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by gansie

Artsy Photo of the Day

Mmm…asparagus season is here. What are you all doing with your stalks? Ideas?

by gansie

Fourteen Hours

Wow. As you’re reading this I will be on a 14 -hour flight to Toyko. Holy poop balls.

Instead of printing our itineraries, properly rolling clothes and desperately seeking out sleeping pills, 80 and I watched Andrew Zimmerman’s fucked-up eating show, Bizarre Foods. His Japan episode, of course.

And my lord I’m terrified. I know the whole point of his show is to eat the craziest shit possible, but it still made me really nervous, yet excited, for the very new animals I will be eating. Or try to eat. Or try not to puke up.

This clip is particularly interesting. (And Osaka is one of our stops!) At the very end of this segment you’ll see Andrew eating raw horse. It’s actually raw horse mane: the strip of tissue horse hair is attached to. He calls it buttery.

So dudes. Wish me luck, as 80 and I fuck shit up on the other side of the world. Or at least take pictures that make us look like we’re cool.

in Personal 1 comments

by gansie

The True Purpose of Academic Achievement

I am officially dating a master.

80P graduated this weekend and because he will now have tons of time (um, besides the whole job search thing) he will be back to blogging. Okay, probably not. Maybe just picture taking. Anyway.

Momentous occasions, whatever the occasion, is really about the food. Fuck that MPP. Fuck that honors GPA. That’s not all that important when we get to use this event as an excuse to eat some really good food. 80’s parents were in town and the night before the ceremony they treated the master and his lowly BA-holding girlfriend to a lovely dinner at Restaurant Eve. The food was great but my favorite part were the sea beans. I’d never heard of them before and they were described as so salty they were like potato chips. SOLD! And salty and crisp they were, just like the ocean water that they grow near. They were green bean shaped, not black bean shaped. They were thin and dark green and so much fun to find on the fork, nicely contrasting with the soft flesh of fish.

After graduation we skipped the mob scene of the school’s brunch reception and went to Wagshal’s deli for sandwiches (and pickles!). But I only ate half my lox and bagel sandwich because we had 80’s classmate’s graduation bbq. See, everyone knows that graduations are not for the cap and gown but for good eats.

MCB, the host, provided kabobs and a few guests brought sides. I decided on couscous early on, as it’s become my party go-to. The problem, well not problem, but adjust-maker, was that I didn’t have all that much couscous in the cabinet, which I didn’t check until 45 minutes prior to the party. But I did have Israeli couscous on hand so I went with it.

An Alternative to the Butter Treatment

This past Saturday was my first day working at the Mt. Pleasant Far Mar. Yes. Far Mar. I think that’s what the folks in Oakland, CA call the farmers market and the Mt. P owner is from there so that’s how it goes. I love a good abbreviation so I’m all for it.

I have a feeling this season I’m going to be trying out a bunch new vegetables. Or at least vegetable that I don’t normally buy.

My friend Violette, a French girl, is a natural fan of radishes. She slices them and serves them with salty butter. While I cannot deny the simple goodness of this treat, I’d love to find more ways to enjoy this spicy vegetable. And not just in salads. Help me find creative alternatives.

Can you spin radishes into a sauce?
Use as a vehicle for a dip?
Serve under eggs?

Suggestions welcome.

in Veggie 7 comments

by gansie

Artsy Photo Winner

Thanks for all the awesome guesses. And of course, many of our savvy readers guessed the correct answer. But the first to get it in there was the very first commenter.

Awesome job Jillian. It’s sea urchin from Kushi.

And OMG 80 and I are leaving for Japan and South Korea next Thursday. Please, Please, Please send any suggestions: food, shopping, spa treatments or otherwise.

in Contests / Photos 1 comments

by gansie

Lessons From Rotted Okra

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions anymore. Well, only kinds to start smoking. But I would like to make two resolutions for the upcoming farmers market season. The picture above perfectly exemplifies my two points.

1. Experiment
I’ve only tried okra from other people’s cooking and I had mixed feelings on the vegetable. (This was a good memory.) I bought some at the far mar but I was so nervous with what to do with it that I let it go bad. I need to be brave this season and

2. Not Waste
There was really no reason for this lovely, furry green rod to rot in my fridge. Part of the problem is my lack of courage in dealing with the finicky okra, but the other is I will buy too much. Everything looks so gorgeous at the market and I want to buy it all. I need to come prepared with a plan and not just buy all of the beautiful produce I can carry.

in Personal / Veggie 6 comments

by gansie

The 1-2-3s of Veggies

“What are you watching?” my sister asked as I painted my nails sitting on the carpet of my parents’ living room floor.

“Stay,” I said, “Mom saved the Oprah with Michael Pollan. He’s the dude who wrote the book that I’m making dad read.”

And that’s all it took.

My sister watched in horror as chickens, so burdened, so physically burdened, with the weight of their unnaturally large breasts, that they could only crank out a few steps before collapsing. She stopped eating meat after that. It’s been just over a month now. And she has no idea what to eat.