May 2010
2 posts
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (& I Know I Haven't Posted...
I’ve been busy. Mostly doing things like moving to a new city and starting a new job. Moving also means that I’ve been working my way through Kansas City restaurants and not cooking as much at home, even though I now have access to Whole Foods and an incredible farmer’s market. When I have cooked at home, I’ve made tacos - steak tacos with caramelized onions, cilantro, lime...
March 2010
5 posts
3 tags
Exciting news of the day: Wichita has a CSA... →
That’s Community Supported Agriculture, friends. And it’s a good thing.
“I recently picked up a load of these chickens from a [factory farm] refuge and...”
– Jamie Oliver, Jamie at Home
This certainly makes the extra dollar or two spent on farm fresh eggs from a local farm or organic eggs from the supermarket seem well worth it.
(This cookbook is excellent, btw.)
I just spent $48 on seeds.
Yeah. Let that sink in for a minute.
SEEDS. $48.
I know what you’re thinking: She’s gone mad.
Cooking is obviously a huge passion of mine. And part of cooking is understanding food and where it comes from. So growing my own vegetables and herbs seems entirely logical if I want to really learn more about what goes on my plate.
I don’t have a green thumb. I kill houseplants. I...
February 2010
5 posts
January 2010
7 posts
Thanks Target. Sustainable Seafood. Save More,... →
timbravo:
Target has announced that all their stores will stop selling farmed salmon products. This move towards greater ocean conservation is a first by a major seafood retailer.
Mac & Cheese
So this is my version of mac & cheese, adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s adaptation of Martha Stewart’s. Which isn’t confusing at all. I’ve reduced the quantity (the original recipe serves an army, while this serves 4-6 people) and changed up the cheeses because, while I love Gruyère, it’s expensive. So think of this as budget-friendly mac & cheese. But...
“Eat all the junk food you want as long as you... →
“That gets at a lot of our issues. I love French fries, and I also know if I ate French fries every day it would not be a good thing. One of our problems is that foods that are labor or money intensive have gotten very cheap and easy to procure. French fries are a great example. They are a tremendous pain to make. Wash the potatoes, fry potatoes, get rid of the oil, clean up the mess. If you...
Bison Chili
This weekend, I picked up some ground bison from Food For Thought while Aaron and I did our weekly grocery shopping. I knew it would be perfect for a big batch of chili, which I have yet to make this season (it’s usually a staple during icy cold Kansas winters). Not only was the bison from a nearby ranch (bonus points for eating local), but a cut of bison contains more iron, protein, and...
Shrimp Coconut Curry Soup
The original recipe calls for fried tofu, but the boyfriend was a little wary of the idea, so I opted to use some frozen shrimp we had in the freezer. I’ll be making a second batch of this for me and the tofu will most definitely be included.
1 Tbsp. olive oil 1/4 onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 carrot, julienned 6 white button mushrooms, sliced 1 16-oz. can unsweetened...
you are what you eat
steph-honey:
I’m a carnivore. Well, an omnivore. Really? I usually could care less what people choose to eat or not eat. I only have to be concerned when preparing a meal or picking a place to have dinner with people who have food allergies or who are on special diets, for whatever reason.
People who choose to be vegetarians, or vegans, don’t particularly bother me. There are plenty of ways to...
December 2009
1 post
The 7 Foods Experts Won't Eat →
nutritionista:
I knew about most of these, but a few were new to me…
1. Canned Tomatoes
The expert: Fredrick vom Saal, PhD, an endocrinologist at the University of Missouri who studies bisphenol-A
The problem: The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity....
October 2009
2 posts
Synonyms for Sugar
I get really overwhelmed when looking at the ingredients list for most foods purchased at the grocery store (which is why one should really stick to whole foods - aka whole grains, lean proteins, legumes, fruits and vegetables). But did you know that even store-bought whole wheat bread has hidden additives and sugars? Yeah. True story. When shopping, I try to buy foods that include ingredients...
September 2009
14 posts
“Although touted by Monsanto as offering all sorts of benefits, [genetically...”
– Court Finds USDA Violated Federal Law by Allowing Genetically Engineered Sugar Beets on the Market
Mark Bittman: How to Freeze... Everything →
Why freeze? A full freezer is an efficient freezer. It saves $$$ and prevents waste. And it’s damn convenient.
Think Dannon Activa yogurt is good for you? →
Think again. Click the link to view the ingredients (and what they mean).
I mean, there are far worse things you could consume than Dannon yogurt, but when foods that really aren’t all that healthy are marketed and labeled as healthy, I get irritated.
On Friday, Dannon Company announced it had settled a class action suit to the tune of $35 Million. The lawsuit was filed in early 2008,...
What are the healthiest seafoods you can buy?
From Food Renegade:
BEST CHOICE: Mollusks are the most nutrient-dense of all seafoods. Oysters, clams, mussels, scallops, octopus, and squid are the most commonly available mollusks in your grocery store. And these days, many of these foods are farmed using such sustainable practices that the farmed versions are actually better for you and the environment than their wild-caught counterparts...
Health care problem? Big. Food problem? BIGGER. →
nutritionista:
“To put it bluntly, the government is putting itself in the uncomfortable position of subsidizing both the costs of treating Type 2 diabetes and the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup.”
How to brew your own kombucha →
When I lived in LA, my boss’ fiance worked for a company who was trying to bring its kombucha drink to the US. Needless to say, our office fridge was packed with free bottles of the fermented tea. I turned up my nose at first, but grew to really like it.
Since I don’t drink soda at all anymore (save for the occasional Diet Coke when the mood strikes), brewing kombucha seems like an...
10 simple things anyone can do to help improve our...
1. Stop drinking soda. (Great way to lose weight.) 2. Eat at home more than you eat out. (Save money; eat healthier.) 3. Support the passage of laws requiring chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus and menu boards. (Knowledge is power.) 4. Help get schools to stop selling junk food. (Our tastes start young.) 5. Go without meat at least one day each week — Meatless Mondays?...
Recommended Reading: Cheeseslave.com →
August 2009
16 posts
Civil Eats » Desperate Food Industry Tries to Tar... →
You may have noticed an uptick this year in news reporting that organic food isn’t really better for you, opinion pieces by conventional farmers saying that they are tired of being demonized by “agri-intellectuals”, and guilt-inducing ads by Monsanto in highbrow publications like the New Yorker touting the company’s ability to feed the world through technology.
Though all of this could be...
Is this the year we say "No more" to the food... →
(via nutritionista)
“The food industry actually believes that feeding your children Twinkies, Cocoa...”
– Farmer & author Joe Salatin in a fantastic interview at Treehugger.com
Like what you see on A California Girl in the... →
View my profile and printable recipes on Tasty Kitchen.
The importance of buying local and eating well
Mr. 8 and I hosted his parents for dinner on Saturday night and, in the bustle of trying to get everything on the table and be a warm and friendly host, I totally failed to take pictures of the food. I’m kicking myself because IT WAS SOOOO GOOD.
We decided to go with fajitas because they are a) easy, b) versatile and c) good for meat lovers and vegetarians alike.
Early Saturday morning, we...