Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, or so they say.

A couple of weeks ago, as part of my main job, I covered a natural gas drilling forum in Sugarcreek. It was very one sided, pro-drilling, and even though I was covering it, I had to somehow present it in my article without it coming off as biased as the forum. So it became a question and answer format article, with several of the questions asked being "answered" by people on the dais.

Here's a link to my article, titled "Drilling for Answers." Not exactly an original title, but I thought it worked.

So fast forward to today. Lo and behold on the daily paper's front page is this, "Drilling for Answers." Not only did it copy my title, but also the format.

Now, my article didn't have big, fancy graphics, but it would have been nice to have seen them choose at least a different title. Oh well, my consolation is that my article was better and first.

Role Reversal

A couple of weeks ago I sliced my thumb pretty good while making dinner. Let's just say that the knife was going faster and was a lot sharper than I realized. So long story short, I couldn't finish making the dinner on my own. That's when I asked mom for some help.

I was making meatloaf for dinner, something that my parents love to eat, and I love to make. I remember helping mom or dad make it when I was kid, I seemed to love squishing the meat together. So to have mom help me and learn how I made it, seemed a little strange. It was a case of role reversal. Me showing her how to make something; how much of this to add, how long to cook it, etc.

I truly believe that I got my love of cooking from spending time in the kitchen with my parents. It was more than just cooking, it was spending time with them. If my mom is to be believed, then I started cooking at around age three, I would be out in the kitchen, pulling my stool around and gathering things to make cookies. And no matter how they turned out, mom and dad would always smile and say that they were the best they ever had. So not only was it doing something with them, there was positive reinforcement and confidence building.

But that night spent with my mom in the kitchen, with her helping me, brought back many memories.

Adding Lightness

That is the motto for Lotus cars, the idea is simple, lighter is better. The same can be said when it comes to cooking. So tonight for dinner I decided to try not only a new recipe, but to try and make it lighter and still taste great.

We saw an ad for these ham and cheese crescent roll ups. They looked good, so I went and looked up the recipe, here.

At the bottom of the page were the nutritional facts, and needless to say, I was shocked. The big highlights were:

200 calories

12 grams of fat

650 mg of sodium

That is for each roll up, and the recipe makes 8.

So while at the store, I decided to try and find all the same ingredients, but healthier. Somewhat. So I purchased reduced fat crescent rolls, reduced sodium ham and fat-free cheese. After crunching the numbers, here's what the results were.

116 calories

4.5 grams of fat

368 mg of sodium.

Not bad, the taste was still great and I was able to reduce the big factors, fat and sodium. These are the numbers I'm watching this coming year.

Yes, I said this coming year. My new years resolution is the same as every year for the last 15, to lose weight. But this year, I have to stick to it. I've watched what happens with my parents when you don't take care of your health and I'm tired of just looking like a slob.

The first major step I took was to cut out fast food. So far this month I have only had it for two meals, and I still feel guilty about it. But it's better than what was going on before. I used to have to clean out my center armrest compartment once a month because it was so full of fast food receipts. Now, I not only have more money in my bank account, but I have five fewer pounds on my body and my waist has shrunk by at least an inch. Not bad for 22 days without fast food.

It's also my goal to become a vegetarian by the end of the year. But let me re-phrase that. Someone who doesn't eat beef, pork, chicken, or any other terrestrial animal. I love seafood too much to get rid of it, and seafood isn't that bad for you anyway.

These two goals, no fast food and becoming a some-what vegetarian, are not mutually exclusive. Since my craving for fast food has reduced, I no longer crave meat as much as well. So I'll see how this goes, since it is only January.

I also hope to experiment with other recipes and see how I can reduce the fat and salt in them as well. I already have some tricks up my sleeve, but the big question is, will everyone else in the house help or hurt?

The other day I came home to find out that our dinner was going to hamburgers and french fries. I used to be able to eat 2 of dad's huge, salty burgers and a couple of helpings of fries. But I found myself only able to eat one burger and not even a handful of fries. The smell of the frying foods and salt was just too much for me. So I know my body's needs and wants are changing.

Will I miss meats? Will I still try to eat healthy? Who knows? I've tried it before and have failed. But I see my health as a ticking time bomb. No one can remain as obese as I am and be healthy. I also have histories of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, strokes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol on both sides of my family. So it's only a matter of time until something happens. And when it does, will I be able to say that I did my best to stop it? Will I be able to admit to not being in control and not taking responsibility for my situation?

That's what I feel my lifestyle changes are about; control and responsibility. I need to be able to take control of what goes into my body and accept responsibility for what I have done to my body over time. Changing my lifestyle is more than just getting healthy, it's about taking control for the first time in years.

Sunday Night Feast

I decided to make something that I haven't had in literally years: Stuffed shells. Stuffed shells were something that my mother used to make when she was in a cooking mood and she would work for hours to make and we would eat it up in a matter of minutes. I decided to re-do this classic feast and make it utterly special by making my own sauce and doing something special with the stuffing for the shells.

*********************

First, I made the sauce. This is a mild variation on the sauce Alex Guarnashelli made for her eggplant parmesan.

First you need two large sweet onions, sliced radially, and six cloves of garlic; smashed then minced finely. Once the onions are sliced, add them to a large, 12 inch or larger, sauté pan that has two tablespoons of olive oil in it and has been heating over medium heat. Season with 2 teaspoons of Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon of crushed red chili flakes and 1 teaspoon of sugar, then sweat for 5-7 minutes or until the onions are "translucent," then add the garlic, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for another 12-15 minutes. Then add 1/2 cup of a sweet white wine, I recommend Breitenbach Winery's Frost Fire, then reduce to 2 tablespoons of syrup. Then add 2 large cans of peeled Italian style tomatoes. Cover and cook for 90 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Then uncover and let simmer for another 7-10 minutes to let it thicken, then remove from the heat. After you have removed the sauce from the heat, chiffonade 10-12 large basil leaves and stir in, letting the residual heat "cook" the leaves and perfume the sauce.

For the filling for the shells, you first start with one, large nine ounce package of spinach, sauteed in 2 tablespoons of butter and mixed with three cloves of garlic. The spinach will wilt down to practically nothing; compared to what you started with. When the spinach has wilted, there will be a considerable amount of water left behind that also contains grit, you'll want to separate this from the leaves. I do this by tilting the pan down to one side while squeezing the spinach to the opposite to get any excess water out, then while the pan is still tilted grabbing the spinach with tongs.

Once the spinach is done, mix it with a large container of ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of freshly cracked pepper and 1/8 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg.

Once the sauce and the filling are finished, you'll want to start on the pasta shells, which I purchase rather than make. Rather than boil them for the time listed on the package, I boil them for seven and a half minutes, they'll still be pretty "crunchy," but more importantly, they'll be par cooked so that when they are baked they'll come out perfectly al-dente. After the shells are finished boiling, drain and spray with cold water to stop the cooking and to make them manageable to fill.

To start making the baked shells, first put in about 1/2 cup of the sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.

Then fill the pasta shells with one to two tablespoons of the cheese filling, lining them in the baking dish how ever you can to get as many in it as possible.

After the shells are in the pan, cover them with the remaining sauce, and top with shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then turn the broiler on high and cook for another 3-5 minutes or until the cheese is as brown and crispy as you like. Then let stand for 5-10 minutes, serve and eat. And eat some more.

First gourmet meal in a long time

I recently got the urge to do some cooking. I've been stressed from worrying about my future and frustrated that I'm 26 and still living at home with the parents. So, I went to Buehler's and did some shopping and here's what happened.

*****************************************

I first bought a slice of pork shoulder roast, and when I got home, brined it. The brine included salt (of course), brown sugar, regular sugar, peppercorns and smashed garlic cloves. This sat over night, and the next day the magic happened. To go with the pork I made roasted potatoes with Dijon, garlic, rosemary and carrots with brown sugar and molasses.

Roast Pork:

After the brine, here's how I did it.

Rub:

3 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp each fresh minced rosemary and thyme

1 tsp kosher salt and pepper

1/4 cup of olive oil

Mix this together, then spread it on the pork then brown the meat in a cast iron pan for 5 minutes per side on medium-high. Next, add one small onion, quartered, to the pan then cover and roast at 300 degrees until the center reaches 160. Then remove from the pan, wrap in aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes

For a quick pan sauce, once the pork is out of the pan, place it on the stove on medium-low and reduce for 30 minutes, then strain, add 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard and 2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk together then serve over the pork. Delicious!

Dijon Roasted Potatoes:

A great side dish for most dishes, but especially with this meal!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of minced, fresh rosemary

2 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons

1/4 cup smooth Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

In a bowl mix the ingredients with 1 1/2 pounds of russet potatoes diced into 3/4 inch cubes. Spread on a greased cooking sheet and bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees.

Carrots with Brown Sugar and Molasses

A salty and sweet side dish!

2 tablespoons olive oil (non-virgin)

2 tablespoons in salted butter

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 tablespoon dried parsley

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

In a sauté pan, add the oil and butter 1 pound of carrots, cut into long quarters and the salt. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the brown sugar and molasses and cook for another 15 minutes.

*************************

In all, this was a great meal, it reminds me of a great winter dish.

Wow, has it been almost a year?

And what a year it has been. I graduated, had four jobs at one point and now down to two and looking for a fulltime job. But during this time I have never lost my love for food. I have some more things planned for the future of this blog, so keep tuned!

Overindulgence, the Birthday Dinner Part II

Every now-and-then it's a good thing to let go and indulge yourself, do something nice just for yourself. Last year I bought a pair of Uggs and a few years ago I bought a couple of things at Saks; it's important to treat yourself every now and then. Friday night I did it again, and thankfully this time I wasn't the one paying.

Dad decided to take us to Bender's in Canton for mom's birthday. I had never been there before, but they had been there last year for their anniversary. After the whole fiasco at the tire shop, see the previous post, I needed something good.

Upon entering the restaurant, the first thing I notice is the atmosphere and ambiance, with rich wood and marble it looks like a classic strak-house and pub. The staff was fantastic and the service was great, but with the prices it had better be great.

For the first course I had a lobster meat cocktail, like a shrimp cocktail but more luxurious. The lobster was great, you mostly get claw meat, but the claws on these lobsters were huge. With both claws you almost got about 8 oz. of meat. The cocktail sauce was good, but I don't know about the pairing of it with lobster, it kind of trampled all over the delicate flavor of the lobster.

The soup course consisted of the best clam chowder I've had away from the coasts.

The next course was a spinach salad. It wasn't that great. Not enough dressing, the eggs were a little slimy and the salad had bean sprouts, something I've never seen on a spinach salad and didn't really add anything.

For the main course I had their Red Alaskan King Crab special. In all my years of gorging on seafood I've never seen crab legs has big as these. The meat from just one of the "knuckles" was at least 6 oz.! They split the legs for you in the kitchen, which when the waitress told me this, I was a little skeptical about it, as the meat can get a little gummy if it's exposed for too long. Anyway, the legs really did need to be bisected, they would have been about 2.5 inches across and 4 inches around; like I said, they're huge. The meat was succulent, sweet, briny and just everything you would expect from crab; each leg was almost like a steak.

The crab legs came with what are called Bender Fries, which really aren't fries at all but like a potato cake. Right up front, they are great; potatoes fried in clarified butter can't go wrong. These potatoes are slices excruciatingly thin, then cooked in the butter. It looks like their then folded and then pressed to get dark and golden brown. They're great and something that every restaurant should have for now on.

After all that I didn't think I had any room for dessert...but it turns out I did. Weird, I know. I had what's called the Flourless Chocolate Decadence, and yes it's decadent. Trust me on this. It's like a chocolate soufflé topped with a round of fudge then dusted with cocoa powder and powdered sugar and drizzled with a raspberry sauce. Oh. My. God. It took every ounce of will power to just not pick up the plate and start licking it clean.

My first experience at Bender's was amazing. Everything about the dinner was pitch-perfect, except for the salad. But I know what not to order the next time I go there, lesson learned. The atmosphere, the service and the food were all top notch, and after having something basic I'm now more than ready to have some of the more exotic dishes. The specials for the night included lamb shanks with a raspberry and balsamic reduction over risotto, just one example of what the cooking staff can do there. If this basic meal was any indicator of the abilities of the staff, I have no trouble going back trying something more adventurous.

I certainly will be going back.

Frantic Friday

Since I was able to get to sleep at a normal time on Thursday night and wake-up on my own in the morning, which is a good thing, I knew that Friday would be an interesting day.

I went into the office for a bit, worked on some stuff and then left to get the new tires for my car. The tire store I went to starts with an F and has a mascot inspired by celtic lore, that's all I'm sayin'. The reason we chose this place was because they had the tires I wanted on sale, Yokohama AVID TRZ's; great all-season grand touring tires; the quote on the phone was $97 per tire, so with all four mounted, etc it was going to be around $430 out the door. Dad gives me his card to go get them, a late Christmas/Birthday present, so to speak.

The drama begins after I get there. I tell him what I need and he does the math, after waiting on the phone for 10 minutes from the main store or what ever he was talking to, and he says that the tires are now $148.90 a piece and it would be around $610 for all four to be mounted. Needless to say, my jaw hit the floor. Since I was using Dad's card, I called to make sure that this was what he wanted. After about six tries, I finally talk to him; he wasn't happy. So I hand him the phone, and the conversation between him and the guy at the desk was interesting, he did something even I'm afraid to do...interrupt him and talk down to him. I'm standing there, embarrassed as hell since I'm in the middle having of all this, and having my dad handle this while being 25; it made me feel like a little kid again...

So after talking for a few minutes, this tire shop agrees to knock ten bucks off the price per tire, dad says to get it done. I then go to sit down and wait, as I'm sitting there the guy at the desk starts talking shit about my dad, like I couldn't hear it. So I ignore it. During this time Dad's trying to call me to tell me to not get the tires, for some reason I didn't hear my phone ring or feel it vibrate. While I'm sitting there they call my name, so I'm thinking there's something wrong with my car, or it's doing the thing where it won't start since it doesn't register that it's in park; nope, they want me on the phone. That's when dad tells me to stop and not get the tires, so I go tell them what's going on.

During this time they have pulled my car into the bay and have the tires next to it, ready to put on. The head guy asks one of the other mechanics to back out the car, he then goes "he can do it himself." So I trudge through the shop in my designer shoes and pants, dragging them through oil, grease and who knows what else to get into my car and just go.

So in the end, I have to figure out what to do about my pants and my car still doesn't have new tires......

Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy

I decided to embark on a new adventure during my break, owning goldfish. I haven't owned any in a really long time and I grew to miss those little guys. So I decided to go out and buy a tank and all the fixin's.

I didn't realize how expensive fish stuff had become! I went to the local fish store, which is locally owned, and bought my tank and initial start up stuff from them. So 120 dollars later, I go home to set up everything. Later on I realize I needed a couple of things, and since it was late at night I went to the "local" Walmart to get said missing pieces, an air pump and bubble stone. Lo and behold while looking around I see a 10 gallon aquarium starter kit there...for 30 bucks less than what I spent at the local place. So rather than get angry, which was extremely difficult, I chalked it up to supporting a local store.

The next day I go to get the fish, at the local store again. Even though it was going to be the same price as getting them from Walmart, I wanted to talk with people who know their fish stuff, not just going "how can I help you" rhetorically. I picked 3 fan-tail gold fish, one black with bubble-like eyes, one classic goldie and a sliver one with black and gold spots. The fish store guys recommended I get a couple of Cory catfish to keep the bottom of the tank clean and wait a couple of weeks to get an algae eater.

Well, over the next few days I end up going to Walmart more and more for fish stuff. It's amazing what can go wrong. First, the water started clouding up immediately, so I went and bought water a water declouder (?) and then some stuff to get rid of the nitrogen those little bugger make in excess quantities. That didn't work. In fact it got cloudier and cloudier.

So on Sunday I replaced six of the 10 gallons....then it kept getting even cloudier to my amazement. So that night at like 1:30 in the morning I run into Walmart to buy a new filter. I figured if I waited until I had free time on Monday they'd all be dead. Well, I get to the store and find out that the pet section is roped off to be waxed. I just started laughing uncontrollably...it probably looked scary. So a big, burly guy helped me get a filter, by that I mean me standing 20 feet away telling him what I'm looking for. After all that I get home, plug in the new filter and watch it start cleaning the water instantly.

Monday rolls around, I go to feed the fish and after doing so I see the water cloud up again immediately. I was pissed. I called the store to see what I could do, she said to only feed them once per day. But to address the cloudiness I should take out some water and replace it. So while wearing slacks and a sweater, just back from my first day at the CVB and waiting for class, I start siphoning off water and replacing it. I come back from class and see that the water is now crystal clear, so I'm happy.

Tuesday was uneventful, just feeding and watching them swim around lazily.

Wednesday I decided to do some updating. I took out the huge fake plant that was too tall and replace it with a much smaller one. I replaced the small bubble stone with an elongated one that sits on the bottom of the aquarium. Then I added a thermometer, replaced all the food that was clouding the tank with another brand. But perhaps the biggest change I wanted to make dealt with the light in the hood. I wanted to find a lower wattage, less bright one. The poor fish would run and hide when I turned it on and would literally shake; it was just too intense for them. So after buying not one, but two lights...thinking I had only bought one, I find out that they won't work with my hood.

So I went full on MacGuyver with the light. Since it's separate from the hood, and actually shines through a piece of glass, I decided to put some folded pieces of paper between the light and the hood. It worked. The fish weren't scared and they could get the light they needed.

I have no idea what the future will bring, but needless to say I'm sure I won't be bored.

The Birthday Dinner

I decided to make a special dinner for my mother's birthday; she's a special lady so I thought the dinner should reflect that. For the dinner I made a dijon crusted pork loin, dijon and rosemary potatoes and sauteed broccoli with garlic, needless to say it was great.

For the pork I decided to try a loin from Niman Ranch, I've heard many great things about them and to say that this pork loin was great would be an understatement. For those who don't know, Niman Ranch is about has great as meat gets. Their a ranch that specializes in vegetarian fed, hormone and anti-biotic free meat; you can really tell the difference. The pork was the tastiest I had ever had; it actually tasted like pork, not chicken. The dijon crust for the loin was amazingly simple and enhanced the flavor of the meat ten-fold; it consisted of dijon mustard mixed with minced garlic, chopped fresh rosemary, dried thyme, salt and pepper.

For the side dishes I decided to mirror the flavors used with the pork loin. The potatoes were plain-old red skins diced smallish, about 1/2 inch cubes, then mixed with dijon mustard, fresh rosemary, vegetable oil, salt and pepper. For the broccoli I decided to mirror the garlic flavor of the loin; all I did was sauté some frozen broccoli in oil then for the last two minutes or so add minced garlic, lots of it; broccoli is a very strongly flavored veggie so it can take a bunch of garlic without being overpowered.

The dinner was a success; mom liked it. That's all that mattered in the end. But I was happy that I was able to create another gourmet meal and share it with the people I love.

For more information about Niman Ranch, click the link.