gansie


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How Not to Eat Ice Cream Every 15 Minutes

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I woke up and kept my pajamas on. I peed. Didn’t brush my teeth. Started the computer and scanned work emails. I thought about how much energy it would take to boil water for my french press coffee. I decided against that task. I checked more emails and then let the IT dude in. He was sweating. It was gross. But I let him into my bedroom anyway. He left an hour and a half later and there it was. My new virtual office. In my bedroom.

I am now a full time virtual worker. In an effort to save money and save the environment, okay, really save money, we’ve gotten rid of our downtown DC offices and instead will advocate for working women within our respective bedrooms. Or however my coworkers have set up their offices.

What makes me really excited about this development is not just the ability to remain in a tshirt and sweats all day, but to create real time lunches. I will never again have to figure out the next day’s meal the night before. I could actually probably throw out half my tupperware collection. Although I probably won’t because I have an addiction to things.

Anyway, lunch was great today. I warmed up leftovers from last night’s dinner, potato, greens and ricotta broiler eggs, and juggled it on top of a pocketless pita schmeared with sun dried tomato cream cheese.

Real quick.

Fucking A. So when 80 and I were trying to get the hell out of NYC on Sunday—which took, I shit you not, an hour and a half, mostly because of this bullshit bicycle thing in all 25 boroughs and then the fact that we thought instead of leaving directly from Manhattan to one of the tunnels we worked our way into Brooklyn to try to jump on the BQE and yes, BS, I called you but maybe you weren’t back from Sri Lanka yet—we found an awesome bagel place.

Shocking it is not.

But I know bagels. Okay. I know bagels. And these were maybe the best bagels I’ve ever had. Soft and chewy and large. Full and lush. Lots of soft interior.

After about an hour of driving around NYC (and staring opening mouthed at the Hasidic Jews—they all wear the same clothes, it’s crazy) I begged 80 to stop for breakfast. We decided whatever we saw first–bagels or pizza–we’d jump out and grab it for the road. And actually, we saw a pizza place first but it was still closed (as it was only 11am) so luckily Brownstone Bagel & Bread Co was right across the street.  We both got egg sandwiches (real egg!) on bagels and I also got another bagel for the road.

I let 80 pick one of their in-house “whipped” cream cheeses to go and he selected sun dried tomato. He hates tomatoes.

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in Breakfast / Personal / Trends 14 comments
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Small Counter Dwelling Appliance Comes to Rescue

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80 and I spent an unfortunate—yet joyous and drunk—less than 24 hours in New York City this past weekend. Unfortunate because of the lack of time in the city and joyous because of our friends’ wedding. Usually whenever we get the chance to visit we extend the stay in this city to the north but with 80’s last exam on Monday night before he graduates on Sunday, we had to get in and out so he could concentrate on macro economics. (And if anyone has any graduation gift ideas – let me know!)

Because we left early Saturday from DC and didn’t get to check out the inaugural opening for the year’s Mt. P far mar and then we got back too late to hit up any of the Sunday markets I was left with a fridge full of last weeks’ purchases for Sunday’s dinner. 80 invited a classmate over for a study session so I was charged with figuring out dinner. Of course it revolved around eggs.

So my new favorite way to incorporate lots of veggies and other ingredients into eggs is to first cook all of the other ingredients, then pour whisked egg over top and throw it under the broiler.

I recently resolved Passover’s matzoh dilemma when I incorporated the stale cracker into an omelet with swiss cheese, garlic and greens. The problem though is the quickness in which an egg cooks and an egg overcooks.

My parents’ kitchen is perfect. Stainless steel perfection. Except for one thing: the broiler.

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in Breakfast / Cheese / Eggs / Recipe / Veggie 2 comments
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Why Organic May or May Not Be the Answer

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While my dad likes to cook, he likes to make things easy on himself. For instance, he’ll take one night and make it a total marathon in the kitchen so he doesn’t have to cook every night the rest for of the week. Totally normal. I get that. I do it too. Everyone does. It makes sense.

But then there’s the pre-chopped, double vacuum sealed, organic garlic from China.

Organic is good, right? We want to ingest food that has not been grown with chemicals. It’s the right thing. It’s better for our body. It’s better for our planet. And usually we can buy this type of food from a local source. But then there’s the organic from half way around the world.

My dad is starting to climb that local food hill and is well into Omnivore’s Dilemma, but still cares more about not having to peel garlic cloves. So he buys garlic cloves that have been peeled, packed in a plastic wrap in groups of four, then packaged in a larger plastic bag. A lot of plastic. A lot of waste. But it’s still organic. Yet it’s been shipped from China. But it’s still organic.

What the fuck are we supposed to do?

in Trends 6 comments
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A Famine of Fashion

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Editors Note: The Endless Simmer inbox is the recipient of mostly press releases, a lot of product offers and once in a while, something really funky.  I had absolutely no idea what an interactive fashion show dubbed Avante Garde Supperchic would be like, but I knew I needed someone to check it out. The early April event took place in San Francisco so I invited ES fan Mariah Carey to attend on our behalf. She convinced her friend, who we’ll call interWEBBz, to go with and write it up. Here’s her take on this trial of fashion and food.

“It’s a Famine of Fashion.  A FAMINE OF FASHION.”

I’ll be honest, there was no shortage of fashion or lack of food, but whenever there is an opportunity to paraphrase André Leon Talley, my fellow lover of all things cuisine and couture, I can exhibit no self-control.

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When this San Franciscan thinks of San Francisco, three things instantly come to mind:

  1. An abundance of restaurants with delicious (albeit sometimes pretentious) food
  2. Fashion-forward designers and last but CERTAINLY not least
  3. The likelihood that you will be out-dressed (and all around out-done) by the gays

Sure, some who’ve never been here might be inclined to say the Golden Gate Bridge, Trolley Cars and Nancy Pelosi.  Other San Franciscans may say GoCars, Bay to Breakers or Mission Hipsters at Dolores Park on a sunny day. But the above three constant sources of inspirations in my life converged at the “Avant Garde Supperchic” interactive event at Supperclub.

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I thought the bed in bars thing was over the second Carrie Bradshaw and her crew drank champagne while laying on sheets, but I guess not. Upon entering this fashion and food event, I was escorted to a roman-style bed by a woman with rhinestone nipple tassels (see first picture, left). My lord, I thought, the evening could only go up from there.

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in Restaurants / Trends 3 comments
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She’s Choppin’ Broccoli, She’s Choppin’ Broccola

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80P and I were walking home together from our respective offices and we were discussing the lack of dinner options and I declared that this has been my worst year of cooking on record. And on record, well, my record, that is, only counts since I’ve started cooking, so if you are to count all of my years on record, not just cooking years, than I’m not doing terribly, as I did fry cottage cheese. But in years that I have made it a priority in my life to find joy in the kitchen, this year, not so much is happening in that 10 foot by 5 foot space.

Anyway, don’t get all excited that this will be some glorious post about a new recipe. This actually proves my point. I now make sandwiches. Or simple pasta dishes. But with farmers market season starting, I have a feeling I can turn 2010 into to a year that will not tarnish my cooking record. Okay, enough records. Well, except for the record that my friend Vi always plays when I come over. Total crush on Band of Horses.

Back to the cottage cheese for a second. In January 80 and I were in Florida and I re/discovered two items that have found their place in my fridge many times this year.  One was cottage cheese (which I’d never had and decided it would be a good idea to make a sandwich out of it. See, there it is, another sandwich. A freaking cottage cheese sandwich.)

2010’s other popular item is smoked whitefish. Although I try not to eat that many animals, I can’t get over this salty, creamy, pungent, addicting addition to my life. (Can you use the phrase addicting addition? It’s overkill, huh?)

I usually eat the mashed fish on a bagel or dark bread toast, either solo or with raw onion. And once, out of obvious limited options, I had spread smoked whitefish on matzoh. This week I tried to switch it up and added in more veggies. And can I tell you, I am really digging raw broccoli these days.

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in Fish / Sandwich 2 comments
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…as a skunk

I’ve learned this recently. It’s terribly hrd living in the years of “late twentys.” I think a lot of things can happen in this tim period. A lot of new things. And a lot of things that I hope will love on. So I dont hope you mind, my dear, dear reader, that I’m going to indulge in my non-responsibility life, celebrating yesterday’s holiday, as well as celebrating what’s real. I’d like to commend the blogger Macheemo for not only fgiuring out a path toward homemade peanut butter, but also organizing what might be the coolest wedding of the decade.

80p note: I think the gist of this drunk Gansie post is congratulations to Machee”s”mo for his spectacular looking wedding. Thanks for sharing that with the blogosphere. Good morning ES readers, and feel free to use ALL CAPS in the comment section this morning, as Gansie is sure to be hungover.

in Drinks 7 comments
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