TIDBITS

I don't have any new food experiences to write about right now, but I do have a few random things to mention:

1. Even the nicest restaurants have vermin. A while back, Tom, Big Ed and I were having lunch at Mulan in Cambridge. We were almost done with our meal when I spied a small cockroach on Ed's jacket. (The jacket was resting on an empty chair) We were unable to catch it and it scampered off. And I guess you would dismiss this as another Chinese food restaurant with vermin problems and refuse to eat there again. But, having worked in a few kitchens, I know that even in the cleanest kitchens you can't get rid of all vermin. Still it was surprising when we were at dinner at No. 9 Park the other night, and I noticed something even more disturbing. Much of the restaurant had emptied out and beneath a vacated table, I spotted something move. It was so large that I thought it was a mouse. But on closer inspection, I realized that it was a very very large cockroach. This was confirmed by both Leah and Jayna who also saw it. So there you go, one of the biggest cockroaches I'd ever seen, in one of the best restaurants in Boston. Still, if I was offered another meal at No. 9, you'd bet I'd got back. And the same thing goes for Mulan. (I take exception with Chau Chow City, where there was a dead cockroach on the table and they make you walk past all the restaurant's trash to get to the bathroom. That's just going too far.)

2. I tried out my Martha Stewart Baking Handbook yesterday. I've mentioned that we're trying to eat healthier, but even after dinner, I still want something sweet. (usually chocolate or ice cream). I'm thinking of getting a box of fat free fudgsicles so even if I have a craving, it'll be fat free. At any rate, I'd been eyeing two different brownie recipes. One in a copy of Cook's Illustrated that was for traditional brownies, like the ones you get at bake sales. The M.S. one was for fudgy brownies, more like flourless chocolate cake than brownie. I decided to go with the M.S. recipe since I actually had all the ingredients (the Cook's Illustrated one asked for cake flour.) Well, they did turn out pretty well, but so fudgy that they don't really hold together real well. They crumble the second you pick them up, though maybe I could have increased the cooking time to harden it up a bit. At any rate, so far I approve of the book.

3. It was ironic that I found this article posted on Serious Eats yesterday, since I made Mabo Tofu for dinner last night. It's about the evils of soy and let me just quote from one section here: "Soy is feminizing, and commonly leads to a decrease in the size of the penis, sexual confusion and homosexuality. That's why most of the medical (not socio-spiritual) blame for today's rise in homosexuality must fall upon the rise in soy formula and other soy products." Really, this article is so absurd that I find it HILARIOUS. It's a must read. Just for laughs.

4. Tom received a copy of Giada de Laurentis's cookbook Everyday Italian for Xmas. And I'll admit that even though I'm not a fan of Giada (thankfully she's less annoying than Rachel Ray), I've already flipped through the book and marked out some recipes to try out. (I try not to bore Tom with my cooking and make new stuff whenever I can). But dear lord, I have never, ever seen a cookbook with so many pictures of the chef and such few pictures of the food! Even in her pictures, there is rarely an item of food present. And there are pages of them. No wonder men watch this show so much.

5. I'm breathing a sigh of relief cause it turns out that I won't need to move and can renew my lease for another year. So I think it's time to work on some organization options for my kitchen. There's a lot of storage space, but I don't use it wisely. And I could have a ton of counter space, if I didn't have everything lined up on it (toaster, coffeemaker, microwave, breadbox, and wine rack. That doesn't include the mini chopper, handblender and hand mixer that I have stacked on top of the microwave). Tom's proposed buying some type of organizing shelf since last year, and I think that'd be a good idea. We were at lunch with Evan and Stephanie and Evan pointed out that if the equipment isn't out, you'll never use it. And I have two new Cuisinarts to put out. So time to look for some storage options.

Ok, that's it for now! Hopefully I'll have something to write about after this weekend.