Food Blog

[Suzanne F]

One for each Lil Varmint?

Skim milk keeps a lot longer. Of course, then you've got skim milk for a longer time. Well, it doesn't take that long to get used to.

[bergerka]

One for each Lil Varmint?

Skim milk keeps a lot longer. Of course, then you've got skim milk for a longer time. Well, it doesn't take that long to get used to.

Sez you. My mom bought skim milk most of my childhood, and I ALWAYS thought it tasted like water. Ick. 2% is about the lowest fat I can stand (and come on, it just is NOT that much fat).

K

[bloviatrix]

One for each Lil Varmint?

Skim milk keeps a lot longer. Of course, then you've got skim milk for a longer time. Well, it doesn't take that long to get used to.

Blovie acidentally (or so he claims) bought 2% a couple a weeks ago instead of the usual skim. It was sooo good and rich. It almost brought tears to my eyes. And I don't even particularly like milk.

[Toliver]

One for each Lil Varmint?

Skim milk keeps  a lot longer.  Of course, then you've got skim milk for a longer time.    Well, it doesn't take that long to get used to.

Blovie acidentally (or so he claims) bought 2% a couple a weeks ago instead of the usual skim. It was sooo good and rich. It almost brought tears to my eyes. And I don't even particularly like milk.

I usually buy skim milk (today's skim milk is nothing like the "blue water" of yesteryear) but if I can't find one with an expiration date that's far enough away to make it worth buying, I'll buy 1% or even 2% if their expiration dates are better.

The last time I bought whole milk, I thought it tasted like I was drinking whipping cream, it was so thick and, well, creamy compared to skim.

[bergerka]

Lunch!

Sam, our friend Ben and I decided to go to Spade's Noodles & More, on the southeast corner of 37th Street and 3rd Avenue, which we like to call "Rude Chinese Restaurant." Why Rude, say you? Because the staff there seems to consider a number of things unnecessary in the ordinary course of business. You know. Little things. Like acknowledging one's existence, getting the order right, getting the appetizer out before the main dish, getting the main dishes out together (we've been known to order at 12:40 and have all dishes but one arrive - and the last one arrives at 1:25, just as we're leaving. It seems to be totally random as to which dish, too), getting the bill correct...little things. Not to mention the one time we had the TOTAL asshole waiter who didn't get anything right and tried to blame it on US, we tipped him not terribly well (um, he's supposed to do a good job for a good tip, right? At least that's how it was when I was waiting tables) and he YELLED AT ME about it! And it WASN'T EVEN MY IDEA! We haven't had him again, for some reason.

But...but...(say the incredulous egulleteers) WHY ON EARTH do you go? Three reasons: cheap ($5-8 apiece for lunch, including tip), good and amusing as hell. We rate the service...some days it's just a LITTLE rude, some days it's world-class rude (and then there was that week where we went twice and they weren't rude at all. We thought we'd stepped into the twilight zone).

Today's waiter fell squarely into the "not so rude, but utterly incompetent" category. First he tried to serve me someone else's soup. Then, he put down our cold sesame noodles...just the bowl, and ran off without giving us plates (or chopsticks, or a serving utensil). Then, when he DID serve me my soup, he sloshed it all over the plate underneath .

We shared a bowl of cold sesame noodles. These are some tasty noodles...on the sweet side, rather than spicy. I think they cost about $4.00 for a big bowl.

I ordered a large wonton soup, which has a slightly salty chicken broth (I think it's chicken), several wontons with delicate skins filled with ground pork, greens of some kind and spices, and little bits of pork and chives floating here and there in the broth. And a Diet Coke. The Diet Coke was $1, the soup $2.40.

Here's my lunch. Yikes! I spilled some sesame noodles! but you can see my soup all over the plate.

Sam had wonton soup with roast pork and udon noodles (if I'd been hungrier, I'd have had this), which is a BIG bowl of the aforementioned soup with udon noodles, some crunchy bean sprouts, some greens (I think arugula is what they usually use) and thick pieces of red roast pork on top (he shared some of his pork with me. See why he's the best boyfriend in the world? ). And a Diet Coke. His cost: $6.25 ($5.25 for the soup, $1 for the coke).

Ben had the $5.25 chicken with cashews lunch special - big chunks of chicken and cashew nuts with some green peppers, carrots and a couple other vegetables, cooked in a super-flavorful brown sauce, with fried rice and a regular Coke (either soup or a soft drink is included in the price).

YUM. Perfect for a cold, gray, rainy, icky day.

I'm now back at work wondering how this woman sitting next to me can talk SO loud, nonstop, for 8 hours.

K

Edited to add picture of my lunch.

Edited March 9, 2004 by bergerka (log)

[Cusina]

What a great blog. Incredibly selfless of you to eat for the blog instead of for yourself this week! Since you are though... I'm rooting for a pie. Sweet or savory, either would be great. I love baking too, enough to be voyeuristic about it. Show us some crust, baby!

And the cute ferrets, of course.

(I also want to hear about opera cosutmes... which would be way off topic, but maybe you could throw in some little tidbits .)

I enjoyed blogging a whole lot more than I thought I would too. Total brain spill, in a good way. And you get this little crowd of nice foodies cheering you on through your daily grind. Sticks with you like a good breakfast.

[SobaAddict70]

We must not work in the same law firm.

For the record, I am a corporate finance paralegal in a large international New York-based firm. (Guess which one that is. ) Three secretaries sit next to my office -- and of those three, one is a nonstop motormouth 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I should tell you about the time she called 911 because her parents had a suspicious situation in Brooklyn. Of course, when she called 911, our building security got in on the action. This same secretary once got into a screaming match with two partners' secretaries.

Life is such a bowl of cherries....or is it a box of chocolates? Hah.

Soba

[Pan]

Sam, our friend Ben and I decided to go to Spade's Noodles & More, on the southeast corner of 37th Street and 3rd Avenue

I take it you work near there?

[bergerka]

We appreciate you paralegals, Soba...you do your own daysheets, for the most part!

Pan--yes, we work about a block from Grand Central.

OOOOOH Ben just let me know there was chocolate down by him, so I went to get a snack. I now have what appears to be a sandwich cookie--chocolate ganache between two chocolate macaroons--and a little chocolate chocolate chip brownie.

I'm a happy camper.

K

[bergerka]

Dinner!

I'm very proud to announce that my first actual cooking effort in...well, several years was a success.

I'm very chagrined to announce that because Sam had an event tonight and needed the camera, I have NO PICTURES of it.

But SarahD and our roommate Charlie liked it, and that's good enough for me!

This was what I like to call "déja vu dinner," because it sparked unbelievably vivid memories of mom cooking while I was growing up and a conversation about the kinds of things we all ate as kids.

Please understand...this may sound very simple to prepare, but I DO NOT COOK. Period. That I got through this intact is testament to the hilarious conversation I had on the phone with my mom ("Mom? It's not boiling. You said it was supposed to boil before it thickened, but it's thickening and it's never boiled. Did I DO IT WRONG?" "No, Kathleen. Stop stirring it. What does it do?" "Um...it's kinda blorting up in bubbles." "That's all the boiling it needs to do.").

*sigh* and I'm thirty-WHAT years old?

I made:

Vodka gimlets for Sarah and me (Charlie wasn't home yet). I can make a gimlet! thank you, Joy of Cooking, for proportions! (Sam is also the designated cocktail god in our place)

My mom's macaroni and cheese. This is lots of very sharp cheddar melted into a white sauce (I MADE A WHITE SAUCE! AND I DIDN'T BURN IT!) with salt and pepper to taste, then layered in a casserole dish with your choice of pasta (I used little noodles that looked like ridged macaroni - the pasta is undercooked so that it's not crunchy, but VERY firm to the tooth) and a little more cheese grated over the top, then baked at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes until it's bubbling throughout, the macaroni has softened a bit (not mushy!) and there's a nice crispy brown cheesy crust on top;

My mom's "stewed" tomatoes: one can pomodori pelati (remind me to tell you the story about the Pelati sisters one time. To this day, all I have to do is call either of my two sisters and say "Pomodori Pelati" and she cracks up laughing), roughly chopped, 1/2 onion and three cloves garlic, roughly chopped and sauteed till translucent but still firm, a couple of thick slices buttered bread (I used challah rolls), cut into large cubes. Mix the tomatoes with the garlic and onion and salt and pepper to taste in a baking dish, cover the top with the big cubes of buttered bread, and put in the oven with the macaroni for 20-30 minutes. The bread toasts and gets brown and crunchy. It's really good and a pretty color next to the macaroni.

Green salad: boston lettuce with sliced radishes and carrots, olive oil and vermouth vinegar dressing. Ok, in fairness, Charlie came home, saw me in mid-cook and put this together. Yay Charlie! But it was my idea.

SarahD brought over a bottle of Rémy Pannier Vouvray, which went quite well with the food (and I love Vouvray in any case).

The results: Only a little leftover tomatoes, Sarah and I had two helpings each of mac & cheese and Charlie had three (!), no leftover salad or wine.

Oh...and a couple of cookies for dessert. Of course.

I'm now going to call my mom while I clean the kitchen and inform her that I've successfully cooked. She'll be thrilled, after she stops laughing at me. Then I'm going to feed the ferrets some chicken (they are very cranky again tonight...I'm sensing that it's almost snip snip time) and go to bed.

K

[SobaAddict70]

We all have to start from somewhere, K. You go, grrl!

Soba

[helenjp]

Hmmm...lots of water before performances? Somewhere I read that a Japanese violinist discovered that wolfing down several very sugary desserts just before a performance gave her the needed edge...lucky it doesn't give her the sugar shakes and make her drop her violin!

I vote for pie too! I don't have the pastry touch, so I'm more than ready to be filled with admiration.

[...slinks off to FRY not bake some lamb pasties...]

[Marlene]

I think your mac n cheese sounds wonderful! Congrats on taking up the cooking challenge (See what these blogs make you do?). You go girl!

[bergerka]

Breakfast!

I overslept , and ALL THE FERRETS DID THIS MORNING WAS FIGHT, which meant I didn't get my workout in, and also meant that breakfast basically consisted of two big cups of coffee (coffeeeee...hot...strong...dark...coffeeeee) and a chocolate chip cookie.

So now I'm considering what to have for lunch.

K

Edited March 9, 2004 by bergerka (log)

[bergerka]

Lunch!

Since it's nasty and cold, Sam and I decided not to go very far. We got sandwiches at a deli right across the street from where we work and brought them back to the lunchroom at the firm.

The lunchroom is kind small, and unfortunately someone ALWAYS comes in about 1:20 and microwaves some kind of really nasty-smelling fish dish (I mean...we're talking four-day-old salmon nasty here), which makes the entire room (and most of the surrounding floor) reek. Fortunately, today we got out before Fishula showed up to make life hell.

I had: egg salad (just eggs & mayo, as far as I can tell, but REALLY tasty) with lettuce, salt and pepper and raw onions on seedless rye, a little bag of crunchy Cheetos (cheesy good!) and a diet A&W root beer. Sometimes I get bacon on my egg salad, but today I decided against pork products.

Sam had lowfat chicken salad on a hero with lettuce, onions, tomatoes and sprouts, Cheetos and um...what did he have to drink? Diet Coke, I think.

...I'm VERY full.

K

[herbacidal]

Do Sam and Ben work at the same law firm as you?

Interesting that you all live and work so close together.

[bergerka]

Do Sam and Ben work at the same law firm as you?

Interesting that you all live and work so close together.

Indeed they do. I wasn't sure at first how it would be having the same day job as my sweetie pie...but it's worked out well.

Basically, I got this job through my friends Dave and Melton, other singing floaters here. I then brought Ben and Sarah on board, and when Sam's last day job disappeared (the entire department was eliminated), recommended him as well. I LIKE to work with my friends! And the firm is happy, because we're very good at this stuff.

AND they don't mind if we leave for gigs, because we're floaters, not permanent secretaries. If we have gigs in town, some of the lawyers show up.

Ben actually lives in Jersey City with his wife and baby. He and I originally met on a singer discussion board (don't ask), but he recently decided he likes parenting better than he likes singing, so is looking for a more steady career that allows him to spend more time at home.

Nice to have a built-in group to eat lunch with, though.

K

[Suzanne F]

Congrats on the cookin'! I loved your description of the sauce "blorting" -- how soon can we get that into a dictionary? It's perfect.

You and Sam work at the same place? How can you stand it? (Although I guess you don't have to see each other during the workday. ) Oh . . . come to think of it, HWOE and I did (that's how we met), although not once we hooked up together.

[Marlene]

You and Sam work at the same place? How can you stand it? (Although I guess you don't have to see each other during the workday. ) Oh . . . come to think of it, HWOE and I did (that's how we met), although not once we hooked up together.

Hubby and I too!

[JPW]

You and Sam work at the same place? How can you stand it? (Although I guess you don't have to see each other during the workday. ) Oh . . . come to think of it, HWOE and I did (that's how we met), although not once we hooked up together.

Hubby and I too!

Add yet another one, as Mrs. JPW and I share an employer.

However, we keep different schedules by about an hour and our offices are about 150 yards and 2 floors apart, so we rarely see each other out side of the occasional lunch.

[slkinsey]

You and Sam work at the same place? How can you stand it? (Although I guess you don't have to see each other during the workday. ) Oh . . . come to think of it, HWOE and I did (that's how we met), although not once we hooked up together.

Kathleen and I actually met on the job... on the real job that is. Which is to say, on a gig.

[bergerka]

You and Sam work at the same place? How can you stand it? (Although I guess you don't have to see each other during the workday. ) Oh . . . come to think of it, HWOE and I did (that's how we met), although not once we hooked up together.

Kathleen and I actually met on the job... on the real job that is. Which is to say, on a gig.

Yes, it's true, Sam and I actually met at a summer opera festival. It was all romantic & stuff (no, really, it was. He introduced me to Booker's bourbon that summer, too).

I'm currently waiting for our friend Melton to get back from lunch...he's going home to get a cake he made, because he wants us to taste it.

Gosh, I hate tasting cake. Don't you?

K

[alacarte]

My mom's "stewed" tomatoes: one can pomodori pelati (remind me to tell you the story about the Pelati sisters one time. To this day, all I have to do is call either of my two sisters and say "Pomodori Pelati" and she cracks up laughing),

OK, bergerka, what's the story?

Love your description of your mom advising you on cooking over the phone. If you've ever tried it the other way round (someone asking YOU for advice over the phone), it's even funnier..."it's doing WHAT?...you need an immersion blender...no, that's not an immersion blender, that sounds like a spoon...it smells like WHAT??...I think it's time you found the takeout menus."

[slkinsey]

If you think that's interesting, you should hear me trying to talk Kathleen's mother through PC problems on a computer with an operating system we don't have in the house.

[suzilightning]

kath

congratulations on the cooking - i love mac and cheese and yours sounds both wonderfully rich but also hilarious - blorting, what a perfect description. according to another thread our love of this dish makes us rather slutty... . ok i cop to that

i had forgotten about stewed tomatoes though ours were never that elaborate. stewed tomatoes served over toast in little bowls when i was growing up - blech- no wonder i forgot about them.

keep up the fun - sometimes it is more fun to have others cook for you, sometimes to cook for others and for the rest of the times - eat out