Posts from the ‘Weekend links’ Category

Weekend links, November 19

Eugene, Monday evening.

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted links! I’m sorry to have left you in the dark, sad and alone with nothing interesting to look at on the internet.

First, a few of my essays/articles have been posted in various places recently, and I’ve put up a new page to keep track of a good selection of them. See it here: Writings and Publications. There’s a permanent link to the page on the menu bar above. Also – if you know of other publications that might be interested in essays, articles, or original recipes, particularly those related to travel, let me know! I’d love to start working with some new publications while we’re traveling.

Hey look, Mark Bittman gets behind on his link postings, too. Lots of good ones in his most recent, here.

And about a month ago, he also redesigned the nutrition label. Make sure to also read the accompanying article.

Why eat some animals over others? I think about this a lot, actually.

A few months back, I was incredibly intrigued by this campus debate whether to slaughter and eat the college’s retired oxen (that sentence might sound strange, but read the article and it will make sense). It was an amazing and incredibly important discussion about sustainability education and sustainable food systems. Here’s an update from the New York Times on what happened.

Steaks are only 15% of the animal, so why do they comprise far more than 15% of our meat consumption? An important look at nose-to-tail eating. (Side note: when I was in grad school we bought buffalo from this family for special occasion dinners – it was delicious!)

I’ve been eating lots of oatmeal over the past few months, and my new favorite obsession is oat bran (like cream of wheat and oats had a delicious, oaty baby). What is oat bran, you say? And how’s that different from steel cut oats? What the heck are groats and are they as cute as baby goats? All you needed to know about oats, and more.

Apples, apples, everywhere! If you need to know what else to do with all your apples, here’s a handy flow chart that helps you match the apple type to the application.

I’ve been dreaming about this salted caramel ding dong cake for about two months now, and I really just need to make it and move on. Except that in less than one week I will be in South America and Asia for four months. WHOOPS. See you in April, cake.

I finally, finally got around to reading Tamar Adler’s incredible book, and immediately combed the internet for everything else I could find of hers to read. This piece in particular makes me consider getting a kitchen job when we settle again next fall.

My good friend Jessie recently started an excellent wholesale gluten-free bakery here in Eugene, and sells at a variety of grocery stores and coffee shops. She’s about to expand north to places between Eugene and Portland, and for everyone else it’s all available by mail order. Everything is super delicious, whether you can eat gluten or not!

Wal-Mart is now curating monthly mail-order gourmet food packages. (Um. I am … perplexed? Curious? Skeptical?)

Using algorithms to predict how much people will like recipes.

My travel site we’ve been using regularly recently wrote about 11 traditional breakfasts around the world. Can’t wait to see what kind of breakfasts we see over the next four months! (And I hope to god we get that one from Colombia while we’re there. That looks amazing.)

And on that note, we’re leaving one week from today for our fist four months abroad. This is: exciting, stressful, terrifying, liberating, etc. I’m not sure exactly what this space will look like from next Monday until we return in April, but stay tuned and we’ll all figure it out together!

Weekend (or Thursday) links, Oct. 4

Artichokes, Marché Jean-Talon, Montreal. 

It’s getting a bit more difficult for me to keep up with blogs while we’re traveling, but here are some long-overdue links to keep your own reading lists full.

First, I’ve started contributing pieces to two of my favorite online publications: The Farmer General, and The Billfold. Woo hoo! You can find my first two Farmer General pieces here and here, and my first Billfold piece here. I’m excited for more to come (as soon as I can find time to write them … ).

As corn prices rise (and oh boy, do they ever, thanks to this massive drought most of the country is currently still experiencing), so do feed prices. But why don’t farmers just feed their animals old restaurant scraps and such?

I really missed not seeing this hilariously amazing part of the LA County Fair this year (though the MN State Fair still dominates, on all other scales).

The term “culinary soldiers” made me snort, more than a little, but it’s still interesting how chefs can play a role in American diplomacy.

To-do list upon returning to real life, after this year: 1. Find a job as a tech company chef.

Ohhhhhh, climate change. You better watch yourself. Do not mess with me, and do not mess with my Oregon pinot.

Wild rice! I eat lots of this stuff (1, 2, etc.), and always (ALWAYS) from MN. (Also: Wild rice krispy bars. WILD RICE KRISPY BARS. Mind is blown.)

Photographs of literature’s famous meals.

Guess who’s definitely going to eat this stuff in a few months? Me, in Argentina!

We’ve been eating lots of fried eggs on this trip, and I can’t wait to try them with the addition of sizzling vinegar.

‘Tis apple cider season. Reduce, reduce, reduce! And then use in savory things.

Last, but definitely not least: looking for a new apple pie recipe? Maybe you should put some pork in it. (WHOA.)

Weekend(ish) links, August 3

First Seattle dinner at Delancey.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a links post. Sorry! While we’re travelling I’ll still try to do one once a month or so (and someday maybe I’ll make the title a little more appropriate), but for now you’ll just get an extra-big one every once in a while. Here you go!

A German community garden that’s placed on otherwise unused land and moves indoors every winter (let that last part set in for a second, then go see how they do it).

How to cook with what you have lying around – love this concept for a cooking class, and can’t wait to read her book (currently stashed under our trunk for reading later this trip).

What temp to use if the recipe doesn’t say? Well, it’s complicated, but this should help. (I pretty much always use 350 for baking, 425 for roasting, 300 for braising.)

A great overview of kitchen knives and how to use them.

And how sharp they really should be.

Photos of what you can buy in various countries on a per-day poverty line budget. (NPR article about the project here.)

A beautiful photo/video project engaging folks around the world with shared meals, the “universal language.”

NASA’s already figuring out how to feed astronauts (i.e. how to feed people good food that stays good in a spaceship for 3+ years) on a planned 2030s Mars mission.

Olympic diets, and how Olympians use food for better performance.

Bhutan goes organic, for happiness (I love Bhutan like crazy, by the way – any country that values happiness in their policy-making is valued highly by me).

Should your hot dogs be a little boring these days (whose aren’t, really), these ridiculous (but delicious-sounding) topping ideas should help.

Sweet pesto is a fascinating concept (just need to find an alternative to almonds, for me).

Another great Gilt Taste guide: making the best lemonade.

And last but not least, this really, really, really important thing about how to make Chick-Fil-A at home.