fast.

i am unsure as to why i did not blog this breakfast. this was a challenge; i was cooking for myself and kim, and she had an apartment to see. soon. so i had to move fast.

there was leftover brown rice in the refrigerator. i sauteed some green beans and wax beans in olive oil and garlic, and then added the rice to the skillet, resulting in a sort of fried rice. to round off the meal, one egg over-medium, a salad of kirby cucumbers and tomatoes with goddess dressing, and toasted pita (with peach jam added later).

safer meat?

on tuesday, july 28, 2009:

U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today introduced legislation giving the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) authority to initiate mandatory meat product recalls. Under current law, USDA does not have the authority to issue a mandatory recall of meat believed to be dangerous. The decision to recall or comply with requests from the USDA to recall unsafe products is left in the hands of food processors. This forces the USDA to engage in time-consuming negotiations with meatpackers before pulling tainted meat from store shelves, and it gives meatpackers an effective veto on recalls.

it should be obvious that we deserve safe meat. safe food, in general. but, if the USDA had this ability, would they use it? they have yet to prove to use their power to protect the consumer. tainted food should leave the shelves immediately. maybe the store owners should face shut-down for lack of cooperation.

hot, then cold.

i am going to eat us out of this apartment. i do not want to move food when we move at the end of the month. last night's meal for myself and kim included soup. she seemed concerned, as she is incessantly warm, but the hot part of the meal was followed by a cold part. the soup was fresh bell pepper, onion, and tomato cooked into organic tomato soup with basil and buffalo mozzarella. and then there were spring rolls. yum.

the wrong size.

my okra is bigger than my cucumber. what? really? it seems wrong. this okra is almost 6 inches long. i bought it last week in the farmers' market, and it is quite possibly the best okra i have ever had. perfection. not too fuzzy. courtney told me that while she was in austin, she had okra that was fried whole, not sliced, battered, and then fried. it sounds pretty exciting, but i don't like to deep-fry at home. it makes the house smell "fried" for weeks.

so i sauteed the okra with scallions and garlic in olive oil. i ate it with a grilled cheese sandwich (jalapeno havarti on baugette), sliced apricots, and red potato salad.

water, water everywhere?

1. much of the bottled water is just TAP water.
2. there is a plastic "island" of sorts the size of texas in the pacific ocean.
3. we probably should not drink so much bottled water.

and now, there's a film about it.

this is the end.

an assignment: imagine your last meal. you can have anything (and everything) you want. what will it be? it can be as specific or vague as you wish. tell me yours, and i'll tell you mine.

it's already august.

i refuse to start a countdown. because that would be over-thinking it. but the end of summer is imminent, and we have yet to have enough sunny days. or enough time doing nothing.

so, the end of july was supposed to bring the goddaughter, but she's hiding out for a little while. she knows this weather sucks; she doesn't want michelle to have to hail a cab in a downpour. yes. we wait.

and while this blog still reflects the number of fried eggs i eat, it also brings me to mention that i also eat tons of sandwiches. i swear i read somewhere that most meals in america are sandwiches, but i have no clue as to where i read that statistic. well, i love sandwiches. you could put almost anything between two pieces of good bread and the meal would be better.

this particular sandwich is a fried egg with smoked gouda on a baguette. i ate it with corn chips and a salad of spinach, basil, tomatoes, and a balsalmic vinegrette. you know you want to eat more meals at my house.