palate cleanser

a palate cleanser is generally considered any food effective in its ability to minimize the carry-over taste from one food to the next. the following have been suggested:
-Plain crackers.
-Raw carrots.
-A glass of icy sparkling water may often be appropriate.
-A light citrus flavored aperitif can do the trick. Keep the drink minimally sweet.
-Lotus or other herb teas are sometimes served between courses to soothe the tongue and slow the pace of the meal.
-If sorbet is served, there are many remarkable delights available. Try sorbets like apple and wasabi, lime and basil, or grapefruit and mint. These are typically not sickeningly sweet or cloying.
-A plain salad made up of ingredients like celery, parsley, mint, with a mild vinaigrette will do the trick.
-Plain herbs like parsley, marjoram, mint, or watercress will perform admirably as flavor neutralizers.

writing this blog for school has been a thirteen week foodanddrink-fest without a single palate cleanser. its a wonder i have a taste bud left. i am offering all of you gluttons who feel their gustatory senses have been raped by my incessant food and drink a bit of a respite for your overwhelmed taste buds. i leave you with this summer theme song, and these words of advice..."JUST EAT IT!"

notes from a wineaholic/absinthe

also know as "the green fairy" absinthe is the bohemian bad-boy of liquors. made popular during the late 19th early 20th century by nontraditional, marginalized artists, writers, musicians and actors of the unorthodox and anti-establishment set, it was portrayed as dangerously addictive due to the fact that it contained a psychoactive chemical called thujone. By 1915 absinthe had been banned in the United States and in most European countries except the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire; but was revived in the 1990s. when i was in Portugal about 7 years ago i brought back a bottle in my luggage because it was practically impossible to get here in the U.S. that was a great trip, Portugal. two weeks of an amazing amount of partying. the first week we would go out at 11pm and not leave the dance clubs 'til about 9 in the morning. head to the beach to sleep it off, recuperate and start all over again. the second week i punked out and slept on a float in the pool most of the time. i stayed with my friend Marita at her mom's house and it was just a great time. Mari's grandmother, grandfather and aunt came to visit while we were there and her grandmother made the most amazing paella ever. Mari's mom got a little twisted 'cause she thought we were a little out of control and she tried to punish us one day by forcing us to go shopping really early one morning at the Portuguese version of Costco. well, we were still giddy with liquor and what have you, probably had just gotten in when she dragged our asses out of the house, and we made complete idiots out of ourselves in the store by making fun of things and laughing like freaks, practically rolling on the floors while Mari's mom looked on and couldn't wait to get us out of there. she probably regretted that decision for sure. that was a great trip.
this song by Madison Avenue was the soundtrack for those two weeks:
"DON'T CALL ME BABY"

no rhyme or reason

there once was a man named Tomas
in school he was busting his ass
he studied all day
and never would play
in hopes that good grades he'd amass.

his prof in tech class did declare
"extra points for a blog, if you dare"
Tom waxed gastronomic
all he could stomach
and with flair brought to bear quite a fare.

that technology class Tom was taking
was stressing his will to the breaking
one day while amok,
he said, "what the fuck!"
and stopped all attempts at sense making.

Tom now blogs every day from his cell
which they've padded until he gets well
he drinks to excess
but still cannot suppress
all attempts to excel and rebel.

cotton candy

also known whimsically as fairy floss, cotton candy is an amazing food. it is nothing but sugar and food coloring heated in the central compartment of a large tub. it solidifies as it is spun and spit out, and wrapped around a traditional paper cone. a sweet which disappears the moment it touches your tongue and leaves nothing behind but a trace of color and a sticky hand and mouth. a tenuous treat which becomes an instant memory, it seems as if you can never get enough as you indulge. an insatiable satisfaction, a gossamer conundrum, a lie on a stick, most certainly demonic. when your mother warned you about candy from strangers she was most certainly thinking about cotton candy. is it any wonder it is popular at carnivals? the beautiful lights and dizzying colors, the hawkers of illusion and the fantastic, the ethereal music and the promises of youth. alot like life. sweet and confusing, a pleasure and a frustration. beware of people that hand you cotton candy, you could get left holding a sticky cone.

DEMON FOOD

herbs

for several years now we've been keeping an herb garden on the tar beach. we grow some pretty standard things every year and then try something different each year. if it does well and we like it we add it to the annuals, if not we try something different. some of the things we grow are actually perennials which we have been able to keep going for years. for instance the chives.

THE CHIVES the plant we have this year we have had for three years now and it was just this little sprig when we started it. now it has gotten so big that last year at the end of the season we split the plant into three clumps and gave one to each of John's sisters this spring when they had started growing again. we just leave it out all winter and in the spring it comes back. in the first week of summer it grows these pretty little purple flowers that are edible and we like to toss them in salads or pasta dishes. they have a very intense oniony flavor. the thyme and the rosemary we have been able to keep from one year to the next with some success. last year our rosemary seemed to die out and we had to start with a fresh one this year though. in the spring they get these very tiny whitish flowers.

THE ROSEMARY (ALSO GETS HUGE)

THE THYME (ON THE LEFT) AND THE OREGANO (ON THE RIGHT) our thyme has come back from last year and looks like it will be doing well, right now it is in bloom with very small yellow flowers. our purple sage and oregano have also come back from last year and are doing well. i just used some of the oregano in my bolognese sauce tonite. that's one of my favorite italian sauces.

THE PURPLE SAGE


THE BASIL (doesn't look like much now but it gets HUGE) every year we also plant lots of basil with which we make tons of fresh pesto, and also use it fresh in pastas and salads. last year we tried mint for the first time and it did ok but not great. i think it was too exposed on the roof. we've tried cilantro a couple of times and cannot figure out why we have no luck with that one at all. we've done parsley a few times and this year too. our new herb this year is dill. last year we tried tomatoes and they did not really do so well. we had lots of flowers but the fruit just didn't seem to grow well and they kept splitting. maybe it was the type of tomato so this year we have two new different types to try. hopefully these will do well because there is nothing like fresh tomatoes. here's some pictures of our herbs so far.

OUR (VERY LITTLE) TOMATO PLANTS

guacamole

thank goodness i live with someone or i think these days i would just neglect to eat at all. the workload is at once decreasing and multiplying exponentially. i know it is against the laws of physics; but there it is. i am approaching the end of the semester and yes there is less to do, and yet it seems like more because the days in which to get it all done are decreasing and there is less time in which to do it. i know one of the reasons John is hating school is not just because all he ever gets to see of me is my back as i am facing the computer whenever i am home; but also because i cook less and less, which i actually love to do. tonite, as he is in the kitchen making home-made stock and preparing salmon for dinner he "whipped up" some homemade guacamole. nothin' says lovin' like a mash of avocados, with onions, and tomatoes. yes folks it is as easy as that and yet as difficult to do well. you cannot just pulverize the avocados, there must be lumps, the onions and tomatoes must not be finely minced but roughly chopped. the spices are few and simple, salt, pepper, some lemon or lime juice, and some fresh cilantro if you have it. nothing more and nothing less, and yet it turns into heaven in a molcajete (which is one of those funky mortar and pestles you sometimes see quac served in). and of course, it always reminds me of those beautiful days in puerto vallarta, watching the sunset, eating guacamole with chips and drinking excessively. one of my favorite memories of PV is being there with Shirley (who is now persona non grata) on the 12th floor above the Bay of Banderas drinking margaritas and playing canasta until we were both too drunk to know if we were cheating or not. Shirl was a fun friend who fell out of favor for reasons too sordid to name here and who's christmas card last year spent a month taped to the underside of my toilet bowl lid. what!? you never heard of santeria?! the lesson is "don't fuck with a cuban!" anyway, oh yes, guacamole. another thing we have to thank the mexicans for.

notes from a wineaholic/grappa

has anyone noticed that as i get closer to the end of this semester, there are more postings by the wineaholic? coincidence? i think not. no alcohol is safe in my apartment at this point, and i can hear clinking of bottles from the liquor cabinet as they all shiver inside in anticipation of who's going to be the next "dead soldier". that's a curious phrase which apparently has a vague, although very old origin. the most common explanation i have heard comes from World War One and is a bit of black humor. the reference to an empty bottle of liquor as a dead soldier being to the fact that the "spirits" have left the bottle. anyway, today we are talking about grappa. it is historically a specialty of northern italy, and it is the clear brandy that results when the pomace of grapes is fermented and distilled. the pomace is actually the pulpy mash of stems, seeds, and skins left over from winemaking, (another reason i love the italians-nothing goes to waste) and depending on the quality of the raw materials and the method of distillation, the final product can taste like a bomb just went off in your mouth or it can be smooth and winey. nevertheless, it will always be powerful. it is one of those liquors which inspires stories, much like tequila. personally i love grappa. especially because when a bottle of grappa comes out you know your hosts don't want you to leave anytime soon, if at all. my last day of classes this semester is in 6 days (yes i am counting it down), and the celebration on that nite, and the ensuing days (yes i like to celebrate hard), may involve some grappa, and some public nudity, and maybe sparklers. definitely grappa inspired. don't try to stop me, just offer me another drink. cheers.

notes from a wineaholic/brunello di montalcino

Brunello, "the little brown one", from montalcino, is a tuscan dialect name for sangiovese grown in montalcino, south of both Chianti and Siena. In this dryer, hotter, and more Mediterrean climate of southern Tuscany, the limestone and sand soil produce a "muscular" grape capable of making a rich, dark, concentrated red. "Tongue-curling tannins" and "firm acidity" allow these wines to age and this past weekend at John's dad's 80th birthday dinner i was lucky enough to have one from 1999, the Casanova di Neri/Cerretalto and one from 1997, the Poggio Antico, thanks to the generosity of my my brother-in-law Wayne. according to the website, winemerchant.com, which i have linked over there on the side, "As an elite wine, Brunello deserves special attention while aging and when poured. Like all great aged wines, it is often a bit hard and unsociable in its youth. However, Brunello becomes refined and harmonious with time, taking on a velvety texture."
"robust", "muscular", "tongue-curling", "hard", the hell with drinking it, i read these descriptions from that site and i wanted to fuck this wine. personally, the 1997 was better, wwwaaaaayyyy better actually, it is amazing what those two little years can do. it is also amazing that they can tell that only about 18,000 bottles of this wine were produced and they were made from the grapes on the southern slope of such and such a vineyard and were picked on such and such a date. i'm impressed by these things, too bad i can't afford to drink these wines on a regular basis. i thought it was funny that John kept going into Wayne's wine fridge and pulling out one bottle after the other. what did we know?, we're neophyte oenophiles.
well if you get the chance i would definitely go for the Poggio Antico '97. maybe on account at a business dinner or something.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. C!!! %^*


SIRLOINS FRESH OFF THE BBQ


THE HUNGRY CROWD AT THE CHEESE PLATTER


THE '99 Casanova di Neri


THE '97 Poggio Antico...totally fuckable!

things that make you go hmmm....

my friend Florence sent me all the information below. i am offering it here for your consideration. i am remimded that Freud is quoted as having said, "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar".


A sliced carrot looks like the human eye .The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.


A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers.
All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.


Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.


A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.


Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.


Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.


Eggplant, Avocados and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).


Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm as well as help overcome male sterility.


Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.


Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.


Grapefruits, Oranges, and most Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.


Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

faves in the hood - diner

diners are great. breakfast, lunch or dinner, anytime of the day or nite. i like to visit local diners whenever i travel because i feel like you can really get a sense of the people who live there. my favorite neighborhood diner is Gracie's Diner on the corner of first avenue and 86th street. you can tell that it has been there for a gazillion years and that all the little old people of the nabe probably lived there when it first opened up, and they all still go there and have the same exact things they've been having forever. the waiters all know them, and they don't even have to ask for what they want because they know already. when i was in Ohio last week i went to a Perkins, which is apparently a chain but probably as close to a diner as you will get in London, Ohio. anyway, this old woman came in and as she was sliding into the bench a waiter walked by and said, "Water with lemon Miss Marie?", and you know that the waiter has been seeing her come in for years and she feels comfortable there and has probably been having the same exact dishes forever too. that's why i love the Gracie Diner. you get that same feeling there. plus they make great meatloaf with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes. when i lived in Yonkers my favorite diner was the Broadway Diner. there was a waitress there who was as tall as Julia Childe and she had this blazing red hair in this big sort of beehive do. she would call you "honey" and "sweetie" and would say things like "what can mamma get her boy tonite?" i loved her! there's a certain character about a diner that draws characters too. they're a piece of Americana that will hopefully never fade away.

GRACIE'S DINER

sofrito

its a very basic component of spanish cooking, and combines onions, garlic, tomatoes and peppers cooked in an olive oil to create a base used for cooking many other things. the sofrito can be cooked just before you add all the other main ingredients, or it can also be made in a large batch ahead of time and then refrigerated, or frozen, to be used as the base in the future thus saving time. one of John's co-workers, Santa, is Boricua and when she recently visited her mom in PR she brought back for John some of her mom's homemade sofrito! now THAT, is totally cool!!!! we had it tonite on some barbecued skirt steak and it was beyond delish. homemade, authentic, Boricua sofrito. THAT, is love. i've included a website over there on the side for any of you that would like to try making your own sofrito, and if you cook i think you should.

faves in the hood - pizza

deep dish, thin crust, cheesy or with the works. even the frozen stuff you get from stouffers. there's nothing like a fresh, hot pie though, and there are a couple of places in my nabe where i have tried a slice or two but i prefer Luigi's on the corner of 88th street and first avenue. they make alot of different types of pizzas and some very good italian dishes too. they have really good calzones, meat rolls and garlic knots. Luigi's is also just a couple of blocks away from my apartment, and right on the way to and from the subway so that makes it very accessible for when you need a quick slice. the price of their slices has just gone up thanks to the inflation; but definitely still worth it. i remember when i was in grade school and living in yonkers and my friends Kenny and Henry and i would sneak to our favorite pizza place downtown to buy slices, which were then 25 cents each. no kidding! i'm really showing my age; but its the truth! the first pizza i ever had was in Cuba when i was about 5 years old. it was a huge thing back then, and there was a place near where i lived with my family in Havana that made deep dish shrimp pizzas! those were my favorite then and i can still taste the sauce and the thick, chewy dough and those delicious shrimp all over it. i love pizza, and the most i've ever eaten is actually an entire pie by myself. well, if you see yourself on the upper east side looking for a slice you can take it from me, Luigi's is the place.


LUIGI'S

table etiquette

you've heard it all too, i'm sure. "sit up straight, keep you elbows off the table, don't use your thumb to push your food onto your fork, make sure the napkin is on your lap, don't slurp your soup", blah, blah, blah. the one i always used to get from my mother had to do with using my spoon to eat with. one of my favorite dishes is picadillo, which is a ground meat dish, and one of my favorite combinations with this is to have it with white rice and black beans. i put everything into a bowl, mix it all together and eat it with a spoon. my mother always, and still does, rolls her eyes at me when she sees me doing this. trust me, you would love it. i love making picadillo, and actually think i make it better than anyone. but i wouldn't say this to my grandmother. anyway, here's the recipe for my picadillo, just make sure you don't share it with anybody else.

about 4 slices of bacon, chopped,
about 1 and 1 half pounds of ground beef, or beef/veal/pork mix
1 small onion, chopped
half of one red or green bell pepper chopped,
a few garlic cloves chopped,
a teaspoon of ground cumin
a teaspoon of ground coriander or fresh cilantro,
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric,
1 small can of tomato sauce,
about a dozen green olives sliced in half,
a handfull of raisins,
salt and pepper to taste.

cook the bacon and reserve,
use the bacon fat to cook the onions and pepper,
add the meat and cook completely while breaking down,
add the garlic, cumin, coriander or cilantro and turmeric,
add the tomato sauce and cook thoroughly,
add the olives, raisins, and cooked bacon, and salt and pepper.

serve the picadillo with white rice and black beans.

notes from a wineaholic/midnight margaritas

about 10 years ago or so, in a fit of adulation after reading "practical magic" by Alice Hoffman, i adopted the practice of having margaritas at midnight. this was back when i was doing alot of drinking (wink-wink), and it didn't happen every midnight. just the ones i was awake for and in the company of those willing to imbibe. did i forget to mention that i'm a night owl and most of my friends don't need to have their arms twisted to force a cocktail down their throats, thus all the drinking. i remember my brother Mike, who had been living in florida, had come back to new york and had no place to stay and so was living with me. my apartment looked like a tent city but we were having a good time. midnight margaritas and scrabble. sometimes it was just the margaritas. i like to use a frozen mix (yes i prefer my margaritas frozen) made by Bacardi. you fill the blender with lots of ice, add the full container of the margarita mix, half (more or less, wink-wink) of the container filled with tequila, and a few splashes of cointreau, or the orange flavored liquor of your choice. give the blender a good whir, garnish with a lime and there you are, delish. today being cinco de mayo i was reminded of all those midnight margaritas and the fun i've had sharing my tradition with my friends. it isn't midnight yet, but i figured if i waited 'til midnight then it wouldn't be cinco the mayo anymore and besides i'm not so strict with my rules for drinking. are there rules for drinking? there should definitely be some for tequila. i have alot of respect for the nectar of the agave. my worst hangover story involves tequila shots with beer chasers. i think most people have a "tequila story" too. well, anyway. happy cinco de mayo everyone.


AGAVE


TEQUILA


VIVA MEXICO!

feed the world

we use food to celebrate our successes, and to ameliorate our sorrows. in 1984, a year made infamous by George Orwell, Band Aid made a song written by Bob Geldof famous and raised a large amount of money to feed the starving. truly, some people may not know where their next meal may come from, or even if there will be a next meal. that we look to feed the hungry of the world shows our sense of global community. sharing food during times of hardship reflects our sense of fellowship, of our need to nurture. it is common practice during times of mourning for the passing of loved ones for friends and neighbors to offer food to the grieving. mostly because we know they will not be thinking of, or even caring about, how to feed themselves; but also because it allows us to sustain those we care about in a moment of crisis, when words may soothe but food and drink will fortify and somehow help to bear the painful and difficult. the act of cooking for someone, to nourish and nurture strikes at the core of our need to provide for those we love. during my grandmother's wake and funeral many friends provided such succor, and it supplied far more than just the act of filling our stomachs. it was the word unspoken, the metaphoric shoulder to lean on, the crutch. in a time of need it means so much. don't wait for that time, for the death, for when it might be too late to say what's in your heart. sustain your loved ones. provide for your family and friends. be the pillar, the stanchion, the strength and foundation of everything that they will be. feed the world, start at home.

maria j garnica (june 8, 1912 - april 27, 2008)

this week i was present at the ultimate food and drink, the catholic rite of communion. a hapless priest who didn't know my grandmother at all tried to deliver an appropriate homily during her funeral mass which included the sharing of the body and blood of christ the savior, and her assumption to the everlasting flock. while the mass is a celebration of our promise of eternal life, i contemplated my personal transition and transformation; what am i doing in the world of form? how well am i taking care of my body, my resources, my planet? what is the gap between what i say and what i do? what challenges me to be completely honest and accountable? my grandmother was at her crossroads and so was i. she lived a life full of change. she moved far from her birthplace in navarra, spain to ciego de avila, cuba; then lived and died in ohio, usa. along the way she married once for 64 years; had 2 children, 6 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. she was a strong woman of principles and simple joys. i wonder how she would have answered some of these questions? or if she would have considered them at all. as the societies we live in become more technologically advanced, we have more opportunities to speculate about our lives beyond the mundane. i sat in that pew and knew that in 20 years time i didn't want to be more disappointed by the things i didn't do than by the things i did. in the words of mark twain, i knew i had to "throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in my sails. explore, dream and discover".

MY GRANDMA AND GRANDPA GARNICA
LOVE YOU BOTH, SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS