Go to any eatery and the options for kids are easy....
They consist of some kind of cheese substance either locked in bread and grilled, slathered over some kind of macaroni or sandwiched between two tortillas. If you are lucky, there *may* be a fruit cup or apple sauce involved, but don't bet on it.
My son has a more educated palate because I fed him real food! Most times we go out, he winds up eating a regular entree because I just can't see him eating all that fat and so little flavor. MacPoison? Don't bet on it.......if mom needs coffee BAD or if there is absolutely nothing else in the area for breakfast, he gets the eggs and greasy hash browns with an OJ and I pray the gods of motherhood will forgive me for feeding my child drek.
Yet, there are whole covens of mothers out there who think Lunchables are a good idea....really, spins the mind in my skull like a lone towel in the rinse and dry cycle of a commercial washer but it is true. And why is that? Maybe because we started to think Home Ec was not cool or the fact that it was cut due to budget shortages that grew bigger than the average teen's waistband. Have we all forgotten the vegetable, and no.........french fries and ketchup do not count!
I have taught in preschools where moms drop their children off with pringles and chocolate pudding for lunch, and a carton of chocolate milk. Ok, so I do understand that there are a lot of finicky eaters out there, but training their palates to eat nothing but sugar and fat will do you no good. Sometimes, mom, you have to tell them the carrot is all they get. Kids have to learn to love the lettuce. If all you give them is sugar, sugar is all they will want.
We need to take over what is offered. If you go to a diner, cafe, fast food place and all you see is deep fried goo, complain, urge management to look at options that are grilled, fish that is not just fried in sticks, veggies that are not just potato sticks. If we do not do all we can to keep our kids from lying dead on a slab at 10 due to a massive coronary, who will?
And get in touch with your school board and demand life skills classes be offered for both boys and girls. It is not just a good idea, but necessary for everyone to learn what a balanced meal looks like and how to make one.
And................for that matter folks, get in the kitchen with your kid. Is there a favorite food you remember as a kid? Is it healthy? Cook it with your kids. Research menu ideas for the whole family that include healthy eating options. Who knows? You may wind up losing a few too, and please tell me the down side to that.....
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Yuet Lee
Chinese cooking is deceptive. Sure it looks easy, all the meats and vegetables are cut into bite size pieces, stir fried quickly and swathed in some kind of sauce. Simple huh? Not so.
Too many places offer up greasy, starchy messes drenched in brown sauce. Where are the tasty Asian morsels that offer that perfect balance of salty, sweet, spicy and savory? Yuet Lee is the answer.
Don't come here if you are looking for Jade Lions or gurgling waterfalls. The building is green. Lime green. Yes, it looks like bad diner hell, but you if you want pretty, pretty, go to Empress of China. The food is crap there and the sanitation is enough to make your head spin, but it sure is pretty there.
The bathroom is sketchy, I will admit, but the kitchen is open and you can see Timmy cooking so there is no mystery about the way your food is being prepared. Try saying that about just about any place in Chinatown. If I had a choice between sweet smelling bathroom but kitchen practices close to getting the place shut down, or an open kitchen where the food being put in my body is fresh, and well prepared in an environment where I can see every step...well, enough said.
Jook.
Ah, there is nothing more satisfying than a tasty bowl of rice porridge! Yuet Lee offers a very tasty one. I never go there without getting at least a bowl of it for me. Sometimes, the chef sends us a fantastic soup to start, but he knows I also want my jook. It will fill you up, warm your insides, leave you contented and full and it just tastes warm, savory and delightful!
Salt and Pepper Calamari.
This is my other favorite. Crisp and fried just right, the salty-spicy coating is the perfect texture and the squid underneath is done perfectly. The pepper sauce they send with it brings an extra bite to the dish and I would eat twice my weight in this dish if my arteries would let me. I can pretty much guarantee if it is just me eating there that I get a bowl of Beef and Cilantro Jook, a plate of Salt and Pepper Calamari and I am a happy, happy girl.
Shrimp and Scrambled Eggs.
This is my friend Bill's favorite dish and it isn't one I would have ever thought to be a show stopper. But it usually is! Light and fluffy, the eggs are just this side of done and the shrimp are plump, fresh and perfect. The eggs are velvet and the shrimp skin has just the lightest snap when you bite in. This is a dish that just sings.
The portions are just huge, the wait staff takes a little to get used to, but remember, you are coming here for the food not the service. The prices are beyond reasonable and they stay open late. That is part of the charm for some. To me it is a sign of a good place when the chefs of another place come to Yuet Lee to get dinner when *they* get off work.
Keep your eye on street signs and make sure you don't get in trouble parking, bring cash if you can (the do take credit but I think that this might wind up being dropped as more trouble than it is worth) and do yourself a favor and see what the fuss is about.
Too many places offer up greasy, starchy messes drenched in brown sauce. Where are the tasty Asian morsels that offer that perfect balance of salty, sweet, spicy and savory? Yuet Lee is the answer.
Don't come here if you are looking for Jade Lions or gurgling waterfalls. The building is green. Lime green. Yes, it looks like bad diner hell, but you if you want pretty, pretty, go to Empress of China. The food is crap there and the sanitation is enough to make your head spin, but it sure is pretty there.
The bathroom is sketchy, I will admit, but the kitchen is open and you can see Timmy cooking so there is no mystery about the way your food is being prepared. Try saying that about just about any place in Chinatown. If I had a choice between sweet smelling bathroom but kitchen practices close to getting the place shut down, or an open kitchen where the food being put in my body is fresh, and well prepared in an environment where I can see every step...well, enough said.
Jook.
Ah, there is nothing more satisfying than a tasty bowl of rice porridge! Yuet Lee offers a very tasty one. I never go there without getting at least a bowl of it for me. Sometimes, the chef sends us a fantastic soup to start, but he knows I also want my jook. It will fill you up, warm your insides, leave you contented and full and it just tastes warm, savory and delightful!
Salt and Pepper Calamari.
This is my other favorite. Crisp and fried just right, the salty-spicy coating is the perfect texture and the squid underneath is done perfectly. The pepper sauce they send with it brings an extra bite to the dish and I would eat twice my weight in this dish if my arteries would let me. I can pretty much guarantee if it is just me eating there that I get a bowl of Beef and Cilantro Jook, a plate of Salt and Pepper Calamari and I am a happy, happy girl.
Shrimp and Scrambled Eggs.
This is my friend Bill's favorite dish and it isn't one I would have ever thought to be a show stopper. But it usually is! Light and fluffy, the eggs are just this side of done and the shrimp are plump, fresh and perfect. The eggs are velvet and the shrimp skin has just the lightest snap when you bite in. This is a dish that just sings.
The portions are just huge, the wait staff takes a little to get used to, but remember, you are coming here for the food not the service. The prices are beyond reasonable and they stay open late. That is part of the charm for some. To me it is a sign of a good place when the chefs of another place come to Yuet Lee to get dinner when *they* get off work.
Keep your eye on street signs and make sure you don't get in trouble parking, bring cash if you can (the do take credit but I think that this might wind up being dropped as more trouble than it is worth) and do yourself a favor and see what the fuss is about.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Digesting Life
The act of eating has always been religious. Food and drink are such a vital part of life that to discard them as simple acts of eating and drinking seem to me like dismissing one of the few pleasures that are made available to anyone. Remember, Eve didn't get kicked out of Eden for knitting, nope....she ate and by eating became enlightened.
To find that perfect flavor; that perfect food moment, is to me like walking down a mountain trail, turning a corner and suddenly seeing that perfect sunset off a vista of such beauty that you have to breath in, sharply, and then make a mental note so you will never-ever forget!
For the record, my mother was a phenomenal cook when I was young. My father was one of those hard working-grease-under-the-nails kind of guys who asked for simple things:
~A clean house
~Quiet, respectful children (sorry on that one dad)
~And most importantly a well cooked and tasty dinner waiting for him when he got home from work.
When dad died, mom became immersed in dieting and health. Losing someone to cancer can do that to a person, but for the record, she had been a chubby girl when she was growing up. Once she lost that weight, she never wanted to go back. So, gone were the endless platters of high calorie and indulgent foods I grew up with. If I wanted a great spaghetti, or stew or incredible sauce, I had to figure out how to do it for myself.
So I did.
There are somethings I will never get right no matter how I try, but fortunately most of those things are in the sweets department. (I really do believe that the pastry gene skips a generation)
Fortunately, there are some things I not only learned but improved on. Sorry mom but my rice kicks ass over your pilaf. Al says so and my son never lies! (well not where food is concerned)
So, this is a food blog. Short and sweet. I find great comfort in writing about food, eating it, cooking it, finding a tasty little snack combo that I may never have had before and also about where to go to get the perfect nosh.
It is also about service, price and reality.
I have had the honor of working with some really great caterers and chefs both as an event planner and when I have worked back of house as a catering chef myself. I know what I know about food and service but also know what a real family can afford and what is realistic to spend if you do NOT have more money than sense.
I would love to see where this leads me. When you do what you love, you do it well. And with the exception of my husband and my son, food is it!
To find that perfect flavor; that perfect food moment, is to me like walking down a mountain trail, turning a corner and suddenly seeing that perfect sunset off a vista of such beauty that you have to breath in, sharply, and then make a mental note so you will never-ever forget!
For the record, my mother was a phenomenal cook when I was young. My father was one of those hard working-grease-under-the-nails kind of guys who asked for simple things:
~A clean house
~Quiet, respectful children (sorry on that one dad)
~And most importantly a well cooked and tasty dinner waiting for him when he got home from work.
When dad died, mom became immersed in dieting and health. Losing someone to cancer can do that to a person, but for the record, she had been a chubby girl when she was growing up. Once she lost that weight, she never wanted to go back. So, gone were the endless platters of high calorie and indulgent foods I grew up with. If I wanted a great spaghetti, or stew or incredible sauce, I had to figure out how to do it for myself.
So I did.
There are somethings I will never get right no matter how I try, but fortunately most of those things are in the sweets department. (I really do believe that the pastry gene skips a generation)
Fortunately, there are some things I not only learned but improved on. Sorry mom but my rice kicks ass over your pilaf. Al says so and my son never lies! (well not where food is concerned)
So, this is a food blog. Short and sweet. I find great comfort in writing about food, eating it, cooking it, finding a tasty little snack combo that I may never have had before and also about where to go to get the perfect nosh.
It is also about service, price and reality.
I have had the honor of working with some really great caterers and chefs both as an event planner and when I have worked back of house as a catering chef myself. I know what I know about food and service but also know what a real family can afford and what is realistic to spend if you do NOT have more money than sense.
I would love to see where this leads me. When you do what you love, you do it well. And with the exception of my husband and my son, food is it!
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