guacamolepizza

WHAT AM I GONNA DO WITH ALL THIS GOLD?!

food

I just finished the first episode of the second season of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. Is anyone else watching this? I hope so, because the problems in LA are not unique to that city.

Sometimes our kids get snacks before they’re sent to our after school RfS culinary class. These are not items we would serve to the kids. They get little baggies of cookies and/or crackers, and a sugar-laden juice pack. I realize the kids need a little boost of energy before heading to their after school programs, but this practice undermines what we are trying to achieve. Half the kids are plump, their uniforms straining and accentuating their body fat. The sugar doesn’t help concentration, either. It makes them hyper and unable to control their actions.

Maybe after Jamie’s done with season 2 he can come to Houston? We need help! Recipe for Success is doing great work, but nationwide focus on our city would bring Houston’s childhood obesity issue back into the light.

We ended the day with dinner at Bistrot du Coin, per C-T’s recommendation. Oh man, that was good French food. The waitress recommended Escargot à la Bourguignonne to start, something I’ve been a little leery to try. Somehow I weaseled my way out of eating snails while living in Paris, but was caught here. I’m glad I tried them and can now cross them off my list, but I probably won’t order them again. They were delicate and tender, but strangely sweet. The sauce they were served in was delicious, buttery, herby, sinfully goodness. I sopped all of it up with crusty bread. Ugh, now my mouth is watering. Our other appetizer was a Salade de chèvre chaud, which was also amazing. Then again, anything with goat cheese is amazing. For a main, we ordered Moules Mariniéres and the mussels were cooked to perfection. Tender, sweet, and succulent.

After dinner we indulged our sweet teeth by grabbing gelato at Dolcezza Artisanal Gelato. That place was good; we need one in Houston, stat! I got the chocolate flavor (dense and rich) and the mango champagne (refreshing and springy). I believe Will got chocolate and cilantro lime. The cilantro lime was tasty, but a bit too strong for me to eat an entire serving.

We took our gelato cups and walked up and down Embassy Row to check out the architecture. Some buildings are more visually appealing than others. The interiors, from what we could see from the street, vary greatly as well. Most of them boast grand decor, but a few of them were kind of dismal. The building above is my favorite. I’m not great at recognizing flags, but I think it’s the Colombian Embassy.

Day 2 Recap:

[3 April 2011] Embassy Row, Washington, DC

The best kindergarten lessons are at lunch time →

I really enjoyed this article by Maki of Just Bento/Just Hungry. Proper nutrition, mealtime etiquette, and family are all things that are important but are increasingly and unfortunately being sidelined.

food

The walk around the Tidal Basin to get to the Jefferson Memorial wasn’t too bad. It’s under construction so the most direct path was cut off and everyone had to walk across a large lawn. There were tons and tons of people, but it was surprisingly quiet in there. Will took loads of pictures of the interior since Jefferson is one of his favorite presidents (if not the favorite). Then we rested our weary bones on the steps facing the Tidal Basin.

By the time we finished it was dinnertime. I’m not sure how we decided on Chinese food, but we headed over to Chinatown and walked up and down the block (uhh… yeah… a one-block Chinatown - weird) and chose the restaurant with the shortest line. That restaurant was Ming’s Restaurant. The decor was kind of swanky so we expected good things from the food. All I can say is, don’t judge a restaurant by its decor. The hostess was bizarre, unable to give firm wait times. The couple who came in after us heard, “There are three couples in front of you, so the wait is going to be looooooooong.” She kept giving this weird semi-apologetic simper to everyone crammed in the foyer. I found it enraging at best. Oh, and for some reason it was easier for you to get a table if you came in with a group of four or six because they were seated almost immediately.

The food was adequate (ordered beef chow fun and green beans), OK by Americanized Chinese food standards. We wanted the beef chow fun with extra vegetables, but they were out of the veggies. When it came time to pay, they charged us for the extra vegetables so we asked them to take the $2 charge off. They did, but it took a long time. Will paid the bill, but when he looked at his statement later he found out that they charged him $2 more than what he had written down. So yeah. Do not recommend.

That pretty much concludes our first day. I think we went at the city a little too hard because our feet and legs were killing us when we turned in for the night.

Day 1 Recap:

National Mall
National Gallery of Art (1,2,3)
National Sculpture Garden (1,2)
National Museum of Natural History (1,2,3)
National Museum of American History
Washington Monument
Tidal Basin (1,2,3)
Jefferson Memorial
Dinner in Chinatown

[2 April 2011] Jefferson Memorial, Washington, DC

This is awesome! I guess this is marketed to kids, but I can’t imagine them having the staying power to actually complete this or end up with a product that even remotely looks like the box.

And only in Japan would you trust kids to play with sodium alginate/sodium citrate/calcium chloride to make the “roe.”

thedailywhat:

Crazyass Japanese Thing of the Day: Japan’s Sushi Candy: And you thought Lunchables required a lot of prep-work.

[reddit.]

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japan

After being inundated with media regarding obesity and unhealthy food choices in our society, I’ve been convinced and I believe that we are facing an obesity epidemic. Living in Houston further proves this point.

I love food and cooking, so these topics come up a lot in my daily conversations. It’s always kind of crazy to me when I meet or hear about someone who can’t cook, has never cooked, won’t cook, etc. and then wonder why it’s harder for them to lose weight or why they’ve been recently diagnosed with diabetes. Food is important. What you put into your body is important.

I’ve decided to put my money where my mouth is and do my part, however small it may be, to help reverse some of the damage we’ve done. Adults can be somewhat resistant, but kids are usually a bit more malleable and willing to try new things.

Last month I started volunteering with Recipe for Success. I help out with the after school program at one of the HISD elementary schools by educating kids about food and their relationships with food. We teach them to garden and cook, embracing the RfS mission of seed-to-plate nutrition. It’s been fun and eye-opening, so I’ll be writing about my experience with them from now on.

procrastinating

I interviewed another prospective student for UChicago. The due date for the report is tomorrow. I’m procrastinating. I’m procrastinating because, unlike last time, I actually liked the kid I interviewed and hope he gets in and chooses to matriculate. Perhaps this is a paradox only I face, but I find it’s harder to write a good recommendation than a bad one.

Anyway. I got a bunch of oranges at the store that taste so orange-y they almost taste fake, like biting into an orange Starburst or drinking orange soda. It’s truly bizarre. I can’t decide if I like the intensity or feel like I’ve cheated the universe by finding a healthy loophole. Either way, I want more.

The reviews for Dark Chocolate as a Snack are hilarious. Go to the second link for context, then the first for lols.

food