Some Recent Food Thoughts

Vegetarian Meals
Over on That Girl I mentioned that we are going to try more vegetarian meals during the week. To me, more meant 4 a week, to the Js more meant 2 a week. Ummm.....right now we generally have one or two, so two wouldn't necessarily mean more. So far, this week we have had none -- that is unless you count fish as vegetarian, which I really don't. However, I have two planned: Crispy Black Bean Tacos, and Lima Beans with Wild Mushrooms and Chard. Both recipes are Big J approved. In fact, he went out of his way to mention the lima beans the other night, so I am particularly happy about making that. I'll let you know how both recipes turn out.

Food Fight
Apparently Gorden Ramsay called Mario Batali "Fanta Pants" and Mario retaliated by not allowing Gordon to eat in any of his restaurants. Really? Grow up boys. (Although I must admit that Fanta Pants is pretty darn funny.)

Why Big J is the Perfect Partner
When he found out I bought a $50 bottle of wine his response wasn't, "You did what?" It was actually, "I'm glad you didn't drink it without me!" Awesome!

Cravings
It's clearly mid-winter because Big J and I are both craving comfort food--specifically lasagna. But I've also been thinking about this terrific ragu from one of Mario's cookbooks, it's so spicy that you think you might not be able to eat it, but in the end you really don't want to stop eating it. Now that's good food!

Pancakes
I'm not a big fan of pancakes because they are usually hit or miss in terms of fluffiness. I prefer a light pancake as opposed to one that settles in your stomach like a brick. There are a few recipes out there -- including a fabulous oatmeal pancake (I'll share that recipe sometime). Recently I discovered that the real key to a light pancake is beating the egg whites and folding them into the batter. Heaven on a plate my friends!

Great-Grandma's Food
My great-grandma used to have all sort of sweets when we would visit. But mostly I remember the cookies: pink coconut covered marshmallows; pink, white and chocolate wafer cookies; and some sort of mallomars. She also made amazing peanut butter cookies and icebox cookies. Her peanut butter cookies were always much larger than my grandmothers who swore that the only reason that was so was because it didn't take as long to bake a whole batch and my great-grandma didn't like to cook. Perhaps that was true, but her cookies were still better. Whever she fixed me dinner we had fish sticks and mashed potatoes from a box. (Another clue that she disliked cooking?) And for breakfast it was oatmeal with half and half -- so decadent and creamy that to this day I will only have it on special occassions.