Aaaaand go.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sitting down with...
One of my girlfriends Laura and I decided that we'd leave her fiance at home over the next little bit and go see Eat Pray Love together. I go see movies with Laura and Scott sometimes (including Inception last week...did I mention you all need to go see it?!). But first!! Must read book.
Aaaaand go.
Aaaaand go.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Guest recipe #1 + Tuesday night meal
First of all, I'd like to say that I finally roped a friend, the wonderful and talented and sexy-as-hell Lisa Kileeg, into getting a blog of her own. I believe she's aiming to discuss all her favourite things in the world, and if you're awesome and smart, you'll check her out: thecherryonthesundae.blogspot.com.
I mention Lisa because she has sent me a few recipes to try out as I trek along on this blog adventure. The first recipe she sent me sounds delicious (tropical chicken!) but I'm strapped for time and money for many reasons, including but not limited to the fact that I have to gut my entire apartment and pack for a trip home this upcoming weekend. Given this limbo I've found myself in, my lovely friend and co-worker Caroline has graciously offered me her couch for the week until I get this apartment problem dealt with. She's also let Ernie stay there as well, which is a HUGE help to me since I have some major work to do on the place and I'd rather my kitten not inhale a bunch of gross junk along the way.
As a thank-you to Caroline and her roommate Alex for having my little family and I over this week, I've started on part one of the thank you gift: BLONDIES! Talking this over with Lisa, she sent me her fabulous blondie recipe, and here it is:
1/2 cup of butter, melted
1 cup of tightly packed dark brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon of baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/3 cup of butterscotch chips (chopped walnuts and chocolate chips are equally tasty)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour an 8X8 pan. Whisk together the melted butter and sugar in a bowl.
Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk.
Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mix it all together. Add the butterscotch chips or other mix-ins.
Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve.
These blondies taste a lot like brownies, minus the cocao. They were SUPER easy to make, took no time at all, and are gooey and delicious and perfect for generous friends and their housemates :)
I mentioned being strapped for cash these days. Seeing as I'm going home for 4 days, my fridge is virtually empty. I have very little fresh veg, no fruit, no meat, nothing fresh at all. It's for times like these that I urge everyone to keep pasta and sauce handy in their pantries. I spiced mine up a little bit, because I couldn't just pour canned sauce on pasta:
Julie's Cheapo Pasta
1 small onion, diced finely
2 green onions, chopped
1 tsp chopped garlic
salami or sausage (I had leftover lunch meat I have to get through)
butter
olive oil
canned pasta sauce (680mL)
pasta
grated cheese
Cook the pasta until desired tenderness. Drain, drizzle with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking, set aside.
Chop the onions and the meat into little cubes and cook in olive oil and butter until meat is crisp and onions are sweated and golden.
Add the garlic and green onions. Continue to cook until garlic aroma comes through and onions have really sweated out.
You're going to incorporate this into the canned pasta sauce. If you like (as I did, since I seem to be addicted to my Magic Bullet), I blended the mixture of onion, meat and garlic, so it incorporated nicely into the sauce without being chunky.
Mix half the sauce with the pasta, and pour into a greased casserole dish.
Topped with grated cheese.
Bake uncovered at 350F for about 15 minutes. Broil for 2 minutes to crisp the cheese if you want.
The nice thing about playing around with pasta sauce is that you can help turn something cheap into something that tastes like you spent the whole day making it. Canned pasta sauce is relatively flavour-less and can be watery, so adding a thick garlicky meaty flavour base adds tons of flavour for mere pennies.
A note on flavour bases: Flavour bases are the foundation upon which soups, stews, braises, etc. are built. They combine aromatic, flavourful, hearty ingredients and use every drop of juice and fat to help add richness. Most of them start with butter or oil, onion, garlic and some sort of meat and/or root vegetable (not necessarily meat you will be cooking as the main component of the dish). The meat is important to add near the beginning since it releases oils and fat and drippings, which will then be soaked up by the rest of the ingredients (bacon is very common). Try it next time you make sauce or soup and I guarantee you'll be surprised by the depth of flavour you add to your food!
I'd also like to add that I went to Ta Ke Sushi last night and had the sushi dinner deal with some friends. For $15.99 you get miso soup, salad, 10pc nigiri, and your choice of a 6pc maki. A friend was generous enough to help cover my tab. I wish he was still around tonight at Caro's when I bring over these blondies. I have lots of friends to pay back :)
I mention Lisa because she has sent me a few recipes to try out as I trek along on this blog adventure. The first recipe she sent me sounds delicious (tropical chicken!) but I'm strapped for time and money for many reasons, including but not limited to the fact that I have to gut my entire apartment and pack for a trip home this upcoming weekend. Given this limbo I've found myself in, my lovely friend and co-worker Caroline has graciously offered me her couch for the week until I get this apartment problem dealt with. She's also let Ernie stay there as well, which is a HUGE help to me since I have some major work to do on the place and I'd rather my kitten not inhale a bunch of gross junk along the way.
As a thank-you to Caroline and her roommate Alex for having my little family and I over this week, I've started on part one of the thank you gift: BLONDIES! Talking this over with Lisa, she sent me her fabulous blondie recipe, and here it is:
1/2 cup of butter, melted
1 cup of tightly packed dark brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon of baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/3 cup of butterscotch chips (chopped walnuts and chocolate chips are equally tasty)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour an 8X8 pan. Whisk together the melted butter and sugar in a bowl.
Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk.
Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mix it all together. Add the butterscotch chips or other mix-ins.
Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve.
These blondies taste a lot like brownies, minus the cocao. They were SUPER easy to make, took no time at all, and are gooey and delicious and perfect for generous friends and their housemates :)
I mentioned being strapped for cash these days. Seeing as I'm going home for 4 days, my fridge is virtually empty. I have very little fresh veg, no fruit, no meat, nothing fresh at all. It's for times like these that I urge everyone to keep pasta and sauce handy in their pantries. I spiced mine up a little bit, because I couldn't just pour canned sauce on pasta:
Julie's Cheapo Pasta
1 small onion, diced finely
2 green onions, chopped
1 tsp chopped garlic
salami or sausage (I had leftover lunch meat I have to get through)
butter
olive oil
canned pasta sauce (680mL)
pasta
grated cheese
Cook the pasta until desired tenderness. Drain, drizzle with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking, set aside.
Chop the onions and the meat into little cubes and cook in olive oil and butter until meat is crisp and onions are sweated and golden.
Add the garlic and green onions. Continue to cook until garlic aroma comes through and onions have really sweated out.
You're going to incorporate this into the canned pasta sauce. If you like (as I did, since I seem to be addicted to my Magic Bullet), I blended the mixture of onion, meat and garlic, so it incorporated nicely into the sauce without being chunky.
Mix half the sauce with the pasta, and pour into a greased casserole dish.
Topped with grated cheese.
Bake uncovered at 350F for about 15 minutes. Broil for 2 minutes to crisp the cheese if you want.
The nice thing about playing around with pasta sauce is that you can help turn something cheap into something that tastes like you spent the whole day making it. Canned pasta sauce is relatively flavour-less and can be watery, so adding a thick garlicky meaty flavour base adds tons of flavour for mere pennies.
A note on flavour bases: Flavour bases are the foundation upon which soups, stews, braises, etc. are built. They combine aromatic, flavourful, hearty ingredients and use every drop of juice and fat to help add richness. Most of them start with butter or oil, onion, garlic and some sort of meat and/or root vegetable (not necessarily meat you will be cooking as the main component of the dish). The meat is important to add near the beginning since it releases oils and fat and drippings, which will then be soaked up by the rest of the ingredients (bacon is very common). Try it next time you make sauce or soup and I guarantee you'll be surprised by the depth of flavour you add to your food!
I'd also like to add that I went to Ta Ke Sushi last night and had the sushi dinner deal with some friends. For $15.99 you get miso soup, salad, 10pc nigiri, and your choice of a 6pc maki. A friend was generous enough to help cover my tab. I wish he was still around tonight at Caro's when I bring over these blondies. I have lots of friends to pay back :)
Monday, July 26, 2010
Edamame burgers
I was at the Market Square a few weeks ago and stumbled upon an organic food stand selling yummy-looking produce. Having recently stocked up, I passed. However, there was a little plate of samples and never one to turn down a free sample of anything, tried it. To my delight, these were the farm's edamame burgers, homemade from organic local ingredients.
They're tiny and even though they're labeled as burgers, actually work well on their own as soft patties.
Desert Lake Gardens - Mill Street Cafe and Fine Foods
(Ingredients: millet, carrots, radishes, ginger, garlic, lime juice, asian chili paste, panko, eggs)
FYI (cause I had to look it up): Millet is an international grain with a protein content similar to wheat. It's grown extensively in Africa and Asia, and is used either as a component of some flours, or as a starter for certain alcoholic beverages. Has a mild, nutty taste and smell.
Panko is a Japanese bread crumb, often used to bread seafood. It is lighter than normal bread crumbs, as the bread used is crustless and is flakey.
These burgers are clearly very healthy, given the ingredients: millet, edamame, carrots, radishes, garlic, ginger...The distinct lack of filler or chemicals is really nice, reminding us all that cool delicious hearty food is indeed possible without the help of machines or pre-packaging.
These patties have a distinctly Asian flavour, and I imagine they'd go well on buns with a bit of fresh carrot or cucumber. I did get a huge piece of ginger in one of the patties, which was unpleasant to say the least, but overall I wouldn't discourage anyone from getting these next time they're in the Kingston area and feel like a trip to the Market Square on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
They're tiny and even though they're labeled as burgers, actually work well on their own as soft patties.
Desert Lake Gardens - Mill Street Cafe and Fine Foods
(Ingredients: millet, carrots, radishes, ginger, garlic, lime juice, asian chili paste, panko, eggs)
FYI (cause I had to look it up): Millet is an international grain with a protein content similar to wheat. It's grown extensively in Africa and Asia, and is used either as a component of some flours, or as a starter for certain alcoholic beverages. Has a mild, nutty taste and smell.
Panko is a Japanese bread crumb, often used to bread seafood. It is lighter than normal bread crumbs, as the bread used is crustless and is flakey.
These burgers are clearly very healthy, given the ingredients: millet, edamame, carrots, radishes, garlic, ginger...The distinct lack of filler or chemicals is really nice, reminding us all that cool delicious hearty food is indeed possible without the help of machines or pre-packaging.
These patties have a distinctly Asian flavour, and I imagine they'd go well on buns with a bit of fresh carrot or cucumber. I did get a huge piece of ginger in one of the patties, which was unpleasant to say the least, but overall I wouldn't discourage anyone from getting these next time they're in the Kingston area and feel like a trip to the Market Square on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
My kitchen
I've been having some unfortunate issues with my apartment these days, and before my landlady comes over tomorrow to inspect the damage, I wanted to make very clear to her that I'm not a slob and that the damage in my place is not a result of my lack of cleanliness. I keep my kitchen immaculate and my bathroom as clean as I can keep up with. Today is Sunday. It's nice out, I have loads of data analysis to do, and I'm sore to the degree of not being able to crouch or sit or even walk properly. And so of course what am I doing all day? Scrubbing the shit out of every inch of my apartment.
I wanted to give you guys a sense of what I'm working in terms of my kitchen. The idea that you need a huge kitchen to accomplish anything remotely resembling food is absurd. Take Ilan Hall, Top Chef season 2 winner and my future husband, for example. I was watching a clip online of how chef Hall lives and cooks out of his own kitchen, and I was stunned. He managed to make lobster and oysters in a wine reduction out of a space no bigger than a standard kitchen sink, and which also served as storage space for all of his dishes. I kid you not. Of course, I'm not living out of a closet in downtown NYC or paying $1200/month for said closet, but when it comes to kitchens I didn't score the tons-and-tons-of-space jackpot.
A view of my kitchen from the far end of my living room. Cube freezer (very handy) on the far left, my tiny stupid kitchen "table", all my cupboard space, stove, fridge.
The idea behind this blog is to discuss food for someone like myself who is a) strapped for cash, b) strapped for space and c) strapped for time, but who despite all this is in love with food and really enjoys playing with her food and cooking cool stuff.
This, my friends, is not the kitchen of boxed macaroni.
When I first moved into this place, I made a list of all the kitchen stuff I needed and over the past 11 months have accumulated quite a bit of stuff, given the space I have. Everything is tucked away behind cupboard doors, but if you were to peek inside you'd notice that everything is PILED on top of everything else and teetering dangerously. The counterspace I have is limited to the tiny area next to my microwave, the sliver of space next to the stove, and this wobbly white table that the previous tenants left behind. The spot next to the microwave is where most of the cooking happens. I am also equipped with apartment-sized appliances, namely a fridge and a stove. For graduation last year, my parents bought me a small deep freezer, which these days serves more as extra counter space, to be honest.
There are some kitchen tools I believe every young person should have and use regularly (aside from the obvious stove, utensils and plates, jackasses):
- automatic coffee maker
- microwave
- kettle
- cheese grater
- really sturdy pots, frying pans, and baking dishes
- pizza cutter
- cookie sheets
- toaster
- Magic Bullet, or any other type of small blender
- Slow cooker
But Julie, you just said you weren't the kind of gal who enjoyed processed microwavable foods, mac n cheese in a box or store-bought anything!? All of these things are in keeping with what you just said you're not into! What gives?
Here's how small investments like these can help you maximize space and cook from scratch even in the tiniest of kitchens.
- Coffee maker: Making your coffee at home costs pennies compared to stopping at Timmie's or Starbucks on your way to work every morning. Even making one cup in the morning saves you $1.50/day, or about $40/month. That's most of my cell phone bill right there. A tip: if you're into flavoured coffee but don't want to pay for it, make your own tasty variation by sprinkling cinnamon onto the grinds before you brew.
- Microwave: Thought only good for "cooking" boxed meals, obviously you can defrost, cook to the right temperature before dropping into the pan, melt butter, etc. Plus, every student needs a microwave, because inevitably you'll need to resort to pizza pops every so often.
- Kettle: Same thing as the coffee maker...nothing relaxes better after a long day than a hot cup of tea. Some recipes also call for boiling water, and this allows you to skip the stove.
- Cheese grater: There's no explanation here, other than I like cheese, and everyone knows it tastes better if you grate it :) Plus grating your own cheese is often cheaper than buying it pre-grated.
- Sturdy pans, etc.. : Can't cook without them. Simple as that.
- Pizza cutter: No, not for the one you bought frozen and reheated. Making your own pizza not only means you can customize it to your taste, but it's cheaper and healthier :) Can also be used to cut fresh pasta or for making your own tortilla chips
- Cookie sheets: Great for baking, obviously, but also make good surfaces to work on, to store things in the fridge on, and for some types of special baking.
- Toaster: For breakfast, for pre-crisping bread used for your own tuna melts and garlic bread, for quickly drying bread out if you need bread crumbs and don't have any in the pantry..
- Magic Bullet: Ok, ignoring the alternate appliance for a second..this thing is great an it does everything. Frozen drinks, pureeing, mixing, smoothies, frozen drinks, soups, chopping finely, ravioli filling, frozen drinks...
- Slow cooker: Whoever invented a machine that allows you to cook the night before, plug it in and come home to a hot meal after a long shitty day at work deserves a medal.
I realize this post is long and somewhat rambly, but I think about these things a lot. A good kitchen, no matter how small, can allow you to make whatever you want. And if you can't, you can always improvise something with what you have. What will always kill me, however, is the kitchen section in any home furnishing store, or better yet, specialty food and food appliance store. I went to Oderin last week to buy a sturdy dish rack, and spent half an hour walking around admiring ravioli presses, tiny Le Creuset ramekins and electric stand mixers worth more than a month's rent. One day, children. One day...
I wanted to give you guys a sense of what I'm working in terms of my kitchen. The idea that you need a huge kitchen to accomplish anything remotely resembling food is absurd. Take Ilan Hall, Top Chef season 2 winner and my future husband, for example. I was watching a clip online of how chef Hall lives and cooks out of his own kitchen, and I was stunned. He managed to make lobster and oysters in a wine reduction out of a space no bigger than a standard kitchen sink, and which also served as storage space for all of his dishes. I kid you not. Of course, I'm not living out of a closet in downtown NYC or paying $1200/month for said closet, but when it comes to kitchens I didn't score the tons-and-tons-of-space jackpot.
A view of my kitchen from the far end of my living room. Cube freezer (very handy) on the far left, my tiny stupid kitchen "table", all my cupboard space, stove, fridge.
The idea behind this blog is to discuss food for someone like myself who is a) strapped for cash, b) strapped for space and c) strapped for time, but who despite all this is in love with food and really enjoys playing with her food and cooking cool stuff.
This, my friends, is not the kitchen of boxed macaroni.
When I first moved into this place, I made a list of all the kitchen stuff I needed and over the past 11 months have accumulated quite a bit of stuff, given the space I have. Everything is tucked away behind cupboard doors, but if you were to peek inside you'd notice that everything is PILED on top of everything else and teetering dangerously. The counterspace I have is limited to the tiny area next to my microwave, the sliver of space next to the stove, and this wobbly white table that the previous tenants left behind. The spot next to the microwave is where most of the cooking happens. I am also equipped with apartment-sized appliances, namely a fridge and a stove. For graduation last year, my parents bought me a small deep freezer, which these days serves more as extra counter space, to be honest.
There are some kitchen tools I believe every young person should have and use regularly (aside from the obvious stove, utensils and plates, jackasses):
- automatic coffee maker
- microwave
- kettle
- cheese grater
- really sturdy pots, frying pans, and baking dishes
- pizza cutter
- cookie sheets
- toaster
- Magic Bullet, or any other type of small blender
- Slow cooker
But Julie, you just said you weren't the kind of gal who enjoyed processed microwavable foods, mac n cheese in a box or store-bought anything!? All of these things are in keeping with what you just said you're not into! What gives?
Here's how small investments like these can help you maximize space and cook from scratch even in the tiniest of kitchens.
- Coffee maker: Making your coffee at home costs pennies compared to stopping at Timmie's or Starbucks on your way to work every morning. Even making one cup in the morning saves you $1.50/day, or about $40/month. That's most of my cell phone bill right there. A tip: if you're into flavoured coffee but don't want to pay for it, make your own tasty variation by sprinkling cinnamon onto the grinds before you brew.
- Microwave: Thought only good for "cooking" boxed meals, obviously you can defrost, cook to the right temperature before dropping into the pan, melt butter, etc. Plus, every student needs a microwave, because inevitably you'll need to resort to pizza pops every so often.
- Kettle: Same thing as the coffee maker...nothing relaxes better after a long day than a hot cup of tea. Some recipes also call for boiling water, and this allows you to skip the stove.
- Cheese grater: There's no explanation here, other than I like cheese, and everyone knows it tastes better if you grate it :) Plus grating your own cheese is often cheaper than buying it pre-grated.
- Sturdy pans, etc.. : Can't cook without them. Simple as that.
- Pizza cutter: No, not for the one you bought frozen and reheated. Making your own pizza not only means you can customize it to your taste, but it's cheaper and healthier :) Can also be used to cut fresh pasta or for making your own tortilla chips
- Cookie sheets: Great for baking, obviously, but also make good surfaces to work on, to store things in the fridge on, and for some types of special baking.
- Toaster: For breakfast, for pre-crisping bread used for your own tuna melts and garlic bread, for quickly drying bread out if you need bread crumbs and don't have any in the pantry..
- Magic Bullet: Ok, ignoring the alternate appliance for a second..this thing is great an it does everything. Frozen drinks, pureeing, mixing, smoothies, frozen drinks, soups, chopping finely, ravioli filling, frozen drinks...
- Slow cooker: Whoever invented a machine that allows you to cook the night before, plug it in and come home to a hot meal after a long shitty day at work deserves a medal.
I realize this post is long and somewhat rambly, but I think about these things a lot. A good kitchen, no matter how small, can allow you to make whatever you want. And if you can't, you can always improvise something with what you have. What will always kill me, however, is the kitchen section in any home furnishing store, or better yet, specialty food and food appliance store. I went to Oderin last week to buy a sturdy dish rack, and spent half an hour walking around admiring ravioli presses, tiny Le Creuset ramekins and electric stand mixers worth more than a month's rent. One day, children. One day...
Friday, July 23, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Beach food
So my lab and I head to Sandbanks once a year in the summer to escape science for a few hours and make sandcastles. I was good at reapplying sunscreen this year (last year I cooked to within an inch of my life and called in sick the next day due to heat exhaustion). I was good at not losing my bikini bottoms to the crashing waves. I was really good at absorbing sunlight and taking a snooze on the hot sand.
What I was NOT good at, to my horror, was packing food for this trip. I normally try to pack a balance...veg, salty snacks, lots to drink, and something to have for lunch. Craig packs a Coleman stove and a cooler every year, so most people bring some meat to grill, bags of chips, etc.
Here's what I brought:
- 3 italian sausages left over from a casserole I made last week, stored (get this) in 2 successive Ziploc bags, and then stuffed into a Thermos
- half a bag of baby carrots that nobody touched
- half a bag of Tostitos that nobody touched
- a Diet Coke (thanks Lisa...I'm officially addicted)
- a Fischer Scientific canister (HA!) of strawberry kiwi Crystal Light
Looking around at other people at the beach, and at what my co-workers brought, I realized I failed miserably on the following notes:
- Did I bring any buns for the sausage? No.
- Did I bring condiments for the sausage? No.
- Did I bring utensils of any kind? No.
- Did I bring any fresh fruit or veg? Yes...but I didn't eat them. Fail.
- Maybe most importantly, did I bring water? No.
Eating a decent meal when every surface around you, including every exposed patch of skin (and some not exposed..), is covered in dusty sand, is really difficult. I don't own a cooler, and I'm on a tight budget. Next time, I'll think to bring water so I don't dehydrate, sandwiches packed with crispy fresh healthy stuff, and tons of juicy fruit. I felt like a tool today, and now since I spend the entire day outside in the sun and am the colour of the watermelon Janine was smart enough to bring, I kind of look like one too.
What I was NOT good at, to my horror, was packing food for this trip. I normally try to pack a balance...veg, salty snacks, lots to drink, and something to have for lunch. Craig packs a Coleman stove and a cooler every year, so most people bring some meat to grill, bags of chips, etc.
Here's what I brought:
- 3 italian sausages left over from a casserole I made last week, stored (get this) in 2 successive Ziploc bags, and then stuffed into a Thermos
- half a bag of baby carrots that nobody touched
- half a bag of Tostitos that nobody touched
- a Diet Coke (thanks Lisa...I'm officially addicted)
- a Fischer Scientific canister (HA!) of strawberry kiwi Crystal Light
Looking around at other people at the beach, and at what my co-workers brought, I realized I failed miserably on the following notes:
- Did I bring any buns for the sausage? No.
- Did I bring condiments for the sausage? No.
- Did I bring utensils of any kind? No.
- Did I bring any fresh fruit or veg? Yes...but I didn't eat them. Fail.
- Maybe most importantly, did I bring water? No.
Eating a decent meal when every surface around you, including every exposed patch of skin (and some not exposed..), is covered in dusty sand, is really difficult. I don't own a cooler, and I'm on a tight budget. Next time, I'll think to bring water so I don't dehydrate, sandwiches packed with crispy fresh healthy stuff, and tons of juicy fruit. I felt like a tool today, and now since I spend the entire day outside in the sun and am the colour of the watermelon Janine was smart enough to bring, I kind of look like one too.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
A non-food-related rant
I have a blog now. That means I can sit down and speak my mind about whatever and you have to listen, right!?
Right.
For about a year now, I've been growing into myself, having recently undergone a major re-working of my personal life. In this time, I've taken up yoga, obviously ramped up my from-scratch cooking skills, read incessantly and have also begun to educate myself on some issues I believe are worth mentioning in this type of venue. Read on if you like, if not...stay tuned for more foodie updates soon...
Last summer, a friend of mine introduced me to a sex-advice columnist and gay rights activist named Dan Savage, who writes the weekly column Savage Love out of The Stranger, based in Seattle, blogs daily, and produces the weekly out-loud version of his column Savage Love as a podcast (aptly named The Savage Lovecast). Savage is openly gay, extremely sex-positive, and to my delight, very articulate and educated.
Long story short...I've learned a TREMENDOUS amount about human sexuality and all its variations. After listening to a dozen or so of his podcasts (of which he is nearing on 200 episodes soon!) I was sold: Savage delivers a hysterical and yet sobering and honest message of openness, communication, inclusiveness and acceptance that everyone should embrace with open minds and hearts. Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't taboo, I think everyone should be ok with talking about his/her interests and be open with his/her partner(s). If there's one thing Savage has taught me, it's that being open and communicative makes you a better lover. Period. It makes you a better human being as well, in my experience. Of course, it still grosses me out to hear a caller ask Dan how he can get rid of the smegma built up underneath his festering foreskin and how the bacterial infection it has caused has fused his foreskin to the head of his penis and makes sex painful and grosses out his partners...Yes, that's gross. However, not so gross are the calls about gay teens living in bullshit tiny-ass towns who can't even talk to anyone about their sexualities because of the nasty misconceptions made about gay people in these bigoted towns.
Turns out, long story long.
Savage also starts most of his podcasts out with a bit of a rant, mostly about what's going on in the news in terms of gay rights and the like. I'm not going to reproduce every single example, but if you're at all interested, a good place to start is to Google "santorum" and follow the various links until you understand the types of things that (rightfully) piss me off about some people in our world.
I strongly suggest you to check Dan out, at www.thestranger.com and click on "SAVAGE". Read through archived columns, download the podcast, read Dan's blog....bottom line: EDUCATE YOURSELF. We have a lot to learn about sexuality and acceptance in our society, and this is an excellent place to start. Listen and read enough, and hopefully you'll be convinced, just as I was. One more person on the "all things right and fair and equal" train.
Right.
For about a year now, I've been growing into myself, having recently undergone a major re-working of my personal life. In this time, I've taken up yoga, obviously ramped up my from-scratch cooking skills, read incessantly and have also begun to educate myself on some issues I believe are worth mentioning in this type of venue. Read on if you like, if not...stay tuned for more foodie updates soon...
Last summer, a friend of mine introduced me to a sex-advice columnist and gay rights activist named Dan Savage, who writes the weekly column Savage Love out of The Stranger, based in Seattle, blogs daily, and produces the weekly out-loud version of his column Savage Love as a podcast (aptly named The Savage Lovecast). Savage is openly gay, extremely sex-positive, and to my delight, very articulate and educated.
Long story short...I've learned a TREMENDOUS amount about human sexuality and all its variations. After listening to a dozen or so of his podcasts (of which he is nearing on 200 episodes soon!) I was sold: Savage delivers a hysterical and yet sobering and honest message of openness, communication, inclusiveness and acceptance that everyone should embrace with open minds and hearts. Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't taboo, I think everyone should be ok with talking about his/her interests and be open with his/her partner(s). If there's one thing Savage has taught me, it's that being open and communicative makes you a better lover. Period. It makes you a better human being as well, in my experience. Of course, it still grosses me out to hear a caller ask Dan how he can get rid of the smegma built up underneath his festering foreskin and how the bacterial infection it has caused has fused his foreskin to the head of his penis and makes sex painful and grosses out his partners...Yes, that's gross. However, not so gross are the calls about gay teens living in bullshit tiny-ass towns who can't even talk to anyone about their sexualities because of the nasty misconceptions made about gay people in these bigoted towns.
Turns out, long story long.
Savage also starts most of his podcasts out with a bit of a rant, mostly about what's going on in the news in terms of gay rights and the like. I'm not going to reproduce every single example, but if you're at all interested, a good place to start is to Google "santorum" and follow the various links until you understand the types of things that (rightfully) piss me off about some people in our world.
I strongly suggest you to check Dan out, at www.thestranger.com and click on "SAVAGE". Read through archived columns, download the podcast, read Dan's blog....bottom line: EDUCATE YOURSELF. We have a lot to learn about sexuality and acceptance in our society, and this is an excellent place to start. Listen and read enough, and hopefully you'll be convinced, just as I was. One more person on the "all things right and fair and equal" train.
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