As promised

Long overdue after my cryptic comment about tilapia -- check it out:

Tilapaponics

Read the blog, it is pretty self-explanatory.

I know, I know. Like I needed another project. I can't even handle the ones I've already self-imposed upon myself. But oh well -- this has been a really interesting and educational endeavor, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes!

Speaking of projects -- two more recipes down! Zucchini gratin and plum cake tatine. I've just ordered some special baking dishes from Amazon so that I can proceed with some of the other recipes. So, progress!

An All Over the Place Update

Busy, busy times these days – you gotta love summer. There is just so much going on, so much foodie-ness to bask in. Often times it seems like it is just flying by, but the good news is that I’ve been doing my best to take advantage of it, and I have a ton to update you on.

So, first things first – the cookbook project. I know many of you probably thought I’d abandoned said project, but I haven’t. It was on hold for a while (work has been out of control busy), but I’m back in the game. As I mentioned before, I’m kind of trying to take in chapter by chapter, starting, of course, with desserts. I’ve managed to complete three recipes lately – Coeur la crème, plum-raspberry crisp, and meringues Chantilly (pictured below).  A useful hint about Coeur la crème – when the recipe calls for heavy cream, it means heavy cream. Half and half will not be an adequate substitute and the Coeur will not set up. Not that I speak from experience…ahem. So anyway, making good progress there and I’ll be back with another update soon (I hope).

In other news – I saw Michael Pollan speak last week! It was awesome – he’s a fantastic speaker – funny yet obviously incredibly well-versed and knowledgeable. I found his talk to be both incredibly entertaining and inspiring. He was speaking as part of the Contra Costa County library summer reading festival, and to celebrate the library’s 100^th birthday. As such, the tickets were incredibly cheap ($12!) and the venue was very cool – the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek – which, by the by, apparently has great shopping and was a surprisingly cute town.

Proof that my cookbook addiction has merit

(At least in one author's opinion...) -- Why printed cookbooks still matter

After 10 days in New England

I drank seven of these...

Dunkin Donuts medium French Vanilla iced coffee with cream. My life's blood. (Especially when served with a Boston Kreme doughnut on the side...)

I ate three of these...

The Clam Shack's lobster roll, served with sweet potato fries, for $6.95. It literally does not get any better than this.

 And I made this cake from scratch, thanks to Martha Stewart...

Vanilla cake with creamy vanilla frosting, to celebrate grandpa's 85th birthday.

It was good to be home.

Things have gotten a bit out of control

Now, I've never been one to be ashamed of my love of Starbucks, as you all know (a certain poem comes to mind...) However, recently things have spun wildly out of control. I got two of my co-works -- we'll call them N and J -- hooked on the stuff too. J is especially bad -- he gets a venti latte (I usually stick with a grande). Recently we've taken to making Starbucks a daily trip. I'll even admit that there have been days that it has happened twice. I'm officially a gold member with my gift card. Not good for our wallets or our waistlines. So, we collectively decided that Wednesdays would be 'no Starbucks' day. And I have to tell you, I'm jonesing hard right now. I understand that it is just because I've been told (even if just by myself) that I can't have any, but it is all I'm think about. My brain is going "Starbucks...Starbucks...STARBUCKSSTARBUCKSSTARBUCKS!" My hands are jittery. I can barely type.

It doesn't help that today I got an e-mail that a free drink has been loaded onto my gift card.

Tomorrow can't come soon enough.

Now is the time...

...when farmers everywhere are purchasing chicks from their local tractor supply. I really, really want some chickens. And ducks. And a cow. That is all! (Cluck cluck)

CSAs and Monterey

Yes, I’m still here. No, nothing terrible has happened – I’ve just been super busy, as usual. I went to Florida for a quick trip a couple weekends ago and I am still wiped out from it. But, life must go on.

In any event, here are some updates, random thoughts, and so on.

A lot of my “food attention” has been spent lately on the idea of sustainable eating and what that means and how to achieve it. Have you ever done one of those online carbon foot print calculators (like this one: http://www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/index.htm -- this is just one of many, many out there)? They can be quite depressing. I did a couple recently and was dismayed by my results! I realize that I’m not perfect, but hell, I thought I was on the right path – shopping at the farmers’ market, making my own cleaning supplies, recycling – all that jazz. Apparently not. Sigh. Actually, I took this quiz as part of an online class I was participating in through Coursea (you should definitely check this out, there are a ton of free, interesting courses you can take). This particular course was a six-week course about the US food systems, and it was absolutely fascinating and enlightening (I got an A, in case anyone was wondering). The professor was actually very reassuring about the poor results from the quiz, and just how overwhelming these topics can be in general. I mean, no one can ever eat perfectly, even if you’re a vegan, or follow a raw diet, or only eat organic, local produce. There is always room for improvement, and even just making an effort counts for something. In that vein, I joined a CSA out here! I’ve been looking for one for a while now, and it finally all fell into place. This particular one is with Farm Fresh to You, and they deliver to my office, which is super-convenient! It’s all organic and locally grown, and I’m getting a delivery every other week, which is perfect, because in the past I’ve had trouble keeping up with weekly deliveries (I mean, that is a lot of produce). So far I’m really happy with it! I also finally joined Slow Food USA. So, good things happening in that department.

I’ve been kind of all over the place with my cookbook challenge – a recipe here and there, but no real direction. To that end, I’ve decided to focus on one chapter at a time, starting, naturally, with desserts. Yum. I’ll keep you posted.