FoodNerd!

actually quite insanely useful. video of a dude opening a bottle of wine with a shoe and a concrete wall

O how I love Ribena black currant syrup mixed with icy cold seltzer. Om nom nom.

It got a little wacky here, with work and a bunch of dance events and other miscellaneous whatnot. Sorry for not posting, but when it gets like this the LAST thing I want to be doing is sitting at the computer even longer. Cannot be helped.
I just made a batch of chili that kind of wasn’t so hot — i think that unsweetened chocolate is not the way to go. Also needed more tomato. But it was definitely a chili sort of weather we’ve been having, so at least there’s that.
Also a rather nice hungarian sauce of sauteed cubanelles with paprika, tomato and Turkish hot pepper paste. Had it on pasta with pork chops, and again with some sauteed kale and potatoes.
And I need to remember to make more cooked carrot and celery dishes. Braising the two together with chicken broth is a delicious thing, and I am continually forgetting that I can and should cook these vegetables on their own.

33/365 Oakland Oatmeal Raisin NOM

Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

We got these cookies at Arizmendi Bakery in Oakland, within walking distance from our friend R’s apartment.

Best oatmeal raisin cookies ever.

I’ve always been partial to (shockingly) the Shaw’s store-made oatmeal raisin cookies, but I’ve had to swear off them because they’re made with nasty trans-fatty partially hydrogenated oils. (plus, they’re kinda hit or miss.)

Spendy (we spent $13 on a little under 2 pounds — maybe 12 cookies — to take home with us and for the long flight home), but dericious.

And entirely organimagical. That’s a word, right?

turns out that if you have leftover mashed potato-rutabaga mix, and the end of a chunk of roquefort cheese and some fresh breadcrumbs because you had a cocktail party, you can use all these things to make a really tasty lunch.
i heated up the mash a little in the microwave, then put it into a gratin dish, crumbled the roquefort over, and sprinkled a light layer of crumbs over that. stuck it into the toaster oven on broil until I couldn’t endure the smell any longer and had to tuck in immediately. the fat from the cheese crisps up the crumbs, and the whole thing is amazing creamy goodness.

balvenie at The Franklin Cafe

taken by TallMatt, but it was my idea to prop the menu up behind my drink while he was playing with the camera — collaborative photo excellence!
food at The Franklin was very good across the board, but not so awesome that I would necessarily brave the atrocious parking situation very frequently. if you live in Bay Village or are otherwise in walking distance, by all means, and be sure to try the grilled calamari and the meatloaf.
and bring a flashlight — those hipsters like to eat in the dark.

this one requires rather more thought and research, but I’m posting the link here for future reference:
100 Chinese Foods to Try Before You Die
I think I am doing rather better on the Japanese list at Just Hungry, but that may have to do with the 3 week trip to Japan in 1996 and lifelong fascination with all things Japanese. (Update: I just counted up and I am at 45 on the japanese list. There were 5-10 more that I’d tried, but couldn’t count because the list specified certain handmade/in season/ultra-fresh attributes that I’d not enjoyed. So I’m at roughly half, which is what I was expecting and hoping. Yay.)

Originally uploaded by foodnerd

“Pardon me, sir, do you have any Grey Poupon… I mean, chicken?”

He did this non-stop all through dinner. It was hilarious. This cat has no shame.

I had lemon verbena ice cream and blood orange sorbet at a place called Milk in LA. Both were excellent, and went well together even. I am gonna have to try making some ice cream of my own, since i have a thriving lemon balm plant in the backyard that should work about the same.

We have been in Kansas City the last few days, and we have consumed large quantities of MEAT in all its midwestern glory. Posts to follow, once our colons have re-established contentment and well-being enough to allow coherent photo downloading.