My wife, dog, family, and my career all make me really happy. The other thing that makes me happy is great food (and from my waistline, I must be very jolly indeed). Before I decided to skip college I wanted to go to NC State. Why? So I could get my BS CS/EE ... and if for some reason I decided that wasn't for me, I could switch to their excellent culinary program. Fortunately I had a talent and enjoyed computers and computer networking enough that I was able to find success in my childhood dream of making computers talk to each other. Though, being a chef still intrigues me.
With that said, I'm still a very amateur cook; but I really like food. Especially great food. One Block West is by far my favorite example of great food, and we're lucky to live close by; though frankly when we eventually move back to Fairfax County... we'll still come back if Ed's is still open. And if we ever move further away to NYC or elsewhere... we'll still come back every once in a while.
I should cook more myself, and really need to start. I find enjoyment in it and wish I was better at it. I need to take the time to do it every night. Of course that is hard when I work (and commute) all day, and know that I need to get to the couch to get more work done and kept on top of it in the evenings as well. I guess I don't NEED to do that, but I WANT to do that, because like I said early, I love my job, and know that if I'm working my ass off at least I get enjoyment and can hopefully keep things going well for an organization that is understaffed for a company (AOL) that I care about as well.
So, Food seems to be a topic that has popped up a lot for me recently. Food, Inc. is a new documentary that has been getting lots of press, and it is in our NetFlix saved list for when if finally ships on DVD/BluRay. Food, Inc. also sounds a bit like a recent documentary called King Corn that I caught last year. You have to watch it, then do if for no other reason that seeing what is inside of a living breathing cow eating way too much corn.
Eating local has also been a hot topic recently too. 100 Mile Diet looks interesting, though I just found that when I was looking for the Eat Local Challenge ... well, I think that was what I was looking for, I definitely knowing eating local has been a hot topic whether there was a specific movement I'm supposed to be into or not, I can't remember. I will say, I certainly agree with the sentiment, especially since I live in the Shenandoah Valley!
Another interesting Food topic just came up from the Business Insider blog that I read mostly because they come up with a lot of the rumors at AOL. It was a post on a Financial Times article entitled The Scandal of Food Waste, which is an excerpt from the book, Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal. The author is from the UK and uncovers the amount of food that is thrown away from supermarkets, restaurants, and other food distributors that could be consumed or at least used as feed in a sustainable way. Really made me think about how much food we end up buying that gets thrown away because I have good intentions to cook more, but fail to make it happen.
Lastly what really got me on this topic today of all days was an interview (Relentless Idealism for Tough Times) from the June 2009 Harvard Business Review with Alice Waters about her restaurant Chez Panisse. I'm sure Ed from One Block West (OBW) knows of, hell, might know her... but for me, it was an introduction to someone who the year I was born opened a restaurant that sounds like everything I seek in a place to delight in a meal. Every bit of the interview reminded me of OBW and just made me salivate thinking about eating there tonight. I also cannot wait till the next time I'm in Berkeley to eat at Chez Panisse... hopefully in September. Mmmmm.
Of course the way food has most popped up for me, is that I eat too much of it and I must stop. Well, at least I eat too much meat/fat, and carbs. It is time to find the vegetables that I actually really like, but have seemed to have forgotten how much I enjoy them. I also know how much I like pasta though... so it is hard to remember the celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuces, greens, beans, okra, squashes, onions, and well... everything else I love.
Fortunately I don't like fast food so much. Chik-fil-A is about the only fast food that I'll eat, and fortunately my wife doesn't eat fowl, so we don't eat there. I will have a couple of bean burritos with rice and lettuce at Taco Bell every once in a while, but that is usually when I've stayed at the office way too late and just need a quick bite on the way home. Since I carpool these days, that doesn't seem to happen except for the rare times we drive separately.
So, as with a lot of blogs, there was no specific point to this entry. But I was able to get a lot of things swirling around in my head down in a post and out of my head.
Now it's time to fix my over consumption of fat and carbs, so I will. Also time for some exercise, so I will. At least I don't like fried foods or fast foods, now if I didn't love a filet mignon cooked in butter and served with melted butter overtop, it'd be even easier. Or fish cooked in butter. Or vegetables cooked in butter. Okay... maybe I see the real problem here... I need to not like butter!
PS: For the record my cholesterol is fine thank you. :)
PPS: I also love pinto beans over corn bread, chopped onions, and hot chow-chow relish with no extra butter!
PPPS: I'll post a real chow chow relish recipe like I like later. Should have known it wasn't universal.