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Name That Soul Food!

YumSugar — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:30:58 -0700

With the Fourth of July fast approaching, I've been in the mindset of paying homage to my favorite American foods. But as much as I love our country's biggest icons - like hot dogs and hamburgers - there's one genre of American cuisine that can't go overlooked, and that's soul food. This month is National Soul Food Month, so I thought I'd test your knowledge of traditional African-American Southern cuisine. How good are you at spotting supper with soul? Find out when you take our quiz.

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Food Section Sampler - May 13, 2009

YumSugar — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:50:34 -0700

El Bulli's Ferran Adrià is studying the art of pizza making in hopes to open a pizzeria in Barcelona. - Los Angeles Times
New York City has become a hotbed for cook-off challenges. - New York Times
Soave, the once ubiquitous Italian white, is working hard to make a comeback. - Wall Street Journal
How to get the most out of shopping at the farmers market. - Chicago Tribune
Strawberry-rhubarb chicken is a seasonal twist on the classic sweet-and-sour chicken. - Washington Post
Boston's African-American communities are paving the way for a new class of healthy, sustainable soul food. - Boston Globe

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An Evening with Bittman's Jambalaya

YumSugar — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:00:32 -0700

A few weeks ago, I met my friend April for a birthday dinner at Farmer Brown in San Francisco. They're known for down-home style soul food and a festive atmosphere - seriously, it's like going to a party at someone's house. Neither April nor I ordered the jambalaya, but another friend did, and we both ended up having food envy.We thought about planning another trip out but figured it would be more fun to make it ourselves. So I pulled out my trusty copy of Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, rounded up my ingredients, and made a delicious feast. To see how you can do it at home - it's really simple, but does take a bit of time and planning - read more.

Note: My friend has a self-proclaimed "wimp" tolerance for spice. To spice yours up, add some jalapenos, habaneros, or other type of pepper.

Shrimp Jambalaya
From How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups sliced onions
2 cups diced bell peppers, preferably red or yellow [I used one red and one yellow]
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 cups chicken, beef, vegetable, or shrimp stock or water
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes (canned are fine; drain first)
2 cups long-grain rice
2 pounds shrimp, peeled (and deveined, if you like), and cut into pieces if very large
minced fresh parsley or cilantro for garnish

Directions

Place the olive oil in a medium-to-large casserole or dutch oven [I used a large, deep sauté pan] and turn the heat to medium high.
Add the onions and bell pepper, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and just begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, warm the stock in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Stir in the garlic, cayenne, and thyme, and stir for about 30 seconds.
Add the tomatoes, and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to break up.
Stir in the rice, then the stock. Bring to a boil, turn the heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and the liquid just about absorbed, 20 to 30 minutes. [I ended up adding some of the drained off tomato liquid, as the rice wasn't quite cooked fully and the liquid was nearly gone.]
Add the shrimp and stir. Cook 2 or 3 minutes, then raise the heat if necessary to cook off the remaining liquid.
Garnish and serve.

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A Little Soul Food

partysugar — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 03:36:27 -0800

As we all know, today is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. What you may not know is that Dr. King was a true fan of good old fashioned authentic southern food. Born in Alabama in 1929, Dr. King was raised eating the African-American food of the south, commonly called Soul Food and his favorite food was fried pig's ears sandwiches. Usually I would encourage you to make this dish in honor of him and his accomplishments, but I doubt any of us will be frying up pig's ears today. Instead, I suggest we make another of his soul food fave, smothered pork chops. For the recipe, read more

Smothered Pork Chops
From The Gutsy Gourmet

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups rich beef broth
Pinch Sage leaves, crumbled
6 thick loin pork chops
1 cup flour for dredging
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup lard
3 large onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup celery, minced

In a small saucepan melt butter over medium-high heat, stir in the 2 tablespoons flour, and cook, stirring constantly with a wire whisk, until lightly browned.
Stir in broth and sage, mix well, remove from heat, and set aside. This mixture will be the sauce.
Add salt and pepper to the 1 cup flour; dredge chops in the mixture.
In a large, heavy skillet heat 1/4 cup of the lard over medium- high heat. Add chops and cook until they are browned.
Move browned chops to a large, oven casserole with a cover.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Melt the remaining lard in skillet over high heat.
Add onions, garlic, and celery; lower heat to
medium, and cook, stirring frequently to avoid burning, until onions are golden (about 8 to 10 minutes).
Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon and place over chops in the casserole.
Pour off all lard from the skillet. Add reserved sauce, raise heat to high, bring to a boil, and cook for 1 minute, stirring vigorously and scraping the bottom of the skillet.
Pour sauce over chops in casserole, cover, and bake for 30 minutes.
Serve with mashed potatoes.

Serves 6.

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Yummy Links: From German Beer to Pabst Blue Ribbon

partysugar — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 06:50:51 -0700

What you should know about German beer. - Chow
On Chez Pim's cookbook: What really is a foodie? - Eat Me Daily
Meet the revuelto, Spain's answer to scrambled eggs, but with more veggies and less eggs.- The Atlantic
The movie Julie & Julia doesn't translate well with the French.- The New York Times
There's nothing more simply delicious than spaghetti alla carbonara. - Serious Eats
Soul Food Farm recently experienced a crippling fire. Here's how you can help. - Eater SF
Reusable produce bags get rid of the need for plastic. - The Epi-Log
More and more hipsters are drinking PBR. - Grub Street

Source: Flickr User soylentgreen23

Alanis Morissette Marathoning For Eating Disorders

FitSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Many celebs have laced up their sneaks and finished marathons, including Will Ferrell, Mario Lopez, Oprah, David Lee Roth, and Katie Holmes. Now you can add Alanis Morissette to that list. She's planning on running this Sunday, Oct. 11, in the Bizz Johnson Trail Marathon, in Lassen National Forest in northern California.

Alanis is running to raise money for the National Eating Disorders Association, since she knows firsthand what it feels like to struggle with anorexia and bulimia. Alanis began running about a year ago after seeing her assistant Leah running "like a gazelle" while on tour. This singer-songwriter feels that running this marathon is allowing her to use her body as an instrument and raise awareness about an important and personal issue. She knew she couldn't get through the many hours of grueling training unless there was a higher purpose and explains, "I wanted to offer this run to anyone who has had a fraught relationship with their food, their body and their heart and soul."

To find out if training triggered unhealthy eating disorder behaviors, read more.

Alanis said that marathon training did trigger some eating disorder type behaviors, but she knew there was no way she could undereat and maintain the high level of energy needed in order to run. So training for this marathon actually helped her find balance in how she fueled herself. This amazing singer was also aware of not exercising obsessively. She has an order of priorities now: Sleep first. Food second. Run third. Alanis said, "I don't have the first two nailed, I can't run. So it incentivized me to nurture the first two. When I run healthfully I feel empowered and kind. When I run obsessively I feel nervous, stressed out and disassociated."

Have any of you ever walked, biked, or run for a cause? Tell me about it in the comment section below.

LeeLee Sobieski's Laid Back Pregnancy

FitSugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:30:07 -0700

Here's a twist on pregnancy cravings: LeeLee Sobieski is eating less, not more, ice cream now that she's sporting a baby bump. The young actress, most recently seen alongside Johnny Depp in Public Enemies, tells Us magazine that she's craving stomach-soothing ginger and kid-friendly comfort foods like macaroni and cheese.

Though soul-satisfying, comfort foods are not known for their health benefits. To keep healthy while chowing down, Sobieski still meets with her personal trainer and also takes "nice long walks along the Hudson River." More than anything she's choosing to lay low during her pregnancy by staying relaxed and enjoying the feeling of being "so in love."

I love celebrities who stay uber-fit when pregnant, but I think Sobieski's idea of laying back creates a nice balance of fitness and wellness. And let's face it, there's no better reason than pregnancy to give into cravings like macaroni and cheese!

The Harsh Truth About Craigslist Missed Connections

TresSugar — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Have you ever spied your dream lover in the frozen food section of Trader Joe's but were too shy to start a conversation or flirt? Maybe you were moved to post a prose poem on Craigslist's oddball "Missed Connections" section, writing to that person in the hopes that they would read your true feelings, remember who the hell you were, and contact you.

Still don't understand what Missed Connections is? Here's what the superharsh Craigslist genie has to say about it: "If you’re too much of a mush-butt to approach a person in the real world, you post an ad on Craigslist hoping that person is a pathetic loser who goes on to Craigslist and searches for losers who are searching for him.” Ouch!

There’s much to recommend this video, but just when you think the hilarity is done with, the real comedy comes in. This poor, shy soul's cat starts dissing her, calling her a “cat lady” and asking why she wears such long skirts. Sigh. Maybe this is what cats are all really thinking when they sit there and stare at us!

What's Prison Like? 8 Tips For White Collar Criminals

CitizenSugar — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:30:59 -0700

The New York Post reports Bernie Madoff's niece Shana, a compliance officer at his infamous firm, "signed a lot of documents" during her tenure. The possible convicté has been asking around the streets of Manhattan's downtown as to what, exactly, is prison like.

Good question! She's summoned Larry Levine, founder of Wall Street Prison Consultants and former inmate #587,1635, to take his fedtime 101 crash course for the one-time price of $999 (call now!). Learn more at his website that asks "Going from the exchange floor to the prison yard?" Maybe, Larry, it may be.

Since not every white collar criminal can afford (some aren't very good) top-notch services, I thought I'd round up the Internet's best tips on what to expect when you're serving time. Ready? You will be.

Order magazines subscriptions: There's no Internet in jail, if WikiHow can be believed. If you self-surrender, you'll have time to order them beforehand.
Go to the dentist! While dental care is offered in prison, you do not want it.
Lose the nostalgia: Focus on your prison life, not on the outside world. Get involved!
Talk the talk: Levine is the process of penning a prison-slang dictionary. He recommends Shana learn words like "kiester," a verb meaning "to smuggle something like cigarettes or batteries using your back end."

To see the rest, read more.

Get new glasses: The choice of frames are awful in prison.
Don't believe appearances: White-collar jail may not look like the stark barbwire colonies of high-security prisons, but the game is the same. Expect loss of privacy, cavity searches, standing in line outside for 90 or so minutes (weather not permitting), and food that makes your college cafeteria look like three Michelin stars.
Emotions: Don't express them! Guards and other inmates prey on emotions. If they know what angers you, they will manipulate you; if they know what makes you happy, they will take it away.
Get a good prison book! There are many out there; consider Chicken Soup For the Prisoner's Soul.

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What Not to Do in an Interview: Part IV

SavvySugar — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 07:15:22 -0700

As companies shed more jobs and hire fewer new employees, having an impressive resume and perfectly polished interview skills are crucial.

Over the past couple weeks, we've been covering some of the biggest interview faux pas you may not even realize you're committing. To see my next tip, read more.

Don't discount the "Why do you want this job?" question.
Many of you have mentioned this as one of your least favorite interview questions; unfortunately, it's also a favorite of self-made billionaires! Since on the surface, this question seems like a no-brainer - what's the main reason any of us want a job? To pay the bills! - your response might come off as perfunctory. But do yourself and the interviewer a favor, and don't write this question off just yet.

In interview-speak, "Why do you want this job?" really means "What’s in it for you?" Your interviewer's not asking why you want a job - she's wondering why, of all the postings on Craigslist, you're interested in this job. And whether you're looking to further your career or just trying to pick up a hostess job to make ends meet, there's got to be something about the job that appeals to you: Will it allow you to take your career in a new direction? Do you love being around people or have a knack for food and wine pairings?

By thinking this question through in advance and giving your interviewer an honest (but not too honest) response, you’ll be starting your interview off on the right foot and setting yourself apart from the poor souls who actually answer, "Uh, I need some extra income and you were hiring?" (it happens, believe it or not).

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