the genius.

i have visions that, one day, i will win a macarthur genius grant. you don't essentially win one for a certain project, but for being an overall genius. you get to do whatever you want with the funds; it's not for a specific project. having spent most of my adult life studying history, i guess that is the field for which i would be nominated.

but, today, there is an article in the nytimes about a farmer who won the grant. he created a program, Growing Power, to grow fresh foods in urban, economically-distressed areas. he plans to use his funds to take it all "off the grid." it's so awesome that i feel like a jerk for wanting a genius grant at all.

eden is lovely.

it's often hard for me to want to drink milk from cows. or goats, for that matter. it's a bizarre concept that humans might want to drink the milk of another animal. i don't think there are other animals that do such things. i am not vegan, and certainly eat foods (especially cheese) made from cow's milk, but i was never a fan of drinking milk. (interestingly, i was allergic to it as a baby, and was fed soy.) i typically bake with the so-called "regular" milk, though. for flavor.

i am a fan of soy milk. lately, my roommate, liz, has been experimenting with different milk products. we currently have almond milk and rice-soy milk, but she's also tried hemp, and probably some other things.

i love the rice-soy milk by eden foods. it's tasty and has a good consistency. and, eden foods is that "oldest natural food company in North America." it was started by a group of friends in 1968 who decided to produce goods that they could not find in stores. none of their products are made with things that have been genetically-engineered. none of their foods (except for the fish flakes, obviously) have dairy or animal derivatives, including gelatin or eggs. even the teabags are not glued, but crimp-sealed.

gotta love that.

the hamburgular.

blake had at least 2 birthday parties at mcdonalds. ages 3 and 4? i am unsure. but not me. i was a lettuce-eating kind of girl. and i am not sure about the popularity of the mcdonalds birthday party for my generation.

i tell my students every day, it seems, to eat food that is food. they think i have some weird obsession with corn, which to them means i want to eat it all the time. they eat junk food for most daytime meals, as shown in the wrappers filling the student lounge. i especially remind them about places like mcdonalds and taco bell, which seem to be the worst culprits in serving non-food food. if the food from a certain place continually makes one's stomach hurt, it makes sense to stop eating it. but, the kids are from another generation--the one of iphones, dvr, and instant gratification. they've never had to wait for anything.

and today, i saw this post. a 12-year old hamburger! and it looks the same as the new one!
please, kids, don't eat the mcdonalds. it's obviously not food.

damn splenda.

bad news day for splenda. apparently, it "contributes to obesity, destroys 'good' intestinal bacteria and prevents prescription drugs from being absorbed," says the new york times.

the research was done by the sugar lobbyists. so there's that.

i would rather eat sugar any day. preferably organic. not bleached.
it's best to eat things that occur in nature. overall. really.

an apple a day.

and, yes, i got a new computer. my first apple. it's lovely and pretty and so much faster than the old one.

i still want to write about all the things in this post, but as days go by, there are more foods and issues of which to talk.

so, we'll see. are there certain things you want me to write about? do you know the grossly awesome dish that is frito pie? let me know.

fake meat.

i am not a fan of fake meat. you know, that "meat" that vegetarians often eat, that's not real, that many pretend tastes real.

well, after my new roommate, elizabeth, and i cleaned and re-organized the entire kitchen, we ate sandwiches made of some sort of fake barbeque meat on hotdog buns. we felt as though we had to eat something from the almost-overflowing freezer. i keep thinking that they might have been wonder bread brand, but that just seems shocking. why would there be wonder bread in a house that has a co-op shopper? so many questions.

anyhow, the fake meat. i don't know its brand, and i would probably choose not to injest it again, but it tasted like meat. at least the horomone-full, not organic meat of my youth. it was probably textured vegetable protein, but i am not sure. maybe they were these? it's all just wrong.

this food was not food.

the home of botched elections.

i went to florida for the weekend. i realize that sounds really jet-set, but my grandparents were celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary. that's a long time. i mean, really long.

blake and i spent a lot of time in the backseat of a car, reliving the road trips of our youth, wishing we'd had a digital camera as kids, for we apparently really enjoy taking pictures of ourselves. even while blowing bubbles. or attempting.
we ate ridiculous amounts of bagels and had dinner plans at the "late" hour of 630pm. our hotel breakfast was surely not meant for photographs, but the camera has produced shockingly flattering pictures that i have to share.

this is blake's breakfast. an omelet made just for him, topped with salsa, and served with potatoes. oh, and bacon. people love bacon.

and mine. also, potatoes. and a bagel, though not so good. i am positive that it came from a freezer. you would think the bagels would be more exciting, with all those new yorkers that relocated south. and an omelet: spinach, cheddar, and mushrooms. canned mushrooms, the kind you get on delivered pizza from a chain. it looks better than it tasted.

i am not a professional omelet-maker, but these were not really omelets, but almost-scrambled eggs. i was wishing for eggs of weekends past. thank god florida has a beach; the one we visited was lovely. also, most of family was there. that was awesome too. the best part.