une omelette (100th post!)

for some reason i feel like celebrating, because i just realised i've written 100 posts on this blog. but, over a span of 3+ years. really joey? you want to celebrate mediocrity? yes, yes i do. :)

sub-thought:
i am realising that i will never get to the point where i feel like i am amazing at what i do, unless i decide right now that i am okay with NOT being amazing. if i don't take risks because i'm afraid of failing, i won't ever get better at what i do because i'm not trying. if i take risks, i may fail, and if i fail, then succeeding the next risk will feel even better.

okay, back to my post about omelets.

i love eggs. any style of egg, i love (not actually true: i don't like raw, and i don't like it when the whites are still runny). but, there's something about the omelet that takes an egg from being good to being deliciously decadent. ever wake up feeling meh? make yourself an omelet (if you have time and are not running off to work) and you will feel like a king. or queen.


i still haven't perfected the omelet. it often falls apart on me... but whatever, it still tastes amazing, so who cares? the great thing about omelets is that you can put anything inside. fried onions, veggies, meat, herbs, cheese... be creative. any kind of cheese, many kinds of cheese, or no cheese at all if you are lactose intolerant. but the best part of the omelet is the cheese, really.

i like to whisk my eggs (2 or 3)with salt, pepper and a bit of milk, though some people just whisk the eggs. i find the milk makes it a bit fluffier. better yet, yogurt, for a richer omelet (can an omelet with eggs and cheese, fried in butter get any richer? yes... it can, and its amazing). put your pan on a medium-low heat. when its heated, grease your pan and pour your egg mixture in. make sure its even on the pan, and wait a bit, making sure nothing is burning. when it looks partially cooked (still gooey, but you can lift the edges with your turner), sprinkle cheese of choice throughout the entirety of the omelet. on one half only (if your pan cooks unevenly like mine, choose the side that is less cooked) add your filling. carefully edge your turner under the other half of the omelet, make sure its not sticking anywhere, and flip over the filling. if some of it falls apart, just patch it up. cook a minute or 2 longer, remove from heat, and serve.

i used to make omelets by flipping the whole thing BEFORE adding the filling, but i always found them over-cooked and rubbery. not flipping your omelet makes for a perfectly-cooked omelet that is fluffy, gooey, and melts in your mouth. but try it out and experiment! every pan and stove-top is different, and everyone's preferences are different, too. find what you like best and enjoy the heck out of it.

anyone have a favorite omelet filling? or great ideas for one?

disturbed by processed, fast-food chicken. i can't believe i used to eat it..

warning: disturbing images below. please continue to read!

i am not a vegan, nor am i a vegetarian. i do highly respect all vegetarians and vegans, however. so this is not about me not eating meat. its about me not eating fast-food meat, like chicken nuggets, chicken burger patties, etc. see photo below:

photo from this blog. read more here.

they mechanically separate the chicken, grind it all up, remove the bacteria (apparently by soaking it in ammonia), add food coloring and flavor... its disgusting. why go through that much bother to make something that doesn't really look like chicken, doesn't really taste like chicken, and is so unnatural? and yet we consumers totally buy it. its fast, its easy, and we put it in our stomachs anyways.

jamie oliver does these experiments where he shows kids the process of making the chicken nuggets, and then has the kids decide between the nuggets and the real chicken afterward. worked well in the UK (see video below)...




... but then he tried it in america. (see video below).



...failed. which is really sad what it says about america. i think he'd do a lot better in canada, but i still think there's a good number of people here who would react just like those kids in the video. sadly, i think i know of a few people too who just might not care where their food is coming from.

would you still eat the chicken nuggets? i want your thoughts and opinions!
i won't condemn you if you would still eat them. i'll just shake my head and invite you over for some real, homemade food. or you can answer anonymously and i'll never know.

update: october 11, 2010

some more posts to read:

huffington post
peas and thank you - hilarious, have to read it
potted meat product - i can't believe anyone would buy or eat a product (it doesn't deserve the title 'food') called 'potted meat product'!?

yam fries

yam fries: delicious, not that hard to make, and just plain awesome.

to do:

• wash yam(s)
• peel or don't peel (i didn't peel)
• pat dry (if wet, they will be soggy fries)
• chop up to whatever size you like (just make sure they are roughly similar sized)
• toss with olive oil, salt, pepper & whatever other spice you'd like (i added a pinch of coriander; you could add minced rosemary or cayene pepper for example)
• spread evenly on a baking sheet (normally i put parchment paper down, this time i didn't do anything & they didn't stick), make sure you don't crowd them too much
• *bake anywhere between 375 F and 415 F; take them out every 8 minutes or so to check them & to turn them; bake until they are soft on the inside and crispyish or nicely toasted on the outside.
• once cooked to your liking, remove from oven, and sprinkle with some fleur de sel if you have it. i just bought my first jar of it, so i am now allowed to be snooty and talk about fleur de sel all i want to. :) serve with some kind of dip. i wish i had an awesome dip recipe to share with you. i used some old (probably too old to use, honestly) curry powder dip mix and mixed it with yogurt and mayonnaise. its a great dip, i just can't tell you what's in it or how to make it yourself. :(
  

*if you bake fries normally, do what you normally do and pay no attention to my baking instructions. i really didn't know what i was doing and just winged it. if you are someone who needs to know exactly what temperature and exactly how long it takes... then stop reading my blog :) just kidding, maybe try and look up another recipe & see what it says! (that's right, i AM too lazy to google it myself at the moment...)

beerish bread

this is beer bread. want to make it yourself? it's easy, and quite delightful to eat.

ingredients:

3 1/4 cups flour (i use 2 cups plain flour, 1 1/4 cup whole wheat)
3 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs sugar (Tbs = tablespoon. not sure if that's the correct abbrevation, but i'm usin it)
1 3/4 ounce (just under 1/4 cup. or 50 grams) butter, chopped
1 1/2 cups beer

directions:

• preheat oven: 415 F
  
• mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt. cut in the butter until crumbly. (alternatively: process all those things in a food processor. i don't have one)
• add the beer slowly, and mix it in. i just use a wooden spoon and i mix until it comes together to form a soft dough.
• knead dough on floured surface until smooth.
• divide dough, into 4 or 6 portions, and form ovals or spheres. place on a greased pan, slash the tops with a knife, brush with a bit of water (or milk or whisked egg).
• bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F and bake for another 10 minutes. bread is usually ready when you can tap the bottom and it sounds hollow (please use an oven mitt when holding the bread. otherwise you will scald your hand and it will probably be quite painful).
  

love this recipe. (which i got from the book baking: a common sense guide) it's quick, easy, hard to mess up. no fussy yeast, no waiting for the yeast to do its magic, no worries. instead of yeast as a rising agent, this recipe uses beer, and beer has its own yeast already in it. the only downside to this bread recipe is the slight taste of beer, but i noticed that using a honey lager instead of a pale ale helped lessen the beeryness of it. makes fantastic sandwich bread, and goes great with mustard and pickles and all things savory. however, does not go as well with jam or peanut butter or other sweeter bread toppings. try it at home and let me know how it works out for you!

apple cinnamon muffins

do something for me. take a quick peek at what katie ate and tell me you do not want to devour everything katie makes and photographs. i know i do.

in case you are too lazy to click on links, here are a few of her photos:

gorgeous!

i wanted to bake something with apples today. my sister and i ordered a large box of gala apples from the okanogan valley last week and we've already made 2 batches of apple sauce, one pan of apple crisp. we still have copious apples left. so, i wanted to bake something with apples today. and i did. i looked to katie for inspiration, and was debating between this apple tea cake and these apple cinnamon muffins. the tea cake looks amazing, but my relationship with my springform pan is a bit dubious and i would like to avoid using it until i find a better replacement. so i made the muffins. loved that the recipe didn't call for any butter or oil (don't get me wrong, i love butter. LOVE it. it's just that it costs so much money and i'm trying to be a bit more frugal than normal these days), but called for applesauce. hey, i just made some last week! anyway, they are pretty quick and easy. the result? not bad. a bit chewy, (maybe i over-stirred), but pleasantly moist and good-tasting. you can look at katie's lovely photos here, and compare them with mine. i like hers better, but i'm pretty happy with mine too.


here's the recipe:

1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup applesauce
1 cup peeled, cored, chopped apple

topping: sugar & cinnamon (just guess at the amounts, however sweet you want it, baby!)

preheat the oven to 390F

i always like to mix all the dry stuff before i mix in any wet stuff, no matter what the recipe tells me. so i mixed the sugar, cinnamon & ginger together, then sifted in flour, baking powder and salt in a big bowl. add the milk & applesauce and mix with a spoon until it comes together. don't overmix! add the apple pieces. spoon into muffin cups or a greased muffin tin. sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar on top and pop into the oven for 20-25 minutes. makes about 12 smallish muffins.


enjoy!

the start of a day

today i started my day with a nice, simple breakfast. scrambled eggs (with yogurt instead of milk), toast, coffee, gala apple slices, and homemade salsa. what a nice start to a sunny, autumn day.

finch's

finch's is what i want my home to be like: lots of natural light, beautiful vintage furnishings, simple, and full of good food and people.



located in downtown vancouver on the corner of homer and pender, finch's serves an assortment of sandwiches, salads, teas, coffees. the sandwiches are created with a variety of tasty combinations on sliced baguettes. i've had 2 so far, the baked brie & olive, and the avocado, edam, dijon and roasted walnut (picture below). delicious.

all their sandwiches come with fresh, crisp, red leafy lettuce and are served on brown butcher paper, creating a very aesthetically pleasing eating experience.

their coffee is fair-trade and organic (i think it's saltspring but i'm not too sure), and they have many varieties of loose teas. my sister loves the chocolate chip cookies made in-house (from free-range organic eggs, says one of their black-board signs scripted beautifully and framed in ornate golden frames).


if you live in vancouver and haven't been to finch's yet, you really need to remedy that. keep in mind that they hold short hours. monday to friday 9am-5pm, and saturday 11am to 4pm.

summer lovin

summer. my favorite time of year. it may not be the prettiest here in vancouver (dead grass just doesn't appeal the eye as much as rich green grass or spring blossoms or fall colors), but as far as weather goes, i love heat and i love summer.

i have lots of photos waiting to be sorted through.. photos of copious meals outdoors, camping & hiking trips, blueberry picking, lots of delicious food. but since they are still waiting for me, patiently, i'll leave you with a few photos of some food-related things i've enjoyed this summer:

flowers:
(some edible, some non-edible. guess which is which)



a fresh egg from our landlords' backyard chickens:
(yum)