One Year Anniversary of Obsessing About Food Even More than Usual

Today is our 1 year blogiversary.  Foodiversary.  Cookiversary.  Recipeversary.  I’m done.

15 years of friendship 1 year of blogging

Sue and I have written 129 posts and have had 100 million conversations about food, which is about 40 more conversations about food than we used to have.  I remember fondly the days when we talked about feelings and boys and stuff.  I’m kidding, Sue and I still talk about feelings, of course.  Just mostly our feelings about sandwiches.

We’re really happy and grateful that anyone is reading this.  It’s been a fantastic year and we want to thank everyone for continuing to read about our triumphs (Sue) and our misadventures (me).  To celebrate this day, we would like to offer you two things.  The first is a selection of conversations from an ongoing post we’ve been writing for a year entitled “The Things We Talk About That Are Not Food”.  We get such an almighty kick out of each other that we figured the world must experience our wit.  Also- to us, everything is about food.

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Cat: Dude, I LOVE parentheses.  I mean, I really love them.

Sue: Me too!  They are the perfect way to insert something tongue-in-cheek.

Cat: Yeah!  How else do you put in a funny aside?

Sue: I know right?!  Also, Trader Joe’s has cinnamon cheese.  You should go get some and then get me some details.

Cat: That’s gross.  But also, what if it’s delicious?  I will buy some today.

Sue: Excellent.  Now, what should I make for dinner?

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Sue: Are you there yet?

Cat: Did you just type that?

Sue: Yes.

Cat: Because I was just typing that exact same thing.  So I had the best ice cream in the whole world last night.

Sue: Was it lobster?

Cat: What? No.  It was caramel ice cream with a salted dark chocolate swirl.  SO good.  The chocolate was soft, kind of like fudge sauce.  And they were not shy with the sea salt.

Sue: Oh yum!

Cat: Yes.  It sounds hipstery and regular, but I am telling you, it was delicious.

Sue: Okay, so two things, one about ice cream, one not.

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The second thing we’d like to share with you is our top 5 posts written by the other.

Cat’s favorite posts of Sue’s:

Fried Green Tomatoes – She doesn’t deep fry these!  I want them.

Chocolate Olive Oil Mousse – Sue is really, really good at desserts.  I’ve heard a lot about this mousse and I haven’t had it yet.  It is possible to mail refrigerated items, just saying.

Pork Chops with Maple Black Pepper Sauce – I almost chose the caveman steak instead of these, but I’ve had it (DELICIOUS.  Cook meat on coals immediately.)

Green Chili – I come from a red chili state, but I’m willing to accept the existence of green chili.  I wouldn’t trust anyone else to make it.

Diver Scallops with Linguine and Bacon – I have actually had this, but I want her to make it for me again because it’s flingin flangin amazing.  Sue cooks a scallop better than any I’ve ever had in a restaurant.

Sue’s favorite posts of Cat’s:

Falafel- Because Cat made these for me when she lived with me for one month and I have been thinking about them ever since.

Highball Pot Roast- Who wouldn’t like something with extra booze? My dad makes a wonderful pot roast but mine never turns out even when I use his recipe. If I trust anyone to successfully incorporate booze into meat it’s Cat.

Chicken Liver Pate- One time when I was visiting Portland, Cat and I had the most wonderful pate ever. I have full confidence hers is even better.

Coffee- Balsamic Flank Steak- My flank steak is always tough, Cat swears this is amazing. I think I’m going to have her make it for me this weekend. Plus she serves it with creamy Parmesan spinach. What’s not to love?

Shrimp and Grits- Yes, I am aware that there are no vegetables on my list, but I want to eat this too. Thanks to Cat I have learned to love grits (and polenta) and I am always up for a meal that includes them.

we were cool in middle school

-Cat and Sue

Cat Wrote About a Burger, and Won a Contest

We have a couple of weekly papers in Portland, one of which is the Willamette Week.  (Word of advice- if you think it’s pronounced WILL-amette, you’ll probably get punched.  Oregonians are odd- they say Will-AM-ette.  Weird.)  Anyway, Dom came across a silly contest in it one week, which was to write 200 words about the best thing you’ve eaten in Portland.  Well, I entered, and I won free brunch.  Here’s the link to the thing, and also my super food porn-y entry.  And yes, I wrote it about a burger.

http://blogs.wweek.com/news/2010/11/15/the-best-thing-youve-ever-eaten-in-pdx-contest-winner-chosen/

Dick’s Kitchen Elvis Burger

Vegans, look away.

This thing drips butter, gently melted pimiento cheese, and hot, rich burger juice down your elbow when you pick it up.  Lick it.  Take the first bite, feel the airy bun, toasted lightly on the insides, moistened by the butter and juice; it sticks to your lips.  Feel the tenderness of that grass fed, Oregon beef under your teeth.  The pimiento cheese will be making its appearance about now—some tang, some creaminess—proving texture can be just as important as flavor; its velvety, vaguely sweet smoothness helps the salty, earthy beef flavor along.  A sliver of raw onion provides a crisp crunch on the far side of that first mouthful, freshness just noticeable enough to enhance the savory burger.  House-made pickles adorn the plate as well, best as a vinegary in-between-bites foil to all that meaty lavishness.  Gilding the lily: chipotle aioli on the side, spicy and sweet, lightly rosy and flecked with bits of pepper.

Enjoy, and eat a salad tomorrow.

Cat and Sue Cook Together For Once: Volume 1

It’s been awhile since either Sue or I posted, and a big part of the reason is that I went to Denver over Labor Day/Sue’s birthday weekend.  It was REALLY fun- Sue and I cooked a lot, and all the time we spent not cooking, we spent eating, or at least talking about what we were gonna eat.  I dimly remember one or two conversations about feelings, but mostly we talked about food.  And ate a lot of cheese (a lot, possibly a pound, and I ate all Sue’s sweet pickles, again).  And drank a lot of wine.

here is what happens when you drink a lot of wine and have a camera in your pocket.

And hung out  with some of my favorite people.   And played bags on the roof.  And I whined about the sun being too close to me.  And Nick (Sue’s boyfriend) cooked steaks RIGHT ON THE COALS and they were delicious.  And we ate a delicious dinner at Root Down (also with favorite people).  And I lost my voice for a whole day.  And Sue taught me how to make her shortbread (and made me swear to take the recipe with me to my grave).  And it was a fantastic weekend.

This post inaugurates our Cat and Sue Cook Together For Once series, so you’ll see exactly what we made well, and exactly what failed.

Sue and I actually get along quite well in the kitchen, even given our somewhat contradictory styles, and our mutual tendency to always want things our own way.  We compromised really well though, even in light of a few issues and one hilarious disaster, which I’ll detail later.  We did make some fabulous food though- especially one dinner, which is unique for us in that we didn’t use any recipes, we made it up, from start to finish.  Posts will be as follows:

Volume 1: Intro, and rambling

Volume 2: Pan fried Gruyere polenta cakes, with creamy braised leeks, seared diver scallops and a roasted tomato reduction

Volume 3: Vegetable samosas with mango chutney

Volume 4: Peach ice cream with blackberry sauce and dulce de leche shortbread, or Disaster Edition

Volume 5: Sweet corn and heirloom tomato salad

Volume 6: Caramelized onion dip, or How Sue Owes Cat an Apology

Volume 7: Oven fries with two sauces, or How Cat Owes Sue an Apology

Volume 8: Sue’s Birthday Cupcakes: lemon cake with white chocolate swiss buttercream frosting and blueberries

Look for upcoming posts!

aaaaand here we are looking like actual people.

Love,

Cat and Sue

Things I Bring to Work for Lunch, or How I Love Jars

If you haven’t gathered this already, I am very specific about the things I eat.  I just don’t want to eat anything unless it’s worth eating.  Sometimes I see my boyfriend bring sad turkey sandwiches to work when I am packing several things in so many containers they warrant an entire tote bag and I think: I am neurotic about food, but also, my lunch is going to be AWESOME.  And, I figure if I take healthy, reasonable and tasty food for work, that means that later I can have a cheeseburger if I want.  Or 50 cent tacos.  Or like 14 of the s’mores bars Linda made the other day (recipe to come).

So, here are some of the ideas, tips and tricks I use when packing good work lunches.

1.  Jars.  You know how much shit you buy that comes in jars (salsa, jam, pickles, chutney, olives etc.), and when the shit is gone you recycle the jar?  Stop doing that.  Instead, run your jars through the dishwasher and enjoy all the free, microwave/dishwasher safe, glass-so-it-doesn’t-leak-toxic-chemicals-into-your-food tupperware.  My favorite jars are really small ones (perfect for salad dressings in single servings) and jars with wide mouths (for easy eating stuff out of).

these are my two favorite jars. salad dressing jar and oatmeal jar. this picture, and caption, make me look crazy.

2.  That brings me to my favorite work breakfast: oatmeal.  And don’t for one minute think I eat that crap that comes in a packet and has 400 grams of sugar.  Here’s what you do: go to Trader Joe’s and look at their hot cereals.  They have a barley/wheat/rye/oatmeal instant cereal mix right now that is $2 for a big jar and has no added sugar.  Buy it, or at the very least get yourself  a big container of plain, instant Quaker oats.  In the morning before going to work, pour 1/2 cup of oatmeal into a wide mouth glass jar.  Put any other delicious stuff you want in there too, I usually do only sliced almonds, because I don’t like fruit in my oatmeal, but you could put dried cherries, apricots, cranberries, whatever.  Then put in some sugar, which you can do safely because you control how much sugar goes in.  I’m not gonna lie, I put a few tablespoons of maple syrup in that jar.  You could put white sugar, brown sugar, honey, whatever.  Put the top on the jar and when you’re at work, pour about 1/4 cup of water into the jar and microwave on high for 2 minutes, without the lid.  Voila, hot, fiber-y breakfast.  When you’re done, put the top back on, put the whole jar back in your tote bag and throw it in the dishwasher when you get home.  Easy.

3. I’m sure that you, like me, are always trying to eat more vegetables.  Here are a few things I bring for work lunch that help me do that.

A.  Salads with homemade dressing in little jars.  I HATE store bought salad dressing.  It’s gross, tasteless and bad for you.  Most of all, it’s pointless, because homemade dressing is so flingin flangin easy.  Because I made the dressing so I know I like it (Uncle Chris’ Sweet Garlic dressing, and my made up Lime-Chipotle vinaigrette, I’m looking at you), it makes it a lot easier to be excited about a salad.  Stick your salad stuff in a tupperware container, pour dressing onto salad, shake it up and there you go.  Also, a note on low-fat bottled dressings: eat these only if you hate yourself and you don’t want to be happy.  Make all your dressings with good oils and you’re healthier than the disgusting chemical laden crap they put in bottled dressings any day.  If you’re making a creamy dressing, a little low fat sour cream or regular mayo (or Greek yogurt, which is super good for you and has protein) is a lot better for you than some re-hydrogenated milk powder poison they put in low fat creamy dressings.  Seriously, please don’t eat that stuff, just make your own and keep it in a jar in the fridge.

Sue said this post would be boring without pictures, so here is a picture of the salad I ate at work yesterday.

Here’s my Uncle Chris’ Sweet Garlic dressing recipe, which is famous in my family.  It is DELICIOUS, and makes about 2 cups if you make the whole recipe, so you might want to halve it.

6-8 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

salt and pepper

Put everything in your food processor and pulse until smooth.  It’s a pretty thin dressing, but it sticks to salad really well and is intensely flavored, you don’t need much to dress a whole bowl of greens.

B. Tupperware containers full of easily microwaveable veggies, with seasonings.  My favorites are raw broccoli with olive oil, salt, pepper and grated Parmesan cheese, microwave for 2 minutes on high, snow peas and carrots with sweet Thai chili sauce and soy sauce, microwaved, halved cherry tomatoes with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, eaten cold.

C. Sandwiches with a serving of spinach on them.  If you make a sandwich and it doesn’t have some healthy greens on it, shame on you.  It’s the world’s easiest way to eat greens.  My favorite work sandwich: avocado, tomato, spinach, chipotle mayo and bacon.  Yes, I sometimes cook bacon before work so I can bring it in my lunch.  I told you I’m devoted.

D. Fruit smoothies, with spinach in them.  Easy, you’ll never taste it.  Also, you can bring smoothies to work in a jar.

4.  You know when it’s 3pm and you’re hungry for something probably crunchy and maybe sweet?  If you packed some dry cereal in your food tote bag, like I did, you’d be in business.  One of my favorite things on this earth is Smart Start.  I tried to write a whole post, entitled Ode to Smart Start, about how much I love it, but Sue wouldn’t let me post it.  Smart Start has big, nicely sweet bran flakes (big enough to eat dry and comfortably with your fingers, and not look like a jerk shoveling tiny cereal particles into your mouth) and lovely oat clusters.  Any dry, easily edible cereal would do (Frosted Mini-Wheats are a good choice), but why you’d eat cereal that isn’t Smart Start is beyond me.

5.  Leftovers.  Do I need to include this?  Does anyone NOT bring leftovers to work?  Best work leftovers: pasta, soup, Indian/Thai food.  Things that you can eat without use of a knife.

6.  Sweets.  Because not having sweets with  you is the quickest way to end up buying 4 boxes of Junior Mints from the cigar store down the street to try to meet their $5 minimum charge for credit card transactions.  Today I didn’t bring anything, because I have half a chocolate bar and some taffy my boss brought me from Seattle.  He knows how I roll.

- Cat

Have you made any of our recipes?

We’d love to know if you have.  We want to post recipes that people actually WANT to make, and your responses will help us do that.  Please comment on this post and let us know if you’ve tried anything we’ve posted- how it turned out, if you had any problems, if there was any information missing from the recipe.  Sue and I share recipes mostly with each other, so we know that the other one knows what we’re talking about – so please tell us if we’re excluding important information!

We’re also interested in knowing  if you have any suggestions of types of food you’d like to see made, photographed and written about; any specific recipes would be welcome as well.  For example- I know we’ve been a bit lazy on the breakfast food front (there are multitudinous reasons for this, including my boyfriend LIVES to go out for brunch so I never end up making it, I am fundamentally incapable of making good pancakes, and there’s no point in trying to out-do Sue’s delicious chorizo biscuits and gravy, I’d rather just let her make it for me).  In addition to breakfast, I think we’ll be including more vegetarian/vegan recipes as well, but we’d like to know what you think!

Thanks to all of you for reading our blog. We love doing this, and really appreciate all of you out there who enjoy it as much as we do!

-Cat and Sue