Breakfast was scrambled eggs — our hens are not laying, so these were from the dairy farm down the street — hash brown potatoes — our own — fresh baked buttermilk bread toast with homemade strawberry jam, and a glass of orange juice.
There was no lunch, but dinner was a small green salad with diced apples and a balsamic vinaigrette, roast pork with pan gravy, and shell pasta with <dfn title="Bech"a*mel, n. [F. béchamel, named from its inventor, Louis de Béchamel (1630-1703) chief steward of Louis XIV.] (Cookery) A rich, white sauce, prepared with butter and cream; milk thickened with a butter and flour roux [syn: white sauce]">Béchamel</dfn> sauce, two <a href="http://www.sierra-nevada.com/beers/celebrationale.html" title="Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale">Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale</a>s, and apple pie for dessert.
Food Log
Today’s breakfast was a glass of orange juice and two slices of a cinnamon-raisin-buttermilk quick bread.
<ins datetime="2003-11-15T19:14:00-05:00">Lunch was an apple. Dinner was that shepherd’s pie I mentioned yesterday and two <a href="http://www.sierra-nevada.com/beers/celebrationale.html" title="Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale">Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale</a>s</ins>.
Food Log
Breakfast was oatmeal and a glass of orange juice.
<span style="float: left; padding: 0 8px 8px 0;"><img src="http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/m/h/mhl100/images/RogerCohen.jpg" width="100" height="150" alt="Roger Cohen, foreign editor of The New York Times" /></span><ins datetime="2003-11-14T15:05:00-05:00">I had lunch at the Penn State Forum again. Lunch was very nice. It started with a Caesar salad. There was what appeared to be stir fried mixed green and yellow beans, some penne pasta in vegetables provençal, a spicy chili with cornbread, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. This time the speaker was <a href="http://www.psu.edu/dept/fsc/pennstateforum/cohen.html" title="Faculty/Staff Club: Penn State Forum, Roger Cohen, November 14, 2003">Roger Cohen, foreign editor of <em>The New York Times</em></a>. The topic of his presentation was “America’s World: The Complications of Power.” The program will be broadcast on <a href="http://146.186.143.2:8000/listen.pls" title="WPSU-FM Penn State University">WPSU-FM</a> on Friday, November 28 at 7 p.m. EST. Roger introduced the concept of Americanism. That being the idea that people have looked to when they either look up to — or down on — America. He suggested that it embodies freedom and the rule of law. He seemed to believe that the definition of freedom was a given. When asked specifically whether American-style freedom would work in the Middle East, he answered that he felt that there was only one kind of freedom and that everyone understood what it was. He went on to enumerate some of the freedoms listed in the <a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html#amendmenti" title="U.S. Constitution - Bill of Rights">first amendment to the constitution</a> — religion, speech, press, assembly, and redress of grievances to the government. He also said that freedom was freedom to <a href="http://memory.loc.gov/const/declar.html" title="Historical Documents:Declaration of Independence">pursue happiness</a>. While I am not sure I agree with the premise that everyone agrees on what freedom means — a number of people seem to be arguing with Mr. Ashcroft about that definition at the moment — but I guess given the premise, I understand a little better what President Bush means when he says that the people we are fighting in Iraq hate peace and freedom. I do not necessarily agree, but at least now I have some idea what he is talking about. Roger took a much more conservative stance on a number of issues than I would have guessed for a New York Times Editor. He even seemed to be to the right of the President on a number of issues.</ins>
<ins datetime="2003-11-14T18:48:00-05:00">Dinner was a salad and 1½ <a href="http://www.sierra-nevada.com/beers/celebrationale.html" title="Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale">Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale</a>s</ins>.
Food Log
No breakfast this morning.
<ins datetime="2003-11-13T15:24:00-05:00">I walked over to the Telecommunications Building this morning and back before lunch. I went to a “Climate Lunch” today. Very interesting, I strongly support theses types of meetings. People from disparate groups get together over food to discuss what is right and what is wrong with the organization. Very good. Lunch was ho-hum. There was gnocci, but it was relatively tasteless. There was a nice anitpasto. There was a grilled chicken breast with mozzarella and roasted red pepper on a focaccia. While it looked and sounds good, it too was relatively tasteless and the chicken was dry. There was an interesting carrot and ginger soup that was good, though I probably would not recommend it. At least the conversation was good.</ins>
<ins datetime="2003-11-13T18:24:00-05:00">I guess Gretchen felt like she was in need of a little comfort food as well, because we had a feast tonight. Dinner was a grilled marinated pork chop, cloved onions, mashed potatoes and gravy. We used the leftover marinade with a little chicken stock and corn starch to make the gravy. Gretchen is going to take the left over mashed potatoes and make a shepherd’s pie. If you have never had cloved onions you are missing a real treat. So simple, so thrifty, so delicious.</ins>
Cloved Onions
Traditionally, this recipe is made with whole pearl onions. They tend to keep their shape better than the chunked large white onions that we use, but we do not grow pearl onions. If you are concerned about the presentation, you can substitute 1½ pounds of pearl onions for the 3 to 4 large white onions below. The taste is the same, regardless. We serve these as a side dish to beef, pork, and poultry, but they are also great as a garnish. Sweet and savory.
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 large white onions (chunked)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
Directions
- Boil or microwave the onions to cook them. Ten minutes should do.
- Place the butter in a medium frying pan, add the cloves on top of the butter. Heat the butter and the cloves over a medium heat until the butter melts.
- If you boiled the onions, drain them.
- Add the onions to the pan, stirring lightly until they are coated with butter.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar over the onions.
- Allow the onions to cook, turning gently often, until the butter and sugar have reduced to a syrup-like glaze.
- Reduce the heat to its lowest setting to keep the onions warm until you are ready to serve.
Credit, where credit is due, this recipe is adapted from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, the 52 year old book of classic american-style economy cooking. The version with this recipe is long out of print.
The Politics of Food
I normally would not make a point of this. I would normally read the New York Times, think… Hmmm… and go on my way, but today these two articles — about food — caught my attention, and I felt the need to say something about them.
The first is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/12/dining/12HOLI.html?ei=5007&en=e21590cb6396c6b7&ex=1383973200&partner=USERLAND&pagewanted=all&position=" title="Wine Enough to Please Them All">Wine Enough to Please Them All</a>, by R. W. Apple Jr. It begins by noting, “These next five or six preholiday weeks are the times that try wine lovers’ souls.” How true. The premise of the article is that the complexities of flavor that our palates will experience through the winter holidays — even within any given meal — do not lend themselves to an easy pairing with any given wine. My immediate reaction was, “What about gewürztraminer?” To which the author obediently replied, “That parade of bland, sweet, fruity, sometimes spicy flavors is hard to match with wine, and it has produced some outlandish suggestions, including gewürztraminer, which the Alsatians who make it drink with everything, from sauerkraut to cheese. Not for me.” The author has many suggestions, some quite good, but the best is this: “This is just wine, not life; a drink, not moral theology.”
The second is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/12/opinion/12BARB.html?ex=1384059600&en=4f631fcc581a5e3a&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND" title="The Big Apple Circus">The Big Apple Circus</a>, By Dan Barber. Dan makes a point I tried to make with Gretchen before we started going to the local farmer’s market for fresh produce: “All politics is local, particularly when it comes to food.” He makes his point by talking about two apples — “a Granny Smith, an American icon, but grown in South Africa” and a Winesap that “grew up in upstate New York” — “Two apples, roughly 50 feet (and a traffic light) apart. How does one choose? And does the choice matter?” <em>I agree with the argument.</em> However, reading it myself I find a few intriguing issues with the presentation of the argument. First, the use of the Winesap and Granny Smith weakens the argument. If the South African factory farm had chosen to grow both Winesaps and Granny Smiths, the argument would be equally valid. Second, like most arguments, this one ignores the other side of the issue. Perhaps competition with a South African farm apple is the price that we, as Americans, pay for having peace, freedom, and democracy in South Africa. Finally — and this was the kicker for me — Gretchen and I happened to have recently bought both Granny Smiths and Winesaps, and while they are good <em>baking</em> apples — for those of you who are actually <em>baking</em> them — I personally think they are just too firm for most anything else. They do not make applesauce worth a darn. They make a tasty pie, but with much more body than I prefer. So, while I too like to think globally while acting locally, I would not have chosen these two apples.
Food Log
Breakfast was the left-overs of Gretchen’s apple crisp and a glass of juice.
<ins datetime="2003-11-12T12:55:00-05:00">I felt like I needed a little satisfying comfort food today, so I went out to Wendy’s and had a <a href="http://www.wendys.com/food/Product.jsp?family=3&product=15&recalculation=on&add=no&42=42&46=46" title="Wendy’s">Spring Mix Salad with Caesar Dressing and Honey Roasted Pecans</a> and a <a href="http://www.wendys.com/food/Product.jsp?family=7&product=29&recalculation=on&add=no&72=72" title="Wendy’s">small chilli with shredded cheddar cheese</a> (total 660 calories, 410 from fat). <em>[Ed: These links require you to set your “country” at the site. They may not work properly until you do.]</em></ins>
<ins datetime="2003-11-12T18:09:00-05:00">Dinner was a big salad, with a <a href="http://bread.allrecipes.com/az/sistfcccircip.asp" title="Easiest Focaccia Recipe">focaccia</a>, and a glass of <a href="http://www.bolla.com/view_wine.asp?nWID=6" title="Bolla Wines of Italy - Open Up">Bolla Sangiovese Di Romagna</a>.</ins>
Food Log
While we were on our road trip, Gretchen brought a big container of raisins, though she would not let me eat more than a few. She wanted some left over to be able to make raisin bread. Well, yesterday after dinner I asked her if there was any of that raisin bread left, since I had not seen any of it. She said there was, but that it was going stale. So, this morning she used it to make <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A491302" title="BBC - h2g2 - How to make eggy bread">eggy bread</a>. That is what they call <a href="http://ben.squirming.net/archive/000039.php#000039" title="Art and toast">French Toast</a> in England. I first heard it called this while staying at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate. I ordered French Toast one morning and none of the local young ladies who were waiting tables knew what I was talking about. One of them finally went and got the matron of the hotel, and when I described to her how it was made she said, “Oh, you mean ‘eggy bread.’ We used to make that during the war when there wasn’t enough food to go around… Are you sure that’s what you want?” Like the French Fry, which gets its name because of the way the potatoes are cut, France and the French people have nothing to do with it (despite the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/03/11/sprj.irq.fries/" title="CNN.com - House cafeterias change names for 'french' fries and 'french' toast - Mar. 12, 2003">best intentions of the Republicans in Congress</a>). It seems that French Toast is named for a Mr. <a href="http://www.stratsplace.com/rogov/french_toast.html" title="Strat's Place - Daniel Rogov - French toast">Joseph French</a> who invented the dish. So, to make a long story short… <em>Today’s breakfast was a glass of orange juice and two slices of eggy bread with syrup.</em>
<ins datetime="2003-11-11T12:48:00-05:00">I walked over to the Telecommunications Building to do some work getting a fleet of FreeBSD machines to boot disklessly. After I walked back I had a packet of CHEETOS® Cheddar Cheese Golden Toast Flavor Crackers (240 calories, 130 from fat).</ins>
<ins datetime="2003-11-11T15:45:00-05:00">I broke down and had a bag of popcorn as a snack this afternoon.</ins>
<ins datetime="2003-11-11T19:25:00-05:00">Dinner was a stuffed baked butternut squash and a glass of <a href="http://www.bolla.com/view_wine.asp?nWID=6" title="Bolla Wines of Italy - Open Up">Bolla Sangiovese Di Romagna</a>.</ins>
How big is a serving of soup?
If I look through the <a href="http://www.campbellsoup.ca/en/nutrition/nutrition_search.asp" title="Nutrition Search with Campbell Company of Canada">nutritional information</a> at Campbell’s, it appears that a serving of soup is about a cup (<a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=250+ml+in+cups" title="Google Search: 250 ml in cups">250 ml</a>).
Food Log
Breakfast was a bowl of cereal with a sliced banana and a glass of orange juice.
<ins datetime="2003-11-10T15:00:00-05:00">This morning I went for a walk over to the Telecommunications Building — about two miles, round trip. I had a bag of popcorn afterwards. At lunch I went for another walk and got about three miles in. On the way back I stopped at the <a href="http://www.hfs.psu.edu/bigonion/" title="Big Onion Web Page">Big Onion</a> and grabbed a blueberry yogurt.</ins>
<ins datetime="2003-11-10T18:27:00-05:00">Dinner was a salad and a Double D.</ins>
<ins datetime="2003-11-10T19:50:00-05:00">Gretchen made apple crisp for dessert.</ins>
Fuel Log
- 13.340 Gallons
- $1.499/Gallon
- $20.00
- 423.3 Miles
- 31.7 Miles/Gallon
- 5¢/Mile
- 15 Days