Taking the Test -- Omnivore's 100

This has been around for awhile, but I have been wanting to submit my answers and see how truly well fed I have been... This is, of course, courtesy of the Very Good Taste blog.

Instructions:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold(or italicize) all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.


The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martin
i58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict

83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
(PS. The list has generated a lot of questions, so I’ve created an FAQ for it over here!)

I heart my CSA basket

We are so lucky in Seattle to have a large year-round public market and an above average community relationship with local growers. At our house, we have been members of a Community Supported Agriculture program from several local farms over the years. This year, we are receiving produce (on Wednesdays for 22 weeks) from Tiny's Organics in Wenatchee, Washington.

Participating in a CSA has done several things for us. First, it has taught us about so many different foods that we didn't know about or how to prepare and has widened our horizons in a big way. As we are both from the northern to central "midwest" we were pretty familiar with the starch and meat equation but not with the tremendous variety. I had no idea what sorrel or mizuna was four years ago. Secondly, it has taught us to value fresh, local ingredients. Chef Beef's father is a farmer in Ohio, so we have mixed feelings about swearing allegiance to the organic movement, however, we believe heavily in the local food movement for the simple facts that it supports the local economy and tastes a lot better.

Thirdly, it has vastly increased our vegetable consumption (which was not terrible before). There was a time when Chef Beef could not have imagined eating only vegetables for dinner. This year's basket is also relatively fruit heavy. I have no talent for canning or preserving, but I have pawned off an awful lot of fruit crisp this summer from pluot crisp to apple crisp.

Pike Place market itself provides produce throughout the year in addition to local butchers, cheese crafters, arts, dairies, food vendors and flowers...(for the decoration-ally challenged).

Weekly Lunch Splurge -- Steelhead Diner

Lest you worry that I will only be a one note blogger, I introduce a new feature: Weekly Lunch Splurge. I will tell confess where I ate a brilliant lunch this week as opposed to a smushy sandwich from the cafeteria upstairs or questionable noodles from up the street.

Given my love of weird food, odd combinations, and utter devotion to carbohydrates despite their relatively unfashionable reputation, the Steelhead Diner in Pike's Place Market is the place to eat lunch.

Typically I try to be somewhat budget conscious during the week, but when I want to spend $25+ on lunch (which I do maybe once a week) I try to do it somewhere fun and different. Yesterday, I sampled the heirloom tomato/pesto/and hand pulled mozzarella (from neighboring partner Beecher's cheese) and a side of potato latkes. First, its amazing you can get a side of potato latkes because they are not exactly common Seattle restaurant fare. It was a great lunch and accompanied by a cold glass of blackberry lemonade. I don't know what was up with the pineapples. They were everywhere.

I highly recommend getting in on the heirloom tomato crop while they are fresh. Spend the extra money and eat them fresh...you'll see tomatoes in a new light.

Nostalgia and Meatballs

Once upon a time, in college, I didn't eat meat. I just didn't like the taste of it. But when I finally started back on it, this recipe became one of my favorites.

These old fashioned meatballs were one of my grandmother's specialties even though we are sadly not even a little bit Italian. Combined with a quick Marinara and some pasta, I cannot think of many better meals. Hand me a restaurant meatball and I will likely hand it right back to you. The simple original Meatball recipe consists of...

3/4 lb ground beef

1/4 lb ground pork

1 cup fine breadcrumbs

1/2 cup milk

1 T fresh parsley

2 cloves garlic

2 eggs

1/2 c grated parmesan

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Gently combine all and shape into 1-2 inch balls. Saute in olive oil until well browned.

Chef Beef went to the store and found they were out of ground pork. We substituted some mild italian sausage and it might have been a little overseasoned in the end, but still quite delicious. It was served with my own Marinara:

1 white onion

2 cloves of garlic diced

(saute these in olive oil for about 2 minutes)

1 large can Muir Glenn chunky tomato sauce
1 T fresh basil

1 T fresh parsley

6 fresh tomatoes diced

1 medium pinch salt

10 twists pepper

2 T (generous pour) of mid grade balsalmic vinegar.

(simmer till thickened)

We used whole wheat fettucini which held up almost too well for the sauce. CB also made some garlic cheese toast under the broiler with a baugette he found, parmesan, and garlic butter.

The following evening, CB built big grinders with the leftover baguette, meatballs, and sauce. Normally, we are not leftover superstars (we have removed our microwave from the kitchen), but this time we triumphed. And continued to dream of being Italian.

Fresh Ground Burger Craze

Because I cannot pass up a bandwagon when it comes to cooking, we successfully tried the fresh ground beef craze about a month ago. The Food Network tends to be my default channel when there is nothing on (and that is often) so I have watched numerous celeb chefs recently demonstrate the technique with grinders and processors and wholeheartedly extol its virtues.

Almost 2 years ago, we bought a 1/4 of a cow, thinking it would be an economical way to satisfy our beef intake. (If you didn't know, 1/4 of a cow fits into a top freezer and can be ordered from your butcher cut in a variety of ways to fit your lifestyle.) So we ate the hamburger. And we ate the steaks. Then we ate the stew meat. And then there were roasts. Big roasts, small roasts, pot roasts, arm roasts, rib roasts...you get the picture. Though when pressed, I can make a roast, its not my favorite food.

Maybe, we thought, those roasts would be better served as part of a burger. An arm roast worked well for this venture, combined with a lonely chuck steak for a little higher fat content on the grill. We found that small batches of cubed meat in the Cuisinart pulsed about 12 times (a longer pulse than you'd use for crumbs) worked really well. Make sure you get picky and cut out all the connective tissue because its just not fun to bite into. The fries on the side of the picture are parmesan oven fries done with Yukon Gold potatoes. For minimal effort, not only can you have better control of your ground beef, but you can use up those roasts you might have stashed in the freezer but really should use. Overall, it was a success and a technique I was hesitant to try, but now fully endorse.