Sense of smell

I’m in spinning-head mode right now. Lots on my mind. Lots of it isn’t bloggable, and I haven’t really had the energy to wrap my head around the stuff I’ve been meaning to write about lately. So, in a complete and total non sequitur, I’m writing about a barrage of references to our most underrated sense.

Last night I grabbed our most recent issue of Vanity Fair – and saw this add on the back cover. FlowerBomb? Is it just me, or is FlowerBomb among the worst names you can think of for a perfume? Spoiled Milk would also be bad. Then, this morning, I caught this article about the perfume industry’s fear of bloggers. The people at MakeupAlley don’t hate FlowerBomb as much as I expected them too. It received 4 out of 5 “lipsticks,” which isn’t enough to make me want to try it. One perfumer said that “writing about perfume is like dancing about architecture,” but I disagree. Having also caught my first episode of Top Chef last night, I can’t see why is writing about smells is any stranger than watching television programs about food you’re not ever going to taste. Plus, the Times article makes no mention of the fact that lots of writers have captured smell gloriously on paper. My favorite example is Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera. I don’t remember any of the details of plot, but I smell bitter almonds (or was it burnt?) every time I even glimpse the copy sitting on my shelf.

Channel surfing, I caught 2 minutes of an old episode of Scrubs – the one in which JD makes a mistake that causes a patient to lose his sense of smell. The patient is yelling at him saying something like , “When you pick up your grandson for the first time, why don’t you call me and tell me how great his head smells!” It’s chiché, but it’s one of the things I’ve been most enjoying about little LEC. She’s in the cooing stage right now – makes the sweetest little noises – and smells so damn good. I don’t remember how long that lasts, but certainly not long enough.

Finally, our house is located smack dab in the middle of one of those square neighborhoods where living on one side has significantly higher status than living on the other. A new development that includes a Pei Wei has recently opened near the fancy side of our neighborhood. It’s been really windy these past few days. Let’s just say that I’m thankful we didn’t buy any closer than we did.

 

Soup in 2008

Tired of hearing myself complain about how much I miss the Soup Peddler since we’ve moved to Phoenix, I have to make my own soup this year and am aiming to make 20 new ones in 2008. February will probably be a “slow month” for both blogging and soup making due to the scheduled arrival of #2, but January has been off to a good start in the soup-making department. I’m not sure about the format for blogging about said soups and have no intentions of turning The Public and the Private into a soup blog, but here’s a summary of what’s been cooking in our house and what’s on-deck.

I’ve been working mainly from Cook’s Illustrated recipes, which truly are the best place to start when you’re trying something new.

1. French Onion Soup – truly excellent if I do say so myself. It took the whole day to cook (about 4 hours in the oven just to caramelize the onions properly), but very little actual effort. The house smelled great for two days, and I’m tempted to buy some little crocks that could stand up to the broiler so I could do the Gruyeres and toast thing properly.

2. Hot and Sour Soup – was tasty and took less than an hour to make, but I wasn’t crazy about it. To be fair, I was missing a few of the suggested ingredients and made some less-than-ideal substitutions. I did, however, learn a few things about the utility of cornstarch.

3. Lentil Soup – ok, not exactly a new experience, but this particular recipe is new to me, and I was very pleased with it. Besides, if you’re going to become a soup-maker, having a good lentil in your repertoire is essential.

ON DECK
Avgolemono
Butternut Squash Soup
Pureed Carrot with Nutmeg

 

Everyone (including sociologists) weighs in on food

It seems that absolutely everyone is talking and writing about food right now. I heard this interview with sociologist Barry Glassner on Marketplace yesterday. His new book promises to be just as good as his old one and way better than The Omnivore’s Dilemma. I really admire the good scholars who make their arguments both relevant and available to the public. I also imagine that he, unlike most academics, makes quite a bit of money from his book sales. Note to self.

Other food-related insights on culture I’ve come across recently-ish:
- Americans are becoming olive oil snobs
- Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson’s book “Accounting for Taste: The Triumph of French Cuisine“
- Silicone kitchen tools (which I already mentioned yesterday in a fit of rage)
- That French Food Bricolage ASR article
- Cotton candy paper – a 10 for creativity, but I’ll pass.
- The author of “The United States of Arugula” on tonight’s The Colbert Report
- My own post on Food Drama in 2006, lest I forget

 

Should have named her "Olive"

CJC has already perceived that great things happen when the garage door opens, but she really out-did herself on Friday. GC came home from work; he walked in the door and she was already half-way to him (the sprint-crawl) and said “dad-daad” — clear as a bell.

In other developments, after two months of trying to introduce solids, the only thing CJC was interested in was Cheerios, and we were on the verge of giving up. The Cheerio thing was really bothering me. Last week everything changed. Small monkey noises, clear signs of literally begging for food. I thought she was showing signs of being interested in food a few months ago, but no. It is now clear that was just generalized interest in things. Now THIS is interest in food.

Now baby CJC might have her dad’s last name, but she is clearly her mother’s child. Here’s a list of things she won’t eat: rice cereal, applesauce, avacadoes, jars of run-of-the-mill baby food, jars of specialized organic baby food. Note that all these things are commonly found on lists like “best first baby foods” and “things babies love to eat.” In this house – no dice.

Things she’ll tolerate: banana chunks, peas, grapes (of course I cut them up), crackers.

Things she hoots and goes crazy for: cheerios, black beans (brazilian style), just mango, green olives, pomegranate seeds, cannellini bean dip, bosch pears (not regular pears – she won’t touch them). Oh yes, and any thing with lots garlic, garlic soaked green olives in particular. Go figure.

 

New Year’s Eve menu

A lovely evening of homemade appetizers, scrabble, a Packers victory, and a good night’s sleep. 2007’s going to be great!

Chicken Satay
Stuffed Mushrooms
Scallops wrapped in prosciutto
Brushetta (traditional; artichoke; olive tapenade; marscapone, fig, and hazelnut)
Rum Balls (CP’s recipe)
Girgenti Nero d’Avola Sangiovese

 

Food drama

Looking back on the year, it really is true that 2006 was a year filled with food drama. Intriguing for a person like me who likes to grocery shop, garden, cook, and eat – also more than a little bit disturbing. In case you missed it, the biggest food-related controversies are summarized in this NYT article. The Omnivore’s Dilemma remains on my to-read list, but I’m starting to doubt that I’ll even ever get to it. No offense to the author, but the thing has gotten so much press that I’m not convinced I’d gain anything from actually reading the book.

If you know anything about film making, you know that though good on its own merits, “Fast Food Nation” got really lucky with its timing. When they started the project, Rick and co. never could have known that the final product would be released just as food-related problems and issues were all over the news. Fortunate for them. It’s fun to root for the local boy done good.

Since I happen to know a thing or two about statistics, I’ve not fallen prey to any fears of spinach. However since the story about the NYC ban on the use of trans-fats in restaurants, I’ve become strangely worried about whether or not I’m actually consuming trans-fats when I eat out. (I realize that I’ll probably never know.) Trans-fats are disgusting. It’s totally unnatural for baked goods to have a shelf-life of months. I don’t want to put them in my body. And as there are tons of alternatives available, there’s really no reason to use them at all. Still, I don’t like the idea of being told that I can’t eat them. Maybe I’ve been in Texas for too long – I’ve noticed my libertarian streak getting stronger and stronger lately.

The cultural barometer indicates a heightened awareness about what we eat and how, and suggests that people in the US are realizing that food is tied to “extremely important social, economic, environmental and institutional issues.” To this I say, it’s about fucking time. The optimist in me hopes that the battle against trans-fats will eventually be won via public opinion (plummeting demand for the products containing them) and not via heavy-handed legislation.

One last note on food in 2006: Christmas dinner was amazing. Standing rib roast (prime, first cut, ribs 9-12), Yorkshire pudding, and a salad that featured baby arugula, crumbled bacon, goat cheese, hazelnuts, and roasted squash – all paired with a very decent California Cabernet. So perfectly satisfying nobody even wanted dessert. How often does that happen?

 

Celebrating Fall Fruit

I love the seasons – fall and the beginning of winter (what passes as winter down here) – but always am sorry to bid farewell to the abundance of great (cheap) produce we see during summer months: asparagus, tomatoes, peaches, berries of all sorts, the list goes on. The biggest grocery store perk of these fall months? Pomegranates. Did you know that November was National Pomegranate Month? Don’t worry. I’m running about a week late late with everything myself lately.

If you don’t already know how to eat a pomegranate, there are about a million “how to” guides online – use The Google to find one or two, or just go it alone; you’ll find your way. I never bother with the whole soak-in-water thing. My own suggestion for beginners: wear a (black) shirt you don’t care much about. Better yet, eat your first pomegranate while relaxing in the tub or shower.