yes, i built that.

i made chocolate peanut butter cups at home a la a beautiful mess. they were a bit large, as i only had cupcake liners for big muffin tins, rather than the baby size, but that did not stop anyone from eating too much or cutting them in half.

sadly, i took no photos of this delicious + easy-to-make treat, so here's my dog in a sweater. it's a hand-me-down from houston and might be worn for christmas.

days twelve through fifteen.

day twelve: vimala's with april and adam. i mean, we actually ordered almost everything on the menu: sag paneer, naan, vegetarian thali, beers, rose lassi, tandoori things, salady things. i can't remember what it all was. besides delicious. 

day thirteen: i was totally off-course by this point but i swear it's not my fault. casey and i went to raleigh for a birthday party and some bowling (in which i kicked his ass, which is mostly what matters). we eventually retired to the home of the birthday boy and drank the MOST delectable whiskey-and-gingers (maybe with some very strong, very gingery ginger ale or beer) and ate lilly's pizza, which is always mind-blowing. i mean, there are potatoes on the damn thing. holy hot bananas.

day fourteen: we were running off to see lambchop at motorco, so i threw all sorts of vegetables in the skillet--bell peppers, chard, onions, garlic, cabbage, eggplant--as well as chickpeas and some sort of indian curry sauce and pumpkin seeds. this was incredibly fast and totally fulfilling.

day fifteen: so maybe it's not dinner, but i made the best breakfast that i've made in a while. and i swear it's because i PERFECTLY FRIED EGGS in butter and there were delicious, delicious bagels (pumpernickel with sesame seeds!) and tomatoes and cheese and i swear it was stupidly messy and awesome. and worthy of photographs.

dinner was not worthy of photographing but consisted of rice noodles in a nutty, spicy sauce (made from peanut butter, tahini, lemon + lime, salt + braggs, sriracha, garlic), with carrots, onions, bok choy, bell pepper, and garlic in sesame oil. and some homemade chocolate ice cream, my new nemesis (i keep mistiming it).

the list on the fridge is growing with ideas and items for purchase. more to come.

one more.

the last week before class included cooking, reading, reading cookbooks, eating greasy beans, carrots, and peanut butter sandwiches, and drinking too much coffee brewed in the chemex.

a spring rolls kind of night.

stuffed with spinach, carrots, yellow bell pepper, and carrots. eaten with a spicy peanut sauce.

food rut, continued.

didn't i *just* write about peanut sauce? in a moment void of creativity, i made more rice noodles with peanut sauce, with broccoli and carrots.

and now! with matching chop sticks.

comforted.

i guess we all have different versions of comfort food. my incarnation usually includes cheese or noodles or something savory and fried or all of the above. this week of below-freezing temperatures had me eating pasta on more than one evening. twice, i made pasta with tomatoes, garlic, onion, and collard greens, with slices of fresh mozzarella.

but, i also did some food shopping in chinatown. it's been a long time coming, but it finally happened. purchased: rice noodles, vermicelli, dried mango, panko, coconut milk, spring roll papers, soba noodles, and some spicy, savory snacks.

wednesday, i made rice noodles with peanut sauce, loaded with tofu, onion, and collard greens. the collard greens were an experiment, as i had never added them to this particular recipe before. it was excellent. healthier, maybe. and i ate a mound of it, as you can see.

and yesterday, in a hungover fog, i made spring rolls for myself and tracy. full of carrots and vermicelli and fried tofu and cucumber, with more peanut sauce. it's been a fatty week. so good.

recipe for peanut sauce and spring rolls here. (yes, i am linking to myself.)

p.s.

i ate pad thai this week.
yes, peanuts.
i am still here.

are you reading? watching?

there are not enough people reading this blog. or the nytimes. or watching the news.

the nytimes reported today:

Just about everyone has heard about the recent recall of peanut products, but many Americans don’t realize that cakes, snack bars, brownies, cookies and ice cream may also be contaminated with salmonella, a Harvard University survey has found. Of the 93 percent of Americans in the survey who knew of recent recalls, fewer than half knew that some snack bars had been recalled, and fewer than half were aware cakes, brownies and cookies had been recalled.

i know that not everyone has the same obsession with food as i do. i do not really understand why people do not care what is in their food, but i know that they do not. but there was a salmonella outbreak, and people apparently have continued to eat products that might be tainted. what? why? it's like playing russian roulette. this is not choosing organic avocados over the "other" ones. this is an illness that can kill you.

so, in case you hadn't heard...

the peanut corporation of america is in trouble. and the fda does little. there was salmonella found in a variety of peanut products. the conditions at the plant are horrific:

Raw peanuts were stored next to the finished peanut butter. The roaster was not calibrated to kill deadly germs. Dispirited workers on minimum wage, supplied by temp agencies, donned their uniforms at home, potentially dragging contaminants into the plant, which also had rodents. The conditions at the plant, more circa 1955 than 2009, would have been enough to cause alarm in an industry where sanitation can be a matter of life and death, food experts said.

it gets worse.

But they were only one element in the salmonella outbreak and subsequent food safety train wreck that started here and swept through the country — claiming eight lives, sickening an estimated 19,000 people in 43 states and spurring an array of recalls, including TV dinners, snack bars labeled organic and ready-made meals for disaster relief. With children accounting for half of the salmonella illnesses traced to the Blakely plant — and a worldwide recall that now includes pails of peanut butter shipped to schools, military bases and nursing homes — the safety issues raised by the outbreak are drawing comparisons to those in China’s tainted milk scandal.

we have no real set of guidelines to protect us from continued similar problems.

so: the peanut corporation of america has filed for bankruptcy. this is a blow to the laborers, as this is no economy in which to look for work. hopefully, whichever company emerges to meet the demand for peanuts will be cleaner. but that's really just the beginning.

peanut.

from the nytimes:

The Georgia peanut plant linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak that has killed eight people and sickened more than 500 knew on at least 12 occasions over the past two years that its product was contaminated but sold it anyway, according to federal officials.

they knew. they knew they were selling contaminated peanut butter. why is this company allowed to operate? what is the point of the fda? ergh.

i am screaming.

watch yourself.

the list of food tainted with salmonella is growing.
the nytimes reports.

recalled.

from the ap on saturday, "Federal health officials on Saturday urged consumers to avoid eating cookies, cakes, ice cream and other foods that contain peanut butter until the authorities can learn more about a deadly outbreak of salmonella contamination." again? really?

peanut butter in jars appears to be safe. they are focusing on peanut paste, not peanut butter. it is an ingredient that is put into products in the factories and not sold directly to consumers. 6 people have died and companies are voluntarily recalling their products just to be safe. uh huh. Kellogg has recalled 16 products.

the apparent source of the salmonella is the Peanut Corporation of America. Peter Pan peanut butter is seemingly not involved in this outbreak. thankfully. last time was too much; it was my childhood favorite. sugary saltiness.

check out the cdc website for more information.
(and i did not take that photo. i could not find any peanut butter willing to pose this morning.)

slumber party.

last night, april and tracy came over for a slumber party, which is the perfect time to eat fun snacks that don't actually have to equate to a proper meal. i made salsa and hummus earlier in the week just for the occasion, but, as far as i am concerned, one does not need an "occasion" for either. in addition, i made spring rolls. they are one of my favorite things to make. (in reality, i like most things that come wrapped up in packages, like burritos and tacos and sushi.) anyhow, spring rolls are super easy and fun. they remind me of houston. lots of tasty asian food there.

how to make a spring roll, if you have no idea. sharing the love here...
1. fry some tofu. you don't actually have to use tofu, but i think it's perfect. especially pan-fried in sesame oil.
2. use the leftover oil to cook some other veggies. i prefer carrots, peppers, mushrooms, and onions in the spring rolls. i also cook them separately, but there are no real rules to this process.
3. get out some rice vermcelli. boil the water and let the noodles sit in the boiling water until they are soft. rinse them under some cold water.
4. the rice wrappers. you get these at any asian market, or fancy grocery store, though the asian place will be cheaper. i go to the pearl river on broadway. fill a plate with hot water and put the wrapper in the water. when it's soft, take it out and put it on another plate.
5. put a small amount of lettuce in the center of the wrapper. then the noodles and then the veggies. not too much; you have to roll it up too.
6. fold in two opposite sides of the wrapper, and then fold one remaining side in over the food.
7. make sure it fits tightly under the that side and then roll it up. the rice paper will stick to itself, so you don't have to seal it like sushi.
8. you are done. eat. yum!

i like my spring rolls with peanut sauce. people seem to think that it is difficult to make peanut sauce, but it's not really. my favorite recipe is actually the one on the side of the smucker's natural peanut butter. (i am a huge fan of the recipes that come on the sides of packages. they are often so easy and so tasty. remember, the companies have food scientists and full-time chefs and so their recipes are super-tested.) this peanut sauce recipe is not on the website so i am including it in this enormous post.

1/3 cup peanut butter (i like the natural and organic kinds, because they don't have the ever-illustrious high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils.)
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
1 tsp. sugar
1/3 cup water (i use boiled water so that everything dissolves easily when you mix it.)
cayenne (this is optional; i like everything spicy.)

directions: mix it all together. eat with the spring rolls. or use as a sauce for rice noodles. mmm.