some of you might have heard that we now have a growler. it's a 64 oz. jug that we use to transport beer. there is a story and history to the name and practice. why, you ask? we no longer have "beer waste," bottles for recycling. we take our growler to the bowery whole foods beer room and they fill it up with one of their lovely brews on tap. really, there are all kinds (some local, some organic). and they change them regularly so you don't get stuck in a beer rut. yum. and better for the earth.
ok, so i didn't think this would turn into two posts. 1. a co-worker of mine allowed me to copy pages from her luby's cookbook last year. i have never made any of the recipes before. they just might give me a heart attack and make my house smell like grease for years. blake has suggested that we have a luby's night. i promise to let you know the outcome of the madness. 2. luby's has excellent macaroni and cheese. yes, you can feel your heart stop a little. in 1998 or so, i nominated it in the houston press "best of" food awards; it was a write-in, and it won! 3. there is nothing organic or healthy about luby's. it just reminds me of my childhood.
some background here. 1. growing up in texas, we went to luby's quite a bit. it was blake's favorite place. (he's apparently the star of this blog.) he would order the luann platter with fried chicken and double mashed potatoes. (it's a half order of meat and 2 vegetables.) the character, luanne platter, in king of the hill, is named for this dish. it's one of my favorite tv shows. ever. 2. right before thanksgiving, fox aired the following episode of king of the hill. it's so good: includes honest discussion about food and the food industrial complex, has just the right about of "bobby" in the episode (because usually those are the funniest), and makes fun of both members-only food co-ops and big box stores. 3. this episode is so good that i showed it to my students on the wednesday before thanksgiving break. they seem to think that only texans like king of the hill. as if we control the fox network.
EDIT, june 17: here's the link for the episode. it's called "raise the steaks." i think hulu took it off my website or something. you can still see it on their site, though.
sometimes your meal is so tasty, you have to take a picture. this was my memorial day breakfast. i {heart} fried eggs. i know they aren't the healthiest, but i use only one egg and a bit of safflower oil. i also love black beans with onions at breakfast. rounding off this loveliness is flax-sunflower bread from the farmer's market and a mix of apricots, strawberries, and apples. oh, the coffee cup is from maggie moo's. blake worked there in high school. i use it almost every morning. i alternate with his mug from the movie, "office space." apparently, i don't have my own coffee cups. blake doesn't even drink coffee.
a few weeks ago, i was shopping in the farmer's market in union square. i love it there. it's madness on saturdays, but i am really into buying locally-grown/raised foods. it seems ridiculous to use so much energy on shipping the foods, especially if we can get them from upstate. most of the apples we eat are imported from elsewhere, even though new york grows many, many varieties. insane.
i bought some sheep's milk ricotta. sheep's milk is milkier, it seems. creamier in flavor. i wish i could remember the farm i bought it from, but, well, i can't. i had to use it quickly, and i had been promising blake ravioli ever since last time. i was much more patient with the process, and rolled the dough out smoother. they were much prettier; i made a sauce using del monte organic tomato sauce as a base (there are coupons on the cans these days!) and added green bell peppers, onions, garlic, and spices. we put some chunks of fresh mozzarella on top. tasty.
those scones. i tweaked the recipe again. strawberries were way too expensive, so i used defrosted frozen peaches. and put a sprinkle of turbinado sugar on top. yum.
organic valley has coupons on its website!! the cost of milk is way up, and organic milk is even costlier. i am sure you've already noticed this increase, but, well, at least there are coupons... and for butter and cheese, too.
