The New Arugula

Ahh, the beginning of new food!
I received the garden plot that I wanted, and have set it up in rows. It is a triangle shaped structure but bigger than the one I had last year. Things that are already sprouting include:
Peas, chard, beats, onions, garlic, potatoes (!), and carrots. Obviously, I will have to figure out some good rhubarb recipes. As you can see it is already huge.

I would like to predict the next food trend, the next arugula if you will. Not dandelion greens which are slowly making their way into trendy restaurants, and are being hailed by Jamie Oliver. No, my guess is Sorrel. Well known in french cuisine but hardly ever observed on the food network. Tangy leaves, good for salads and cooked.
You just wait. I am looking forward to my arugula this year...

Cheap Cravings.

My Meat is Gone.
Things have gone awry. Approximately once a month (gee figure this one out), I get cravings for steak. Not posh steak, just red on the inside and black on the outside. Prime rib is great, but I really don't care if it is a random chunk hacked off an outside round roast either. Just need beef, and well-done is not an option. The man is not usually on board (unless Prime or NY striploin). He is more of a pizza/hamburger type. The Boy though, will eat most stuff and also likes it rare (he has requested rare pork chops, an obviously strict NO NO).

I haven't had this craving lately. I have been eating rare tuna steaks on occasion and have found that, seared with a lot of pepper, they taste like a very delectable light beef. This is not a cheap option, but a pleasant occasional treat. Yesterday I bought a 2 kg chuck/blade roast; it was on sale. This is pretty much the cheapest meat there is, but the marbling adds a lot of flavor and the meat can get quite tender if treated properly. I had the heady plan of braising it in the oven for hours, stuffed full of garlic cloves and fresh herbs until it fell apart into tender mouth-watering fatty chunks topped with a freshly prepped horseradish and cracked black pepper. My plan, however, was thwarted by The Man.

In an extremely uncharacteristic turn of of events, The Man looked at my meat, and had a full-on Steak Requirement. I swear, I could see him taste the meat with a highly focused, intent look. This means cutting up my carefully selected roast and grilling the trimmed steaks on the cast iron grill pan (which I love, for another day). However, this careful carving destroys the roast shape. No more roasting plans for me. I relented. First, because I hadn't planned to roast until the next day, second, because when someone wants something that bad, it is unfair to let your personal OCD expectations stand in the way, and last, because the roasts were still on sale and I could grab another in the morning. The Man was appreciative of my willingness to compromise, and we made jokes about how I would be roasting that meat Forever in my head.

This morning I went to Safeway, intent on acquiring another roast so I could get the roasting plan in motion. When I get an idea in my head, I have to do it, or else I get weird. IT Must Be Done. Guess what? No roasts. Prime rib? Yes. Chuck, no. I even asked the butcher. They were out. Thus, I wimpered my way home with no roast in hand.

I did get a rain check, thus this story is not over. I must roast something soon, since it is now in my head. However, this unusual turn of events leaves me worried. This is precedent that I cannot necessarily predict how The Man will react when I bring home Precious Ingredients for my weird food projects. What next? Is he going to make a seafood stew out of the large salmon in the freezer? Will he decide he likes liver? Is he going to excited about pork hocks? Will he start putting sesame oil on stuff? Is he going to horn in on Things Made from Lamb (he did eat a precious braised shank...)? At least the response to cheese predictable; it gets eaten.


I like to Boil Stuff.
The events described above necessitated a substitute Saturday cooking plan (you should try this, it is a very good way of avoiding things, like cleaning the bathroom). Having watched my roast get torn apart into constituent bits of meat and gristle, I was left with a meaty mass without form. This is a good basis for stock fodder, and as you may have observed, I like to Boil Stuff. A good stock is one of the most satisfying things to make or enjoy. So, after my discouraged mission at Safeway, I looked at the beef bones so that I could fool my brain into conceiving glorious stock plans.

The bones were incredible. Beef stock bones sell for less that 3$/kg, and I picked up almost 2 kg of bones. Several were inches in width, and contained visible quantities of marrow. These were quickly roasted in the oven, and the oily gooey marrow scooped out into a bowl. It is my plan to experiment and make some marrow dumplings; a recipe I found on the internet which basically involves mixing the goo with seasoned bread crumbs and egg white, then dropping into boiling broth. The rest of the bones are simmering with garlic, onions, celery, and carrots. The stock looks good and I now have some goo to play with.

Fortunately, The Man reacted as predicted. He is suitably disgusted. Things are not so bad after all.

Detoxing from stress

It has been a while and I was recently asked why I haven't been posting. In addition, my sibling has been prolific so I naturally feel that slight competitive push to contribute.

Why have I not been posting?
I have been detoxing from stress.

Imagine An Event. This Event has been looming at the forefront of your brain for years. Six years of Angst and Preparation for one Event. This event is stressful because it is an Exam in which you are expected to stand in front of five university professors who are there to grill you on the worthiness of the last six years of your academic career. It is the Defense of your Doctorate.

Some people worry about writing their thesis. Mine just sort of happened while I was worrying about getting it done. Writing comes easy for me. The defense on the other hand is different. For the last six years I have fantasized on a daily basis about questions I might face, criticisms I might encounter, getting completely degraded and being called stupid. Being told I was worthless and should crawl down a hole and die with along with the tragic mice I have had to sacrifice over the years. Anyhow, the paranoid list of problems goes on. You may recall my last post, it was ten days before my defense and I couldn't eat (this is a problem that seems to have been solved considering my thickening girth), seven days before my defense my hard drive crashed and I had to redo my presentation, two days before my defense I would not get out of bed and cried all day (The Man dragged me out or else I might still be there). I would have literally preferred surgery. And surgery terrifies me.

Unless you have gone through it, you cannot understand the stress and sense of expectation. It is like childbirth/parenthood, addiction, religion and marriage. You just don't know unless you've been there, and you can pretend you understand all you want. Sorry about the cattyness (thats what happens when you spend too much time with Bitey).

And now for the Anticlimax. I sucked it up, and went. I was a churned up mess inside, but presented a relatively calm, competent exterior, and did a great job (or so I was told). I have seen several others burst into tears at this event.

But what next? I experienced two months of euphoria (I now have a degree that tells me I can trust my brain - hows that for insecurity?). Then I Took Time Off. What happens when your brain has been manufacturing stress hormones and anxiety for six years and then you suddenly stop? You stop, your brain don't. It is used to being in an adrenalin stew, and thus it manufactures artificial scenarios to maintain that chemical balance. Thus, You collapse into an unmotivated fatty blob who is vaguely agoraphobic for no good reason. No wonder I have belly fat; I've been on a cortisol drip for years.

Why would I want to get out of bed? Thank god (little g) that The Boy had to go to school. It has given me structure.

It was my goal to use my Time Off for marvelous, creative enterprises that involved writing the quintessential Kooteney Hippy novel, or selling The Man's quirky satire. I have done nothing, but yet work keeps finding me. I am succumbing to the inevitability that perhaps I am a decent scientist and actually enjoy doing it (at least I don't enjoy not doing it).

I have arranged my new position. I will be working with Chickens. I am the guy in the white coat with the chicken. It feels right because of parallels with Bugs Bunny (he had a brief career as a lab rabbit), and Robot Chicken. And it is connected to food. Once again gainful employment has snuck up me, inspite of my efforts to prevent it.

I am now going to order pizza, and with that I bid Adieu.
Until next time,
Bock Bock Bock Bock.

You know its bad when when...

I am nervous and have stress due to the upcoming defense of my "dry tome".
As a result, I have had a chronic stomach ache for two days, and all food sits like lumps of clay.
Thus, my appetite is affected. I am usually on of those people who eats because of stress, so this is actually kind of a novelty!

Anyhow, I am currently making one of the few foods that seems appealing (along with yogurt and chees whiz). Chicken broth with nothing in it. I am boiling chicken. Yes, boiled chicken. The most disgusting way to cook meat.

The Man is horrified.

On a technical note, I read a website that describes the generation of a beautiful clear, chinese style broth. The trick is to cook the raw bone bits and meat for 10 minutes and then throwing a way the 10 minute water (yes, throw it away, it has not stewed long enough to absorb flavor) and rinsing off all the meat/bones really well and add fresh water to make the broth. This gets rid of all those gross curdled blood bits and foam that make your broth bitter and bone-tasting. I tried this once and it made the clearest broth I have ever made and it actually tasted like chicken instead of wierd stuff. Unfortunately, I had to sacrifice it to a beef stew, which incidentally, turned out awesome.

I thought it was better than this...

Does it count that I am listening to the "Whiskey in the Jar" by Metallica?

A fine Mahock to you all.

Apparently today is "blog action day".
It is only a coincidence that I post. After all, why expect "Action" on a Monday?

Pork Hocks. I have a strange fascination. Fleshy, soooo Fleshy, with skin that looks like an albino cowboy (Leathery but white). And so many bones! All that gooey marrow and gelatin just waiting to be stewed, and ward off future arthritis (or so I've read).

Apparently, bone broth contains more-absorbable calcium. However, this is a "fact" posted by Broth Endorsers, and may or may not have scientific merit. In spite, from a food perspective, broth should be embraced, and MSG shunned.

I wanted broth. Just to drink, like a beverage. My own personal Bovril. It is sometimes more satisfying than soup, and more nourishing than tea (no, I am not an old lady, merely practicing). My single hock was slow cooked overnight with celery, onions, carrots, S&P, garlic and loads of fresh savory spice (thyme, rosemary, sage). I got a great broth, which was my goal. Mission accomplished (very little fat by the way).

I am now left with this big chunk of boiled meat with skin on. I am not a fan of boiled meat. It is stringy, sad, and, well, boiled. However, I hate Wasting Food more than I hate Boiled Meat. It disgusts me to read recipes for pork hock that tell you to throw all the skin pieces away and just keep some meat bits. This cannot be right, I have eaten several Chinese hock dishes that have had savory skin or nicely-seasoned chewy bits.

And so begins the experiment.
I made a sauce of goo. The classic miscellaneous improvised BBQ sauce that manages to incorporate every sugary-based condiment you have in the house at the time. Honey garlic sauce, oyster sauce, sherry, molasses, brown sugar, garlic, balsamic, tomato juice, ginger, other stuff that appeared... I marinated my bone-free meat chunks in said goo and then cooked in the oven for ~50 minutes at 350. It got dark, gooey, chewy, and tastes like awesome BBQ. I don't know if I can duplicate it, but it was fun. I have made two meals out of one. Thus, A Fine Mahock to you all.

How my garden betrayed me.

I have been neglecting my rants, I have been writing a dry tome that has been sucking my humorly goodness. Tome is almost done and humor is starting to run up, like sap tubes in spring.

I get really pissed off at food fads. Like, "Oh, Rack of Lamb is so 1999, ifyoumust, try the wild boar chop." Preferably with some currently accepted veg item, and a starch that needs the poisons boiled out of it (Taro anyone?). We have the potato; its awesome, why change?

This brings me to Arugula. How tired am I of hearing about Arugula. It is a humble green, no more special than Cress or Mustard, or even the haughty, bitter Endive (the green squiggly kind, not the posh white stuff that costs 10$ a LB). Arugula has no more appeal than a nobel romaine, the ethereal butter lettuce, or the delicate, and classically solid, Leaf (green or red).

But have you been able to watch a food show without this ubiquitous chlorophyll?
Posh salads, weird stirs fries, even as soup garnish; Arugula is everywhere, and don't you dare say a bad thing about it.

This brings me to a tangent. I started a garden. In August. Normal, prepared people don't start gardens in August, but I had to have one NOW, and decided it would be a good way to secure a plot for Next Year. Thus, the desperate scramble to plant something that would grow in a couple of months time. Thus, I go armed with radishes and lettuce mix.

I watered and weeded a few times, grew some successful radishes, and have some aphidey cabbage plants. However, I was forced to ignore the plot for a while (due to said Tome), and didn't visit for ~ 2 1/2 weeks. When I went back, I was pleased to find large quantities of this fresh bright green that had grown from the mesclun mix.

I took a grocery bag of this green home, thinking, naively, that it was mustard greens. I Googled it. Not mustard greens. Arugula. Vast stupid quantities of healthy, enthusiastic, dark green Arugula. The romaines and leafs were tragic, limp, yellowish.

I guess there is a reason that Arugula has taken over.

I smell a conspiracy, easier to grow? In five years it will be the new Iceberg. Enjoy the pedestal, my green friend. Soon, you too will go the way of Baby carrots and microgreens, only to be replaced by something "current". Like food loses its nutrition because it goes "out of style".