So Pithy » food

Fresh or frozen

Jason — Tue, 05 May 2009 03:09:09 +0000

A couple weeks ago I stopped buying frozen vegetables (California blend) in favor of fresh carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. I’ve since switched back. The reason? Price and ease of preparation. And to tell the truth, when I do a good job steaming the frozen veggies they don’t taste that much worse. Although that may be because I’ve done a consistently bad job of steaming the fresh ones.

Fruit is different, though. Fresh strawberries are so much better than frozen. Same for blueberries, though at this point fresh are too expensive. Of course, when I blend them all together in a smoothie it’s kind of a moot point.

So I approached the opening of the farmers’ market season here with mixed feelings: excited at the prospect of fresh fruit, but unsure of whether or not I wanted to bother with the vegetables. Unfortunately, I didn’t really get a chance to make a choice, because the vendor turnout was rather limited. I was tempted by some lettuce, though.

Shopping local is great and all, but I also don’t want to spend a whole lot. Seems to me the stuff the farmers actually grow is priced competitively, but the baked goods we spotted seemed a little overpriced. I think that’s just the difference between cutting out the middle man (fruits, vegetables, meats) and reselling store-bought ingredients in prepared form (baked goods).

Let them eat cake

Jason — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:19:27 +0000

One might not expect me to have an opinion, but I do: I think the best cake decorator in the country is Bronwen Weber (her poor showing in Food Network’s “Last Cake Standing” notwithstanding–when she’s on she can’t be beat.) And I think the funniest is Geof Manthorne (of Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes“.)

Funny thing is, I don’t eat cake that often. Not even at the birthday party I was at yesterday. Didn’t even have one of the cupcakes. But I do love me some pancakes. That’s why every Tuesday and Saturday around these parts it’s pancake day.

Can’t wait for tomorrow morning.

Not living on The Edge

Jason — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:21:21 +0000

As a marathon runner, I need/get to consume a lot of calories, especially in the form of carbs. Much of that occurs at home, but one can only cook so much pasta. So sometimes–maybe too often–we go out for dinner.

Unfortunately, we haven’t found any locally-owned restaurants that meet my special requirements: lots of carbs for relatively little money. I’d love to find a place like the Pioneer Restaurant in Westfield, WI–a family restaurant with huge servings of delicious homemade food.

We did find a locally-owned place with lots of food: The Edge, a sports bar/restaurant with inconsistent signage and great nachos. Only problem: the food isn’t cheap, not at all.

Don’t get me wrong, there are other locally-owned restaurants in the area, including the famed Hamburg Inn No. 2. But remember the requirements: lots of food. Lots.

So we end up at Texas Roadhouse again and again. A chain, yes, but a chain with food made from scratch, low prices, and the best rolls ever! For a while I was hooked on Olive Garden for the breadsticks, but they don’t even come close to the rolls at Texas Roadhouse. More importantly, Olive Garden is only cheap at lunch. And they don’t have call ahead seating!

Day of firsts

Jason — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 03:45:52 +0000

Today was a day of firsts. To start out, this morning I successfully attempted my first thirty mile run. The weather was great, I kept a decent pace, and I finished strong.

Then, at lunch we tried the new dessert at Olive Garden, some sort of Italian donuts with chocolate sauce for dipping (which I avoided.) It was actually a surprisingly large dessert.

Finally, for dinner I took a stab at making shepherd’s pie for the first time and it turned out pretty well.

Disappointment

Jason — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:10:24 +0000

I scheduled my whole day–meals, workout, etc.–around our planned meal at Texas Roadhouse this evening, only to discover they were closed. The rolls have been, and still are, sorely missed.

As for the Super Bowl, I had no real stake in it, so no disappointment there.

(W)Hy-Vee

Jason — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 20:49:29 +0000

When I go shopping I like to buy in bulk: big boxes of cereal, big bags of noodles, etc. But recently, while shopping at Hy-Vee, I noticed something that annoyed me. I could get:

a 12 pack of Ramen for $2.42
two 6 packs of Ramen for $2.40
twelve individuals packs of Ramen for $2.00 (those prices might be off, but you get the picture)

So frustrating! Sometimes they do the same thing with cereal: cheaper to get two small boxes than one big box. Come on, Hy-Vee, quit interfering with economies of scale!

Happy New Year

Jason — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 04:32:44 +0000

I have a few resolutions for the new year. Time will tell how many I can keep.

swim laps at least twice a week…
…so I can run the ~~Quad Cities Triathlon~~ in a triathlon (Quad Cities is out because there’s a marathon the same day)
eat less fried food
communicate better
write more

On the cheap

Jason — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:58:15 +0000

So it recently came to my attention that thus far I have spent a little less than 25% of the pesos I bought. I leave VERY early on Saturday, so tomorrow’s it. I need to either:

eat a lot more food,
eat much more expensive food,
buy things, or
change a bunch of money back tomorrow.

Hopefully I can make it to a bank tomorrow to change at least some of my money back.

Horace Mann

Jason — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:34:36 +0000

In Mexico they name schools after Horace Mann, just like in the United States.

My first full day in Mexico City is behind me. Highlights:

shopping around for the best exchange rate really pays; I got an extra 100 pesos by walking ten or fifteen minutes out of my way (and waiting in line ten minutes)
parts of Mexico City remind me of Prague or Stettin, other parts of Las Vegas, others of Dar es Salaam
I found breakfast baked goods heaven; cheap, self-serve, huge variety; will take photos next time!
nobody at the conference hotel knowing anything about the conference is not fun
my Spanish is terrible
gotta love all the VW bug taxis (there are tons of them in Mexico because of the VW plant/plants)
lunch at a Lebanese restaurant, dinner alone at an authentic Mexican place
$30 spent on food so far, more than half on that lunch; going to stick to authentic places from here on out, they’re cheaper