Hungry Times Two

I'm shouting this from the mountaintop: ( ok , actually just from under my red down bedspread littered with crumpled tissues, a notebook, two nutrition books and some magazines) - I hate being sick! No longer is the sick day a fun way to skip school or work. No longer do I enjoy perusing TV channels, lounging with mugs of tea or cocoa, reading and reading until my eyelids droop and drowsy dreams take over. No one to talk to, nothing to do that doesn't require significant exertion or concern, and no taste buds to enjoy anything I consume. It's enough to actually make me wish I was at work or had a class to even go to. Luckily, Scott came by for lunch and brought me hot tea and minestrone soup. I joked with him that we're getting far too good at this, as he was sick the better part of last week and I played nurse for him. As the weather turns colder, Scott's taking on a new role as "soup/stew/chili chef." He made minestrone last night and also introduced m...

Curd. It's not for everyone, or as those gathered 'round the Adams family table learned on Thanksgiving Day, for anyone at all. Curd is not elegant, as Scott's dear grandmother astutely opined. From the time we sat down until the turkey platter was wiped clean, all we really discussed was this inelegant jarred condiment vaguely colored as its namesake. The dinnertime conversation was monopolized by the Williams Sonoma "food" item, which (I think) Scott's uncle Bruce procured on down the deep discount line at T.J. Maxx. (Sidebar: Most people at the table said they refuse to buy food items at "the Maxx." I kinda waver on that point - coffee and cocktail mixes I tend to grab at TJM and I haven't poisoned anyone to their death yet.) We had the makings of a meal like no other - well, unless you count the millions of other Americans sitting down for turkey and stuffing. But we had something really special that no one else could vouch for tasting before...

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Scott and I are headed to Sullivan's Island, SC for some family time. I am most looking forward to a little break and some pumpkin pie. And cranberry sauce straight out of the can. Tacky, I know, but I love it nonetheless. My non-shopping husband is already planning our stop in Trader Joe's in Atlanta for our trip back through. I think he's addicted. Best to everyone on the holiday and safe travels if you're hitting the highways.

Confession: I am not the best at following self-imposed rules. A rule, for example, made by my husband and I to limit our dining out to a certain monetary amount. We held a Come To Jesus meeting about our finances a few weekends ago to determine how to 1) buy a house 2) set up an emergency funds for potential scary scenarios and 3) Do our Brazil trip for our 5 Year anniversary. After freaking ourselves out, the first expense we knew we don't have a hold on is our food excursions. Our excuses: We like trying new things, we're lazy sometimes and also the food we buy tends to run out fast it seems. Where $150 a week on groceries disappears, I have no clue. I know it does re-materialize on my hips and bum, but damn, the food just does not seem to last around here. So we decided that $50 a week would be our max for dining out. Either one decent meal or two cheapos . What wasn't really discussed was, does individual dining out count in this rule? Because I have run out for lunch ...

Nothing can really take away the stinging disappointment of a bad meal. Particularly when you're starving, you're craving the hell out of one particular thing, you open your mind (and wallet) up to a new place, and it totally lets you down. On Friday I was jonesing for some pizza, as it's been months since I've had it. Scott and I headed over to our old hood of East Nashville to Pizza Real, as did everyone else on that side of town. They put Greek yogurt-based cheese called labne on their pizzas and it is magnificent dairy beyond belief. So we were in for quite a wait so we headed for over the river to Da Vincis , where they do a great cornmeal-dusted crust. On the way, we spotted a new place right across from LP Field called Nashville's Most Wanted Pizza. A bit of a misnomer, I should say. The first clear sign of "Run, Run!" was the cheap Dollar Store jar candle of Cherry Blossom Vanilla (label still on) foulness burning in the center of the table and ...

Last night we went for a night out theme - Indian! I've longed to check out the latest Wes Anderson film "The Darjeeling Limited" for-evah now and so finally I grabbed the chance. So, with that on our agenda, we stopped in to Sitar for a pre-movie nosh. I had curry to do something at home, but when it came down to it, I wanted the whole deal - the little dishes of tamarind sauce, mango chutney, mint chutney, pickled onion relish, the raita, and the naan. And papaddums. And naan. And a mango lassi. So, no one does all that better here in Nashville than Sitar. I think that due to the closing of another nearby Indian restaurant, Sitar has a new surge of patrons, as the waitstaff was on fire and zooming around like madmen during our visit. Nearly every table was filled, and service was a little slow, but it was worth the wait once the food started coming. My sweet lord, the vegetable samosas were deeeeelish, and my tandori chicken and spinach saag hit the spot. I don't ea...

So I couldn't resist... While at work *sheepish shrug* I found this essay I had to post from Morning Edition. Now I know what taste sensation I like the best!

Laziness and my job have prevented me from posting in a while, but now I am back with food tidbits from Boston and beyond. Our trip to see friend Tony in Baaaaston was a real treat in more ways than one. I have declared Beantown my new favorite East Coast city! Scott can detail the food adventures of Boston, from the lobster roll to the tasty Italian fare and gelato we gobbled up in the North End. Let me just say that Clam "Chowdah" and Lobster Ravioli, plus a few rounds at an Irish pub while watching the World Series, equals a great time! I have to mention that tonight Scott and I made this dish from a cookbook I purchased recently at the motherstore of all things random, T.J. Maxx. It was tasty, but as the recipe clearly states, it's a great tapas-type food, not so much a meal. I made rice to supplement, as with Scott at the table, it's smart to have reserves on hand. ;-) I really love cilantro and sweet Thai chili sauce, and I added mung bean sprouts as a crunchy ...