‘Food’ Archives
Food Obsession: Something Different
by Jane Thomson My readers (both relatives) are probably tired of my preaching about diet, obesity, waste etc., so I will tone it down. These two recipes are good for summer. Neither is for “everyday”. “Bill”'s” Smoked Oyster Salad (from Star Tribune, long ago) 3 cans of smoked oysters, drained 2 cups of cooked curly macaroni, rinsed 1 green pepper, chopped 1 rib celery, chopped 3 ripe medium-size tomatoes, cut up 6 hard-boiled egg, sliced Mayonnaise seasoned with a dash of ketchup “Good squirts” of Tobasco sauce Combine oysters, macaroni, green pepper, celery, 2 of the tomatoes and 5 of the eggs. Moisten with mayonnaise, seasoning to taste with ketchup and Tobasco. Chill. Serve garnished with sliced egg and tomato wedges. Serves 6 to 8. This recipe is a good one to illustrate the point that you should read the whole recipe, instructions and all, before starting to make it as there are some time lapses involved. Obviously, [...]
June 2010 Food Obsession: No Waste or No Waist
by Jane Thomson It is criminal to waste food ”“ so thought my late husband, grandmother, and mother-in-law. My mother, on the other hand, said it was good manners to leave a little food on your plate. Surprisingly, so does Michael Pollan in his new book Food Rules (do not pay $12 for this book). I am in the middle on this issue: I know that gross waste of food is very wrong. I also think that cleaning your plate when you are already full is a double waste, first of the food and then of your figure and your health. The waste needs to be curbed earlier. Don”'t buy more than you can use or preserve and smell it later, rotting at the back of your fridge. At meals, don”'t overload your plate, as in “my eyes were bigger than my stomach” (eat it all, and soon they won”'t be). If you are at an “All You Can Eat” restaurant, load up on vegetables and protein foods. They are the most expensive anyway, so you will get your money”'s [...]
“Food Obsession”: IMBY Eating
by Jane Thomson We all know what a “NIMBY” is: someone who says “Not In My Back Yard” about having an objectionable facility near her home. But for some good, inexpensive and interesting eating, you might look to your back yard. If your yard is sunny, you might plant vegetables; but that is an article I will leave for a more knowledgeable person to write. You might have something yummy already on your property and not be aware of it. There are many mulberry trees in Phillips. Often the berries are left to fall on the ground and rot for most of the summer. The berries taste like (expensive) blackberries ”“ “better”, my granddaughter says. Pick all the berries you can reach; or use a sturdy ladder; or spread an old sheet on the ground and shake the branches with a broomstick. Also, you might have some rhubarb back there somewhere. It is a perennial and comes up untended for years. Or get some at the Midtown Public Market or at the Midtown [...]
