Roadkill: You Kill It, We Grill It

It's shocking, gross, disturbing, and it only happens in West Virginia. No, not incest, but the one and only Roadkill Cookoff. What would you be willing to eat?

In Pocahontas Country, WV, listed under "Exciting Events" the Roadkill Cookoff takes place in September. I couldn't even believe this was real, so I had to Google it, and lo and behold there it was. Featured in Lonely Planet and advertised on the county's website. As their saying goes, "you kill it, we grill it."

One travel blogger writes:

On a large, grassy field, the contestants were erecting tents, setting up grills, and preparing their meats and seasonings. Signs at the various stations advertised "Buzzard Breath Maggotini," "Turtle A1-A Road Soup," and "The Buck Stopped Here Pepper Steak." Boy, was I glad I'd skipped breakfast to save room for all this.

I decided to find out what might inspire someone to enter a roadkill cooking contest. Busily cubing pieces of venison for their "Deer Drop Chilli" were brothers Eric, Jerry, and Kevin Sarrett. "It's my thirtieth birthday and I couldn't think of a better way to spend it," said Eric. "I grew up here and moved to Florida, so I'm back, getting in touch with my hillbilly roots, trying to reproduce mama's good old cooking."

I wonder what the chances are of getting food poisoning after a visit to West Virginia's roadkill feast? I feel a little quesy just thinking about the cook off, let alone actually eating anything from it.

Online Calorie Counting

I've decided to make good on new year's resolution #1. Lose 9 pounds. But let's revise that to 11 now, since my progress in the new year has, errr, gone in the wrong direction. So, in order to help me achieve this goal, I've decided to start an online food journal.

In 2009, I maintained a spreadsheet of all the food I was eating, but mostly it was just me guessing calorie content and typing it in a huge excel file. The format was very basic, but I really liked being able to scroll back through the days and see where my eating habits were getting the best of me and what trends I could notice in the way I ate. Plus, it was an extra dissuasion to eat that entire slice of cheesecake that would run up my daily total by an extra 1,000 calories. But, unfortunately the spreadsheet lost my attention over time, mostly because it was boring and not telling enough.

That's why I decided I'm going to start an online food journal. I researched a few (free) options online, and decided to go with Everyday Health's Food & Fitness Journal. I like that it has tons of foods already in the database, so I don't have to do independent research every time I eat something. I like that it can add exercises too. I don't like that it doesn't compile reports other than for the present day in addition to a very basic weight graph. I want to be able to look back and see the nutritional and caloric choices I've made in the past week/month/year. Like am I getting enough protein? Am I overloading on sodium? How can I make better individual food choices? I am open to any suggestions you might have for better online calorie/nutrition trackers, but for now, I'm going to fill out this journal and hopefully get a move on my weight-loss goals.

Speaking of which, you should check out 344 pounds. A great blog from a normal guy who lost 145lbs and kept it off. I've been following him for awhile now, and he inspires me to get healthier too.

Commuting Hell

I'm sitting in Panera Bread right now while waiting for traffic to die down. I have my free coffee right beside me. All I had to do was open a mypanera card (for free). Recommended for all fellow bread addicts.

I have a long daily commute and my patience for traffic is wearing thin. I spend somewhere between 2.5-3 hours in my car a day; and that includes beating rush hour in the morning and waiting it out at night. I have been forced to organize my entire life around traffic. If I were to attempt the DC beltway during peak hours I'd be spending no less than 4 hours a day in my car. That is quite unbearable.

I remember some happiness studies I read awhile ago that suggested the length of your commute is directly correlated to your level of happiness. I still consider my self "happy," but I can understand why long commutes bring people down. I'm in the process of finding productive things I do while driving to take the misery out of it all. Note: painting my fingernails, reading journal articles, and napping have all been ruled out.

I enjoyed this blurb for The Atlantic Wire:

What About Commuting? At The Frontal Cortex, Jonah Lehrer confirms that a long commute is directly correlated to unhappiness before exploring a more interesting question: Why? "One reason is that it's a painful ritual we never get used to - the flow of traffic is inherently unpredictable," he posits. "As a result, we don't habituate to the suffering of rush hour." Lehrer contends the daily unknown of commuting explains its incongruity with human happiness, quoting Harvard professor Daniel Gilbert: "Driving in traffic is a different kind of hell every day."

One never knows what tomorrow holds.

Step into Marrakesh

I had a great Valentine's day this year. Best one ever! I came home to a huge box delivered straight to my door, full of goodies--flowers, teddy bear, card, chocolates--the whole works.


Then I got treated to a seven course dinner at Marrakesh in DC. The food just kept coming. As soon as they took away a plate, another one came full of more scrumptious Moroccan delicacies. And then there was mint tea to top it all off.


The entrance is an ornate golden door that you must knock on to gain entrance and the inside is beautifully decorated. We ended up staying long enough to catch 2 belly dance performances; and I've decided that girl has an awesome job, getting paid to wear beautiful costumes and do ab exercises (my next career? heh heh). Overall, our entire dining experience lasted over 2 and half hours. For Valentine's, a perfect evening.

Making Flan

Mmmm, flan. Flan, flown all the way in from Morocco. It's so easy to make, yet so good to eat. Just mix it up, stir, stir, stir, heat, stir some more, and pour. The hardest part is the waiting for it to set before digging in. Delicious dessert! I don't know why flan isn't more popular in the US. It's way better than our pudding or jello.

Making Sushi Rolls Fail

The first time I attempted to make sushi rolls was a bit of a failure. Let me tell you the 2 biggest mistakes that you should never repeat.

1. Using regular rice
2. Not having sharp enough knives

Not using sticky rice will make your "rolls" turn out more like "lumps", unable to hold their shape. Not having a sharp enough knife in the house will lead you to go crazy trying every knife you own, but consistently squashing every roll. If it can't cut through the nori (seaweed wrap), it's hopeless. You might as well not even try to make sushi rolls.

So after I correct these two glaring problems, I think I'll be able to make some darn good avocado and shrimp rolls. And if you're wondering, yes, you do see a strip of bacon in that photo. My dad and brother-in-law were horrified at the thought of eating any type of seafood, raw or not, in the sushi; so we made special "bacon asparagus sushi rolls", about as not Japanese as you can possibly get. And the worst part? They hated the sushi anyway. Last time I try that. Next time I'm going to put eel in it and really scare them. Bahhaha.

Cheesecake and Arcade Games

Last night my cousin took me out for a delicious dinner at the Cheesecake Factory followed by a spontaneous trip to the arcade at White Flint Mall. What fun! We played a bunch of games at Dave and Busters as if we were 9 years old all over again.

For dessert, I had the most splendid cheesecake. White Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Nut. White Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake Swirled with Macadamia Nuts and Caramel on a Blond Brownie Crust. A slice of pure decadence that I will certainly feel guilty about tomorrow morning when my pants won't fit, but will still totally be worth it.

Pomelo: the Drink or Fruit?

When my boss first told me about pomelos I wondered how on earth she had ever heard of the pomelo drink they sell in Uruguay made by Paso de los Toros (now acquired by Pepsi Co). That stuff tasted like sour grapefruit soda. Not my favorite, although very popular and interesting nonetheless.

Turns out she wasn't talking about the drink from Uruguay, but the fruit.

When I first walked in to the office today, I wondered why she had a watermelon sitting on her desk (ok, a bit of an exaggeration, but this thing was no itty bitty fruit). The pomelo is the biggest citrus fruit known to mankind, some as large as a soccer ball. The fruit itself isn't much bigger than a big grapefruit though; most of it's size is just cushy membrane stuff that you shouldn't eat. Turns out the pomelo was a gift for me. Yum. It was sweet with just a little bit of sour. I think I should've included trying more new foods in my list of new year's resolutions.

Peep Peep

Due to some confusion in my family (names shall go unmentioned to protect their identity) over the definition of the word "peep" used in modern context, I'd like to clarify for the whole world: It is NOT a derogatory word for women. When you visit your "peeps" you are not visiting a harem of prositutes or even gaggle of attractive ladies. "Peeps" can be used to refer to both men and women equally and is simply short for "people" as the Urban Dictionary so graciously informs us.

Of course Peeps with a capital P are also delicious marshmallow candies in the shape of rabbits and baby chickens usually served around Easter.

At a recent trip to the National Harbor in DC, a life-size Peep was dancing around, posing for photo ops in front Peep Store (yes, an entire store devoted to Peeps) Cute no?

The Peep store also featured Peep artwork which a USA Today commenter aptly pointed out to the artist: "Thank God you found something to do with those things other than eat them," Amen. You'll also note my prior posts. My own Peep bomb, Peeps Research, and Drawing them on eggs. I have a fascination with the things even though I refuse to eat them. I fear human stomachs can't digest such hazardous material. Seriously. I feel the same way about taffy.

The newest fad, however, is apparently Christmas Peeps. No need to wait until Easter for your sugary crystalized neon-colored goo. The Peep Store gave us adorable cupcakes; but unfortunately, like I said, I don't eat them. They'd be cute to serve at a holiday party though. Maybe your "peeps" would enjoy some Christmas Peeps.

Savor the Flavor

In the season of temperatures so cold you can see your breath, runny noses, frost on the windshield, and shivers down your spine, I must ask you: What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Mine is usually chocolate chip cookie dough because of those umptious spoonfuls of cookie dough chunks. Yum.

I used to get in trouble if I stole a bite of cookie dough from my mom and grandma's batter on cookie baking day because of raw eggs in the dough. I suppose it also had something to do with them not wanting me to eat all their cookies before they even made it into the oven. With chocolate cookie cookie dough ice cream though, you can eat the sugary lumps, and it's completely allowed. Ben and Jerry's is good, but so are other various brands--as long as they don't skimp on the cookie dough pieces.

Haagan Dazs' Pineapple Coconut is a flavor I just recently tasted and it was pretty scrumptious too. I also have a fondness for peach ice cream and classic vanilla with real strawberries on the side.

Turkey Hill has a scrumptious Honey Vanilla Granola that tastes just as good as ice cream.

Hershey's strawberry cheesecake is probably on my top flavors list too.

Oh gosh. I love ice cream. I could ice cream every day of the week if I allowed myself; even in the winter. It's just soooo good.

Some More S'mores Please

Graham cracker.
Toasted marshmallow.
Hershey's chocolate.
Graham cracker.

Assemble.
Eat.

Yum. It's s'more season. Get to having campfires people!

Anthony Bourdain Eats a Chivito

First thing I said when I saw this video was, heeey, I've eaten there before! Anthony Bourdain visited Uruguay and gobbled down a chivito for lunch at Chiviteria Marcos. There used to be one pretty close to our apartment in Pocitos although I think the show was filmed in Centro.

Here's my post on the chivito from last year. I wasn't as laudatory as Bourdain, but generally when a sandwhich has meat, meat, and fried eggs on it, I start getting worried about my arteries. Enough chivitos in a lifetime could lead serious heart conditions. Even Bourdain admits it's "a popular spot to risk gastric rupture." Haha. Don't worry though Uruguay, I still love you and miss you dearly.

Runaway Dinner

The most exciting kinds of the dinners are those that try to escape.


I don't think I've ever screamed so much over dinner before in my life; although to be fair, it was probably more shrieking than screaming. Our task was to cook almost a whole bushel of Maryland Blue crabs which, in case you don't know, is a ridiculous amount of blue crabs. To make matters worse, live crabs are fiesty little critters that don't seem to like being dusted with Old Bay seasoning and shoved in a hot pot. They flap their legs around like crab-maniacs making little clicking noises. "Don't eat me. Don't eat me." We felt it prudent to apologize to each crab before sending it off to it's fate.

At one point, a crab popped off the the lid and jumped out of the steamer onto the stove and then onto the floor. Crazy crab. We had to use tongs to grab him, wash him off, and put him back in. Sorry.

Avocado Juice

Imagine avocados turned into juice.

Sounds odd to those of us only know avocado as the main ingredient in guacamole, right? So why would you want to liquify avocados and mix them with sweet stuff?

My skepticism of avocado juice however, was proven wrong when I had a yummy homemade avocado smoothie/milkshake/juice this week (defining it is a little dicey because it is blended like a smoothie, creamy like a milkshake, and healthy like juice). All you do is add an avocado, milk, and sugar to taste into a blender, blend well, and serve. The taste is sweet; the texture is thick; the color is beautiful mint green. The smoothie/milkshake/juice drink is pretty nutritious too. What's not to love?

DC Restaurant Week

Don't forget, fellow Washington DC metro area dwellers, this week is Restaurant Week, where you can get a fancy 3 course meal for a fixed price well below the going rate at over 200 participating restaurants. Last night I had dinner at a restaurant that is way out of my price range as a poor graduate student. Yay for fine dining on a budget.

I know there are many people in the city who can afford to wine and dine at places like this every evening. Dropping a hundred bucks for dinner (or more) is nothing to them. To be honest though, I'm not sure I would feel comfortable with that type of lifestyle even if I had all the money in the world.

86 kilos of meat

Seriously Uruguayans. How do you eat so much meat?


This article says the expected number of slaughtered cattle for this year will be around 2.21 million. Whoooah. That's a lot of cows. Further more:

Uruguay's beef consumption per capita in 2009 is expected to reach 58 kilos and 86 kilos of all types of meat according to the latest estimates from the National Meat Institute (INAC).

86 kilos of meat per capita??!!


No wonder why you can't walk into a restaurant around here and not find some form of beef on the menu. A lot of Uruguayans have told me they eat beef everyday of the week, and I'm not surprised after living here for 7 months. Apparently you can never have too much beef.

Chivitos

Chivitos (literally translated, little goats) are anything but little sandwiches that are 100% Uruguayan.

It's ungodly the amount of the stuff they put on these sandwiches. Ingredients usually include beef, tomato, lettuce, mayo, onion, bacon, egg, and olive; served with a side of papas fritas (french fries).

Empanadas

Uruguayan classic! A sweet or savory pastry filled with just about anything you could imagine. The most popular fillings tend to be ground beef and olives, chicken, ham and cheese, and of course dulce de leche for dessert. You can order them fried or baked. I prefer them al horno. Less grease please.


They have fast food empanada places, delivery empanada places, and gourmet empanada places for all your varying empanada needs. When you order them in (as Uruguayans often do) they come with strange holes poked in the end to tell the different flavors apart. More or less, it's impossible to distiguish little dots cut into pastry dough, so after spending an hour figuring out exactly what kinds to order, everybody ends up eating everybody else's empanada anyway.

(I find it amusing Uruguayans insist on washing these down with a Coca-Cola, even they don't have any in the house--that just simply means you have to run to the store. Immediately. And I suppose, in general, it's always prudent have to have a coca on hand to offer in case you have guests over, or you aren't going to be remembered for being a very polite host.)

Bags of Milk and Runny Yogurt

In the mood for some yogurt? Get out your twisty straw. Yep, that's right, no spoon needed. Yogurt is a slurp-able substance south of the equator.

Thick creamy yogurt is not the norm for South American households; it's usualy runny, or "bebible" as they call it ("drinkable"). In the hotter months, this consistancy didn't bother me because I just threw it in the freezer and had a thickened yogurt smoothie, but now that it's cold outside the only way to have yogurt is the drinkable way.


I suppose the consistancy is something I can get used to, but the packaging is something I will never fully enjoy. Liquidy dairy substances, like milk and yogurt, are always sold in rectangular plastic bags. Once you cut of the tip of the bag to pour yourself some milk you have to put the bag in some sort of container or it will spill everywhere (unless you can drink 1 Liter of milk with your coffee every morning), and sometimes it will spill everywhere just from the pouring, if you don't have your skill just right.

In addition, the plastic bags aren't very sturdy. I always see some poor grocery store employee mopping up milk spills in the refrigeration section. I bet s/he wishes Uruguay had cartons for their milk too.

Futbol

While Emily was visiting me in Montevideo, we went to a futbol (soccer) game at the estadio central (which also happens to be where Uruguay won the first World Cup in 1930 for all you sports fans out there).


The game was fun, although I felt a little out of place for three major reasons.

1. We were two women in a sea of testosterone.
2. We didn't know the cheers of the "barra brava" (aka. crazy futbol fans, mostly 19 year old boys with firecrackers and drums)
3. I dressed inappropriately. I knew our team's colors were blue and black because I made a specific point to ask someone which colors to wear. But, it was rather cold that night so I wore my red coat over my blue and black shirt only to find the other team showed up in red. Great.


And on topic of discomfort, my stomach was less than pleased with me that evening as well. I have never eaten a more greasy hamburger in my entire life. My stomach gurgles just thinking about it. The bread's only function was to sop up the grease from the burger. And the woman I bought it from touched my money and then touched my hamburger. Yummy.

But even more yummy was the torta frita (fried dough) we had afterwards. There's just something about sports stadiums and fried foods together--they're universal.