Manners

Since I will not be here Friday, I will be posting today in a feeble attempt to keep this crazy train going.  I have a lot of fun with this blog and of course I love food so much,  that to stop blogging would be akin to stop breathing, except that sometimes I get distracted and I don't write whereas, mostly, I do not get so distracted I stop breathing.  Actually.....

Anyway!  So today's topic on a food blog, is manners.   I have kids.  I bet you or someone like you (ahem) has kids.   Maybe your neighbor has kids?  I'm sure you must know someone who has kids.  Kids tend to get sick a lot too and sometimes, perhaps this person is a little... unwell? (ahem)   Either way, kids are a great example usually of people who need manners.   However, I'm sure we've all met that ONE person who is genuinely full of himself, thinks he owns the world and doesn't owe anyone anything, especially courtesy.  This person could be compared to a child with his impetuousness, lack of discipline, and general lack of respect for the general public around him.  When everyone else starts to get angry, he tends to get bent over everyone's "irrational" behavior.   You see, we're supposed to be grateful, praising the gods for their hand me down.  Or whatever bone they threw.  So, today's lesson is based in the real world, where us normal folks live.

Begin:

Please:  paired with a request:  Please pass the peas.

I'm sorry / my apologies:  usually following a mistake or misunderstanding:   I'm sorry we didn't post the stipulations of the contract you signed and then proceeded with the business deal anyway.

Thank you:  gratitude for a good deed received:  Thank you for purchasing things from me, when you could go to someone else and be just as overjoyed.

Excuse me:  sometimes coupled with "I'm sorry", continued clarification of error:  Excuse me for my mistake, I will try my best to rectify the situation.

Most situations and misunderstandings can be generally smoothed over by a general use of manners.  Sometimes it takes a little more effort to prevent a downfall, however, the work is totally worth getting everyone back to good.


Tuesday was a little rough for my friend J and I.  She's the one with the awesome pictures of Johnny at the Goo's concerts.  I stole them fair and square right off her camera.  {I'm sorry for stealing your pictures and posting them on my website.  Since you read my website, I'm probably busted.  - I'm using my newly learned manners.}  J is a great understanding friend, so imagine my surprise when Tuesday rolled around and our combined disappointment led to a long day of upset and sadness over a miscommunication.

Let's just say, we ran into an unexpected glitch in our fanatic and frantic race for our beloved past time, only to find out, it wasn't exactly what they said it would be.

We're recovering.  Don't worry!

In the spirit of learning new manners, getting on with life and knowing, we all have our ups and downs, I'll post a very simple recipe that will go great with some onion and chive sour cream and a little movie pick me up.  A nice snack that can be paired with some cheese or would make a great side with a burger.  It's gluten free, but has natural sugars.  I don't usually use potatoes on this site, however, this is very similar.  Sometimes you just have one of those days where you need a simple salty snack, but without the icky additives and worries about,  "what did they put in this."


Snackable Plantain chips

1-2  BARELY yellow plantains (basically - you want them yellow enough that you can still peel them without cutting the peel off like when they are green, but not with brown on them - which makes them sweet)
fine ground sea salt for sprinkling
butter
1 lime, quartered


Heat your grill (I LOVE mine - you can see it HERE - I very much recommend it.) to 300-325f.  Grease the very liberally with butter.  You don't need the plantains to sit in a 1/2 inch pool of it, but not just a simple swipe with butter either, you want to see bubbles.  Slice the plantains anyway you like, but keep them somewhat thin.  Not potato chip thin.  Sprinkle both sides with a bit of salt.   Heat on grill till warm brown on both sides, about 20 minutes.  It takes a WHILE, about 10 min a side.   If you get to 10 min, and yours are not brown - let them be a little bit longer.  If you get to 10 min and they are burned, your heat is TOO high.  Low and slow.  You'll get a wonderfully crunchy on the outside, smooth on the inside, salty, chiplike snack, which everyone can enjoy, with no additives, chemicals or preservatives.  After removing from heat, sqeeze with a little bit of lime and serve with cheese dip or onion chive sour cream.



As for J and I.  Well,  we just look at this whole situation and our attitude now is, "I'll believe you when......"


(again, the blurriness is a little awkward for a food blog, I had to take these with my iPad.  Faith in my camera restored....)

Sushi

There are a few odd bird people out there who just do not like sushi. At all. Some people like different forms of sushi and that's fine, and some people have never even tried it but turn up their noses at it. I don't understand this much. There are a lot of foods I don't like but I'm willing to give it a shot first. I hate hot spicy foods but I love chili (mild) hot tuna rolls and hot wings. There may be more hot foods out there I will like one day but at least I can say I will give it a whirl.

Back to sushi. This is a grey category for someone who is gluten free. It's even more grey for someone who needs to watch their blood sugar (white rice has a VERY high glycemic index.) I have decided to compile a "Survivor's guide to sushi" for all those out there who are GFSF. This list is in no particular order other than I just thought about it or have already been thinking about it.

1. Never order anything 'tempura.' Just don't. Tempura is supposed to be rice flakes (similar to bread crumbs) but most tempura is made from wheat. I know this isn't what you wanted to hear, but unless you're going to do tempura at home and sub this out, don't go there.

2. Bring 'tamari' sauce. Real soy sauce is actually made with wheat. Yeah. Bummer. So avoid ordering anything that has eel sauce on it (made with soy sauce) or anything that doesn't have soy sauce on the side. Bring your own wheat free sauce or tamari sauce. It tastes better and has no wheat.

3. Americanized sushi is your friend. Yes, the Japanese chefs are not only cool to watch, many of them personable and eager to put on a show and definitely authentic - they will not know how to roll a sushi roll without rice. It's just against every moral fiber and code ingrained in them. Sushi chains and specialized restaurants may have a better ability to roll sushi without the rice. Basically you pick your sushi - salmon, cream cheese, avacado, and cucumber - these are rolled together in a seaweed wrapper and then plated. There is no rice. I cannot rave enough about this roll. Not only is it filling and delicious, but it has zero worry. Some places will note their rolls as available "riceless." Do not confuse this with "sashimi." That's a whole other bird, ahem, fish, altogether.

4. Go for the sashimi. If you are a true die hard sushi lover and enjoy a nice block of fresh fish right out of the water, go for it! Sashimi is delicious and "pure." No additives, no sauces (unless specified) and it comes in an array of fishes. Yellowtail is one of my favorites along with escolar (which has the texture of room temperature butter). If it is served on rice, simply eat the fish without the rice. Dip in your tamari sauce. Enjoy.

5. In the event that you are on a sushi craving and you cannot find any Americanized versions of your favorite rolls, and seems you left your spare bottle of tamari in your other Lamborghini, well you're still in luck. Some restaurants and sushi places will have the tamari, if not, expect to skip this step. You'll have to live without it a bit. As for the sushi, try to get a high protein version of whatever roll you like. Skip the veggie roll this time. In order to slow down the sugar bomb of the rice, choose a fish filled roll maybe with some cream cheese. Fat and protein are your friend for blocking the body's ability to binge on rice sugars.

And I too love a good saki. Who doesn't? I could drink saki all afternoon in a great sushi bar while eating before a Goos concert for which I had front row tickets. Oh ya. I did. That's not to say it was good for me. It's really best to skip the saki. Like beer and wine, it messes with blood sugar very very badly. If you want to spend the next week with sugar cravings - drink alcohol. Otherwise, yep you knew this - skip it.

So, this cooking blog with no recipes, how's that working out for us? Well. Since I just forbade all alcoholic drinks, I'm going to share one of my hugely popular drinks that might satisfy the soda freak in all of us. Sure you can order diet soda and I'm sure that's fine. You can pass on a glass of champagne and sip a glass of boring water (which is good for you!! don't give it up!) but if you're out and want something fun, see if the bartender will put this together for you, or easily make it at home.

I put no measurements - why? Try it yourself, see how you like the flavors, add more or less of each thing till you know how you like the taste. Some people need more sweet, some more hot. Play with it and pick your comfort level.

Ginger lime soda:

Carbonated lime flavored water

lime juice

grated ginger

liquid stevia

ice

put ice, stevia, ginger and lime in a glass and mix. Pour in the carbonated water and stir. Enjoy!

It's so easy, even I can't mess up that one (like I messed up the brownie recipe I was going to post today - /cry!) This is also considered a whole food and raw recipe for any of the foodies... I think I'm the only one reading this so far, save a few good hearted personal supporters.

I have a lot more ideas up my sleeve, so here's to more behind the times blogging! /cheers

UPDATE! I found an additional tip! Avoid imitation crab meat! Unless you are sure it's made with tapioca starch ONLY (as listed on an ingredient list) then don't eat it!

(the picture below is sushi called "lollipop" the wrap is cucumber! It's amazingly delicious)