Wednesday Bites 8/2/06

I love food. I like looking for recipes, planning a menu, shopping for ingredients, prepping and then cooking the food. Eating and cleaning up? Not so much. Cooking is my creative outlet. If I can't find ingredients at one store, I go to another. This is not always possible for the rest of the planet. In my current living circumstances there are no fresh vegetables for miles but I have the ability and the will to drive to a reputable grocer. Another version of the insidious ghetto tax.

Meanwhile, the irascible Anthony Bourdain weighs in with his on the spot account of being in Lebanon when the latest round of stupidity started. Good stuff.

Cooking for Engineers. Geek meets taste buds.

I love fish but I hate cooked salmon. I like it as sushi, I like it smoked but when it is cooked it tastes like mud. Unless it has some type of sweet spicy flavor. This is one of the two ways that I enjoy salmon. I admit to increasing the chili paste and lemongrass before sauteeing it in the fat that rises to the top of the coconut milk. Very tasty.

I love yogurt and I love cucumbers. I make raita whenever I make lamb. Now there is inspiration for different types of yogurt salad. I prefer a sour yogurt to a creamy or sweet one, which is why I like Pavel's.

I eat more when I go out, I think I like being waited on. I never clean my plate and very rarely have room for dessert. The server always asks if I liked my food and I say "yes, but there was too much". Some places let you order the lunch portion for dinner but the server gets all hissy. The dinner portion looks like it would feed a 200 lb man and if I clean the plate, so will I.

Tags: Lebanon, Anthony Bourdain, salmon, ghetto tax, yogurt, food, recipes, Debsweb