Tag: food
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Eat, Drink, and Be Merry
I’m always fascinated with food science. It’s only natural – I like to eat, after all. But in this world of ever uncertain nutritional recommendations, it can be a little confusing for the average consumer. And it’s ultimately the biggest ‘First World Problem’ to use that derisive phrase in a true sense. If you…
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Talking about Food
I have to wonder, sometimes, why it seems like I talk about food and cooking so often. From a conversation with a coworker about making sausage (which segued into how much we love our Kitchenaid mixers), to a moment spent teaching a millennial how to make vanilla extract… Yes, that last was standing at the…
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It’s Dark, Let’s get Fat
Last night after my bedtime as I was standing barefoot in the kitchen eating kippered herring from the can, I was thinking about the complex nature of our relationship with food. I’d decided to eat a snack because I’d been lying in bed trying to sleep, with my stomach growling. I’d decided to eat the kippers because…
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Blinking in the Dark
I have been listening, for my own amusement, to a history of chemistry as audiobook. It wasn’t a history when it was written – it was intended to be a non-technical take on what chemistry could do for mankind to inspire and reduce the fears of the time that surrounded the science. It’s a fascinating…
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Organoleptic
Pertaining to the senses: smell, touch, taste… It’s not a word you’ll see in general reading, but I was reading a paper on the cyanide content of fruit seeds, and they were discussing what those seeds bring to the table as they are used in cooking and making liqueurs. The organoleptic qualities of the seeds…
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Why Soup?
Friday’s post about sinuses, and my conversations with coworkers about soup preferences when sick got me thinking. Why soup? When I’m sick, I tend to want chicken soup, even if it is such a cliche. When I’m stuffed up and can barely breathe, I want spicy soup, so my sinuses can be flushed out and…
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The Dose Makes the Poison
I recently stumbled across this quote by Paracelsus (ok, I knew it before, but not who originated it), and it fits well with the topics I frequent here on the blog. Food, cooking, chemistry, wild edibles – and their flip side, wild poisons. Snakes, spiders, centipedes… and sometimes wasps. Toxicology has been a long-time interest…
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Feed the Brain, Feed the Soul
When is a cookie not just a cookie? The First Reader asked me yesterday if I would make cookies for him. He had talked about this the other day, so it wasn’t like he was springing a Monday night surprise on me after a long day at work. And the weather was perfect for baking,…
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Guilt is not the Special Sauce
I was standing in the kitchen processing meat in bulk, and mulling over shopping, the budget, and how we eat. I find something very satisfying in preparing food for my family, whether it is butchering down a big cut of cheap meat into meal-sized portions, which saves us on the food bill, or making a…
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Fear of Food
I’m not talking about a fear of eating – that’s a whole ‘nother box of worms I’m not opening today. No, I’m talking about a fear of food. Or rather, trying new foods. Last night at dinner I served a seasoned rice I’d made up – and deliberately under-spiced because I knew the kids would…
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Hot Soft Pretzels
The other day the First Reader had mentioned pretzels. And he wasn’t talking about the hard ones I buy in bulk for kid snacks. I knew what he meant… the warm, soft, delicious things that most people associate with overpriced mall vendors of dubious origin. I’ve made soft pretzels before, and they aren’t difficult to…
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Eat This While You Read That: Julie Frost
I met Julie Frost at LTUE last year, and then when her first novel came out, based on listening to her being funny and witty on a panel, grabbed the book. I discovered to my delight that she could write as well as she can talk – hey! There are people who can’t you…