What was it I said yesterday about lounging? Ah, yes. We are in a loungy state of mind these days. And deservedly so (thanks, Cookiecrumb!).

Not that I didn’t have every intention of rising bright and early this morning (that’s 9 am west coast time), and industriously tackling my BlogDay 2006 post, but see, there was this cat.

I mean what are you supposed to do when you’ve got a cat perched so lovingly on your tummy? You just can’t bear to move her, right? So you scritch behind her ears. And then under her chin. And then you do that thing where you curl your hand into a loose claw and she slides her jaw across your fingertips, teeth behind slightly retracted gums, scritching your nails, your fingers catching on her ears as she tilts her head and shifts sides…

…and she’s so damn purringly content that the next thing you know it’s two hours later and you’ve just finished giving a full body deep tissue Swedish massage (plus Rolfing session) to your cat.

Well, I’ve had worse mornings. And possibly even lazier mornings.

But seeing as the day is now passing by and it is indeed BlogDay, it’s high time I get to my BlogDay post.

First a brief official bit about BlogDay:

BlogDay was created with the belief that bloggers should have one day dedicated to getting to know other bloggers from other countries and areas of interest. On this day every blogger will post a recommendation of 5 new blogs. In this way, all Blog web surfers will find themselves leaving around and discovering new, previously unknown blogs.

The BlogDay site archives are down at the moment, but I’ve got the full instructions posted over at Food Blog S’cool, so check ‘em out. If you join in, don’t forget your Technorati tag so you’re part of the official blog exploration route!

Now, for my five, I didn’t exactly pick “new” blogs, but, as Paz points out on her BlogDay is coming soon post, new means “blogs that you’ve recently discovered or blogs which are new to you.” I’ll add to that (because I’m all about bending the rules): newly discovered bloggers within larger, well-known group blogs.

So, without any further ado (or feline interruptions):

1. Gastronautical Gastronomicon: So here we are in Portland and I’m thinking: where are all the local food bloggers? I’ve run across two or three of them, but is there such a thing as a food blogging community around here? Surely those lucky Bay Area kids can’t be the only ones having fun, right? Well, after dipping my toes into the Portland Food forum, what do I discover but Gastronaut’s tasty (and deliciously snarky) blog and — lookie! — he’s just started a Carnival of PDX Food Blogs! With baseball references! We are so all over this.

2. Pacific Northwest Cheese Project: I’d heard about this bloggy love letter to the great artisan cheese makers of the Pacific Northwest some time ago from my friend Jay Lake (author, baker of fantastic ginger chocolate chip cookies, and occasional cheese blogger), but for the longest time I resisted checking it out. Why? Because I was trapped on an island that was almost entirely bereft of affordable goat and sheep cheeses for my poor, lactose intolerant tummy. But now that I’m in the big city (where I can hardly swing a cat without hitting a damn fine piece of non-cow cheese), I can read and salivate and rejoice.

(The Cat objects strenuously to that last parenthetical statement and though she too adores the Pacific Northwest Cheese Project, she would be much happier if her captors were to accidentally leave a portion of their recently-purchased Black Sheep Creamery Pale Blue Ewe in an accessible location.)

3. Global Voices Online: I only just discovered Global Voices Online, and there’s much there to explore, but for today’s five I want to single out one contributor who’s a familiar face in the food blogging community: Melissa, the Cooking Diva. I’ve dropped by Melissa’s blog on a number of occasions to check out her delectable Latin American recipes, but here’s my new discovery: she’s got an amazing collection of global food blog reports over on Global Voices Online. Seriously, if you’re looking for one-stop global culinary inspiration, this is the place, hands down.

4.Now we take brief detour from Gastroblogia and head over to Daily Kos where I offer up three diarists well worth a read. First up is OrangeClouds115, who writes eloquently and passionately about organics, pesticides, family farms, and the politics of food in her series Vegetables of Mass Destruction. Second is bonddad a hard-hitting economic writer who isn’t afraid to use the term “Class War.” Third is nyceve. She writes about the shambled, killing state of health care in the U.S. and oh, you’ve got to have a heart of Halliburton steel to not be moved by her stories from the trenches.

Now, why these three with the latter two stepping outside the realm of culinary blogging? Because it’s all so sadly and horrifyingly connected: lack of access to healthcare, to decent employment, to healthy and affordable organic, locally produced food — how many millions in this country have hit this ugly trifecta? It’s a national disgrace and it deserves our attention.

(The Cat is now horribly depressed and would like me to choose something of a more cheerful nature for my final slot. So…)

5. Teapots Teapots Teapots: The other day, on a whim, I decided to search for tea blogs. I found several lovely ones, but the one that most appealed to my sense of whimsy was Andy Titcomb’s UK blog about teapots. Not only does Andy blog about unusual teapots (and teapot collectors, and newsworthy moments in teapot history), he also makes teapots and has quite a nice gallery on his main website. The Cat has asked me to point out this one as her personal favorite.

Well, there you have it — my list of five many blogs to visit on BlogDay 2006, and hereafter. I’m told you can still join in even if it’s just turned September in your time zone, just so long as it’s still August 31st somewhere in the world! Okay, I made that last bit up, but it sounds good to me!

Finally, if I may kidnap a grand suggestion from Sam, leave a link in my comments if you’ve got your own list of five (or more) to share!

BlogDay2006

Hey kids, it’s time for yet another get-to-know-your-bloggers meme!

Wait a sec. There are so many of them. Isn’t it a little suspicious? I mean, does anyone know who starts these things? Is it one of us, innocently curious? Or could it be… Alberto Gonzales?

Ahah! Just wait. Next meme, it’s gonna be last four books checked out of the library and last four protest marches attended, and then we’ll know for sure. Sneaky bastard.

Oh, all right, I’ll take off the tin foil for a moment and play. (But I’m putting it right back on after, I swear!)

So, what have we got? It’s the 4×8 meme — or in our case, since there are two of us: the 4x4x8 meme. (Hey! We’re in 3-D!) This week’s tag comes from Biscuit Girl of You Gonna Eat All That? And since we trust her to not have ulterior motives, we’ve attempted to answer all questions to the best of our abilities.

The 4×8 Meme

Four Jobs I’ve Had in My Life:

Chopper:
1. Jiffy Lube Technician.
2. Gaffer for USA Network shows Silk Stockings and Renegade.
3. Jenny Craig Food Distributor (stop laughing!)
4. Pastry Chef

Mrs D:
1. Stage Manager of the most annoying dinner theater ever.
2. Art Department Coordinator for a cheesy low budget film about evil space bugs.
3. Restaurant hostess
4. Fabric store clerk

I should note that were Chopper to say “mom made me do it,” on answer #3, he would not be lying. I should also note that the food served at the most annoying dinner theater ever, was also the most revolting excuse for Italian banquet food ever.

Four Movies I Could (and I do) Watch Over and Over:

Chopper:
1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
2. Galaxy Quest
3. The Big Lebowski
4. The Usual Suspects

Mrs. D.
Ummm… Four big fat dittos. Heck, why do you think we first went all googly for each other. Yes, it was the Trek. But… oh hell, I can’t help myself. Here are four more:
1. The Hunt for Red October
2. Shaolin Soccer
3. Shaun of the Dead
4. Master and Commander

Four Places I’ve Lived:

Chopper:
1. Portland, OR
2. San Diego, CA
3. Vancouver, WA
4. Friday Harbor, WA

Mrs. D:
1. Portland, OR
2. Boston, MA
3. Reno, NV
4. Vancouver, BC

Four TV Shows I Love to Watch:

Chopper:
1. Iron Chef
2. Battlestar Galactica (the new one, duh.)
3. Stargate SG1
4. Good Eats

Mrs. D:
Once again, ditto. Oh, and…
5. 24
6. CSI
7. Invasion
8. The Daily Show

Four Places I Have Been on Vacation:

Chopper:
1. Disneyland
2. Black Butte, OR
3. Tijuana, Mexico
4. Encenada, CA

Mrs. D:
1. Disneyland
2. Black Butte, OR
3. Northern British Columbia
4. Carmel, CA

Dang, we need to get out more. Not only do we need to get out more, we need to get out more together. I will note, with much embarrassment, that of all of those vacations, only one took place after Chopper and I met: the trip to Black Butte, which was our honeymoon.

Four Websites I Visit Daily:

Chopper:
1. Daily Kos
2. Nation States Forums
3. Ill Will Press
4 Homestar Runner

Mrs. D:
1. Boing Boing
2. 43 Folders
3. Food Blog Scool
4. Flickr

And lots of food blogs, but y’know, diplomacy and all that…

Speaking of food…

Four of My Favorite Foods:

Chopper:
1. Tacos
2. Foie Gras
3. Sausage
4. Single Malt Scotch (yes, it’s a food.)

Mrs. D.
1. Sushi
2. Dark Chocolate
3. Any kind of fish, so long as Chopper’s cooking it.
4. Asparagus. Ditto on the Chopper’s cooking it thing.

(Oh, and cheese sandwiches. Pssst. Pass it on.)

About that foie gras: Chopper got to sample some while in culinary school and he’s not been the same since. Sometimes I catch him looking up websites that ship the stuff and then checking our bank account…

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:

Chopper:
1. Seattle
2. Thailand
3. London
4. Prague

Mrs D:
1. Seattle (Yes, we have a thing for Seattle. Call it unbridled lust, if you will.)
2. Vancouver BC
3. Yorkshire
4. Oh, to heck with it. I’ll settle for a house with a clean kitchen.

Four Tags: People I’m Tagging to Continue this Meme:

(Yes, four is plenty. Eight tags would be just plain excessive. Not that we’re not excessive on many occasions, but really now, could we even find eight food bloggers who haven’t been tagged already?)

1. Brett of In Praise of Sardines
2. Jamie of 10 Signs Like This
3. B’gina of Stalking the Waiter
4. Cyndi of Cookin’ With Cyndi

In which Chopper and I are tagged for two memes and reveal to the world just how incredibly geeky we are. (As if we haven’t done that already…)

First, the Ten Things You Never Knew About Me meme. Oh jeez, this hoary old thing? It’s so last month. Well yeah, I was tagged by Cookiecrumb on January 11th and I’m just now getting to it. Color me slow. (Did I mention that I always completely write off the month of January? No? Okay then. Blame it on Paper Chef #14, the Extreme Workload Edition.)

So… at the risk of, well, revealing something, here are, a la carte, ten things you never knew about me.

                      1. Plomeek Soup
Spock was my first childhood crush. A crush so intense that I learned how to draw by drawing Spock. A crush so long-lasting that years later, I still cry every time I watch Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

                      2. Heinz Baked Beans
If there is one thing and only one thing I can do with a guitar, it is play a fierce but rather bad rendition of Pinball Wizard from Tommy. I will not, however, reenact the Ann-Margaret gushing TV scene from the movie.

                      3. Meatloaf
My first paid theater gig was as a Transylvanian in a stage production of The Rocky Horror Show. It ran for months. It ran so long that the Bag-o-Eddie-Guts I built (as props assistant) went bad and started to stink of, well, Eddie Guts. Don’t ask me what I used to make the Bag-o-Guts. Thankfully, I can’t remember.

                      4. Iron Rations
You. Yes you. The geek in the corner. Also, you, Misters Diesel and Colbert. You know what I’m talking about. That’s right, Iron Rations for a hard campaign. To go along with that plus one scimitar and that handy cleric with his Cure Light Wounds spell. Did I mention I still have a folder full of character sheets. Make that two folders.

                      5. The Number Two
Once upon a time, I was attending classes just a short stroll from a theater that was showing the Terry Gilliam masterpiece, Brazil. One fine spring day, my classmates and I decided to attend a showing after class. The next day, we did the same. And the day after that. And… well, this was back when movies were cheap so I lost count.

                      6. Suet Pie
When Chopper and I planned our wedding, we knew one thing and one thing only, right off the bat: Chopper would not be wearing a tux. We didn’t know what he’d be wearing; we only knew: no tux. And then we went to the theater and saw Master and Commander and our fate was sealed. Or rather my fate, since I had to sew the damn thing. Fortunately, our British nautical theme did not extend as far as the food.

                      7. Shameful Head Pasties
So, I get out of college and the first thing I decide to do with my utterly useless arts degree is direct Shakespeare. Something simple perhaps? Twelfth Night? Romeo and Juliet? Nah. Gimme that cannibalistic blood bath, Titus Andronicus. I should note that the theater was tiny and we came awfully close to paying the front row’s dry cleaning bills on more than one occasion. Ahhh, stage blood.

                      8. American Pie
Another college (yes, there were two of them; I was indecisive), and another odd job. This one involved photographing visiting performers for the school paper. Don McLean was one of the funniest, nicest guys ever, but I still can’t help but sing “My, my, this here Anakin guy” every time that song comes on the radio.

                      9. Herzwesten Dark
Ah, nothing like a good, well-aged dark beer to save you from invading Janissaries. I’m a sucker for great tales of historical intrigue with secret magical underpinnings, and nobody does it better than Tim Powers, one of my all-time favorite authors. I had the great pleasure of interviewing Tim for a (sadly now defunct) genre magazine, and still heed his writing advice today. Especially the bits about obsessively researching and ignoring deadlines. (I heartily embrace the ignoring of deadlines.)

                      10. Psycho Amber
Remember back, I mean waaaaay back when we first started this blog and said we were going to write about beer? Well, um. See, we’ve got this Tiny Kitchen and brewing is rather a bitch around here. Someday, we promise. Someday. Meantime, back, waaaay back before we landed in this house, we had a large kitchen and Chopper brewed a batch called Psycho Amber, and I made a label for it, and entered it in a contest, and won us a wort chiller — which we have yet to use because we’re stuck with this tiny kitchen. Come springtime? We’re taking over the living room and brewing between the comfy chair and the entertainment center.

I lied. I told Cookiecrumb that I would post this last night.

Blame it on William Petersen, or Chris Rock, or just plain ol’ blog depression cuz lord knows I wanna strangle everyone who’s got time to post every single day of the freakin’ year. (No I don’t. Not really. Well, not so much, anyway. Perhaps just a gentle strangle.)

Anyway, point is, Cookiecrumb, who I promise I don’t want to strangle, tagged me for what has to be this season’s most amusing meme. It goes something like this:

1. Delve into your blog archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions. Ponder it for meaning, subtext or hidden agendas…
5. Tag five people to do the same.

Actually, it goes exactly like that. In fact, I cut and pasted the instructions because, hey, do I look like someone with time to reinvent the wheel? I can’t even post every day!

So, off I went, into my archives, and what should I find but this for my 23/5 sentence:

“Except for our favorite dim sum joint, of course.”

It’s from an IMBB post about cooking with tea in which I bemoan the fact that most restaurants just don’t serve good tea. Well, except for our favorite dim sum joint, of course.

The dim sum joint, I should point out, is several hundred miles away and we haven’t visited it in months.

Which brings me to my (ahem) supposedly Zen-like pondering and the following realization:

I have misplaced my Buddha nature.

I’ve looked for it. I mean, it could be in a drawer somewhere, or in the back of the car next to the dog frisbee. Then again, it could be gone for good. In fact, I’m beginning to think The Cat’s eaten it.

This is all rather sad. See, once, I was so very in touch with my Buddha nature that I was a regular bodhisattva. Or at least I strived to be one, which was, in a sense, like striving to be someone who is striving. I strive to strive, I would tell people, and then they’d just look at me funny, at which point I’d say “I think I’ll go sit now.” And they’d assume I meant grab a chair and read the paper, and, well, that whole sitting thing got very tricky because my mind is just plain messy. I mean clutter from here to next week. Not to mention bad 80s song lyrics.

Oh, the samsara of it all.

So now I must contemplate, many miles away from my favorite dim sum joint: just how do I find what I’ve lost. (Seriously, you’d think an island would be a perfect place for stress cases like me to distress, but you’d think wrong. Does the phrase “stir crazy” ring a bell? Ah well, at least we’ll be safe here when the pandemic hits. Yup. Gotta love that gallows humor, so necessary when one has lost one’s Buddha nature…)

Five minutes goes by…

And another five…

You know, contemplation in front of the computer screen just isn’t all that effective, is it? Plus The Cat is whining at me. (Give me back my Buddha nature, Cat, before I –)

Five more minutes.

Nope. Not working.

Oh, wait! I know! Chopper? Tonight we’re making dim sum!

Ah, much better now. I think I’ll go check my web stats.

Taggity tag tag:

Sweetnicks at sweetnicks
Shauna at gluten-free girl
Anthony at spiceblog
Stephen at stephen cooks
Biscuit Girl at you gonna eat all that

It’s meme time! This one’s the Five Childhood Food Memories You Miss meme, and this time, we were tagged by Ruth from the lovely Once Upon a Feast blog out of Toronto, Canada. Chopper and I got quite a kick out of our reminiscing fest, though I have to say that if anything, this meme should make two things abundantly clear. One, we sure as heck weren’t raised as foodies, and two, is it any wonder we’re both a little weird now?

Chopper’s Five

1. My Mom’s Welsh rarebit. When I was growing up my family never had much money. So, dinner was, for me anyway, a choice of weevils… er, I mean evils. Oh the agony of having to choose between foods that you know you’re not going to like. But, this was one particular dish that my mother was able to get me to eat at my young age simply by telling me, “this is Superman’s favorite food.” ‘Nuff said, though in retrospect I should have been more skeptical of the idea of Superman eating bland cheesy sauce (with water instead of beer) spread on a plate of, not toast, but crushed saltines.

2. My Grandmother’s Hamburger Country Gravy. One of my most fond food memories. My grandmother was the classic 50s housewife. She could cook anything, as long as it was “brown, hot, and plenty of it.” She also had a knack for baking as well; her buttermilk biscuits were the stuff of legend, especially when she combined them with the amazing, rich and flavorful country gravy, spiked with hamburger instead of sausage. I still yearn for that sometimes, and I only wish she’d shown me how to make it before she passed away :-(

3. My Grandfather’s Fried Grits. The ONLY thing my grandfather ever cooked, but tasty none the less. When I saw him break out the blue box of white grits in the mornings before I would go help him at his hydraulic shop, I knew a great day starter was on the way. He would boil them up, and then put them straight into the freezer. Fifteen minutes later, just enough time to make and have his first cup of coffee, they would come out — a solid mass of coagulated cornmeal. With a few passes of a sharp knife they became perfect little cakes that he would then toss onto a hot, oiled pan. A few minutes later we had an amazing breakfast, especially when combined with butter and honey.

4. My Dad’s artichokes. I know, I know. How hard is it NOT to make a good artichoke? But, my dad has a way with them that even I have yet to duplicate properly. I don’t know if it’s something he added to the flower itself, or to the water it’s cooked in, or even the special butter/mayo sauce he made for dipping the petals. Either way, it was amazing, and it still remains one of my personal challenges to emulate. I know I’d order it if it were offered by a restaurant.

5. My Sister’s Tuna Casserole. A strong memory if for no other reason than the trauma of it. The casserole wasn’t “bad” per se, but it was the only thing we got to eat if our mom ever had to work late, which was all too often. There are still stories about it in my family; how mom would tell us that she had to work late on a given night, and the first thing out of my mouth in response was, “oh no! Tuna casserole again!?” This always brings a chorus of laughter.

Mrs. D’s Five

1. Mom’s Cottage cheese and shrimp blintzes. Mom doesn’t cook anymore. In fact she insists now that she loathes cooking (which explains why the kitchen in her house is so tiny and non-functional; she had it built that way so it could make the statement “don’t you dare make me cook in here”). In my childhood, she cooked, though we never had the budget for much extravagance. Instead, we enjoyed simple meals — beef stroganoff, meatloaf, and something I vaguely remember as Poor Poet’s Chicken. My favorite dish though, was cottage cheese and shrimp blintzes. I asked her recently what the filling contained and she couldn’t quite remember. What I remember is this: dollops of cottage cheese mixed with cans of shrimp, chopped celery (I always hated it when she added too much of that), and I think some other kind of creamy binder as well, perhaps sour cream. This was, I should note, long before my gut rebelled and decided to go lactose intolerant on me.

I loved the taste of these blintzes, but just as much, I loved the packaging. I loved seeing them all lined up on my plate with a toothpick holding each blintz together. The best part of the ritual? At dinner’s end I’d count my toothpicks to determine how many blintzes I’d eaten. Chances were I had more toothpicks than anyone else.

2. Mom’s home made granola. My dad was a granola nut. He loved granola back when it wasn’t easy or cheap to find at the store. So, we made ours at home. Mom never put anything extra fancy in it — the main ingredients I remember were Quaker oats and cashews — but I loved the roasted nutty smell that filled the kitchen when she pulled the baking sheet out of the oven.

After a bad batch (I think the oats had gone rancid) and complaints from Dad about the flavor, Mom quit making granola for good. I’ve tried, in the intervening years, to get her to resume the practice, but I’ve always failed. The other night though, I caught an episode of Good Eats that included Alton’s homemade granola. Now I’m inspired. It’s time to revive a tradition.

3. Royal Anne Cherries from the tree. Not just from the tree, but in the tree. And this ritual didn’t just include eating the cherries; it included spitting the pits at my next door neighbor while she sat high in the branches of the Bing cherry tree just ten feet away.

Trouble was this: The Royal Annes tasted better but the Bings left one hell of a stain. I didn’t care. I’d go for taste over cleanliness every time and end the meal with dark purple stains all over my legs, arms, face, and clothes. Pits stuck to my ratty hair and in the creases of my cut-offs. I had a whopper of a tummy ache from over-eating, but boy, those cherries tasted good and those pits traveled far.

4. The Christmas Cookie Decorating Extravaganza. Our family had odd Christmas traditions. First off, we lived in an old farm house on half an acre, so if we could find a corner of the property to stick a live Christmas tree in, we’d do it. This meant no endless run of cut Douglas or Noble firs, but instead an odd assortment from traditional to the decidedly off-beat Alpine fir that ended up taking a place in the lawn just up the slope from Dad’s tiny, man-made pond. Because we bought live trees, our window for decorating was quite short: decorations went up on Christmas Eve and down New Year’s Eve. This prompted little in the way of store-bought ornaments: what was the point when we’d only see them for seven days? Instead, our tree was all about the food. Candy canes, rosettes, and the most elaborate part of it all: hand carved and decorated Christmas cookies with a new theme each year.

The alpine fir? All hippies. Our gingerbread men had long hair, love beads, and tie-dyed shirts. In Junior high, I went rock star on the tree, turning all the cookie men into members of The Who and the Rolling stones. Then — high school it might have been — when, as the youngest of seven and with everyone else out of the house and me ensconced in the position of Cookie Theme Designator, I declared it British History Season and went over-the-top, hog wild with everything from images of Queen Elizabeth, Henry V, Henry VIII and Richard III, to characters from the Bayeux tapestry. And this time, I documented it. Not only that, somewhere in our basement among all the old family belongings, I’ve got a box of carefully packed cookie tins, all labeled “Archival Christmas Cookies.” So much for our edible tree!

5. The Retro Candy Machine Next Door. Despite living on a scraggly half acre with veggie garden, chicken coop, and dueling cherry trees, we were, on the north side, just a short walk from a highway overpass, a steep parking lot (that iced over in the winter and made for great sledding), and an office building with the World’s Greatest Candy Machine.

It wasn’t that the candy machine contained the world’s greatest candy; it was that this candy machine was always behind the times by at least ten cents. Pack of Juicy Fruit gum elsewhere: 20 cents. Juicy Fruit here: 10 cents. Uno bar elsewhere: 35 cents. Here: 25. Is it any wonder I developed a serious sweet tooth? My neighbor (that same cherry pit rival) and I would sneak into the building with pockets full of change at least three or four times a week. I don’t know if Dad ever noticed the depletion in his change jar, but if he had, he probably would have been quite content to see my liberties excused by an occasional pack of 15 cent Necco wafers on his desk.

How the meme works:

Choose Choose 4 bloggers to tag (none of whom are obliged to take part):

Note: I haven’t a chance to check if any of these bloggers have completed the meme already. If you have — ignore me! Oh, and if you didn’t get a taggity tag tag email from me and you’re reading your name below, it’s because it’s 1:43 am and I have to be on the 6 am ferry tomorrow morning and then drive seven hours to a freakin’ wedding in Newport. So there! I promise I’ll email upon my return. If I still have a brain.

1. cookiecrumb of I’m Mad and I Eat
2. the mage of Kitchenmage
3. boo_licious of masak-masak
4. Melissa of the Traveler’s Lunchbox

Now, remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place; add your blog’s name in the #5 spot; link to each of the other blogs for the desired effect.

1. Station Gourmande
2. Tasca Da Elvira/Tarzile.com
3. Pumpkin Pie Bungalow
4. Once Upon a Feast
5. Belly-Timber

It’s anniversary week. No, not for this blog; Belly-Timber is still an infant, still puking spaghettiOs all over its bib and failing to sit up straight. It’s anniversary week for us. Mrs D. and Chopper Dave, married a year ago last Sunday.

And so, in the spirit of doing everything for each other (marriage is all about that, right? Right?), we’ve decided to tackle the Cook Next Door meme (having been dual tagged — ages ago, I might add…mea culpa! — by Chefdoc of A Perfect Pear and by B of Culinary Fool) in our own hopelessly romantic way: We will answer the questions for each other. Everyone, all at once: Awwwww…

What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?

Miz D sez:
Picture Chopper Dave, age seven, baking chocolate chip cookies with his grandma. A perfect Hallmark moment. Well, until the part where she takes off on an errand leaving him to his own devices. All went well until he had to check the oven to see how the cookies were doing (impatient for all that melty warm chocolate goodness, no doubt). He climbed on a chair to reach the upper deck of the double deck oven, leaned in… and in… and in… and… Well, you get the picture. He’s still got the scar on his chin from the fall. Six stitches.

Chopper sez:
Miz D was a very ambitious girl. She decided to try and take the world by storm at the tender age of eight by inventing the greatest cookie recipe EVER… Ok, I made that part up. But she was eight, and had decided to try and invent a cookie recipe. But, not understanding the idea of leavening, she used too much baking soda, or powder (she still doesn’t remember which… too traumatic). This resulted in what I coined a "Mookie" (no relation to Mookie Wilson of New York Mets fame) or, in her words "a puffy and disgusting chocolate muffin instead of a cookie." The flavor, obviously, fell short of expectation…

Who had the most influence on you cooking?

Miz D. sez:
Chopper Dave tells me wonderful things about his grandma, who I unfortunately never got to meet. His other influence? His step dad, who I have to say is a fine, fine cook. I love meals at his parents’ house when his step dad is cooking. When Chopper was growing up, they didn’t have much money so his step dad penny-pinched and cooked at home all the time — great, homestyle meals, seven days a week, can’t get much better than that.

Chopper sez:
Miz D had a problem with this one, no memorable cooks in her family. But, she did tell me of her mother’s curry, and tongue (yes… tongue). They also shared a tradition of baking special holiday cookies for Christmas. Though, she points out, her love of food and cooking was not truly inspired by those things. To quote, "this is going to sound really goopy and romantic, but it’s probably you." (Awwwwww…)

Do you have an old photo as "evidence" of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?

Miz D sez:
We’re at my parents’ house now, so alas, no childhood photos of the Chopper. I could track down that picture of him in the powder blue tux from his sister’s wedding if someone bribes me with enough dark chocolate.

Chopper sez:
The same goes for Miz D (well, except the tux part, but I’ve got ones with 80′s hair…), though I would require good beer and/or single malt scotch.

Here, in a more recent than childhood photo, Chopper Dave convinces Mrs D to consume the terrifying concoction known as "wedding cake."

Mageiricophobia – do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?

Miz D sez:
Are you kidding? Chopper Dave is fearless. Chopper Dave would parboil fugu and unidentified mushrooms on a camp stove atop the Hillary Step if given half the chance.

Chopper sez:
Miz D is the cautious type, however, though her fears are mainly based around the unknown. That, and leftovers… I sometimes hear in my sleep, "is that still good??", "that looks overwhelming," and so on. I have slowly brought her further and further toward the culinary dark side (she recently tried uni for the first time… and liked it!). One day, her journey will be complete, and she will take her place at my side.

Together we will RULE…

Sorry…

What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest letdown?

Miz D sez:
Chopper loves his knives. (As if there was any doubt.) Chopper does not like the fact that tartlet pans and meringue don’t go together.

Chopper sez:
Mid D laments to me about the juicer that continues to sit in our cupboard, unused. It’s not that the device isn’t useful, it’s that weighing the amount of time spent cleaning it after we’re done using it against what we get in finished product is, well, daunting. But, on the other hand, she’s incredibly happy about the new corkscrew we got last year for our wedding.

Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like – and probably no one else does!

Miz D sez:
Seven words to send fear into the hearts of dietitians everywhere: Peanut butter, marshmallow cream, and honey sandwiches.

Chopper sez:
Hey! Watch it, up there.

Miz D doesn’t indulge in much culinary kit-bashing. I think the cookie incident (see above) scared her straight… Gastronomically speaking, that is…

What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?

Miz D sez:
Meat, meat, and meat. Chopper Dave would perish without meat. Seriously, he’d shrivel up and blow away in the wind. I would have to rescue him by launching 10 ounce Kobe tenderloins into the mesosphere.

Chopper sez:
By that same token Miz D would have a seizure if she ever heard the words "Mass Extinction" and "Mollusks" in the same sentence.

Any question you missed in this meme that you would have loved to answer? Well then, feel free to add one! (Miz D sez: we snagged a random bunch from other entries, courtesy of Nicky’s amazing Meme Tree where you can visit everyone else’s answers.)

Three quickies, added by Nicky of Delicious Days…
Your favorite ice-cream…

Miz D sez:
Rum raisin. It’s more about the rum than the raisin.

Chopper sez:
Miz D is one of the unfortunate souls out there living with one of the culinarian’s worst nightmares: Lactose Intolerance. But, she does indulge in good fruit sorbet. Her favorites are the Seattle Sorbet wine and berry varieties.

You will probably never eat…

Miz D sez:
Hah. Chopper Dave will eat anything. Did I mention before that he’s fearless? (That said, there are a few things he and I will probably never eat simply because we’d have to be in a seriously different economic class to afford them. See the Big Obnoxious 50 Things list from the UK Observer and hazard your own guesses.)

Chopper sez:
Let’s just say that Miz D would make a very, VERY, bad zombie. Her taste for brains and organs is somewhere below that of coarse sand.

Your own signature dish…

Miz D sez:
Chopper loves his chili. Beef, lamb, chicken, from light as summer salsa to mole negro midnight, from mild enough for Mom to Scoville-ballistic, Chopper’s chili kicks some serious ass.

Chopper sez:
Sometimes Miz D conquers her fear of fried food and makes amazing light batter cookies known as rosettes. Truly delightful.

Added by Chefdoc of A Perfect Pear…
Any signs that this passion is going slightly over the edge and may need intervention?

Miz D sez:
Other than the fact that my bedtime reading hour has been usurped by Chopper’s need to fall asleep to reruns of Iron Chef? No, no signs at all. Honest.

Chopper sez:
What edge? I don’t see any edge…

Added by Sam of Becks & Posh…
A common ingredient you just can’t bring yourself to stomach…

Miz D sez:
Chopper would walk a mile through ice and snow to avoid using margarine. Okay, I exaggerate just a little. He’d drive a mile, and the ice would have to be a bit slushy.

Chopper sez:
Anything Miz D has never eaten before … until she eats it. (Are we detecting a theme, here?)

Added by Clement of A la Cuisine…
Any embarrassing eating habits?

Miz D sez:
Pabst Blue Ribbon, and if Chopper mentions the treats I used to sneak out of my sister’s room as a small child, he’s toast I tell you, toast.

Chopper sez:
What "treats" do you speak of? Did you mean that dog foo… Oops *dives under his desk*

Miz D sez:
It was guinea pig food, dammit, not dog food. Dog food would be gross!

Added by Sarah of The Delicious Life…
Who would you want to come into your kitchen to cook dinner for you?

Miz D sez:
Ah, here is where our short lists agree completely. First, the zen master himself, Hiroyuki Sakai. Second, because we’re all about the science projects, Alton Brown.

Chopper sez:
How can I dispute that? Let’s give it a shot… No way! I’ve got to have Morimoto in my kitchen! I can hear Miz D now: "Oooo, he’s such a rock star!"

Added by Fatemeh of Gastronomie…
Which one culture’s food would you most like to sample on its home turf?

Miz D sez:
Indonesia. By sailboat. (Okay, so that’s more of a vacation than a brief culinary sampling, but I’m rather fond of the notion of Chopper Dave at the helm saying "hey, there’s another island! Let’s go try their sambal!")

Chopper sez:
Her further studies of the dark side have driven Miz D to give in to the bizarre temptation of Scottish cuisine, or as I call it "Fear Factor Food."

Added by Melissa of Traveler’s Lunchbox…
What’s on your all-time foodie dream list? (gadgets, destinations, restaurants, dishes to try…)

Miz D sez:
Too many to list. Short answer: Everything. Slightly longer answer: Chopper’s current fixation involves gadgets used to do interesting things with meat.

Chopper sez:
Miz D on the other hand wouldn’t mind owning a sea farm, just for the free mussels.

Added by Santos of The Scent of Green Bananas…
Have you ever poisoned/sickened anyone with your cooking? Was it deliberate?

Miz D sez:
There was that time with the Thai coconut soup. We found this old can of chicken broth in the pantry, see…

Chopper sez:
Hey, one time. Just one time. Let it go already.

Added by Moira of Who Wants Seconds…
What is your biggest kitchen pet peeve?

Miz D sez:
I think Chopper knows what mine is but I’ll see if he figures it out. His? Losing track of ingredients that should be sitting right in front of him on the counter.

Chopper sez:
Miz D gets pretty nutty when there’s more than one mixing bowl on the counter. Clutter is her bane. Watch out when the cutting board gets full, the vein in her forehead starts actually glowing.

Miz D sez:
Ahah! See, he didn’t know! When will he ever learn the meaning of the phrase "Refrigerate After Opening?"

And ours… Added by Mrs D of Belly-Timber…
What’s the strangest thing you’ve eaten and actually liked:

Miz D sez:
The day Chopper came home from culinary school and waxed rhapsodic about consuming sweetbreads was a dark day in our household, indeed. Yuck.

Chopper sez:
I will also refer to an earlier answer. Miz D had the opportunity to try uni for the first time not long ago, and she really enjoyed it. She would go on to describe is fresh, oceany flavor, going on about its delicacy. My continuing efforts find reward…

Miz D sez:
And, I might add, that Chopper’s answer clearly reiterates his all-encompassing culinary theme: Nothing grosses him out. Nothing at all. Anyone know where I can order a tin of chocolate-coated baby bees?

Chopper sez:
Mmm… I’d like to try some of those…

Taggity tag tag:

(if it’s not too late to keep the meme alive…)

Biscuit girl of You Gonna Eat All That?
Kevin of Seriously Good
Owen of Tomatilla!