are waiting for nature to do her work, I thought I’d share some facts about tomatoes. During a recent visit to the Huntington gardens, I discovered the recommendations of a man named Gerard on the virtues of plants. With some scrounging around the UC library system a copy of “Gerard’s Herball” was found and acquired. Gerard’s commentary on the “virtues” of plants tends to veer in the direction of how they affect the humors of the body and there has even been a mention of a “cold braine” once or twice, though I’m not sure what that means. This is what John Gerard, writing around 1597, had to say about the virtues of “apples of love,” the more poetic name of our beloved tomatoes;
“In Spaine and those hot Regions they use to eate the Apples prepared and boiled with pepper, salt, and oyle: but they yield very little nourishment to the body, and the same naught and corrupt.
“Likewise they doe eate the Apples with oile, vinegre and pepper mixed together for sauce to their meat, even as we in these cold countries doe Mustard.”
It seems like the English Elizabethan palate was not quite ready for tomatoes. Fortunately they gave grown in popularity and we now know the truth about tomatoes. They are fruits rather than vegetables, though apparently vegetable is just a culinary term and not a scientific one. They are rich in vitamins A, C and in fiber. Even better, lycopene an antioxidant which makes tomatoes red, may prevent cancer.
It is indeed interesting how our vision changes. The tomato has gone from yielding “very little nourishment” to providing lots of vitamins and being a great source of lycopene. Though really, I think that the nutrition is just a bonus to this fruit that acts like a vegetable. Those silly little fruits growing on a delicate vine yield so much taste, a little sweet and a little acidity, that they would be worth eating if they had the health benefits of a potato chip. I like mine in a salad or even better, I eat them plain. I know a lot of people put salt on them, but I like a bit of fresh ground black pepper. If I have cherry tomatoes around, which I usually do since they are my favorites, I’ll grab a few and pop them in my mouth, one at a time, like candy.
I’ve always loved tomatoes and now I love to grow them. I don’t begrudge the dirt under my fingernails though I do resent the occasional weed that pops up. Like a kid waiting for Christmas, I’m waiting for my tomatoes to ripen along with the zucchini and lettuce, and it’ll be better than any present, don’t you think?