Saturday, January 28, 2012

Southern-Asian Fusion

The food of the American South sounds like some of the grossest and most unhealthy out there. It is enjoying a revival that includes small batch bourbons, local sourcing, heritage animals and so on. That's nice. I have never been to the South. I am from the West. These two facts combine to mean that (a) I can't possibly understand or comment on Southern food, and (b) I have never eaten true Southern food. I tried to make something Southern a few weeks ago: chicken-fried steak. Sounds wretched, doesn't it? It should be served with a white, flour-based sauce. I have three cube steaks in my deep freeze, and what does one do with that cut? One makes chicken-fried steak. So I did. And, man, was it good. I served it as leftovers the following day in a most heretical way: with tempura dipping sauce. I think that is actually called "fusion." 

Speaking of the South, Paula Deen recently announced that she has Type 2 Diabetes. This comes as a shock to no one who knows what the woman makes: desserts and white-flour laden meals. Duh. She positively loves that her food is bad for you. She has a joke with her TV audience that you should "eat your greens" - she says this and then adorns her dessert with a mint spring. Ha ha. Apparently, Paula has had diabetes for a few years now and kept it out of the public eye because her empire is built on her unhealthy food. Wow. She might be working a deal with Big Pharma to promote a diabetes drug. Now that's gotta be called fusion too. 

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Lady who lunch


Ah, the real reason I stay at home with the kids - lunch. I get to fix what I want and eat it in front of my favorite telenovela. Actually, I don't really have a novela now. One of the best ones just ended: La Fuerza del Destino. This is how I keep my Spanish ability well exercised. 

bean de dok, mung bean pancakes with kim chi
I like to throw together a little leftovers with something new, most days. Here we have some bean de dok (I'm on a Korean kick), miso soup, and a salad with miso dressing. Quite the lovely lunch. 

I call lunch my "break." Whenever T decides to nap, I get my break. When I have both S and T at home, I do not get a break. They have conspired against me - taking naps at different times. Actually conspiring so that, when it's time for Sam's nap, T wakes up from his. I remember wanting to blog every day about food. I also remember that I was quite active on Yelp, even getting "elite" status. Now I am not really active in anything. Two kids and a husband make a big mess to stay on top of - just feeding them means I am in the kitchen a lot. Like, a lot. I haven't been feeling very bloggy - I haven't even kept up with reading the blogs I follow. I usually at least do that. Ah well. Phases, right?