Found this amazing graphic on food deserts on Slate. For some reason, I keep thinking that the term "Food Desert" really applied to inner-city neighborhoods where there are no grocery stores, yet very vocal leaders working for change.
Turns out, it really looks like a rural issue. And in truth, how does one live in rural America without a car?
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Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Leftover Turkey Idea No. 6: Turkey Shepherd Pie
Uses: Leftover frozen/canned seed veggies (corn or peas or the like), that one crust from the package of Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts that you didn't need for the pumpkin pie but it came in a two pack so you need something to do with it, leftover gravy, leftover mashed potatoes.
Need: Deep Dish Pie Plate
Roll out pie crust into pie plate. Prick with a fork, or blind bake according to package instructions.
In a pan, combine leftover turkey (great for the little turkey fragments), and leftover vegetables - think peas, corn, carrots, or onions - something that has lost it's shape and just shouldn't be reheated as-is. Mix with about a quarter cup of leftover gravy. Add filling to pie crust. Top with leftover mashed potatoes - heat until hot. If you'd like, brush the mashed potatoes with a beaten egg or some melted butter to make it look pretty, brown up, and form a slight crust.
Need: Deep Dish Pie Plate
Roll out pie crust into pie plate. Prick with a fork, or blind bake according to package instructions.
In a pan, combine leftover turkey (great for the little turkey fragments), and leftover vegetables - think peas, corn, carrots, or onions - something that has lost it's shape and just shouldn't be reheated as-is. Mix with about a quarter cup of leftover gravy. Add filling to pie crust. Top with leftover mashed potatoes - heat until hot. If you'd like, brush the mashed potatoes with a beaten egg or some melted butter to make it look pretty, brown up, and form a slight crust.
Leftover Turkey Idea No. 5: Turkey Pot Pie
Uses: Leftover Roasted Vegetable chunks, that one crust from the package of Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts that you didn't need for the pumpkin pie but it came in a two pack so you need something to do with it, leftover gravy.
You need: 7-8 inch oval baker
Take the pie crust, divide into 2/3 and 1/3. Roll out the larger portion to make a bottom crust in the baker. Prick with a fork or blind bake for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine 1 cup of leftover turkey, the leftover roasted veggies (sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, etc) and 1/4 cup of gravy. When you remove the crust from the oven, add filling, and top with the remaining pie crust, which you have rolled out as a top crust. Follow the instructions on the crust box for a two crust pie - it's done when the crust is brown.
You need: 7-8 inch oval baker
Take the pie crust, divide into 2/3 and 1/3. Roll out the larger portion to make a bottom crust in the baker. Prick with a fork or blind bake for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine 1 cup of leftover turkey, the leftover roasted veggies (sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, etc) and 1/4 cup of gravy. When you remove the crust from the oven, add filling, and top with the remaining pie crust, which you have rolled out as a top crust. Follow the instructions on the crust box for a two crust pie - it's done when the crust is brown.
Winter comes
It's been a beautiful week. The temperature has fallen below freezing. Winter is here.
Last Saturday, I spent the morning in the tail end of a 6 inch snowstorm on the shore of Lake Michigan walking a 5K in Lincoln Park. The temps stayed in the low 20s, with the snow falling so softly they almost appeared to be falling upwards. By dinner, the pine trees had the perfect amount of snow on each bough, and the white twinkle lights had not yet melted the snow. It was magical. It was one of those Christmas tableaux that you try to create with ceramic houses and cotton balls.
I miss living in Chicago.
Last Saturday, I spent the morning in the tail end of a 6 inch snowstorm on the shore of Lake Michigan walking a 5K in Lincoln Park. The temps stayed in the low 20s, with the snow falling so softly they almost appeared to be falling upwards. By dinner, the pine trees had the perfect amount of snow on each bough, and the white twinkle lights had not yet melted the snow. It was magical. It was one of those Christmas tableaux that you try to create with ceramic houses and cotton balls.
I miss living in Chicago.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Leftover Turkey Idea No. 4: Turkey Gyros
A take on the classic turkey sandwich.
We had made a hummus platter for the family thanksgiving gathering, so we had leftover pita. Here's my idea on using this with turkey:
1) Warm pita bread and 2 oz of turkey meat in the oven, about 4-5 minutes
2) Mix a tablespoon of PLAIN yogurt to a pinch each of dried mint and oregano. Coat the inside of the pita with this
3) Add turkey meat to the pita, along with a couple leaves of lettuce and a slice of onion if you have it.
We had made a hummus platter for the family thanksgiving gathering, so we had leftover pita. Here's my idea on using this with turkey:
1) Warm pita bread and 2 oz of turkey meat in the oven, about 4-5 minutes
2) Mix a tablespoon of PLAIN yogurt to a pinch each of dried mint and oregano. Coat the inside of the pita with this
3) Add turkey meat to the pita, along with a couple leaves of lettuce and a slice of onion if you have it.
Leftover Turkey Idea No. 3: Barbecue Turkey Pizza
Uses: about a cup of dark meat, plus leftover onions, and leftover pepper tops and bottoms while making bell pepper strips for appetizer plate.
Also need: pizza crust dough (homemade, store-bought, or premade... just follow instructions on the recipe or package), 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce, and two large handfuls of shredded mozzarella cheese.
1) Dice turkey meat, onions, peppers, etc... if you had leftover mushrooms (green bean casserole?) or olives (antipasto tray?) or any other pizza-y veggie, throw them in. Ideally, you want 1 cup of turkey, and 1 - 2 cups of veggies.
2) Prepare dough according to instructions. Thin crust is ideal for this.
3) Spread barbecue over dough (basting / marinade brush is perfect for this)
4) Evenly spread turkey and veggies over pizza.
5) Add cheese. Don't add too much cheese. Don't skimp, either.
6) Place into oven until cheese is melted and crust is crispy.
Also need: pizza crust dough (homemade, store-bought, or premade... just follow instructions on the recipe or package), 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce, and two large handfuls of shredded mozzarella cheese.
1) Dice turkey meat, onions, peppers, etc... if you had leftover mushrooms (green bean casserole?) or olives (antipasto tray?) or any other pizza-y veggie, throw them in. Ideally, you want 1 cup of turkey, and 1 - 2 cups of veggies.
2) Prepare dough according to instructions. Thin crust is ideal for this.
3) Spread barbecue over dough (basting / marinade brush is perfect for this)
4) Evenly spread turkey and veggies over pizza.
5) Add cheese. Don't add too much cheese. Don't skimp, either.
6) Place into oven until cheese is melted and crust is crispy.
Leftover Turkey Idea No. 2: Turkey Salad
Leftover Turkey Idea No. 2: Turkey Salad
Time: perfect for Black Friday Shopping breaks. Make it right after dinner when stripping the carcass.
After the Thanksgiving Feast, when you want to slip into a food coma and watch the Lions lose, you still have one task at hand: Put away the leftovers. Salmonella sucks, so you really just have 2 hours after dinner to put the food away, including stripping the carcass of all of the meat. While the breast and thighs were probably removed and sliced during dinner, you will have a large quantity of meat in nice large chunks. Pull those off, place in containers, then allocate to the fridge and the freezer as necessary.
Then, you have those little bits on the board from ripping and cutting, and those other microscopic pieces that remained stuck to the bones. What do you do with those? If you do not plan on making broth, here's my recipe for Turkey Salad... like chicken salad or tuna salad, but probably more fattening:
1) Figure out the amount of turkey bits that you have. Gather them into a pile. Meanwhile, find some leftover onions and celery, and mince them into tiny, tiny pieces. The inside stalks of celery are perfect for this. You want to keep everything in proportion... 2 parts turkey for every 1 part veggies. So, if you had 1 cup of turkey bits, you want 1/2 a cup combined of onions and celery... and probably heavier on the celery than the onions.
2) Combine. Mince. Mince again. Flatten this out on the cutting board into a single layer.
3) Dust the top of this concoction with curry powder. Adjust according to taste, keeping in mind that you want to err on the side of adding more curry.
4) On the side, combine equal parts of mayonnaise and leftover gravy. This should be the gravy made from the drippings using flour and butter. So, this is glob of eggs, turkey fat, and butter. If you are a heart patient, do not eat this. The rest of the public just shouldn't eat this.
5) The key... mix in JUST ENOUGH of your gravy-mayo so that everything sticks together, and not a drop more.
Yes, it sounds gross, but it is rather tasty. I have not done any tests on it, but a 1/4 cup serving probably has about 628% of your daily allowance of saturated fat. It's good if you want to heat this in the oven at 350 for 5 minutes. You could probably add a slice of Swiss cheese to this, but I'd check my health insurance coverage before attempting. If you added too much of the gravy-mayo, then the cheese is just not going to taste good, either.
Time: perfect for Black Friday Shopping breaks. Make it right after dinner when stripping the carcass.
After the Thanksgiving Feast, when you want to slip into a food coma and watch the Lions lose, you still have one task at hand: Put away the leftovers. Salmonella sucks, so you really just have 2 hours after dinner to put the food away, including stripping the carcass of all of the meat. While the breast and thighs were probably removed and sliced during dinner, you will have a large quantity of meat in nice large chunks. Pull those off, place in containers, then allocate to the fridge and the freezer as necessary.
Then, you have those little bits on the board from ripping and cutting, and those other microscopic pieces that remained stuck to the bones. What do you do with those? If you do not plan on making broth, here's my recipe for Turkey Salad... like chicken salad or tuna salad, but probably more fattening:
1) Figure out the amount of turkey bits that you have. Gather them into a pile. Meanwhile, find some leftover onions and celery, and mince them into tiny, tiny pieces. The inside stalks of celery are perfect for this. You want to keep everything in proportion... 2 parts turkey for every 1 part veggies. So, if you had 1 cup of turkey bits, you want 1/2 a cup combined of onions and celery... and probably heavier on the celery than the onions.
2) Combine. Mince. Mince again. Flatten this out on the cutting board into a single layer.
3) Dust the top of this concoction with curry powder. Adjust according to taste, keeping in mind that you want to err on the side of adding more curry.
4) On the side, combine equal parts of mayonnaise and leftover gravy. This should be the gravy made from the drippings using flour and butter. So, this is glob of eggs, turkey fat, and butter. If you are a heart patient, do not eat this. The rest of the public just shouldn't eat this.
5) The key... mix in JUST ENOUGH of your gravy-mayo so that everything sticks together, and not a drop more.
Yes, it sounds gross, but it is rather tasty. I have not done any tests on it, but a 1/4 cup serving probably has about 628% of your daily allowance of saturated fat. It's good if you want to heat this in the oven at 350 for 5 minutes. You could probably add a slice of Swiss cheese to this, but I'd check my health insurance coverage before attempting. If you added too much of the gravy-mayo, then the cheese is just not going to taste good, either.
Leftover Turkey Idea No. 1: Eat Them.
Turkey is awesome. It seriously should not just be eaten around the holidays. A couple weeks ago, I made a honey mustard turkey tenderloin on a bed of dressed turnip greens, and it was a moment of heaven. Sadly, many people find the task of making an 18 pound chunk of meat too taxing and demanding, so they try it once a year - fail at it - and eat out the rest of the year.
It really isn't too hard - low oven, baste with butter every half hour, stuffing is awesome despite what the USDA says, and rely on a meat thermometer instead of instinct to tell you when it is done. I find that my grandmother's stuffing recipe (no, you are not going to see it here) stuffed in both the body and neck cavities helps the meat stay moist, and a bit of butter on the breast under the skin helps too. When the center of the stuffing hits 165, it is done. Start checking every 15 minutes, about 30 minutes before the USDA guidelines say so. I totally flaked on this detail this year, and waited until the minimum time. At that point, the thermometer read 175, and the outer portion of white meat was starting to dry out. However, the rest of the bird was absolutely perfect. What wasn't good was the family thanksgiving turkey, which had been cooked within an inch of it's life, then placed in a shallow dish and shoved into a dry oven to keep it warm... thereby sucking out any remaining moisture. If that was the turkey I had eaten growing up, I'd never make a turkey - because I'd assume that turkey is dry, flavorless, and unchewable. Mine is much better, due to butter, basting, and worrying about the moisture content of the stuffing:
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| Mmm... turkey... a little foil protects the wing tips, but they can also be tucked under the bird to prevent burning. |
Turkey, as a meat, is exceptionally cheap and pretty abundant... for two months a year. Even if cooking a 12 to 28 pound bird does not scare you, what do do with an extra 20 pounds of meat that has to be eaten in the next three days can be enough to make you think that this isn't a wise use of resources.
So what do do with the leftovers? Here are my ideas:
Number 1 - Eat Them.
Just eat them. Put some turkey on a plate, ladle some gravy on top (or a splash of chicken broth), grab a spoonful of the extra sides, and microwave. It was awesome when you first had it, why wouldn't it continue to be awesome? Enjoy!
What I wouldn't recommend: Putting all of the dishes in the oven for "everyone to grab a plateful". If you learn anything from the paranoids over at the USDA, it's that you keep hot foods hot, and cold foods cold. It also keeps the textures from breaking down from repeated reheatings. Load up a plate, nuke for a minute, check the temperature, repeat until hot.
On Thanksgiving
I love Thanksgiving. To me, it is the quintessential American holiday. Secular in design, but can incorporate spiritual elements if you'd like, the point is to gather with family or friends, overindulge in the bounty of the harvest, and get a Thursday off work. Add the prospect of four solid back-to-back days of college and professional football, and I really cannot find a downside to this holiday. You are supposed to take a moment to appreciate all the good things in your life, which few people do as often as they should - bonus!
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| My attempt at the traditional Thanksgiving meal. |
Thanksgiving is the celebration of fall. A giant roasted bird that needs the oven turned on for 4 hours (which you are NOT going to suffer through in July), the sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes and root vegetables which can be taken out of their cold storage bins and roasted. That final crop of green beans - planted after the Mexican Bean Beetle has died and harvested right at the last frost. At today's farmers' market, the last outdoor market of the year, it was obvious that the growing season was over. Until April, possibly May, we will have to content ourselves with the frozen food, canned food prepared at the height of the growing season, and those waxy texture-less imports from Chile. Boo.
Thank you, Fall. I don't always appreciate you until you are over, but I will miss you.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Local Thugs vs. Hitler
I found myself watching Bob Roberts for the first time last night. I can't believe how moved I was - how familiar the worst of Bob Roberts' tactics were. He manipulates the audience while mocking his opponent (They. Them.), and accusing them outright of doing the things he was doing behind everyone's backs. It's a brilliant movie. It's a terrifying movie.
Surprising to me was the work of Gore Vidal as Roberts' opponent. His moments speaking to the camera show an uncanny, astute, and shrewd knowledge of the American political system. Speaking in reference to the coming Gulf War, he ends a mini-soliloquy on the "Enemy of the Month Club" with the observation, "These figures are thrown out to the media and made into great monsters...We blow up these local thugs into these huge Hitler-like figures and pretend it's World War II all over again."
Last week, Roger Ailes of Fox News attempted to elevate his corporate rivalry with National Public Radio to the same plane in an interview with The Daily Beast. Somehow, I doubt that squabbles over media share and journalism standards could ever be in the same ballpark as orchestrated genocide and plans for world domination. Placed in the prism of the Bob Roberts genius - pots calling the kettles black while everyone else sees them as silver - there's a certain offensive manipulation at play. Take this: "They are the left wing of Nazism. These guys don't want any other point of view." The twisted logic behind this statement *should* scare you. He is attacking another news organization with a sense of religious self-righteousness, accusing them of the critique his own organization is most accused of. No... his organization is on a sacred quest to liberate the continent from the oppressors - to storm the beaches of Normandy - to stand up against a menace that threatens our liberty and existence.
Or, you know, not - because to make that type of comparison means that one has little to no idea about the actual events that occurred between 1938 and 1945, or he truly believes these things to be comparable - in which case he is unfit to lead a Boy Scout Troop, let alone a major corporation.
And nothing will happen to him because of it. He just rallied his base. And now, those who enjoy the occasional Sylvia Poggioli report from Rome are left to defend NPR as NOT being the Fourth Reich. If you spend that much time defending yourself, it must be true, right?
Surprising to me was the work of Gore Vidal as Roberts' opponent. His moments speaking to the camera show an uncanny, astute, and shrewd knowledge of the American political system. Speaking in reference to the coming Gulf War, he ends a mini-soliloquy on the "Enemy of the Month Club" with the observation, "These figures are thrown out to the media and made into great monsters...We blow up these local thugs into these huge Hitler-like figures and pretend it's World War II all over again."
Last week, Roger Ailes of Fox News attempted to elevate his corporate rivalry with National Public Radio to the same plane in an interview with The Daily Beast. Somehow, I doubt that squabbles over media share and journalism standards could ever be in the same ballpark as orchestrated genocide and plans for world domination. Placed in the prism of the Bob Roberts genius - pots calling the kettles black while everyone else sees them as silver - there's a certain offensive manipulation at play. Take this: "They are the left wing of Nazism. These guys don't want any other point of view." The twisted logic behind this statement *should* scare you. He is attacking another news organization with a sense of religious self-righteousness, accusing them of the critique his own organization is most accused of. No... his organization is on a sacred quest to liberate the continent from the oppressors - to storm the beaches of Normandy - to stand up against a menace that threatens our liberty and existence.
Or, you know, not - because to make that type of comparison means that one has little to no idea about the actual events that occurred between 1938 and 1945, or he truly believes these things to be comparable - in which case he is unfit to lead a Boy Scout Troop, let alone a major corporation.
And nothing will happen to him because of it. He just rallied his base. And now, those who enjoy the occasional Sylvia Poggioli report from Rome are left to defend NPR as NOT being the Fourth Reich. If you spend that much time defending yourself, it must be true, right?
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