Pretzels

There aren’t any

The box of snack-size zip-lock bags I got has on it a picture of some pretzels, as an example of appropriate use probably. “Buy these little bags and you can take pretzels to work with you.” Maybe studies show people are more likely to buy the bags if there’s a picture of iconic snack food. But every time I see the box I experience a brief flash of happy expectation, then disappointment. “Oh, pretzels! No, just those darn bags again.” I’m thinking I could put the little zip-lock bags in a quart zip-lock bag, then I wouldn’t be reminded of pretzels all the time. Plus, then I could take the snack bags through airport security.

Easy chocolate biscotti

for Chocolate week

When we have a pan of brownies, we cut them into squares leaving about half an inch around the edge of the pan because the edges are a bit harder than some of us like. But if those brownie edges are left for a few days, they turn into delicious chocolate biscotti.

Happy New Year!

If persistence is failing ten times, trying again, and succeeding, then failing ten times, trying again, and failing must be pigheadedness. This year I hope to be persistent but not pigheaded.

I look forward to reading through the Divine Comedy again; I’ve barely scratched the surface there. Other books on the list are Orality and Literacy by Walter Ong, Too Much to Know: Managing Scholarly Information before the Modern Age by Ann M. Blair, The Book of Psalms by Robert Alter, and Christianity And Culture by T.S. Eliot. As ever, much of my reading time will be taken up with random novels.

The Big Movie Project will continue. Maybe at some point I’ll assemble the posts into a single file, and get a distinguished writer to do a preface, and then make a pile of money selling the e-book. Or maybe not.

This year I want to make wine, have it cost less than wine at the store, and have it not be undrinkable. Home distilling sounds interesting, but it’s illegal here, and probably beyond my skill to do safely. I was never able to titrate reliably, so worries about wood alcohol in the product would temper my enjoyment. Fortunately, there’s white whiskey, which I find entirely drinkable on its own or with a chaser, and very good in an Old Fashioned.

The next step on the cheese project is to set up a cheese press and at least make some simple farmer’s cheese.

Since they say goals should be incremental and achievable, I also hope to eat more soup in 2012. I have good book of recipes, Twelve Months of Monastery Soups, and a one-pint thermos with a built-in spoon. Here’s a recipe for tortilla soup that sounds good.

Subway for breakfast

Costs the same as McDonald’s; food and coffee are better

For a quick breakfast at McDonald’s, I get coffee and two Sausage McMuffins. These are toasted English muffins with a sausage patty and a slice of cheese, and they’re pretty good. The total is three dollars plus tax. It’s good coffee, and sometimes I get a deal if the server thinks I look old. The restaurant is always busy and crowded. Usually the food comes quickly, but once in a while there’s an unexpectedly long wait. The parking lot is a bizarre maze full of idiots.

At Subway this morning, I got a toasted flat-bread sandwich made to order with ham, egg, cheese, and green peppers: three dollars, coffee included – they serve Seattle’s Best. This is better food, and the six-inch sandwich was filling. You can have it toasted or not, with your choice of vegetables and cheese. It takes a bit longer to get the food, and it would be hard to eat while driving without making a mess. Subway was much less busy and not crowded at all, though customers came and went steadily as I ate. The server gave me my coffee, saying with more honesty than tact, “The cream and sugar are on top of the garbage can.”

On balance, Subway wins this round.

John 21:12

For show-and-tell, each student was to bring an object that represented their religion and tell the class about it. First Aaron stood up and said “I’m Jewish and this is a Star of David; for me it represents the identity we have preserved for thousands of years.” Then Mary came forward and said, “I’m a Catholic and this is my Rosary. I use it in prayer to get closer to God.” Then John came to the front and said, “I’m a Methodist, and this is a casserole…”

Adapted from Why Go to Church? and other jokes about religion.

Toast sandwich

Reading about the toast sandwich, I had to try it. It’s a slice of toast between two slices of buttered, lightly salted and peppered bread. It really is surprisingly sandwich-like, and surprisingly good. Four thoughts occur:

• Thinly sliced Pepperidge Farm is probably a better choice than Texas toast.
• Could I make a toasted toast sandwich on the George Foreman Grill?
• I could have just toasted all three and had a plate of toast.
• I’ve just eaten three slices of white bread.

Problems with honey

Not at all surprisingly, the problems involve China and contamination. “Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn’t Honey” is the headline, and it may be exaggerated, but it does sound like there are legitimate concerns. Much of the honey is ultra-filtered to remove all the pollen, making it impossible to discover the country of origin. Why would anyone want to disguise the country of origin of honey? Because honey from some countries can’t legally be imported into the US. It’s a detailed article.

I like Chinese food, but I don’t want to eat food imported from China. Chinese products have a bad record for contamination. I rarely buy honey, but it is available from local bee-keepers. It’s expensive, but it’s expensive at the store too. If I can buy honey instead of a concoction of beet sugar, rice syrup, and industrial chemicals, and at the same time support a local producer, so much the better.

Seen here.

Chocolate industry exploiting child labor

We support what we buy, and as a civilization we can do better than this. It’s not just a matter of children harvesting cocoa instead of going to school. There’s also trafficking in non-voluntary child labor. Targeted boycotts of selected companies are one way for people to pressure corporations to improve working conditions with clean water and schooling; but that’s only part of it. At some point, civilized people have to go in to these corrupt pest-holes and hang the slave traders.

UPDATE: Nestlé becomes first food company to partner with the Fair Labor Association; Nestle ‘to act over child labour in cocoa industry’

Poutine

Doc’s latest about food and opportunity cost inspired me to make poutine.

Poutine is french fries with cheese curds and gravy. So I cooked some frozen french fries and heated up a jar of gravy. After putting a healthy portion of cheese curds on top of the fries, I poured a surprising amount of brown gravy over the whole thing, and put the plate back in the (off) oven for five minutes with the door open.

No doubt this is all kinds of wrong – the fries should be home-made from Maine potatoes fried in Canola oil, the cheese curds should be fresh, the gravy should be made from veal stock. Oh well. I put beans in my chili too. The poutine was pretty good, and I’ll eat it again, probably after Thanksgiving when there’s gravy left over.

Next time there’s chili I’ll have some chili-cheese fries the following day.

Nothing like the picture in the magazine

That’s what I get for following a recipe from Mother Jones

Obama’s elegant seasoned white beans and saffron basmati rice:

• 250 grams of beans
• 250 grams of rice

Soak the beans over night, then drain and rinse. Add the rice and enough water to cover by an inch. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook till done. Eat while looking at a picture of roast beef.

With no meat, this is disappointingly insubstantial for a main dish. You’ll be tired of beans and rice well before you run out.

Instead you might be tempted to try Romney’s hearty country bean and chili rice casserole:

• One cup of beans
• One cup of rice

Soak the beans over night, then drain and rinse. Add the rice and enough water to cover by an inch. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook till done. Eat while looking at a picture of grilled steak and onions.

Unfortunately, Romney’s hearty country bean and chili rice is virtually indistinguishable from Obama’s elegant seasoned white beans and saffron basmati rice.

Both of these would go better with some cornbread.