Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Olives, love 'em or leave 'em out?

I didn't love olives very much until I went to Spain and ate their 'everyday' anchovy stuffed olives which are like heaven in a tin. My love has extended to all olives after that

handtomouth at 11:24AM on 09/02/07

From Serious Eats

Serious Sandwiches: The World's Most Expensive Sandwich

Why can't sandwhiches be posh? I kind of like the novelty. However, I would never buy it. nuh-uh.

handtomouth at 10:56AM on 08/30/07

From Serious Eats

What Are You Grilling This Labor Day Weekend?

Winter has already come to London, and we have no labour day. There is little hope.

handtomouth at 10:53AM on 08/30/07

Post your profession...

I'm 24. I work in the editorial division of a newspaper syndicate, and write a food column for an online women's magazine. Serious Eats is my oasis in a desert of Courier New font.

N
Hand to Mouth

handtomouth at 7:57PM on 08/29/07

Post your profession...

I'm 25, working at a large anti-homelessness charity, an ESL teacher to adults and a project officer for an education consultancy (yawn!)
I'm also a freelance writer!

handtomouth at 5:40PM on 08/28/07

Someday, I would like to have a _____ growing in my backyard

I would love an avocado tree, a mango tree and a cherry tree. And a gorgeous man servant tree.

handtomouth at 5:33PM on 08/28/07

Favorite kind of Pasta...

wholewheat angel hair, or spirals. yum!

handtomouth at 5:31PM on 08/28/07

What do you chop on?

I love wooden chopping boards - but I'll take plastic in a pinch. I HATE glass chopping boards - nothing feels and sounds more terrible!

I also would love to have butchblock countertops. and black walls I could write on with chalk.

handtomouth at 6:51PM on 08/24/07

What fruit could you eat every day for the rest of your life?

passion fruit, mangoes, cherries, rasberries. you know, all the expensive stuff. oooh, and pineapple. and perfectly ripe nectarines.

handtomouth at 6:49PM on 08/24/07

I used to eat ________after school

slices of apple with malt vineager and salt, cheddar cheese on crackers, celery sticks with onion soup mix and sour cream dip. Oh, it was so healthy...

handtomouth at 5:17PM on 08/23/07

What is your favorite snack?

I love eating pieces of fresh apple and mature cheddar together. for a slightly less healthy option, dab on a bit of onion or mango chutney. I also love eating deli ham as a snack. Or, white, semi-skimmed milk. It always makes me stop feeling hungry.

handtomouth at 5:11PM on 08/23/07

Grocery shopping confessions...

Its so funny that most of our regular foods seem to be breakfast foods! I imagine thats due to us eating that meal at home most often!

I eat salad every day - so bags of spinach or greens are always a go along with chedder cheese, deli ham, bagels, organic yoghurt, carbonated water, tuna, limes and passion fruit.

handtomouth at 5:08PM on 08/23/07

Dressing the salad.....bottled or homemade?

I love making home-made dressing, and after living in Spain, I never dress my salads from a bottle. However - there is one large exception to this: Japanese salad dressings. I have been in Japan twice, of course, they know how to do packaged dressing right. I am always on the prowl for new flavours of japanese dressings to keep my palate surprised. Wafu, is of course, an old standard, but I can't seem to find it in the UK

handtomouth at 6:50PM on 08/21/07

Best books / web sites for a real newbie of a cook?

I think the Joy of Cooking is a good starting point. Alternatively, my mom gave me a book published by chatelaine called '15 minute meals' or something like that, especially good for young students on the go, on a budget. it is organised by basic ingredients: ie by a tin of tomato sauce, an eggplant, a bla bla bla. Its good for the cook who looks in their fridge and says right: I've got a chicken breast, and a lemon - what can I make?

handtomouth at 6:46PM on 08/21/07

Help, I am dating a vegetarian!

I used to make an awesome lentil 'no-meat' loaf with mashed potatoes and veggie peppercorn gravy on cold days (you can tell london hasn't been warm since this is the first thing I thought of). I was veggie for five years!
I also love eating burritos with TVP (soya protein), cheese, guac and fresh pico de gallo. You could also make a nice tofu/snap pea/broccoli pepper stir fry with noodles and oyster sauce.
The key to cooking tofu well is to wrap it in paper towel, put a cookie sheet weighed down with tins of tomatoes ontop for 15 minutes to squeeze out the water. after that you could even marinate it yourself. i prefer to fry it in sesame oil until its crispy.

handtomouth at 6:20PM on 08/20/07

Meal Planning - Does anyone still do it?

I must plan, or I end up spending money I do not have on stupid 4 pound sandwiches at M&S. I usually spend all of sunday cooking and preparing salads and snacks for the week so I don't eat myself into obesity for the sake of convieniance

handtomouth at 6:16PM on 08/20/07

Favorite Drink

Amaretto with diet coke and a cherry

any beer with lime

CAESERS! (this is a canadian thing I think??) They are like bloody marys but with CLAMATO instead of tomato juice. They are so good. Served with celery stalk, the glass rimmed with celery salt.
delicious.

handtomouth at 5:59PM on 08/16/07

Rainy day food?

I agree with your sentiments regarding the weather in London. I can't even deal with this stuff anymore.
I'm cooking a big lentil soup with red wine, thyme, carrots, onions and bacon.
You could also make a nice pot roast. Anything slow cooked!