Meandering and Musing

So I don't remember if I noted it here, but the new Lean Cuisine Chef's Pick line is actually pretty tasty for what it is. I've been quite pleased, since though I really like Kashi, their selection is REALLY limited, and frozen entrees are how I do lunch, most workdays.

Today I'm having one of the entrees, and I flip over on the back to check the instructions (THEY VARY SOMETIMES OK) and there is a picture of all the chefs involved in the Chef's Pick project, and lo and behold, there she is

MICHELLE BERNSTEIN

Of course. Of course I like it.

In related, but much sadder news, my most favoritest restaurant in SoFla, Sra. Martinez, closed 4th of July weekend. Apparently the chef in residence (Not Michelle herself) left at the beginning of 2012, and since then the food has been spotty, and Michelle felt like she was spread really thin anyway, so she closed it. I didn't find out until my birthday, and was so full of WOE.

However, Miami Spice runs August 1, through September 30, so it is time for me to find a new favorite place to eat!

You guys know I love Michelle Bernstein, the chef who owns Sra Martinez, Michy's, Crumb on Parchment, and the restaurant at the Omphoy in West Palm, right? I blog about her stuff often.

Dude. So I'm listening to my least favorite NPR show, our local current affairs show, but it is Thursday, which means the dining show. They are doing their yearly report on school lunches. They have a bunch of new programs promoting fresh food/healthy foods/salad bars (Michelle Obama was here promoting the salad bars.)

Well, they have fresh meal vending machines, with like, yogurt parfaits and veggie wraps and stuff now in the senior highs and some of the junior highs, and they were listing the local chefs who had been involved in planning the food.

Yep. My favorite chef, Michelle! YAY!

(they also have a farm to school program that I think she's involved in, and I know another chef is whose restaurant I've been wanting to try...)

OK, back to my awful day.

The meal I used to hate eating was breakfast. I'm still not a big breakfast person, and my typical breakfast is a piece of fruit and either a serving of dry cereal, a bagel, or my new discovery, a Vita Top Cran Oat slice.

My new least favorite meal is lunch, or at least lunch at work. For YEARS, I've had a Lean Cuisine for lunch 85% of the time. They are quick and easy and cheap and relatively healthy, which are all good things for me at work.

But I've noticed that as I spend more time cooking and also eating at nicer places, Lean Cuisines are becoming less and less appetizing. I've had several days in recent months where I actually could not stomach a Lean Cuisine that had previously been a staple, even a favorite. This has happened to about three or four meals, and left me sad. And hungry.

I really don't have the time to make my lunch every day. I may try some other frozen brands like Smart Ones or Healthy Choice, or maybe things will get better.

(Luckily, the Pepperoni Pizza one is still delish.)

So apparently the thing I saw last night was *not* the Miami Street Food Court, but the Biscayne Triangle Truck Round-Up.

That's right, there is more than one of these going on in Miami, and the BTTR *IS* in that location every week.

I'm going to scope out the MSFC too, but damn. I'm so foodhappy right now!

Just had a great Miami Spice dinner at Asia de Cuba at Mondrian in South Beach with the awesome laliari and her wonderful M.

Dude, the food was good, but the hotel? The very definition of opulence. It had one of those vending machines where you can get everything from $5 breath mints to a $7500 motorcycle to a '57 Ford Thunderbird and many many things in between. The bathrooms had chandeliers. Fun stuff.

Quotes of the evening included, but were not limited to:

"Are you...are you giving me a ....hermit crab?"

"Its like a nuclear attack...in your MOUTH!"

"I'm not giving the blow job this time, I miss everything that way!!"

There are fifteen days left til my Birthday! It is ALMOST BIRTHDAY MONTH!!!

I have yet to firm up birthday plans, though there will be a dinner that night, either at Sra. Martinez or Michy's, depending on a few small things.

Last year I asked people to record something for me, and I've heard almost all of it now (I'm having computer issues on the last few) and I *LOVED* it. All of it. Thank you all so much!

So, I'm trying to cook more, and working on meal planning and all of that. Part of this is financial, part of it is health-related, and part of it is that I just really enjoy cooking.

Bearing that in mind:

If you want to give me something for my birthday this year, give me a recipe! I far prefer receiving physical recipe cards (I'm making a recipe book) and my address is the top entry of my LJ, but you can of course email them to enderfem at gmail dot com. Usual caveat of "I celebrate birthday month, late gifts are loved just as much as those on time."

I eat pretty much everything other than French Toast. I'm working on eggs as promised, regyt and novalis. I am an intermediate cook but looking to expand my skill set.

If you send me a recipe, I'll use it at some point in the next year, take a photo, and write an entry about it.

If you don't cook: make something for me! and send it to me! I love handmade things too.

If you don't like either idea, I do have an Amazon wishlist which is linked on my lj.

YAY BIRTHDAYS!!

*no birthday month song until it is actually birthday month*

"Tell me what you eat, and I'll tell you what you are"
--- Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

I was going to finally write the entry about my amazing dinner at The Green Goddess in New Orleans, but now is not the time. I haven't slept since 12:30 Saturday afternoon, and I need a bit more rest to write what will be a long entry, I'm sure. Also, how the hell do I copy and paste with an adobe pdf? Because those descriptions are long, yo. Also, I'm hoping to go to bed in the next hour or so.

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for their kind words on my recent wangsty posts. I promise to lighten up on the wangst.

Also: Special thank you to greyweirdo who sent along a really sweet care package. I've already eaten all the dried fruit. YUM. Thank you sweetie!!

Yesterday afternoon I learned an important lesson. While a self-cleaning oven is wonderful thing, when you have a tiny apartment with a poorly-ventilated kitchen (but with such nice shelving!) you should not sit in the apartment for the three hours the oven is cleaning. Also, it will take forever to get the smell out. I still think I probably smelled of oven cleaner at the club last night, but my friends were too nice to tell me.

I did, however, remember around 11 am this morning an old trick of my mom's, so I put a pot of water on the stove to simmer, and dropped about a third of a bottle of whole cloves in it. My apartment smells wonderful.

Actually, it now smells more like that eggplant tomato bake I make, since I made that tonight.

I've discovered that when I'm exercising, I actually want to eat healthier. I don't know if that's a physiological thing or a psychological thing or a combination. I mean, I'm using up nutrients, so its natural my body wants to replace them instead of replacing my stores of HFCS, butterfat, and MSG, but still. It is a good thing.

Last night the discussion turned to quirky things, and I was thinking today about my weird quirks. There's not a small number of them. I wonder what weird quirks people are willing to admit they have? Comment here and let me know! I'll start: I think this is because I tend to get messy when doing both, but I prefer to both cook and clean naked or almost naked. Which is one of the reasons I cannot run a restaurant or a catering business, or even a maid service, I suppose.

So, what about you?

Hey, an interview meme! If you want in, leave me a comment saying "Resistance is Futile."

I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can satisfy my curiosity.

Update your journal with the answers to the questions.

Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions.


Questions from g33kgrrl

1. Now that you are moved into your shiny new place, do you have any plans to acquire a pet?

The short answer to this is "Yes, but not anytime soon." I had hoped to be ready to get a puppy in late December or early January, but that isn't going to work out.(Yes, shadesong I know I said I would.) I need to pay off some more debt before I'd feel ready to take on a pet. I also am planning a few longish trips in the upcoming year to year and a half, and that would require figuring out something to do with said pet while I'm gone, etc. I hate asking people to pet-sit. Well, really I hate asking people for help at all. This would so not have been an issue seven years ago, because my dad and stepmother ran a boarding kennel and grooming shop in central Florida. But alas. I also need adequate time to devote to training said puppy, and I very much do not have that right now. When I *do* get one, I'm thinking a Corgi. My stepmother works with a couple of different breed rescue groups, and Corgis are one of them. They're small and cute and quite smart. Plus, as kcplan said, the Queen loves them! It'll be weird, since I've always had large breeds, but they're adorable.

2. Charlie Crist. Seriously, what do you think he's going to do this election cycle? He seems kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place?

You know, this is hard because I'm confused. I think at one time you said something similar either on your journal or mine, and I remember being confused. He's quite popular, for the most part, and has done a lot of things for the state that make both Dems and Reps happy. In fact, I'm kind of sad to lose him as a governor. (Although I have strong issues with his incredibly hypocritical stance on GLBTI issues.) He has name recognition like whoa. He's had missteps of course, but really, his challenger for the nomination, Marco Rubio, just strikes me as a flash in the pan. He's much more hard-line then Crist, but aside from vocal crazies, we're a much more moderate state than recent events would lead one to believe. Also, I'm pretty sure Crist has a bigger war chest. And if he gets the nom, I have little doubt he'll win the election, much as I'd like to see Alex Sink take it. He's popular and moderate enough to get some Democrat votes (especially moderate to conservative ones who might be put off by whoever gets the Dem nom--especially if it is Sink.) But then, I've been so busy working and so full of hate for the world and its denizens that you probably have information that I don't.

3. Dream-team Supreme Court: you can name 9 people to the Supreme Court. Who are they, and why?

Since you didn't specify whether they had to be alive or dead, or contemporaries of each other, or whether they had to have actually been on SCOTUS, I'm removing all such parameters here. Otherwise it would be very hard.

( An answer this long needs a cut tag. )

4. I am a picky eater. What would you recommend I try as the next thing to broaden my horizons, and why?

See, this is really hard, maybe even harder than the SCOTUS question (although I spent a very loooong time on that one) for a few reasons. I don't really know for sure what you have and haven't tried, and it is hard for me to gauge what you may or may not be interested in trying. I know you say you dislike spice (although from your description it appears to apply to most seasonings) but are there any you like? Rosemary, oregano, sage, paprika, salt, pepper? I'm never sure. There's also the whole "this is alien to me" thing that I struggle with. However, I will try:

I would like to make a plug for trying greens again. Swiss chard is rather bitter, and not a good green to start with. Maybe some fresh wilted spinach? Much milder. Or mustard greens, which are far milder than turnip or collard. Or kale, which can be roasted and thus the bitterness is removed. I'd also recommend trying a roasted mushroom, as the consistency and texture is different. Hm, what about asparagus? It is quite good and can be cooked many different ways: roasted, sauteed, par-boiled, blanched, or even raw. (I may be biased as I just spent an hour blanching and freezing asparagus.)Oh, and I can't remember if you've had sweet potatoes? They're quite healthy, and I think chemokitty should try them. They taste good, there's lots of things you can do with them, and if you don't overcook a baked sweet potato, the consistency is close to a regular baked potato. But yes, those are my recommendations--other leafy greens, roasted mushrooms, asparagus and sweet potatoes.


5. What is the one piece of knowledge or advice you would tell people that you've gained from your time working with the criminal justice system?

I think you're referring to the project I ran helping women who were getting out of prison with civil legal issues? If not, then I'm really confused because that's the only experience I have professionally with the criminal justice system, and even then, I was handling civil matters. That being said, I'll basically give the spiel I gave twice a month about a specific issue I saw again and again:

If you are going to have to serve time in prison and you have children, make sure you have REALLY solid plans for the custody of your kids while you're inside. If there's another parent around than that isn't too difficult, but so many times, there just isn't. Giving someone physical custody of your kids isn't legal custody in most states. A signed note doesn't suffice either. (I saw a lot of this: "I, Britney, give custody of my daughter Hannah to my friend Miley." Yeah, that's not legally enforceable in most places.) A power of attorney is also not enough in many states, including Florida. The person seeking custody (and they can begin having physical custody at any time, of course) needs to file a Temporary Relative Custody order if they are a relative. (if not, there are some other options.) A TRC allows the person to make education and medical (including emergency medical) decisions for your kids. You sign a waiver form, and the custodial relative files that along with some other paperwork with the court. A judge signs the order, and the custodial relative keeps a copy to take to schools, hospitals, housing agencies, public benefit agencies, etc. When you get out, you simply file a motion in court to reverse the order. It usually takes only a few weeks.

I tell you this because I have seen parents lose their children, and lose their parental rights, because the question of who had custody was murky. If the state discovers insufficient legal custody exists, they'll often put the child(ren) in state custody. And depending on the length of your sentence, that can lead to serious consequences for you, your child and your parental rights. By federal law (and I can't remember the name of the damn law anymore, it has been so long since I did this) if your children are in state custody for 14 out of the last 22 months (cumulative, and does not account for short trips to see relatives) the state HAS to start proceedings to terminate your parental rights.

You're supposed to get notice of this, but as we all know, you get bounced from prison to prison around the state and you don't always get your mail in time. If you miss your deadline to contest the TPR (Termination of Parental Rights) you can appeal the decision, but you only have one year to appeal it and you have to show your rights were terminated under duress (in Florida, at least.) If your parental rights are terminated, that's it. You no longer have the right to any kind of contact with your child.

Spiel over: Yes, I saw this happen quite often. The saddest case wasn't even one where a TRC order would have helped. Mom's boyfriend took physical custody, but then he had a stroke and ended up in an assisted living facility and the state took the kids. Mom was in her first six months of a four year sentence, and was bounced around so much no letters, not to mention court notices, reached her in time. She lost her parental rights, and though she was going to get out of prison soon after I met with her, she felt like she wasn't going back to anything worth caring about. So. Make sure you have some good solid legal custody plans in place, and try as much as possible to stay informed as to what is going on with your family.

One of the many wonderful things about the visit from kcplan earlier this summer was that she gave me a recipe for roasted broccoli.

I love broccoli, but there's only so many times I can steam or stir fry it, or eat it raw.

I had some broccoli that I needed to use RIGHT AWAY, and after days of soup I needed some veggies. So I made the broccoli recipe she left.

OMG. SO GOOD. No wonder her last step in the recipe is "Devour".

So, I hope she's fine with sharing, because here's the recipe. Simple, but tasty and crunchy!

( Roasted Broccoli )

Of course, one can play with the seasonings (and I will!) but yes. So tasty.

Pretty good weekend. Friday night was tapas with Mr. Matrix and Snazzy Eddie at Sra Martinez, which is tasty AND near my office. We ordered about seven plates--the roasted pimiento peppers were tasty and SE referred to them as Spain's answer to edamame. I really loved the crispy artichokes. The foie gras was ok--I'm not a huge fan of it in general. The restaurant's version of a potato skin, inverted and served with manchego cheese and spices, was everyone's favorite.

The fried quail was ok, but the local honey served with it was fantastic. I've always wanted to try bone marrow, so we got that as well. I thought it would be grainy for some reason. It was fat and protein, and the server described it as really rich butter. Mr. Matrix and I loved it, Snazzy Eddie did not. We also got the special, which was a gnocchi and chorizo thing that was divine. There was a thyme-infused goat cheese for dessert. I enjoyed it, but even better was the quince paste served with it. I've been wanting to try quince for awhile, and this was fabulous.

Saturday I went to a lobbying training for Save Dade. There was a great group of people there, although I must say the speaker from HRC was horrible. Just horrible. He didn't know the bills he was talking about, nor the representatives. I already have a meeting set up with my local rep, and got voted captain of my district. Go me!.

I then saw Away We Go with chemokitty. I highly, highly recommend it, with the warning there are some awkward and over-the-top moments, but I thought it was fantastic. I think I've loved every Focus Feature film I've seen. There was also some shopping and dinner at Tony Roma's (the one down south, tresca, which didn't suck like the one up north.)

After I got home and got in bed, my host arrived home from dinner and wanted to chat, so we talked for a bit and then finished watching the dvd of the one-woman show he directed in March in North Carolina. The show is The Last Flapper and is based on the life of Zelda Fitzgerald. It was really good, and made me all curious about her. (I abhor The Great Gatsby.)

Yesterday I slept waaaaay in, but I worked out for the first time in three weeks. I'm getting back on track, but it is a slow process.

I then went to John Martin's a pub in Coral Gables, for an Irish breakfast with my book club. I had a fantastic ham and cheese croissant. Then it was off to work, to spend half my day organizing my office. I'm about a two thirds of the way through that project. I'll feel much calmer when its done, I think.

At one point during the work, I realized the pharmacy nearby was closing and I needed to get my prescriptions. The pharmacy is located right next to a Publix grocery store. So a few weeks ago I was reading the Miami New Times Best of list, and the best BBQ was Jimmy's BBQ, which is just a little street food kiosk, and the article mentioned he usually set up behind that particular Publix. I had seen it before reading the article, but not much since, as I didn't drive that way for awhile. When I went to the pharmacy, there he was. So I walked over and said I'd heard they had the best BBQ in Miami, and I wanted to try it. He asked if I was familiar with BBQ, and I told him I grew up in Alabama, so yeah...somewhat familiar. He gave me a rib for free. OMG. It was fantastic. Like, for all you Jasper people, it was Green Top-level good. (Funny story--we were once in Jamaica and ran into someone wearing a Green Top shirt, and like, two years later, my cousins were in Nevada and found a Green Top fridge magnet in their suite.) I bough half a slab and brought it home for sharing with my host. So. Delicious.

After that, I slept. A lot. I took a "nap" at like, 7:30, and at 9 was convinced to just sleep. So of course I woke up at one and tossed and turned the rest of the time, but that happens.

So. Good weekend. Lots of good food. You know, I need a food icon.