she craves

Cool As a Cucumber.

There's the saying that you eat with your eyes. Nowhere is it more true in times of self-imposed ascetism, balancing out the bouts and binges of all the things we love to love in excess.

Some call it a diet. Others doll up the word "diet" with intended feelings of well-being/smugness and call it a "cleansing." Whatever the title, often, it's an integral part to eating and living. The spring clean was a long time ago, as my kitchen attests. But every so often between my lusty affairs with bacon and butter, my heart calls out for crisp precise bites of verdant things.

Fresh Off the Boat: 636 Words

It's been bothering me for weeks that people take an important discussion like the one Francis and I had, then reduce it to "whether white chefs can cook ethnic food" or to conclude that at the end of the day "taste is what matters". The Marcus article was an extension and it was fun to see how people danced around the actual challenge in the article for dominant cultural food editors/writers to hit the pavement and find more voices of color. Maybe for once put a voice on the soap box even if it's threatening...

        America is an adversarial society. Whether we want to accept it or not, the good guys don’t always win. Biggie was right, “it’s an every day struggle.” Your life begins as an American when you recognize and accept that nothing you have will be given to you; it’s taken. Notice I said “taken” and not “earned”. You can’t trust that for said amount of work you’ll get said amount of pay. It just never happens. If you want to make sure you get what you deserve: take it. 

When you bring your cultural goods to market, expect someone to try and take it from you, especially the dominant culture because they can. The only way to come up is to defend the things you have and learn to take for yourself. Offense is the best defense. Look at all the inspirations we’ve had as 80s babies. Barack - took the youth vote and micro donors; Fab Five - disrespected every thing about collegiate sports, rejected white socks/short shorts, took booster money, and peace’d; Brooklyn - like BDP said, “Manhattan keeps on makin’ it, Brooklyn keeps on takin’ it.” As much as I love Francis Lam, his ideas about aspiring to “join” America lead to the loss of your culture and Indian Casinos. What if the Tea Party wins and that bullshit definition of America rules? You want to be a member then? Sometimes you shouldn’t respect the other side because it’s wrong #Newsroom. The only America that matters is yours... but you’ll have to fight for it.

via thepopchef.blogspot.com

If you don't know who Eddie Huang is, you should. This blog post is one reason why. Follow him on @MrEddieHuang.

They Actually Let Me Talk on The Radio

Check out a discussion on the food scene in Utah - restaurants, farmers, ranchers, home cooks, and more. Local radio station KRCL hosted myself, chef Adam Kreisel of Chaia Cucina, Ted Scheffler of City Weekly, and the lovely Becky Rosenthal of SLC Foodie & SLC Mixers for an hour-long conversation. We talked food. We took calls. And along with bad ass host Bad Brad Wheeler, we decided that things in our fair state are quite tasty. For real.

062212archive

Heat wave + apricot harvest = sun-dried apricots
Who needs a RonCo. Dehydrator when you've got climate change?

http://www.wikihow.com/Sun-Dry-Fruit

Make It Again: Feta Biscuits

 
Generally speaking, I have a fear of baking. Call it performance anxiety; I do have a cadre of gorgeous goddesses of pastry that often supply me with delicate shortbreads, rich cakes and other confections to last me three lives. They make the goods, I happily eat them. I'm like those feeder fish that hang out with the sharks. "Don't mind me," I say, my mouth full of Valrhona chocolate brownies. "I'm just along for this delicious ride. [munch munch munch] Are those almond croissants?"

Like any self-centered person, I tend to avoid things that make me look bad. Hence, the baking fear. The last batch of brownies I made were absolute poo. But biscuits and I have always had a way with each other. Biscuits understand my impatience and temperamental nature. They are the easy-going yin to my anxiety-drenched yang. Biscuits don't ask me to leave them alone for an hour or three to do it's thing because it's ready now. Put me in the oven, damn it. Let's get this show on the road.

Feta biscuits are at once simple and intriguing for the fact that you not only get to sink your teeth into the butter-based dough, but also taste the sharp white cheese.