Food and drink (#15)

I love avocado, chocolate, grilled cheese, everything Indian vegetarian, fries with chipotle mayo, pad thai, tzatziki, olive focaccia… I could go on and on. In fact, I’m surprised I didn’t write a post every day this month: food is an all-consuming passion of mine. Maybe I was too busy cooking and consuming to write. 

Food and drink (#14)

Clearly I spend too much time living to eat. Even if I’m dining by myself—which is the case about 90% of the time—I will often cook a full meal. Tonight’s menu: coconut curry cabbage, marinated ancho chili lime tofu, and green salad with toasted pumpkin seeds tossed with a miso-lemon juice-sesame oil dressing.

Food and drink (#13)

Clearly I spend too much money on food. For two years I tracked all my spending to get a better idea of whether I will have to busk when I retire. I spent about $500/month on groceries. The woman profiled in a recent Financial Facelift column, whose income is on par with mine, only spends $180*.

*And no, it’s not because she eats out a lot: her monthly amount for dining, drinks and entertainment is only $85. 

Food and drink (#12)

Beppi’s wine column in Saturday’s Globe and Mail was titled, “Make time for New Zealand wines.” It begins with the observation that New Zealand is missing from many world maps. This video provides some provocative theories as to why this may be the case, one of which blames the wine industry (“they can’t beat our pinot or sav!").

Food and drink (#11)

I went to see A Quiet Place last night*. In addition to the warnings of “disturbing content” and “graphic violence,” there should have been one about the “limited popcorn-eating opportunities, unless you are one of those people who doesn’t mind disrupting the atmosphere of unbearably silent tension with the sounds of munching and moaning in buttery pleasure.”

* I went by myself, as I can never cajole anyone into going to see a horror movie. Usually I am the sole gray-haired person surrounded by students. 

Food and Drink (#10)

If people with a sense of humour never become fanatics*, perhaps we need to devise a screening test for humour—like recording the number of laughs elicited during a Blackadder episode. If it’s <10 (or 20, if it’s the one where Blackadder’s puritanical relatives come to dinner and Baldrick serves a turnip resembling male genitalia), humour training would be mandatory.

*As noted by Amos Oz in How to Cure a Fanatic.

Food and drink (#9)

The decline was so gradual that every day became a new normal. This made it difficult to recognize when the situation had crossed that invisible line of no return. So it was only when Festus stopped eating the salmon treats—the last food he showed any interest in—that I knew it was time. 

Food and drink (#8)

Last weekend in Vermont I tented in a farmer’s field. Although I never sleep well when camping—I’m afraid of bears, and last Friday night there was a tornado warning for the area—the experience of brewing and drinking a cup of coffee outdoors as the sun and birds* yawn and waken is pure soul food**.

*Except for the resident rooster, which had already wakened and crowed at seemingly every hour on the hour during the night.

**Applies to non-rainy mornings only.

Food and drink (#7)

If you are craving a delectable treat, the auditory equivalent of anything listed on this page, I highly recommend listening to these singing auditions, especially the third and fourth performances (and especially the young man in that fourth performance). I had the same eloquent reaction as one commenter: “WTF did i just listen to !!! WTF ??!!!!???!”

Food and drink (#6)

I scan the obituaries in the only print news I read these days. I want to know how people have lived. A recent obit noted the deceased's fondness for pointing out to others that “Life is a banquet, and most people are starving.” While not totally devoid of nourishment, I do feel that I’m part of the life-hungry masses.

Food and drink (#5)

I never buy cheap wine, but I don’t buy expensive wine either. The same can be said for my balsamic vinegar purchasing proclivities. One liquidly delicious day before I die, and hopefully before my taste buds and brain have become senescent, I would like to treat myself to a bottle of this (#1 on list) and this.

Food and drink (#4)

This strawberry-balsamic granita is a slushie for foodies. 

10 ox strawberries (about 2 cups, cut up)

1/2 cup sugar*

1.5 cups water

1.5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar**

Process berries and sugar in blender until smooth. Pour into 9-inch square pan. Add water and vinegar and stir to combine***. Follow these instructions (3rd slide of slideshow) for freezing.

* This is the official amount. I cut it in half. 

** Preferably not the cheap, coloured/sweetened imitation balsamic vinegar. 

*** I’m not sure why you can’t blend these with the strawberries and sugar in the first step. Unless you’re a granita snob, I think you can get away with a mass blending. 

Food and drink (#3)

Whenever I’m planning a trip I research the local dining situation. The focus is seldom on fine dining: I tend to get excited about breakfast places, because I like eating lumberjack-size morning meals on days-away days*, even though my vacations seldom involve razing trees. So I was very happy to discover this Vermont diner.

*At my house, and particularly on work days, breakfast is a smoothie.

Food and drink (#2)

I was surprised/dismayed to come across an article warning that most wines are not vegan- (or in some cases) vegetarian—friendly. To clarify wine, agents like casein, albumin, gelatin, and isinglass* are added. They act as magnets for microparticles lurking in your vino (and traces of them may remain therein). A toast to these wineries.

*A protein from fish bladders

Food (#1)

There was a recent story in a British tabloid about an assistant to the Housing Minister who, when government business was slow, made bookings for her sex-for-cash sideline. The tabloid reportage didn’t focus on that. Instead, it laid bare a shocking truth about the Minister: he eats the same thing for lunch every day.