Repetition

The New York Times article "The Perfect Burger And All Its Parts" really brought home how key repetition is to perfecting recipes. I don't repeat things nearly enough... I see it as limiting when I should see it as refining. This is a great reminder.

Instead of Eating to Diet, They’re Eating to Enjoy

Yesterday in the NY Times, there was a great article: Instead of Eating to Diet, They're Eating to Enjoy. A few quotes from an already short article...

The percentage of those consumers who are on a diet is lower than at any
time since information on dieting was first collected in 1985.

Resources reported that 53 percent of consumers say they are cooking from
scratch more than they did just six months ago, in part, no doubt, because of
the rising cost of prepared foods.

“We need to demystify cooking,” Ms. Waters said. “It creates feelings about
food that make you feel cared for, and that’s the kind of food that really
changes habits.”

Also, the more time people spend on tasks like food shopping, cooking and
kitchen cleanup, the more likely they are to be of average weight.

Cloning Meat...Seriously?

Amen. It isn't like we're running short on meat in the first place and/or don't have alternatives.

Making your own salad dressing Part II

Yet another NYTimes article on Salad, The Well-Dressed Salad Wears Only Homemade by Mark Bittman, has me thinking about Laura's salad making skills. Maybe one day I'll be able to master the art of making my own dressing too (as long as I continue reading the daily headlines via email and practicing).

Here's his recipe: "The simplest dressing, vinaigrette, is this: around three parts oil to one part vinegar or lemon juice, salt and pepper, and maybe some added flavor. This may be an herb (a pinch of dried tarragon is good, fresh chives better) or a condiment (Dijon mustard is classic, and a splash of soy sauce is amazing). There might be a bit of onion, garlic (easy on this), scallion or shallot. Combine them with a fork for a “broken” dressing, or with a whisk or a blender for a lovely, creamy emulsion. Presto."

Salad Inspiration

Recently I read a NY Times article, Vegetable Love, Requited, which caused me to crave a good salad. I love restaurant salads, but I never enjoy my own salads nearly as much. This probably has to do with my ingredient list consisting of lettuce, carrots, cottage cheese, and perhaps tuna fish, but I digress.

The author, Celia Barbour, obviously finds making salads intuitive. If only I were so lucky... Her best piece of advice was to simply turn your favorite recipe into a salad for a satisfying result. This idea may not be novel to you, but it was a revelation to me that needed to be immortalized here along with a few other ideas:

• a simple salad dressed with a made to taste concoction of oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. (This made me miss summer and one of my best friends Laura, who had this recipe mastered.)

• butter lettuce mixed with craisins, sliced apples, & goat cheese (I made this immediately after reading the article using romaine lettuce and it is amazing. You have to try it).