Top Ten Things To Expect When Dining With A Food Blogger

Exactly a year ago I posted this list, the complete contents of which came to me during one of those midnight feedings with the baby where the mind has no choice but to explore the cobwebby corners of itself.

The overwhelming response to the list was a sheer delight to read, as bloggers barred their souls, confessed all, and nodded understandingly.

The Top 10 List made it's way around many popular food sites and remains one of my most popular posts. It is most worthy of a re-run in it's anniversary.

**Disclaimer: The following is a tongue-in-cheek and much exaggerated preview of what to expect should you accept a dinner invitation to the home of an avid food blogger. At least, I think it would be like this; certainly at my place things are done with much more consideration for the guest!**

Top Ten Things To Expect When Dining With A Food Blogger:

1. You won’t be asked to bring anything for dinner except perhaps a bottle of wine or two.

2. Dinner will be served at three in the afternoon because the natural light is better for photographs.

3. Once the meal is ready, it will be marched past the beautifully set dining room table and out the back door for a photo shoot on the shady deck; it will be served to you approximately fifteen minutes later. If you're lucky.

4. Due to #3, dinner will be cold.

5. There will be one beautifully presented dish - the one being photographed - but any side dishes may look like they were hurriedly slopped together.

6. The dining room has a backdrop and fill lights. Don't touch any props.

7. You may be asked if you can be photographed while eating, but note that this request is merely a formality and the host will snap away at will no matter what your response. Expect close-ups of your lips,hands, etc.

8. The host may seem lost in thought for the most of the meal -- presumably because he/she is already composing a blog post in his/her head.

9. If there is conversation, it will probably revolve around the food (details on how it was prepared, the chef’s feelings on how it turned out) or the weather (too sunny for good photographs or not sunny enough).

10. You'll notice that the cake for dessert has a slice missing from it. That's because the host needed to photograph the layers.

UtHC Coast to Coast

A cool thing happened the other week:

We're a relatively low-profile blog and that is fine by us, but every once in a while we'll pop up on someone's radar and it's always entertaining to see what transpires after that and where our name ends up.

This happened recently when a Top 10 list I had posted a while back happened to land a spot in another Top 10 list over at the popular food blog, Endless Simmer. Demonstrating a stroke of pure genius, Brendan Spiegel (BS) compiled a Top 10 Top 10 Food Lists, a shout out to the "funniest food stories we've seen in list format".

Topping the hilarious, exhaustive and often insightful (I need to see Tampopo like now) list, was my Top 10 Things to Expect When Dining With a Food Blogger. Sweet!

That was just the beginning of the fun.

A few hours later, the New York-based food website, Serious Eats came calling. As this site has been praised by some as the "next generation of food media" and named by Time Magazine as one of the 50 Best Websites, I about hit the roof when they called my list 'inspired'.
Equally entertaining was a commenter who stated "I refuse to eat with food bloggers or vegan/vegetarians."! Hilarious.

I would have been content if the link love had ended there, but the next day we traveled to the opposite coast and popped up on Eater LA, followed in quick succession by a spot on UrbanDiner, for some Canadian love.

Apparently, it doesn't matter which country you find yourself in, you might want to think twice before dining with a food blogger, as was proven by well-known Korean Food Journal ZenKimchi who stated that my list hit close to home.

We could talk about blurbs on News Now Network or SpliceToday, or all the food blogs that joined in the fun (at their own expense) but I think you get the drift...Wait, what was the drift? I've already forgotten.

How about this: Internet 'fame' lasts about 15 seconds, so grab a glass of wine and enjoy it!


.. and we're back off the radar. Cheers!



Did that header photo make you hungry? It's a Warm Lobster Salad with Asparagus, Fiddleheads and Poached Rhubarb.

Ten Things I've Learned About Food Bloggers

I'm surprised and thrilled by your response to this post--and a teeny bit relieved that you 'got it'. I really have the coolest bunch of readers!

To those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, catch up by reading my "Top Ten Things To Expect When Dining With A Food Blogger". Consider it a little weekend reading and do NOT skip the hilarious fifty or so comments where food bloggers bare their souls and make some surprising confessions.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Barbara said:
"Great post. I also get 'Aren't you taking a photo for your blog? Is our food not good enough to blog?' when we are dining at friend's houses."

Ouch! Is there any good answer to that question, Barbara? My pet peeve is when we're dining out with friends and they gush over their Chicken Parmesan "Ohh, take a picture of this for your blog!"
Why? Because people have never seen melted cheese sprinkled with parsley before?

Andrea said:
"I don't take photos when guests, even family, are visiting, though my husband asks me constantly, 'Did you photograph that?' before I serve anything to company. It's almost embarrassing!"

As if we would forget, right? That's when you blush, smile, and pretend you have no idea what he is talking about.

Kimberly said:
(at her child) " 'Hold on! Mommy forgot to take a picture! Can you please slide over? I need more light I know, you're hungry. Mommy is hungry too.' "

Kim! Are you scarring you children? Making them go hungry for the sake of a blog? Don't worry, sweetie, we've all been there.

Ah, we can't take ourselves too seriously now, can we?

Here are Ten Things I've Learned About Food Bloggers since writing the aforementioned post:

1. We can laugh at ourselves. This is healthy.
2. Our significant others put up with a LOT.
   
3. We are dedicated to our craft, sometimes at the expense of family & friends.
   
4. Surprisingly, some of us tend to be shy about working in front of guests.
   
5. We have resigned ourselves to eating cold food. Now if only our S.O. would too; life would be so much easier.
   
6. Somehow, this food blogging thing is having an effect on our young children and they may need some therapy later.
7. We dream of a studio with good lighting, but for the most part, shoot on makeshift sets at random places all over the house.
8. We know we're a little wacky.
9. We're longing for summer with its lengthy evenings of soft natural light.
10. Our kids are aspiring food bloggers (or think they are).
    

Thanks, everyone, for the great response! I'm thinking I may need to do a follow-up post...something along the lines of "Confessions of a Food Blogger". Feel free to start the therapy in the comments section below.

It seems we have a lot to get off our chests.

Stay tuned, I have a bevvy of desserts lined up for the week ahead. Brace yourselves!
For now, I've got to get going on chili for about 40 people. We're co-hosting a sledding party this weekend and I think I may even dust off my snowboard!

Have a great weekend!

Top Ten Things To Expect When Dining With A Food Blogger

Disclaimer: The following is a tongue-in-cheek and much exaggerated preview of what to expect should you accept a dinner invitation to the home of an avid food blogger. At least, I think it would be like this; certainly at my place things are done with much more consideration for the guest!


Top Ten Things To Expect When Dining With A Food Blogger:

1. You won’t be asked to bring anything except perhaps wine or other beverages.

2. Dinner will be served at 3 in the afternoon because the natural light is better.

3. Once the meal is ready, it will be marched past the set dining room table and out the back door for a photo shoot on the shady deck; it will be served to you approximately fifteen minutes later. If you're lucky.

4. Due to #3, dinner will be cold.

5. There will be one beautifully presented dish - the one being photographed - but any side dishes may look like they were hurriedly slopped together.

6. The dining room has a backdrop and fill lights. (So I don't, but I bet I know someone who does.)

7. You may be asked if you can be photographed while eating, but note that this request is merely a formality and the host will snap away at will no matter what your response. Expect close-ups of your lips, etc.

8. The host may seem lost in thought for the most of the meal -- presumably because he/she is already composing a blog post in his/her head.

9. If there is conversation, it will probably revolve around the food (details on how it was prepared, the chef’s feelings on how it turned out) or the weather (too sunny for photographs or not sunny enough).

10. You'll notice that the cake for dessert has a slice missing from it. That's because the host needed to photograph the layers.


Consider yourself warned. You're welcome.

Update: Don't miss the follow-up to this post "Ten Things I've Learned About Food Bloggers"!

Top Ten Favorite Camping Foods

Glowing embers of a campfire melt the chocolate in this updated take on a S'more

Ah, the last long weekend in summer is over and school days are here again - well not for me; it's just the rest of you who have to get into a routine! August flew by for us, but it was bookended by two memorable trips into the country, the first one being a fantastic camping trip that inspired this post.
We were hesitant at first to try tenting with the little ones, but decided not to let that stop us and were rewarded with a memorable family experience that we hope to keep up every summer here on out. It wasn't just the food that was good (arguably the best part of camping, right?) but we had sunshine for at least half the time, successful mid-day naps in the tent, and no bugs to speak of!


I just have to say, everyone has a different interpretation of what camping is. For some it is merely hooking up an RV in a camp off of some major highway, sending the kids to the pool and watching TV with a 24 of beer close by. For others it may involve packing only the bare essentials in a backpack, hiking deep into the wilderness and sleeping under the stars.
Then there is the middle ground: backing your vehicle into a campsite in a provincial park, setting up a tent and using a combination of camp stove and fire pit for your cooking. This version seemed to suit us just fine when we joined a group of friends for a two-night camp-out on a small lake south of here.


No one can say one type of camping is better than the other. It's all about what suits your lifestyle, your physical aptitude, wilderness skills and how you grew up camping (or not) with your parents.
The same goes for camping food! While these ten items are camping 'must-haves' for me, there are plenty of people who are going to read this and say " Bannock? Huh? Where's the Kraft Dinner? The hamburgers?". Since my kind of camping when I was growing up was mostly of the wilderness sort, my camping menu items tend to reflect that influence.

Top Ten Favorite Camping Foods

1. Bannock

Classic breakfast camping fare. I mix my dry goods in a Ziplock bag at home, then add a little warm water to the bag at the campsite, mix in the bag and pat the dough into a cast iron pan. Biscuit like in texture, the bannock takes on the smoky flavor of the fire and is a nourishing start to the day! Batter can also be prepared a little thicker, rolled by hand into a rope, wrapped around a green stick and roasted like a hot dog over an open fire. This takes a lot of time and patience, as you need to cook it over low coals so it cooks evenly and the outside doesn't char. Only recommended when you have a lazy morning to kill, otherwise the cast iron pan works well.

2. Energy Bars and other energy-boosting dried goods

When we go hiking we are never with out a good trail mix and these delicious Clif Bars. With flavors like Cool Mint Chocolate, Banana Nut Bread and Peanut Toffee Buzz, these organic baked energy bars are the perfect pick-me-up whether you are bushwacking through the forest or smoking the opposite team in beach volleyball!

3. Dehydrated Soups

We weren't camping long enough to warrant purchasing instant soup for this trip, but we all have our favorite dried soup mix or cup-o-soup. Invaluable on a cold, drizzly day, it doesn't get much simpler than just adding hot water. And don't get stuck in a chicken noodle rut, there are some great flavors out there like Spicy Black Bean.

4. Cocoa and other hot beverages

Do not leave home without plenty of instant hot drinks, no matter how warm you think the weather will be! The temperature drops dramatically at night and sleeping so near the ground can be quite chilly. I brought this organic hot cocoa (from Marchés Tau), a dozen tea bags and lots of ground coffee, thinking I was 'over packing', but we drank everything. Of course, once word got out that we were making French press coffee over at our campsite, we had to share a little.

5. S'mores

The classic s'more is made with a toasted marshmallow and a piece of chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers. I always found that was too much cracker and not enough of the good stuff, plus I like my chocolate warmed to the sticky stage, so I changed things up a bit to create this masterpiece. The cookie is a Belgian waffle cookie (purchased) and it is big enough to hold two marshmallows, i.e. twice the goodness! The 'mallows are toasted until golden, then gently pulled off the stick, leaving the insides behind. A square of chocolate is inserted into each of the hollow, molten marshmallows and both are placed on the waffle and topped with another waffle. (of course you can do one at a time, too, but this is pretty economical). I like to set the whole the whole thing down near the campfire's heat until the chocolate melts enough. Mmm. SO good.
I'm sure for some people, this is the best part about camping!

6. Pasta in a box

Go ahead, make your Kraft Dinner, I've certainly eaten enough of it on camp-outs, but if I can, I prefer something like this white cheddar pasta that actually tastes great and doesn't leave you with a stomach ache. Not only is boxed pasta super light to carry (for you backpackers), it's heavenly to enjoy a hot meal out in the bush, especially if you have wet socks.

7. Smokies or your favorite sausage

Let's face it, you gotta roast something on a stick over an open fire when you are camping. This is what ground meat encased in a skin was born to do. My Ukrainian heritage always points me in the direction of the garlic smokies, although there are so many different type of great sausages to choose from.
Directions: Skewer with a green stick. Roast over an open flame until the sides split and the juices run. Don't burn your mouth.

8. Baked Nutella Bananas

I'm sure people other than us make these all the time, but I have never seen it. Maybe you're about to learn something new today! Anyway, if you're tired of S'mores, another great dessert is to simply take a banana, peel back a small section and scoop out a little flesh to make a valley in the banana. Fill the valley with Nutella and, if you wish, a few marshmallows (minis work best, but I didn't have), and place the peel back over the hole. Wrap in tin foil and place in the hot coals of a campfire. Cook about 10 minutes, poke to see if banana is soft, and if it is, remove from the heat. Eat with a spoon. Yum!
Some people also replace the Nutella with chocolate chips and that's great too.

9. Potatoes baked in the ashes

Baking in foil is the best way to eat for camping: no clean up! Plus the food takes on an incredible smokey flavor from the fire that one can't duplicate at home. These potatoes are about the simplest side dish you can make, yet one of the best. Just scrub some new potatoes and cut them in half. Toss with a little olive oil and salt (I added fresh garlic and rosemary from my garden) and wrap up tight in foil. Toss the package onto the coals (never open flame) and forget about them for a half an hour or so. Tongs are useful to remove the packages from the fire when they are finished; just be careful of the hot steam when you open them!

10. Fresh Fish baked in foil

Similar to the potatoes, fresh fish needs no further dressing than to be rinsed, patted dry, seasoned with a few herbs and garlic and wrapped in foil. This fish cooked in about 10 minutes and needed to be turned a few times. It was moist and delicious, with all the juices contained in the foil.

So what's your favorite camping food? Come on, let's have it!

Top Ten Favorite Kitchen Items

In case you were curious, here is a peek into my kitchen and the items I grab day in and day out for my cooking. There is nothing extravagant, like the Swiss made Pacojet ice cream maker (please Santa!) or futuristic like this toaster, but these items are all as dear to me as a close friend and make daily cooking a pleasure!

Unfortunately, I haven't been cooking anything as of late... a vicious post-operative infection has put me on strict bed rest and pumped full of antibiotics. I miss my sunny kitchen. I miss the smell of baking filling the house. I miss picking over fruit at the market and imagining what I will create with it. I miss every item on this top ten list.

At least I am home with my boys!
A massive heartfelt thanks to all the friends and neighbors who have brought over such delicious meals as lasagna, eggplant Parmesan, lemon chicken, noodles, and chicken pot pie, to name a few. Good, home cooked food certainly helps the body heal.

No cooking means no blogging, but thankfully, I have a few post such as this one in the vault, and so I share with you...

My Top Ten Favorite Kitchen Items:

1. Mac Japanese series 6 1/2 inch vegetable knife.
Finally, a knife that is light enough, I can use it for hours and not get a sore wrist. Not entirely just for vegetables, it slices some pretty sexy sashimi, too.


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2. Roscan Melamine mixing bowls.
Durable, lightweight and heat resistant. I love color and these bowls are a fun and cheery way to mix up anything!


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3. Large wooden cutting board.
Essential for any kitchen, one can never have one too big. Mine has a hundred different uses from basic vegetable prep to cheese board at a party.


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4. All-Clad 10 inch and 8 inch sauté pans.
If the house was on fire, I would probably grab these pans from the kitchen before leaving. Heavy enough to sear a steak or dissolve sugar, these versatile stove top to oven sauté pans just might actually make my food taste better.


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5. Red Le Creuset 7 ¼ quart Round French Oven.
Pasta sauces, curries, stews, you name it, this pot is never empty in my kitchen and never wears out.


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6. Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer.
A cherished wedding present, this beauty is my third arm. From the softest pizza dough to the fluffiest butter cream, with countless batches of cookies in between- this mixer does it all.


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7. Braun Aromatic Coffee Grinder.
A worthwhile investment, this little coffee grinder works perfectly for grinding my spices and hasn't been used for coffee in some time. Without it, making those batches of homemade garam masala would be a lot more work. Switching from a curry to cinnamon? Simply pulse some coarse salt through it to remove odors and wipe clean with a dry cloth.


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8. Fine Mesh Sieves.
Irreplaceable in a gourmet’s kitchen and perfect for straining sauces, sifting flours, passing delicate purees, these durable sieves are always with in reach.


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9. Silicone heat resistant spatulas.
The perfect balance between firm and flexible, these spatulas were probably invented by someone who often absentmindedly sets the spatula down on the hot stove next to the pot. Guilty!


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10. Braun Multiquick Handblender.
Where would I be without this immersion blender to puree soups, whip up batches of aioli, foam a sauce, throw together smoothies and do a dozen other tasks for me during the day? Best feature: the removable head allows for a quick clean-up.

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Do you have a kitchen item you can’t do with out? Please share!

Top Ten Reasons Why I am Dreading the Approaching Autumn

Some of my favorite summer produce in its prime

1. The inevitable return to routine. Every home has one in the fall, be it structured around school, playgroups, extra curricular activities or social commitments. Somehow we have managed to drift through summer with no real commitments, no schedules and a delicious spontaneity from day to day, but that is soon coming to an end. The phrase “It’s a school night” starts popping up when we have friends over, usually when I am ready to start another round of Canasta or open a new bottle of wine. That sure gets annoying fast.

2. The arrival of Christmas paraphernalia at Costco. Oh, it’s there, all right. I now have to brace myself for the unavoidable onslaught of Christmas propaganda everywhere.

3. Noticing my garden shrivel up, fade away and go to seed before my very eyes. My parsley patch is three feet high and has flowers on it as if to say “I’ve produced enough, thank you, I am now going to flower and die.”

4. The return to weekly music practices. Now while I do enjoy singing in a local church choir, I find September a tad early to begin rehearsing for the Christmas concert. Another four months of this and I'll be able to perform sleepwalking. Wait a minute, I've been so tired lately from the pregnancy, sleepwalking isn't far off.

5. It’s the end of the feast of summer festivals in Montreal with nothing but famine ahead. The major festivities drift away with the last of the hot air balloons in Saint Jean-sur-Richelieu, and not many others come up on my radar until the High Lights Festival in February.

6. My birthday is in the fall and I am starting to dread getting a year older now that I am reaching the end of my ‘tweens’.

7. The closing of La Ronde. I’m an adrenaline junkie, and even though I can’t go on the rides now that I am pregnant, there is something about seeing the motionless amusement park as I drive over the Jacques Cartier Bridge that seems to signal the end of summer fun.

8. The return of hockey. Now, I have to be very careful what I say here as certain members of my household are avid Habs fans. It’s not that I have anything against hockey, it’s just that perhaps there are some Saturday nights from October through May that I might want to do something other than watch the game, have a one-sided conversation with my husband, or receive a highly-distracted and sporadic back rub.

9. Need I mention approaching cool weather? As I write, I am wearing pants, a sweater, socks, and have a blanket on my lap and I am thinking the pretty sun dress I was planning to wear to tomorrow's BBQ just isn’t going to be warm enough. The evenings are getting chillier and it’s not hard to imagine the eminent arrival of snow.


10. Probably the thing I dread most about the coming autumn is saying goodbye to gorgeous summer produce; watching the baskets of sweet strawberries get replaced by giant heads of cabbage and leeks the size of my arm. Then there are those annoying people who are falling over themselves to go apple picking as if they haven’t eaten an apple all year long. Although there are days when I can muster it, it’s hard to get excited about the arrival of the common apple in the fall, while all summer I have kept no less than ten kinds of fresh fruit and berries in my fridge and now have to say au revoir to the likes of watermelon, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, honeydew and so on…Goodbye, that is, if I keep any sort of grocery budget and I have any sort of palate as the prices jump and the flavor plummets come Labor Day weekend. Sure I love the fall vegetable line-up as much as then next chef, but when my local market is selling 10 lbs of beets for $2.99 and asparagus for $4.99/lb, it’s no secret that the fall veggies just aren’t as glamorous as the summer varieties. And who doesn’t love glam?!

Top Ten Dining Out Pet Peeves

I admit, I have high standards, but it’s because I know how restaurants work-or should work. Sometimes, I wish I didn’t know the inner tickings of the friendly neighborhood bistro, the popular breakfast joint, or the ever-so-snooty fine dining establishment. It’s like every time I eat out, I am filling out my very own comment card in my head. I can’t help it. The higher priced the menu, the higher my standards.
But shouldn’t it be that way?
If I am paying good money for this dining experience, I expect to have a satisfying outcome in return.
Sadly, that is seldom the case.

Top 10 Dining Out Pet Peeves:

1. Waiting... for the menus, for the food, for the bill. Just waiting for a long time. Waiting for food really gets me squirming. There are times when I know I could hit the kitchen, single-handedly slap out the food for each person at my table and sit back down in about seven minutes. Why the huge waits? And don’t even think about serving the table next to me, who ordered after me, before you bring my food.

2. Bad Waiters: the Snooty, the Sloppy, the Slacker, the Snoopy! They really deserve their own top10 pet peeves, but I won’t bother. Besides, as a chef, it’s kind of like our motto to hate waiters. Sorry, but in the professional kitchen they are the enemy and we have our reasons.

3. Cold food. Cold food makes me boil with annoyance. I know it’s not that hard to get a hot plate out. Be it the kitchen’s shortcoming or the waiters oversight, it makes me want to get up, march into the kitchen and start a grease fire.

“Oh! This is your deep-fry fat, right? Well, take that!” Boom.

4. Mixed up orders: Waiters. This is your job. How hard is it (especially when you are writing it down) to convey what I am saying to you back to the kitchen? Kitchen’s fault? Then why did you bring it out to me? If you think maybe I won’t notice, then you’ve got the wrong customer.

5. Annoying Customers around you. This can’t really be helped. As people watching is one of the many great perks to eating out, you kind of have to take the wheat with the chaff. Still, irritating can-only-speak-at-100-decibels-into-my-cellphone guy at the next table should only be allowed to eat take out Chinese. At home. By himself.

6. Stupid Rules: Like you can only eat if you drink or drink if you eat. You know the places I’m talking about. You’re out at the pub with a few friends and you just want an iced tea and a basket of crab cakes. “Sorry Madame, I can only bring you those crab cakes if you order some alcohol” Are you kidding me? Guess the costumer is not always right.

7. Cheesy Theme Menus or items with stupid names like “The Prune Pit-for people on the go” or whatever. Menus with ‘funny’ or ‘cutsy’ names annoy the heck out of me and I have a theory that abuse of the English language usually leads to abuse of food. Also, I have issues with absurdly lengthy menus. Longer is not better.

8. Bad Tables: Every restaurant has them. The drafty one near the door; another one next to the kitchen’s swinging doors (that give glimpses into a world you really, really didn’t need to know about); the one in the middle of the thoroughfare where you can count how many times the pregnant chick goes the bathroom because she bumps your chair every time….Bad tables can ruin a night out.

9. Overpriced Menus: I’m not talking about expensive menus, as those are often justified by high quality food, but the place that has no special view, no celeb chef, no prime location, but still decides they can charge $18.95 for Penne Arrabiata and $27.95 for a chicken breast a la blah blah blah.

10. Pushy Sommeliers: I like to choose my own wine when I go out. I know some sommeliers can be very helpful, but they are generally pretty snooty and always trying to steer me toward the pricier bottles. There should also be no eyebrow raising if I just decide to order by the glass- or not at all.


With all the possible things that could go wrong during a meal out, you would think I would be inclined to save my money and stay home; however, it may surprise you that I DO enjoy most of my dining experiences, and when I don't feel like taking the risk, there's always take-out.

Top Ten Ways I am Making Every Day “Earth Day”

“It doesn't feel hotter to me.”
— George W. Bush

New Years Resolution 2007: Reduce My Ecological Footprint.

If you talk to anyone out there, they will admit they could be doing more to save the planet. An overused phrase, yes, but after watching Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, it took on a new meaning. While I am certainly no expert in this area (that’s my brother-in-law, Kevin) I can still educate myself and make more of an effort to be environmentally friendly.

Here’s how:

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. I’ve always been a fan of 2^nd hand stuff and always recycled of course, but now we are getting really serious. We’re recycling stuff like batteries and donating unwanted household items to charity instead of pitching them. We also got a second recycling bin for glass, metal and plastic so we don’t just recycle the various newspapers and flyers that come to our house.

2. Cloth Diapers instead of disposable. These just use water, a renewable resource, and some biodegradable soap to stay clean and don’t contribute a thing to landfill. Here’s an article you MUST read before deciding to use disposable diapers, which highlights that they are in fact NOT disposable and are a leading contributor to landfills. I love my cloth diapers; not only are they eco-friendly, but they save us a ton of money and are better for Noah's bum as they don't have all the chemicals in them that disposables have.

3. Push-Reel Lawnmower. In one hour of operation, a conventional gas lawn mower (two-stroke) pollutes as much as 40 new cars. Just imagine how much pollution is being created in a typical suburb on a summer weekend! I love our quiet, pollutant-free push mower and it’s great exercise too!

4. Reusable Shopping Bags: Bringing along reusable cotton bags for groceries and errand running.

5. Biodegradable Soap: both dish soap and laundry detergent. Fortunately, these have become easier to find and much more affordable in recent years. We like the brand Biovert.

6. Composting: I compost kitchen scraps, leaves, and grass trimmings. This, combined with recycling, cuts my garbage output by 50% and helps fertilize my garden, too!

7. Energy efficient light bulbs. Compact fluorescents use around 70% less energy than a regular bulb. This is an easy way to save energy for anyone. Just remember this – we learned that they burn out quite quickly when used with dimmers.

8. Energy Saving: Using cold water to wash clothes to reduce hot water usage and by using a clothes line in summer. Also keeping thermostats lower and wearing a sweater instead of cranking the heat (which Danny always chides me for doing).

9. Less a Car/Walking: Owning just one car for our family and leaving it at home more often for errand running and market shopping.

10. Buying locally grown produce…in order to support local farmers and also eating more fresh, organic foods, which aren’t sprayed. According to climatecrisis.net the average meal in the US travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel and keep money in your community. Also, frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.

Interested in making some changes also? Visit www.climatecrisis.net/take action

Top 10 Useless Kitchen Gadgets

Some of the following material contains adult subject matter. Reader discretion is advised.

First off let me just say that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure, I am a firm believer of that. So before you go and get your shirt in a knot, remember that this is just my (experienced professional) opinion and if you happen to have one of these gadgets and use it and love it, that’s just fine too. Whatever makes you happy! Granted this is a bit of a rant on my part, but I also want to point out that sometimes, no matter what some commercial is telling you, you DON'T need a gadget for every job. You would never see any of these item in a professional kitchen, that's how useless they are.
Today, consumerism is rampant and we could learn a lesson or two from the Chinese. Do you thinkthat in the average kitchen in China they have a tool for every little job? No, there's a good wok, a cleaver, a steamer for rice and a few odds and ends. Watch the movie Eat Drink Man Woman; the father can practically peel a grape with a cleaver.
Remember: never underestimate a good sharp knife! It gets the job done. Even for an Octodog (see below)

On more thing. I chose these from hundreds of similar gadgets, utensils and contraptions that I have seen and heard of over the years. Maybe they aren't the most useless of them all, but I find them the most common and the most annoying. That said, here they are!

Top Ten Useless Kitchen Gadgets ( in random order)

1. Mushroom Brush. I always see these sitting on the edge of people’s sinks, looking filthy, and I can’t help wondering if they double as nail brushes, pot scrubbers, etc. Disgusting. Are the mushrooms really so dirty that we need to have these brushes on hand at all times? Guess what? I never clean my button mushrooms. Ok, if there’s a huge clump of dirt clinging on, I’ll get it with my knife.
   
2. Turkey Baster. I’ve never met anyone who actually uses theirs, but I have heard of people who have used them to assist in getting pregnant. They look so dumb, are usually in old 70's colors and take up space in a drawer 364 days out of the year. Have a dry bird? Use your gravy ladle. I know you have one of those if you're cooking a turkey.
   
3. Corn Holders. People collect these like they are going out of style. Would it actually be so wrong to hold the corn with your hands? Too hot? Who’s going to bite into an ear of corn if it’s too hot to even handle? Again, I know people who have service for 20, but have never used them.
4. Garlic Presses. More like garlic juicers. None of which have ever successfully pressed a peeled garlic clove. You end up loosing half of the garlic in the press, plus, have you ever cleaned one of these??? I’d rather rince a knife blade under water than spend ten minutes picking garlic out of the little holes. People are always shocked and dismayed that I don’t have a garlic press. Listen up, I don’t care. It's against my unspoken culinary code of conduct. Same goes for garlic peelers: it's so much easier to whack a clove with the flat side of a chef's knife. Gets rid of frustration too. (Also, from a gourmet's perspective, size matters. Crushed, pulverized garlic emits the most intense flavor. Sometimes you need a more subtle hint of garlic in a dish and thinly sliced would work best here. See what I mean?)
   
5. Melon Ball Scooper. Didn't know that melons had balls? Suprise! Apparently they need a lot of scooping. This technique is so 80's, you're dating yourself if you serve these in a fruit salad. Don't want to get rid of it? Use it to scoop cookie dough to make perfectly shaped little balls of goodness.

6. Apple Peeler, corer, slicer, etc. When did it become so much work to peel an apple?? These things are so ridiculous. First of all, look at the size of this contraption. Compare the valuable cupboard space it takes up to a slender vegetable peeler. Now haul it out of that box, mount that apple, blab blah blah. Clean it and put it back in the cupboard, way in the back with all the other stuff you use once a year. Oh look, I’ve already peeled a bushel of apples with my little peeler.

7. Egg Separator. This is a device that is supposed to hold the yolk while allowing the white to drop into a dish. These are getting more and more elaborate by the year. (see above photo.) It's easier - much easier - to use the broken eggshell, and much, much sexier to strain it through your fingers. Yea so you have to wash your hands after. Well, you should always wash your hands after handling eggs anyway.
   
8. Electric Carving Knife. Don’t get me started. If I ever have one of these, just shoot me. Enough said.
   
9. Measuring Spoons with a ‘pinch’, ‘smidgeon’, ‘dash’, etc. PulEEZe. You know you've seen these. If you happen to own then I hope they were a gag gift.
   
10. Bagel Slicer. Now these are downright dangerous no matter what the add says. This one is actually called the Bagel Guillotine Biter. Need I say more? Bagel Guillotine Biter. Oops, there goes a finger. (I also have no use for hardboiled egg slicers, avocado slicers, etc) Apparently there are a lot of people out there who are having trouble slicing their bagels. Now you can buy them pre-sliced, people. Whew. Solving the worlds problems, one at a time. Note: the Bagel Guillotine website would like us to know that their product has been clocked at slicing 20 bagels per minute. Who are these people who are eating 20 bagels in the morning?? I'll tell you what. You have 20 -or 40, or 400- bagels to slice and I'll come over and slice them personally. Just don't ask me to use an electric knife.

And as a bonus, I present the all-time worst kitchen gadget I have ever seen: The OCTODOG. This is from stupid.com, but I'm afraid of posting the picture on my blog, so you'll have to link to their site if you want to see this monstrosity. But if you've read this far, I bet you do.

Top Ten: Foodie Movies

If I can’t always be cooking in my kitchen, the next best thing is watching a foodie flick where culinary delights are being woven into a storyline, seeing a different culture and cuisine portrayed, and the observing the dynamics around a dinner table.
It was hard to narrow is down to just ten choices as there are so many films out there with moving and memorable food scenes. A few off the top of my head would be My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Godfather, Monsoon Wedding, Moonstruck, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory…the list goes on. Food in movies is an expression of passion and can convey a subtle sensuality that rivals any average love scene. That scene in Godfather III where Vincent and Mary are making gnocchi is smokin’!

Here is my selection for my top ten favorite food movies in no particular order.

Also included is a suggestion of what to eat when you watch the film…I don’t know about you but I always get hungry during foodie movies.


Top Ten Foodie Movies:

1. Like Water For Chocolate (Mexican hot chocolate with cinnamon)
2. Babette’s Feast (stuffed quail)
3. Big Night (timpani)
4. Mostly Martha (steak)
5. Dinner Rush (pasta)
6. Spanglish (World’s Best Sandwich, recipe below)
7. Eat Drink Man Woman (wonton soup)
8. Addicted to Love (strawberries)
9. Chocolat (truffles)
10. Vatel (wine and cheese)


World's Best Sandwich
(from the movie, Spanglish, invented by chef Thomas Keller)

3-4 slices of bacon
2 slices of Monterey Jack cheese
2 slices of toasted rustic country loaf (pain de campagne)
1 tbsp of mayo
4 tomato slices
2 leaves of butter lettuce (yes, it’s called butter lettuce)
1 teaspoon butter
1 egg

Preparation:

Cook the bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels.

Place slices of cheese on one side of toasted bread. Place in toaster oven or under broiler to melt.

Spread mayo on other slice of bread top with bacon, sliced tomato, and lettuce.

On non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Fry egg, turning over briefly when the bottom is set (keep yolk runny).

Slide finished egg on top of lettuce, top with other slice of bread.

Place sandwich on plate and slice in half, letting yolk run down sandwich.