Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Salt of the Earth

(Did I mention I'm starting with the basics?)

Until recently, I thought salt was just salt; you know, the stuff that made stuff salty. But salt can add subtle flavor that reflects its geographical region.

I tried six salts: Cyprus Flake, Fleur de Sel de Guerande, Alaea Hawaiian, Murray River Flake, Himalayan Pink, and Black Lava.




Himalayan Pink: This salt is found, yes, in the Himalayas - making it very old - around 200 million years old. Salt from this region is known for its very high mineral content. I found this salt to be slightly sweet and very mild.

Alaea Hawaiian: These course grains were reddish brown in color (from their high iron-oxide content). While this salt was relatively mild in saltiness, it was very flavorful and my favorite of the salts I tried.

Fleur de Sel: This salt is moist and sticks together. This salt was the strongest in the saltiness category for me.

Cyprus Flake: The texture of this large flake salt was interesting.

Murray River: This salt is from Australia and pink! It was very mild, almost slightly sweet.

Black Lava: This salt was the most visually interesting, large black grains. I found it similar to the Alaea salt, earthy and minerally.


The flavor, texture, and color of the salts was fun. I used the two Hawaiian salts as finishing salts.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

The Why

I don't really cook.

In 2002, I made Patrick dinner. It was a disaster. That was the only time I, alone, have cooked for someone else (not counting instant noodles). Wow. Even I'm disgusted at that fact.

Why start and why now?

I'm coming off this month-long diet to lose the extra pounds I've been diligently gaining since starting my career as a paper chaser. I have been living off grilled chicken, cucumbers, and vitamins. Sure, the weight is coming off...

But my life is so sad. My idea of a treat is a 7.5 cal sugar-free FiberChoice tablet in strawberry (they are truly heavenly).

I miss you, food.

Then I thought, "what if when I 'cheat' I eat really good food to make it worth my while?" I'm talking about divinely delicious food; rich, savory, creamy, buttery, luscious, flaky, sweet, crispy, ambrosial kind of food.

So that's the game plan.


Saturday, May 29, 2010

An Idea Hatched...

Like the world needs another food blog...
I don't care. This is for myself (but I will force my friends to read it).
I can't cook, but I like to eat... well.
This is not just about learning how to make food, but learning to love food and appreciate what makes food great.

Stay tuned.