i left you all hanging with the last post, huh? in case you didn’t read it, i professed my utter distaste for broccoli, and let you know that i finally found two recipes that made broccoli actually taste good (at least to me).
a year ago, i posted a long and detailed explanation of march madness around here (waaay back before this was a food blog), and here we are a year later, actively caught up in the middle of it again. before you get the wrong impression and think that we’re huge basketball fans, let me stop and clarify – march is the month of birth for practically everyone we know. ok, that’s an exaggeration, but you get the idea. every weekend this month has been full of celebrations (and desserts!), and to add some extra fun, we’re flying out to indiana to spend time with my great-uncle, who is turning 99 this week!
i’ve been thinking about food a lot this week. as you might guess, this is not entirely unusual for me — as i am a major food lover and, obviously, blogger. but this week, i’ve been thinking especially hard about food for a few reasons. the first is that i began reading the book in defense of food, by michael pollan. i labored my way through his first book, omnivore’s dilemma, perhaps because i am not an omnivore (there are long chapters about killing wild pigs and the beef industry that are slightly nauseating), or perhaps because it seemed too close to something i might have read in one of the many sociology classes i took in college – assigned but not thoroughly enjoyed reading. the second book, however, is my first suggestion to you – i am tearing through it, and taking a lot of what he says to heart. what’s really resonated for me is his discussion of the importance of real, whole foods (not the store) – avocado, bananas, carrots, etc – instead of eating filler foods chemically designed to taste good and supply nutrients deemed important by the fda (think most commercial breakfast cereals and packaged frozen dinners). pollan questions whether food scientists have figured out what’s important for people to consume yet, and notes that food is about so much more than nutrients – it’s about the act of cooking with friends and family, interacting with them, savoring the taste of the food, and yes, there are nutrients in whole foods, but they are only part of the process. (thanks for hosting this “process” aka dinner this week, linn!)
a few weekends ago, we attended a fall barbecue thrown by my mom and willie. there were amazing quantities of delicious food, lots of good people and conversations, and paddle boats to have fun with on the lake – all which made for a fabulous fall afternoon.
i turned a year older last week, received some amazing presents from my family and friends (many of which will make it into another blog post because i want to share them with you), and had several fun celebrations.
a looong time ago, when i turned 10 years old, my parents threw me a party at natural bridges and had pizza delivered to the beach. i was SO excited by the prospect of having a delivery person show up at the beach, asking for “emilie’s party” that the pizza tasted even better than usual when it finally arrived. so this year, when i debated where and what to do for a small gathering, i realized – hey! i live on the westside now! why not go back to natural bridges and have another pizza party? – but since i’m double the age i was at my last beach pizza party (plus seven years), i decided to make it a little more grown up and make the pizza at home (and ask the numerous fantastic chefs in attendance to bring something delicious to share).
when i tell people that i make pizza dough from scratch, many people try to tell me how much time i could save by buying prepared crusts. but my parents raised me to expect that the default pizza dough would be handmade, so no use in trying to change that now! (that delivery pizza experience for my 10th bday was one of the few times i can recall eating non-homemade pizza.)
for this beach party, i made three different pizzas to appease the variety of eaters in attendance: one with mozzarella, homemade tomato sauce, pineapple, and fake canadian bacon; one with soy cheese, the same homemade tomato sauce, olives, and mushrooms; and the third with a vegan spread (annie’s spread is amazing, if you have never tried it before), plus zucchini and red bell peppers. i was so focused on making it to the beach on time that i didn’t take many pics (with my BEAUTIFUL new camera!!) of the finished products, so you’ll just have to ogle the dough instead.
