Hey it’s Friday! Screw oatmeal, have some bacon pancakes!
Yay oatmeal! Overnight Oatmeal is super easy, tasty and perfect for hot August mornings because it requires no cooking. It was inspired by the au bon pain muesli they sell in the lobby where I work and a recipe for raw oatmeal I got through Vegetarian Times. The trick is to prepare it the night before so the oats soak up enough milk to soften up. And when you wake up, your breakfast is magically waiting for you! Yay!
A one night stand you won’t regret. Yay!
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Bob and I just got back from a beautiful and relaxing week away in New Hampshire. We picked fresh veggies from the garden every day and Bob went to town grilling. There is something about a grill that makes men suddenly want to start cooking. Must be the combination of fire and metal, they sure seem to like those things on the covers of albums. We went out in the canoe and Bob caught a bass which also met it’s maker on the grill. We ate at two of my favorite restaurants that just happen to both be in Peterborough, NH: Harlow’s Pub and Pearl Restaurant & Oyster Bar. I am now officially obsessed with oysters on the half shell. I feel like at my advanced age somebody might have tipped me off about how delicious fresh oysters are, but no one ever mentioned it. It’s like Fight Club: first rule nobody talks about oysters (face punch!). I also took Bob to the unbelievably gorgeous Rosaly’s Farm Stand where we saw rows and rows of flowers and herbs with a view of Mt. Monadnock in the distance. We picked up an armload of corn there and slapped those babies on the grill too.
We were so blissed out and well fed after our laid back week away that going to work this morning felt a lot like the first ten minutes of Joe Versus the Volcano. I am currently considering the upsides of throwing myself into a volcano if I can’t get back to the country ASAP.
The Swedish Chef and Mexican bandito lobsters. You’re welcome.
According to my very scientific Google search, quinoa (pronouced KEEN-wah. It’s fun to shout: KEENWAH!) is a South American grain packed with fiber, protein, amino acids and vitamins. It has a slightly nutty flavor and a very satisfying texture.
My quinoa salad is full of bright summery flavors and makes a great light lunch. It actually makes at least 4 nice little lunches. It also requires almost no effort which is my favorite way to cook in the summertime. So to sum up: Laziness + Tastiness + Healthiness = Summer Quinoa Salad.
KEENWAH!!!
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Me: That thing is huge!
Bob: I know, it’s almost as big as my [censored].
Our Italian landlord is retired and spends all of his time gardening on his eensy weensy teeny tiny bit of land. There isn’t even a yard to speak of, but what he does with his land is absolutely amazing. He’s got tomatoes growing right up against all four sides of the house. He’s got a peach tree, two apricot trees, and two pear trees growing in front of the house. in various places he’s found a way to grow gourds including hanging from a hedge. There are eggplants, peppers, and celery in pots, two potted fig trees, an olive tree and a banana tree in giant pots in the driveway. He’s got grapes, parsley and lettuce growing along the edges. Two years ago he even grew lemons. But the most incredible thing he’s got going is his zucchini.
They aren’t actually zucchini, it’s an Italian snake gourd called cucuzzi caravazzi which is very zucchini-esque. The vines grow up and over the tiny patio area and the gourds grow down a yard or more. They are firmer and have less seeds than a regular zucchini. And the best part is, our landlords always share some with us. Last year I cooked them into my tomato sauce. Last night I sauteed some up for burritos. I can’t wait until I have my own little bit of earth (Secret Garden reference, yo!) because I’ll definitely grow some of these cool looking gourds.
When I think about summer, I think about Andy’s Summer Playhouse. Andy’s is a children’s theater in New Hampshire run by deeply creative New York artists who stage shows on a budget of almost nothing. To this day I am nostalgic for summers filled with funny, sophisticated handmade theater. I still own a paper mache mask from a brilliant stage version of Eloise that I was in.
It isn’t often that you come across that kind of joyful creative energy, and I am very often missing it as an adult. So on Sunday night when Bob tuned in to the IFC channel for a show called Food Party, it was like coming home. Food party is a silly and charming television show inspired by food. It features hand-stitched puppets and paper mache props. The episode we saw featured a character named Peanut Butter Jerry who had peanut butter smeared all over his head, the Deli Llama, a giant pink llama puppet sitting at a deli table in the clouds, and some very pissed-off bees. Thu Tran, the show’s star and creator, is an adorable 20-something artist in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Her obvious joy and occasional giggles as she interacts with the various characters and puppets she encounters is absolutely charming. It’s no wonder the New York Times profile on Thu noted that her friends are always ready and willing to lend a hand for the show.
If you like silly food-related television shows, I highly recommend checking out Food Party. It’s on IFC and on the Food Party website.
In high school I studied French which has come in handy zero times in my life. I deeply regretted my 8th grade choice to study that romantic language when I moved to Woodside, Queens where, unfortunately, the only Spanish I know is, “Me gusta los hombres muy musculoso y guapo” and “cerveza!” This will not help you find a laundromat.
Despite my failure to absorb the language, I have cultivated a deep and abiding love for Latin food. It is simple, healthy and muy delicious. My latest creation is a Tex-Mex-style beans and rice dish that Bob and I eat at least once a week because it’s so easy and tasty and the leftovers are fantastic.
Tex-Mex Beans and Rice
Easy for gringos to make!
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I love hearing about what other people eat during the course of their day. I especially love learning about what well-known foodies, comedians, actors, musicians and writers munch on all day long. So every Friday I check out New York Magazine’s column The New York Diet where they ask a semi-well known New Yorker to write about what they eat over the course of a week. One of the better ones is Anthony Bourdain’s because he’s a charismatic writer. Alicia Silverstone’s is fascinating because it shows that you can be a vegan and still eat out a lot. I was also pleased to read that Moby and I both love Ezekiel sprouted grain bread. So far nobody has had one of those total shame-spiral menses specials (bread, cheese, chocolate, tears, repeat), but I’m hopeful.
I am a Boston-area improv comedian and cooking addict with a terrible habit of doling out unsolicited cooking advice to friends. And not doing the dishes.
When I’m not writing about food, I spend my time scheming to get vegetables into my husband who is mostly very accommodating—except when it comes to squash. But I’ll get him to like it one of these days, by Thor’s Hammer!
Bear Chips
Hyperbole and a Half is the funniest thing on the internets. I love it, Alot. Go read it right now.