Recently I've discovered that, if there is a little bit of salt on an item, say fish, and you need to increase that saltiness, lemon will bring it out.  If something has the wrong kind of sodium--sometimes it's MSG; sometimes it's a different sodium additive--I can feel its effect on my legs immediately.  It's not exactly direct pain; more a feeling of pressure, maybe a bit of crushing.  Elevation helps then.  If I drink enough water, fast enough, I can flush the bloatium from my system.

As a young teenager, I was on a low-sodium diet.  The experimental side of me did a little dance, and the part of me that liked to make lists was in agreement.  Don't get me wrong: thin, dense bread with no flavor was not a treat.  Nor was low-sodium chartreuse chicken bouillon.  No longer could I eat an entire box of instant au gratin potatoes, or hot dogs or even a certain famous burger from a certain famous fast food place.  A certain processed American cheese product was also forbidden.  I couldn't even have water from our tap since it was softened and therefore had sodium.  Around a certain weepy time of month, there would sometimes be tears and tantrums when I accidentally took two antacids for the calcium, only to discover they didn't have calcium but instead had a gram of sodium.  If I had a high-sodium regression, sore, swollen piano legs were my reward.  Sometimes I'd get a headache or irritable or dizzy.  My doctor tried to tell me it was pitting edema, but my skin always sprang back relatively quickly from being pressed; at least I thought so.  Saltless potato chips were a major help, as well as yogurt raisins.  At fast food places it would take a few minutes longer, but I would order the fries without salt.  They would arrive, burning, crisp and magnificent.  None of the workers ever seemed put out that I would make them start a new batch of fries; some of the people behind me probably received crisper potatoes than they would have otherwise, even if they did have to add salt.  Nowadays, my lips pucker when I eat fries that I didn't order without the salt.
I started eating fewer pickles, gave up cottage cheese, and switched to saltless butter.  When I did have olives, it was very few, and they were rinsed.  Luckily, there was saltless tomato sauce, so I was able to make my own pizza sauce.  Thank God for garlic, the flavoring that sometimes makes things taste like salt has been added.
I tracked my sodium intake--it was supposed to be 1000 mg or less a day.

Springerle

Wasabamole

What has been your greatest food faux pas?  Mine happened about 12 years ago, and involved sushi.  I was accustomed to California rolls, and avocado.  The substance in the plastic container was pale green, and it was on the same tray as my regular sushi.  I took a bite appropriate for avocado, which means a huge mouthful.  I learned right then how great wasabi is for clearing the sinuses and that, although by itself pickled ginger tastes like soap (I speak from experience), it will save your life if you have mistaken wasabi for avocado.

It's raining out, day 2.  Am drinking hot cocoa made with soy milk.  Prepped Springerle today.  The dough came out dryer than I am used to, but it worked.  Tomorrow, they bake. 

Manger en France

Quand j'etais en Paris et aussi dans le Loire, c'est vrai, j'ai mange bien.  A Angelica, j'ai bu le chocolat chaud le mieux que j'en avais auparavant et depuis.  C'etait thick, riche, et magnifique avec l'eau effervescent.  Angelica s'est trouve dans le plus jolie batiment que j'ai vue en France.  Avec des difficultes, (ma jambe, c'est endommagee), j'ai traverse les escaliers au pied.
Pres de l'eglise Notre Dame, j'ai essaye des crepes au marron.  Pour moi, ceux etaient trop sucres.  J'aimait que les gens utilisaient des contraptions pour produire les crepes. 

Ancient Green Pancake

It looks like a dog's vomit after it has eaten grass. I assume it tastes better. The recipe was Another Asparagus Custard or Alia Patina de Asparagis. I found it in Miscellania, the fourth book in De re Coquinaria by Apicius. To start, I used my mortar and pestle to "grind" asparagus tips (12 heads), a small, diced scallion, and some celery leaves. The celery leaves replaced lovage, which was called for in the recipe, but which I could not locate in a timely manner. To this mixture I then added a small portion of wine and olive oil (I don't like to measure). This went into a frying pan on the stove, and after it had heated for a couple of minutes, I topped it with a scrambled egg. It basically came out like a green frittata. Although the recipe was supposed to serve four, I ended up with enough for myself only.

The source of my "pancake" was Apicius: Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome, edited and translated from Latin into German by Joseph Dommers Vehling. My English translation (isbn# 9780486235639) was published in 1936. De re Coquinaria is divided into ten parts--the surviving number. According to Vehling, there are indications that Apicius was not the sole author. He points out that there are plenty of repetitions in the recipes; the titles of the individual books are Greek, not Latin, and the literary style changes throughout the book.

The first part, Epimeles, is a miscellany of foods to be used for medicinal purposes (especially for bowel movement), spices and their combinations, and ways to bring foods back from the brink if they are spoiled. On page 51, for example, we are told to add two parts fresh honey to one part of bad honey to disguise its unpleasant flavor. A method for preserving meat longer is given; and there is a recipe for making a faux rose wine from citrus leaves instead of rose petals.

Sarcoptes (minces) is the title of the second part, and it refers to meat and dumplings. One of the recipes therein instructs us to soak almonds in water and white clay to make them whiter. The third part is dedicated to the garden. Pumpkin figured prominently into Roman cookery; an example recipe is the Alexandrine-style pumpkin found in this section. It basically calls for the pumpkin to be stewed in wine. Another recipe is "a harmless salad," in which we are advised, after eating lettuce, to make an infusion involving cumin (as commonly used in this book as we would use salt and pepper today) and meaty dates strained into a stock-and-vinegar mixture and then sipped from a spoon.

Some observations I've made about the entire book: over half of the recipes include cumin and raisin wine, often together. Laser (asafoetida--used today in Indian cookery, and pungent enough to be used in place of onions or garlic), mint, ginger, rue, pepper, and honey are also prominently featured. Another popular ingredient is must, which is an extremely reduced grape juice or wine. Some of the lesser used ingredients include the herb pennyroyal (used in modernity for herbal infusions), myrtle berries, mastic (a relative of the pistachio), Indian spikenard, citrons, saltpeter (a preservative), fig stones, dasheens (taro) and cardoons (relatives of thistle). Unusual meats employed include figpeckers (hummingbirds?), crane, dormice, chamois, and gazelle. Vegetables used in the dishes include grapes, figs, green olives, quinces, peas, parsnips, and turnips.

Very little is mentioned regarding utensils and serving dishes; straining ingredients seems to be the most exotic preparation technique.

While my source for this dish is strictly from the book mentioned earlier, two other recommended sites for information on ancient Roman and Apician cookery are:

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/recipes/ethnic/historical/ant-rom-coll.html

and

www.eattoblog.com

Pictures from my Asparagus Frittata from Apicius

     For a food in culture class, I recreated a dish from Apicius called Alia Patina de Asparagis, which was translated as Another Asparagus Custard.  For me, it came out closer to a frittata or pancake.

Although it ended up making a much smaller portion than I had wanted, it was pretty tasty.  Yes, it resembled something my dog might cough up after chomping grass to alleviate an upset stomach.  But it was a nifty pancake.

Indian Chole

Made my version of chole:

1/2 can low sodium garbanzos

2 small boiled potatoes

Tiny yellow onion

Over half a can of diced tomatoes

Butter flavored cooking spray



Spices:

With a mortar and pestle I ground up some quick pan-roasted mustard seeds (about half a teaspoon) and added them to pestled coriander (about same amount) and pestled pan roasted cumin (at least a full tablespoon). To this mixture I added in a pinch of turmeric, some cayenne and some dried chili pepper.

I diced up the potato (next time it will be a slightly smaller dice and I will let the potatoes fry up crispy first) and added it to the onions (which I had browned in a liberal amount of the butter cooking spray), chickpeas, and tomatoes (with juice). With the spice, the whole concoction simmered for less than ten minutes.

I ate it with tostada shells and prepared hummus, no utensil. Yum. The roasting cumin seeds (not the freshest to start with, although they had been kept in a cool, dry place) made the kitchen smell heady. A whiff up close was overwhelming, but the kitchen (and rest of the house) had a nice, smoky, bready smell. I liked the smell of the ground mustard seed, also kind of cereally. 11/30/2011

ebb

4 oz alchohol on an empty stomach...Sometimes too many humans sap my energy.  I have sapped my own energy.  Where is chloe this holiday season?  She has greedily gone into lonely songs and is dancing there.  Workin' off those turkey enchiladas that were bomb.

Favorite Ethnic Foods

Indian cuisine, Native American cuisine, West and South African cuisine, Jewish cuisine, German cuisine, and Filippino cuisine are probably my favorite ethnic food groupings. Indian, because I love curries (although Thai has some phenomenal curries), the flatbreads, and the colorful history. Native American because I live in the American Southwest and am fascinated by flatbreads and foods cooked with, or on, ash (piki bread a good example). There is something to be said for the dry climates that make foods seem to be tough in reflection of said clime. African cuisines for the colorful history, the starches, and the stories. Jewish cuisine, because Jews have lived in every location and take the traditions of those places and spread them via the food. Also, because much of it is rich and reflects dietary philosophies (and religious beliefs). German, because I’m German, and while the smell of sauerkraut takes away my appetite, spaetzle is one of the best foods ever. Because what is it? A starch. Oh, golden carbohydrates! Filippino food? Such a conglomeration!

Packaged Meals

I'm addicted to the Panang Tuna from Trader Joe's.  The lemongrass red curry pouch that the tuna comes in is fragrant and amazing, especially served over rice.  I feel energy returning immediately upon preparing this hearty dose of protein.  I've tried the red and the green (both retailing for $1.69 here in Mesa) and can't taste the difference, so I just stick to the red.  When I'm working full time, that is going to be my lunch, because I don't get hungry again for hours. 
I've also tried the potsticker tv dinner (with rice, broccoli, and carrots) from Fresh and Easy, which was delicious in its own right.  Somehow, even microwaving them doesn't seem to make the potstickers dry and tough, a situation I don't seem to be able to avoid with other brands.

Springerles

When I was a kid, I didn't like springerles. My sister hated anise so much that she would vomit it up, whether by choice or not I can't be sure. This was rather unfortunate, because she liked to help my mother roll out the cookies with the special carved springerle rollers. One was from my grandmother, one was from Knott's Berry Farm, and the third, a rectangle with four of the images carved into it, from a catalogue. It took my mother two days to make the cookies. On day one, she would mix the egg yolks separately from the egg whites, until the whites formed stiff peaks and there were no more bubbles. She would then combine all the ingredients, knead them, and then roll out the shapes. Then she let the dough dry out, covered, overnight. I didn't particularly like them--they weren't very sweet, and anything that reminded me of a medication I used to have to take that tasted like the worst kind of black licorice, was to be shunned. Apparently, the more air they get, the more brick-like and better they are. These days I think of them as digestive biscuits, or hardtack, because of their consistency. The anise helps to settle the stomach, and if not overdone, is very delicate. Odd in such an indelicate, hard-working cookie.

I inherited making the springerles even though my sister is more the baker, because I can handle anise, and it's really the only connection I have to my mother's family. My mother inherited the springerle making in much the same way, because her sister was married and had children so young. She was the domestic in their family, and my mother was not.

When my mother first took up the tradition, she mistakenly did the yolks and whites at the same time, which made the cookies too yellow. She had to buy baker's ammonia in a block from the drugstore and then pound it into powder. Apparently, this lends an ammonia scent to the kitchen while they are being mixed, but which fades after they are cooking. My mother ended up having to replace the baker's ammonia with baking powder after the druggists stopped carrying the ammonia. In Germany, something called hartshorn is used (the baker's ammonia) still.

Cardamom or Lavender?

The other day, I was going through my spices.  When I took a whiff of the cardamom, I was taken aback to notice that it reminded me strongly of lavender, a smell I adore.  In a Gujarati Indian cookbook, the author says that cardamon is called elaichi. 

Polenta, baby

     One of the most amazing breakfasts ever is that polenta that comes pre-packaged in a tube (around $1.99 where I shop) sliced about 3/4 inch thick and fried in butter spray with granulated or powdered garlic on top.  If you're not on a low-sodium diet like me (supposedly), you could also add salt.  After about 3 or 4 minutes, turn over the polenta soften the other side and let the garlic aroma make your eyes swim.
     Making my own polenta from cornmeal is also good, but so far I haven't mastered how to make the texture quite as smooth as the tube polenta--maybe use a coffee grinder for the cornmeal?

First Attempt at Latkes

I made latkes about 2 months ago, from a recipe in a calendar.  Surprisingly, although I wrecked the kitchen, they came out, and in one piece.  Not bad for my first time.  Wringing the potato shreds dry after I food-processed them was the time-consuming part.  I still had to add some panko and other bread crumbs but once I fried them, they came out great.   

Autumn

Fall is here. Today the temperature only reached around 100 degrees in Mesa. It was muzzy outside, and my allergies were fierce. I baked pumpkin spice cookies from a packaged mix. Sometimes I spite myself and do something dumb, like stack all the baked cookies on top of one another even though they are still hot, and then they glump together. However, that simply gives me an excuse to eat the casualties. So I did that, as well as imbibe two different pumpkin beers. The first one, from Blue Moon, had a bit of spicy scent, but no actual pumpkin taste. The other one, Lakefront Pumpkin Lager, was a bit spicier and "pumpkiny-er". Also had some Trader Joe's sweet potato gnocchi. Delicious.

Indian Foods

I'm still looking for the direction I will go in with this blog.  Very excited about ethnic cuisines, particularly Indian.  Am reading, among other titles, Gil Marks' Encyclopedia of Jewish Foods.  There are Jewish food communities in India, of which I was unaware.  Marks' book has an amazing amount of info on the topic.  A couple of weeks ago, I visited an Indian market (and restaurant) and purchased some besan and some ajowan.  I was originally going to use the besan for making falafel, but instead, I'm going to try it as a thickener in some curry. 

Oxymel

So oxymel is a mixture of honey, vinegar (apple cider seems to be the flavor of choice) and garlic or other spices.  You're supposed to take it when you feel a cold coming on.  Sounds good to me--hot and sour soup seems to clear up my head colds almost immediately, and it has vinegar in it.  But oxymel would also help to soothe the throat. 

Don't mix artificial sugar with espresso.  It tastes like poisoned cherry cough syrup.  Just know this from my experience.

Potpourri

I remember that pizza was not my favorite food as a kid.  It grew on me, though, and now I have to admit it's in my top three food groups, the other two of which are curry and anything cooked over an open flame.
    In Girl Scouts we stopped one time for pizza on the way back from one of our badge-earning excursions.  From time to time on a Saturday night my family would go out for pizza.  Going to restaurants to eat was an occasion of great excitement, since we couldn't afford it often.  To this day, when I am in a restaurant I feel a bit numb and like it's unreal.  As a teenager, I was on a restricted-sodium diet, which didn't even offer me the luxury of ramen noodles right from the package.  Instead I had to use packets of low-sodium bouillon.  The chicken-flavored was chartreuse, probably my favorite color, just not in soup.  Even now, I'm extra-conscious of sodium.  Sadly, pizzas (even the frozen, amazing current supermarket offerings) are often so loaded with salt that I can't stop drinking water for the rest of the evening.  But what is more sacred than that first bite of tongue-scorching pizza, with the oil sinking into little pepperoni grooves atop the melted cheese?

Plans

Food projects I have for the next two weeks are: make a batch of latkes, a batch of spaetzle with a potato ricer, some low-calorie green goddess dressing, and try making fufu (a West African starch) from a packaged mix.  I have a West African cookbook with a recipe in it for groundnut (they call it groundnut, we call it peanut) chicken, which I will serve with the fufu.  Should be interesting. 

Brief Intro

     Hummus, pesto, roasting chiles and garlic, pizza, tuna tartare, beef carpaccio, espresso, meade, hot-and-sour soup from The House of Egg Roll, peanut sauce, country gravy, low-sodium V-8, green jalapeno hot sauce, dijon mustard: there's a reason I'm on this earth.  Cilantro?  Not so much.  Rosemary?  Tastes like mildew.   But I digress.  What I am here to yap about, whenever the mood hits, is anything to do with food, especially particular ingredients.  Favorite topics include herbs (love the language in old herbals), digestion, nutrition (especially evolutionary), foodborne illness, specific feasts in history, forbidden foods (In The Devil's Garden by Stewart Lee Allen is an excellent introduction) and ethnic foods.