charlotteann

Hey gang. Times are tough and I know you’re sick of hearing about it. But there are relatively healthy solutions out there for those of us enjoying funemployment and/or trying to make it as an artist. Even if they aren’t very healthy you can at least feel comforted by them. Take for example the humble yet satisfying grilled cheese sandwich.

Grilled cheese sandwich with swiss and goat cheese

The grilled cheese is not only really easy to make, but you can also put whatever is in your fridge cheese-wise on it and it will all melt together in harmony. Some people like to put green things in their grilled cheese sandwiches (I did last May) but I am finding myself less inclined to do so. I think this is because I am actually using my salad spinner and eating actual salad! I hope my mom is reading this…

Just cheese

Then of course we have noodle soup. As much as I love it, instant ramen takes a toll on your system. I know I shouldn’t use the spice packet, but I do and love every salty, chemical-ridden bit of it. So as I as trying to pick out the least horrible of the instants today at the store, I noticed some fresh noodles in the refrigerated section.

Cheap noodles!

(more…)

Hey everyone. Sorry I have been so totally absent. It seems all my latest posts are apologetic on this very subject. The culprit is money - I am (somewhat successfully) cutting costs by not paying for internet access in my new apartment. It’s just me and the cat these days in a small studio and I have enough to do for school, work, and el gato to keep me busy without the ever distracting internet. I miss hulu sometimes but there are enough internet cafés around here to meet any actual demand I may have for the world wide web. Like blogging.

My new kitchen is much bigger than the old one and I am very happy report that it receives glorious light all day, starting (and waking me up) around 9:00 AM. As we approach summer I will no doubt be purchasing a quality eye mask and photographing my daytime meals with increased frequency. Like this sandwich:

My new favorite grocery store is Rainbow Grocery in the Mission/SoMa grey area. Everything is vegetarian (including the instant soup mixes … what dedication!) and retailed with a conscious (organic, local, and sustainable as much as possible). Their bulk section is a wonderland of compartmentalized goods and puts any Whole Foods to shame both in terms of variety and organization. I can NEVER find a pen in Whole Foods. Ever. Plus the guys who work are Rainbow are way cuter.

‘Til next time…

I promise I have been eating soup every day, but there hasn’t been much variety. A friend and I tried to make some peanut curry soup the other night, a recipe I found in Mollie Katzen’s The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest. She went to my school, you know. Anyway, it’s a vegetarian cook book and we agreed that the soup could have used some delicious chicken protein. The fried banana topping was probably the best part of the soup, which I have yet to photograph (it’s still sitting in some tupperware in the fridge). Aside from the peanut curry, I’ve been eating mostly ramen with various add-ons, like tofu, cilantro, scallions, Sriracha sauce, and mushrooms to help spice things up. Even without such relish I would still love that ramen, and at $0.39 a pop I can’t really complain.

San Francisco’s Tenderloin borders/engulfs/fades into Little Saigon, home to several banh mi shops, pho houses, and hole-in-the-wall markets. The quality and price of produce varies amongst these stores, but I’m usually looking for weird sauces and noodles. I picked up some tom yum soup paste a few weeks ago and while it’s extremely high in sodium, it really does taste like the stuff you’d get at a Thai restaurant. All the galanga, lemongrass, and whatever else is in there is all condensed into a brick red paste that smells faintly of shrimp (also in there). I added tofu, mushrooms, scallions, and cilantro. Before this challenge is over I plan to attempt to make my own tom yum, but probably not until I run out of ramen.

I also made a grilled cheese sandwich (possibly my next 30 day challenge…)

So I flew from San Francisco to Long Beach, then took a red eye flight to Boston yesterday and/or today. Even though it took the check-in guy and I some time to sort out how I could avoid paying $50 for my overweight bag, I still like jetBlue - they actually have free snacks. Alas, I have no pictures of those blue potato chips or the animal crackers because I was asleep when they were handing them out. But before I got on my plane to Long Beach, I hit up the Firewood Grill café near gate 12 in the international terminal at SFO. Not the one you see immediately after security, mind you. This was that perfectly fine airport bar & restaurant’s loser little brother. All of their pre-made sandwiches (prices unmarked) had tomatoes, the service was pretty slow, and my Italian sausage sandwich looked like this:

I know what you’re thinking. Well, maybe not exactly, but it’s something like, “Gee, who orders a fatty, greasy sandwich before a long flight?” or “Duh, airport food sucks!” You’re right about the first thing. However, I have had some totally decent airport grub after I got over how much it cost. Not at the Firewood Grill. You know what else sucked about the Firewood Grill? It took a long time because they botched my order. Not cool in an airport, dudes. Also, what’s up with that hexagon to-go container? I’d never bring that thing on an airplane. Maybe I am a little cranky because it’s raining over here in New England and the A’s lost to the Red Sox, but step it up little Firewood Grill brother! Even though we jetBluers have free snacks we always appreciate a real meal before flying.

On Wednesday I went down to San Francisco’s Mission District to participate in the second annual Peanut Butter Plan hosted (I think?) by McSweeney’s Publishing, founded by Dave Eggers. I met him once in Hartford. He signed my copy of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius that I have since misplaced. The nice folks at McSweeney’s (tucked away behind the Little Otsu store) recently started a monthly peanut butter and jelly sandwich party. I gathered that their primary goal is to feed the hungry, but the whole situation builds community as well. I chatted with my neighbors at one of two long tables, and on my way home I handed out a couple of sandwiches. Although I seriously doubt I’ll see those gentlemen again, it really did make me feel slightly more connected to, well, you know… my community. My friend and I were also interviewed by a guy with a camera, we’ll see if I end up on YouTube (finally!). More parties are intended for the first of each month, so stay tuned and maybe I’ll see you there in August.

Mmmm, take-out. Convenience is tasty, especially if you pick the right place. I have a few standbys here in San Francisco’s Tenderloin/Tendernob neighborhood I inhabit, including Milan Pizza and Chutney. Admittedly, I haven’t explored too much: I’m cheap. Sue me. But because it’s Tuesday (the day of the week best suited to go with the words “take out”) and I am avoiding groceries in light of my upcoming trip to the East coast in a week I walked a block up to Eden’s Mediterranean Turkish and Greek Restaurant for a chicken gyro.
I have to say it was absolutely delicious. Ready in 3 minutes and only $6.00. Convenient? Check. Cheap? Check. Lots of yummy dressing but not enough to make the lavash fall apart, crunchy veggies (normally there are raw tomatoes, but I hate those stupid things), and fabulously marinated, moist chicken. Two noms up!

It may be apparent from my search for the best galette jambon fromage, but I’ll tell you again: I love ham and cheese. I like them separately and I like them together. Today I made a sandwich, using emmenthal swiss, Black Forest ham, sprouted sour dough bread, and dijon mustard. Mustard used to make me cringe but it turns out to be a fine addition to any sandwich. Well, maybe not a meatball sub but I don’t eat such things.

I feel compelled to blog a bit about Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.” I just finished the first section, which is basically about corn, in a couple days. Such speed and interest mean a lot to me because I normally suck at reading books. Sure, I can read quickly because I’m smart like that, but I can’t seem to finish them (if I can even start one). It’s a good book - I’m hooked on it like America is hooked on high fructose corn syrup - and plan on reading Pollan’s other books as soon as I (hopefully) finish this one. I also plan on avoiding corn-fed beef because the chapter about the sick cows in their poopy factories had me in tears. Not enough tears to become a vegetarian, but enough to always eat the joyfully rumenating cows, like this one!

Do you go to the gym? I do and boy does that elliptical machine kick my butt. Well, only if I let it. Hunger invariably sets in after a good ol’ sweatfest and today I made a grilled cheese to show that hunger who’s boss. That, and there’s been a loaf of bread sitting in my fridge for at least a week and thought it might be time to use it. There’s a lot to be said for the grilled cheese sandwich: it’s easy, fast, and oh so comforting. I use my 10″ Calphalon crepe pan to get the perfect crunch on my sandwich bread. The pan handles sizzling butter exceptionally well, as it darn well should being designed for crepes and all.