An Outlook on Food

There is so much information and research out there about what is good for you, what type of eating lifestyle is the healthiest, and what type of standards you should have when buying food. It can all be pretty confusing. I have personally been an omnivore, vegetarian, and a vegan at different points in my life, and each lifestyle has valid points defending it's healthiness. This blog started out primarily vegan, but you may have noticed that recently some things have been decidedly non-vegan. Over the years, I've shaped what I think is a healthy outlook on food that minimizes harm to animals and maximized flavor. Now, I'm going to elaborate on this outlook so it's a little more clear what goes into the planning for my recipes and food choices.

Caprese Bites

I'm still bringing on the summer recipes, although after this one they start to transition more into anytime recipes. This is almost stupidly simple, to the point that it's ridiculous that I'm even posting it. All the talent it requires is the ability to cut cheese into cubes and put things on a toothpick. Think you can handle it?

Grilled Tofu Steaks with Cilantro-Basil Pesto and Lemony Asparagus

Didn't I promise you a summery recipe? What's more summery that grilled asparagus, fresh squeezed lemon, zingy pesto, and crusty blackened tofu? This is something I made with my mom for the Fourth of July and it's been hanging out in my big folder of "Blog Photos" ever since. Finally, on the last day of summer when most people have probably closed up their grills for good, I'm posting it.

Guess what season it is?

Well, it's summer. For the next 12 hours at least, and then it's friggin' fall! I was feeling a little mopey because it's still 95 degrees here and none of the trees are the kind that turn bright red and orange, but then I read this little article and it kicked my butt into gear. Tucson, suck it. I'm ready for this freaky-assed harvest.

Tucson seems to be taking pity on me though, if only just a bit, because the high tomorrow is 82. Eighty-two! Can you believe it? That's practically freezing. AND, there are supposed to be thunderstorms all day. I might just whip out a scarf. Also, pumpkins and gourds and squashes are showing up in all the grocery stores, even though I'm probably the only one that would dream of baking pies and stuffed squash in this heat. I plan on buying a ridiculous amount, though, and putting them all over my apartment so that people can come over and think, "Hey, it might be too hot to even use the outdoor unheated pool comfortably, but it's definitely fall in here". Maybe I'll even crank up the AC to make it more convincing.

7 Layer Burritos

This is pretty sad, but there have been times in my life- usually 2 to 3 month increments- in which I have survived primarily on Taco Bell. Yep, it's disgusting, but being a jobless teenager with very little time to cook and a whole slew of friends with equal amounts of time and money meant that cheap fast food was the only way to go. I'd like to believe taco bell is better than most fast food restaurants in that little of their fare is fried in grease and there are dozens of vegetarian and even vegan things to order, but lets be honest. It's still fast food. Sure, it's freakishly cheap, requires no energy, and is ready in minutes, but it's hardly satisfying or even yummy.

Grapefruit Shortbread

What? Another post? But that's three in one week immediately following months of silence! How about some consistency!

Yes, I should have predicted it would be like this... Almost a whole summer of nada but once school starts up again its back to blogging, cooking, and more blogging. During summer I was too busy with salt river trips and having a sweet job and going camping to take pictures of food. But now... well all I've really got on my to-do list is going to class and homework, and thus blogging has returned as a prime method of procrastination. Don't worry, I already did my work for today.

I talked a little bit yesterday about how fall is almost here and how I find that incredibly exciting. I'm a little bummed that it won't be quite as nice as it would have been if I was still in Prescott or Portland, but hopefully Tucson will cool down just a little bit? Please? and maybe some leaves could even change color? Well it doesn't matter, I will be wearing tights and scarves and making copious amounts of butternut squash and fresh pasta and browned butter and thick breads regardless. Fall is my favorite season and I'm going to enjoy it no matter where I am, damnit.

Quick Jalapeno Poppers

Labor Day weekend has something to do with football, right? And barbecues? I don't really know, I'm not a big sports fan and we've never had big parties on holiday weekends... but I do know that late summer is upon us and that means no more wearing white (although I doubt anyone in Tucson follows that old rule), the fall sports are just beginning, and soon the season of orange leaves and scarves and small children dressed up in costumes will be upon us.

I might just have to take frequent trips to Prescott to get my fall fix of nippy and gorgeous weather this year.

Anyways, the point I was getting to before I got all excited about the best season ever is that Labor Day Weekend is a mix of the last few days of summer and the first few days of those weird sports fans beginning to congregate in bars and stadiums and house parties to watch bulky guys run around and knock each other over, all leading to a way-bigger-than-it-should-be ultimate throw-down in February. What better way to kick off (heh... no pun intended) the start of football season than with some classic sports bar food?

Paneer Masala

Things have been a bit hectic lately, because I've just moved down to Tucson to go to college. A few things happened right off the bat that made the transition a little rough. First, as soon as I got here I realized that it's hot. Like, REALLY hot. So hot you always want to take a shower and chug water and if the AC isn't on you can only lie on your bed (which only has sheets on it) helplessly trying to wish the heat away. Secondly, on my first day of school I walked out of my apartment to find the cable that had been keeping my bike safe and locked up cut clean through on the ground with no bike in sight. I guess I forgot about all that "Tucson has a ton of crime" stuff. Third, I went to buy my books for the semester, couldn't find 3 of them, and found that what I did find came to four hundred freaking dollars. Please, show me the person that thinks that college kids can pay that much money for 5 books! It's absolutely preposterous.

Anyways, after spending a small fortune on books I really needed to find a cheap place to buy groceries. It makes me sad that I don't have enough money to buy quality food, but you gotta do what you gotta do... and I'm usually pretty good at turning cheap crap into quality meals. I finally found out about this "Food City" place, which it turns out seems to be a grocery store designed for Mexicans. All the Mexican labels and ads were huge and I had to search for the English definition in tiny print underneath. I'm not complaining though because they had ridiculously awesome deals like 3 pounds of jalapenos for a dollar and 4 bunches of cilantro for 99 cents. I wanted to buy everything! Of course I kept it small and only spent about 35 dollars.