Of Food Waste, Earth-friendly Dating and Bean Salad

Vocabulary lesson today-- food waste.

Food waste is food loss occurring during the retail and final consumption stages due to the behavior of retailers and consumers – that is, the throwing away of food.

Consumers, meaning you and me.  I learned from my readings and watching many documentaries that we waste tonsa tonsa amount of food daily, making it the third largest waste stream after paper and yard waste.  And get this, 27% of that waste is available for consumption; yet, 14.5% (or 1 in every 7) of every household is food insecure.  This freaking blows my mind!  I won't ramble on the subject; instead, I urge you to visit and read Jonathan Bloom's blog, since he has a wealth of information on this issue (after you finish mine of course).  His book, American Wasteland, is a great read.

German Chocolate Cake

I was so flattered when my friend Kathie D. asked me to make her birthday cake. I admire Kathie D. for a lot of reason, but I love her because she have a good heart and she's so much fun.  When she asked me to make her a German Chocolate Cake, I knew that I will be using David Lebovitz recipe that I earmarked from 3 years ago.  It's a bummer that I did not get the chance to taste the cake, but I got rave reviews from friends who were able to sample it and Kathie left me the sweetest message a day after telling me that she was the envy of her friends because of the cakes.  I made her a carrot cake as well, per Alice Teeters request, a great poet and Kathie’s First Lady.  Oh yeah, Kathie D. is the mayor of beautiful Pine Lake, GA.

Mutton (Goat) Sindhi Biryani

All my life, I have been eating rice, different varieties, in different ways and forms.  For me to say that I love rice is an understatement since it is intrinsic to my being.

Different types and varieties of rice in my pantry

I was weaned from milk foods to am, the traditional first food for Filipino babies, prepared by adding an extra cup of water to the amount called to cook rice, then skimming about ½ cup of the thickened fluid just before you simmer the rice for the final cooking stage.

As a child, one of the folk songs (the equivalent of nursery rhyme in the states) I learned is about planting rice called "Magtanim ay ‘Di Biro".  Although rice was never mentioned in the song, the farmer talks about the physical hardship that comes with rice planting in the rice paddies and the peace of mind when he rise to the new dawn knowing that there will be food for his family.  Unconsciously at that early age,  the song helped me appreciate and respect the farmers that tended and grew my food.  I found an English translation of the song on YouTube, and well, rice was actually in the translated lyrics.

Cardamom-scented Carrot Cupcake with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a cardamom scented carrot cake with citrus cream cheese frosting and candied carrots.  It’s the result of my love for cardamom, candied ginger and Dorie Greenspan’s Bill’s Big Carrot Cake.  Dorie’s recipe is perfect as it is; it embodies everything I love about carrot cake – dense and moist with a light crumb, sweet, fragrant with cinnamon and chock-full of raisins, nuts, coconuts and carrots in every bite.  But there are multiple truths, and the classic pairing of carrots, cardamom and ginger in this cake brought the party in my mouth up a notch.  The citrus cream cheese frosting complements the cake beautifully.  And the candied carrots, they are just so darn cute!

Pears Poached in Red Wine with Creme Anglaise

At the Food Justice Conference in Oakland last November, a participant from Las Cruces, NM argued that it is more local for her to obtain her produce from Juarez, Mexico than from Albuquerque, NM.  Pondering over that while showering that evening, I realized that we are faced with a long list of predicaments when it comes to eating these days.  (And yes, TMI, but I do most of my thinking in the shower; and most of my epiphanies come to me while in the shower.  I've solved world hunger at least 7 times already.  Problem is, I forget by the time I dry off.)

Anyway, when I pick up a box of 1% milk at the grocery store, I immediately go through a checklist in my mind— Is it USDA organic?  And if it is USDA organic, is it “100% organic”, “organic” or “made with organic ingredients”.  How local is the product?  Am I supporting a family owned farm/cooperative?  Is the farm sustainable?  CAFO what?  Was it fed with grains that came from an heirloom and not a Monsanto genetically engineered seed? Is there a similar product that has a higher ANDI score?  The list goes on.  

I remember this episode of Portlandia called “Is it Local?"  A pair of local food champions go to a restaurant and ask all kinds of questions about the chicken in the menu. Despite the wait staff’s more-than-satisfactory answer, they postpone having lunch to visit the farm of origin. It is hilarious and ridiculous, but contains a bit of truth.

The Perfect Birthday Cake for Matt

Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Birthday Cake

I met Matt almost two years ago and I’ve loved him since.  We bonded over wine and stories of loss.  The pain is gone, healed by time, beautiful friendship and love; nonetheless, we still consume shameless amount of wine, LOL.

Matt is a beautiful person, inside and out.  He is tall and lean.  He have beautiful, piercing hazel eyes, hair that’s always in place and he smells oh-so-nice-- he smells like sunshine.  He has a sweet tone to his voice, a hint of that Southern drawl that’s both sexy and friendly.  Born and raised in Atlanta to third generation Atlantan parents, he is a true southern boy, a disappearing breed.  He is very relaxed and very centered around his family.  He is shy, but friendly and chatty after he warms up to a person; he teases in a good-nature way.  He looks at you in the eyes when you talk and listen to what you have to say.  He is genuine with his compliments and thank you’s.  He is a gentleman, chivalrous to a fault-- he opens doors and pulls chairs.  He remember all special occasions, and he makes them even more special with flowers, gifts, cards and nice dinners.

Did I mention that his car and house is impeccably clean?

Crinkle and Amaretti Cookies

Crinkle cookies are my childhood favorite cookies. I remember going to the 3rd closest “sari-sari store” (convenience store) from our house in Manila to buy them for 2 pesos (7 cents). There are two cookies packaged in a clear plastic with a white cardboard bottom, presenting these snowy-dark-chocolate-cookies ever so beautifully. I remember running home, straight to the room I share with the women of the house (my sister, an aunt and my grandmother), locking the door and enjoying every bit and morsel of it – crusty on the outside and chewy-chocolatey inside. My over eagerness to eat them always bring me to a coughing fit as I inhale a mouthful of powdered sugar, which I did not want since it calls for attention, which means I might get some spanking -- sweets are not allowed in the house since they are “junk food and bad for you”. Worst, I might have to share my cookies. Eventually, I came up with a solution— I lick off the powdered sugar before devouring the cookies, haha!