The Daily Burns

About a month ago (or whenever it was), a few days before leaving for Destin I made some bread.  I made some gluten-free experimental bread for the kids & I & then went & bought some regular wheat bread for ryan (Sorry…i’m not THAT nice…he doesn’t get home-made bread all for himself).  Usually I would buy him sprouted bread or the like, but that particular day I went to a store that didn’t have it, so I went with whatever had a list of ingredients that least offended me (& i still left pretty offended).  I forgot to put them in the fridge before we left.  When we came home a week later, my bread had a rather scary colony of mold ALL OVER IT.  Ryan’s bread was perfectly “edible”.  This gave me the heebie-jeebies.  I don’t feel comfortable with food that can sit out in a warm cupboard for a week or more and be in the original state.

I am a fan of slow food….”traditional food” if you will.  One of my internet ‘trad-food’ comrades has me all excited about sourdough bread.  I’m sort of on hold till I find out if Asher has gluten issues, but I have been tinkering with her gluten-free recipe (not successfully yet) and just tonight got some whole-wheat dough started using this method (not a true sourdough, but fascinating principles…i will be reading the book very soon).

i’ve also got some new additions to what I like to refer to as my ‘crazy closet of fermentation’ i put together today…it’s fun to work in a ‘living kitchen’….”it’s allliiiiiive!!!”  

For the past 7.5 years I have pestered ryan about fondue. I had never had fondue and it sounded like a lot of fun. Whenever we pass a melting pot restaurant, I always bring it up. Ryan always either has no response or shoots it down.

Until this past friday. We went on a date & went to a local fondue restaurant. I was elated when he revealed the destination (which was when we pulled into the parking lot). In fact we were both pretty excited, looking forward to a ‘new experience’.

Before the meal began & as we were enjoying our (too cheddar-y tasting) appetizer we were discussing how people are always making fun of fondue. “A restaurant where you have to cook your own food??” Party poopers!

Then the main course arrived. We got a sampler platter for two, lots of different kinds of meat….that you cook on a 700 degree rock, while the side dish was simmering in a pot of chicken stock. At first I was fondly reminded of bulgogi restaurants in Korea….but as it went on it wasn’t as fun as I remembered. Perhaps b/c when I was in korea I was not the one who cooked dinner at home. Or perhaps it’s just that the meat wasn’t marinated.

All conversation was halted as we heaped the meat onto the rock, & kept a close eye to make sure we turned it at the right time…don’t overcook that beef! Wait..is that fish done? Not to mention the 3 reminders from our server, “make sure you don’t eat any raw pork or seafood”. Ryan went with the “eat it as soon as it comes off the rock” technique which left him unsure of what or how much he ate & I went with the “wait until it’s all finished cooking to enjoy it” technique which left my food cold & not that enjoyable.

In the end…”they” were right. It’s too much work! I mentioned during the cooking rush that I felt like i was getting lunch ready for the kids. it’s often a hurried task where i deliver to them the food as it’s finished & sneak my own eating in between “courses”. By the time they’re finished eating & i get them cleaned up & ready for naps I’m exhausted.

I can see how it could be a fun place to go for dessert or just appetizers esp. with a group of people. But cooking my main course…not very relaxing and fun. As far as ryan was concerned it was a win-win though…if it was good then we would have found a fun new place to eat. Since it was not, he no longer has to hear me go on about wanting fondue.

I have a cold. arg. i can’t remember the last time i had one, but as i was mentioning to my mom last week, it’s def. been over a year. well, there you go.

i started feeling it coming on last sunday (after being at the cold beach in a bathingsuit on saturday) so i started binging on raw garlic & vitamin c. By tuesday i felt totally fine (though smelled wonderful according to my dad), so i stopped the madness. When we got home thursday I felt it again, but did not get back on my tried & true regimen….& sure enough, yesterday I was in full-blown cold mode.

At least it’s just a minor cold. Ok, going to go pop some tv on for the kids so I can put my face over a pot of steamy water.