Food Archives - Page 7 of 24

Hostess Memories

January 16, 2012 TechyDad Food, Memories

Growing up, I loved the rare Twinkie or Hostess cupcake. Are they healthy to eat? Not by a long shot. Are they as good in quality as a fresh baked treat? Of course not. Still, there’s something special (and nostalgic) about opening that package and eating those cream filled cakes.

When I heard that Hostess was declaring bankruptcy, I felt a wave of sadness. I hadn’t eaten one of their snack cakes in years. I couldn’t even remember if NHL or JSL had ever eaten one. I know that the bankruptcy will likely just be a reorganization of the business, but I decided to introduce my kids to this snacking phenomenon.

We went to the grocery store and stopped by the display. I let the boys pick out a box each. NHL decided he wanted Twinkies. JSL chose the chocolate-y Suzy Q’s. (I was secretly hoping that they would pick the cupcakes so I could show them how to peel off the fudge-like top to save for the end.)

When snack-time rolled around, the boys were highly impatient. They wanted to dive right into the snack cakes and didn’t appreciate that dad was taking so long with the pre-snack photographs.

Up first was the venerable Twinkie. Introduced in 1930, it’s a snack cake that many generations have enjoyed. My boys loved seeing the little yellow cake come out of the package and get unwrapped. To better take a shot of the cream in the middle, I split the Twinkie in two and showed the boys the delicious filling. As a bonus, this meant that I could give each boy a half of a snack cake. They could each try both cakes. This way.

NHL seemed to love the Twinkie. At least, that’s the impression I got when, after an initial bite, he nearly shoved the remaining Twinkie in his mouth whole. JSL seemed to savor it more. He liked it but wasn’t as enthusiastic. (He really is a chocoholic and Twinkies completely lack chocolate.)

Up next was the Suzy Q. Suzy Qs are much younger than Twinkies (introduced in 1961). To be honest, I don’t think I had ever eaten one. After taking my picture, I split the cake into two and gave the pieces to the boys.

NHL and JSL both loved this one, but their levels of appreciation were reversed. JSL loved each and every bite of the chocolate, cream filled cakes. NHL, meanwhile, liked it but wasn’t as enthused as he was with the Twinkie.

In the end, the boys loved the cakes. B and I split one of each of the cakes also. They were good, but I’ve got to admit that I remember them being better. Perhaps the haze of memory and nostalgia has enhanced how I remember them tasting or perhaps my tastes have simply grown up. Most likely, a combination of both of these. Still, they were good. I’m not going to make eating these a daily routine, but as a once in a very long while treat for the boys, they aren’t too bad.

Do you buy Hostess (or similar) snack cakes for your kids?

A Big Waste of Food

January 11, 2012 TechyDad Food, Television

On Sunday night, the boys were in bed and B and I were searching through the channels for something to watch. We landed on Food Network where they were showing a special titled The Big Waste. (If you missed it, it will air again on Saturday, January 14th at 4:00 pm Eastern/Pacific and Sunday, January 15th at 5:00 pm Eastern/Pacific.)

This show was a competition. Two teams of chefs (Bobby Flay and Michael Symon versus Anne Burrell and Alex Guarnaschell) were competing to see who could make the best dishes for an audience. So far, this sounds like many of the other competitions that Food Network has aired. This show had a very interesting twist, though. The competitors could only use food that would otherwise have been discarded. Yes, they were essentially cooking with garbage.

Initially, you might wrinkle your nose in disgust. You may picture Bobby Flay emerging from a dumpster with a half eaten pizza slice, discussing how – after he brushed off the flies – he would turn it into a wonderful appetizer. It was nothing like this, however.

You see, Americans are very spoiled when it comes to food. When we shop for tomatoes, we want the very best. An otherwise edible tomato with a crack in its skin is tossed aside. Peaches with blemishes on them are left on the ground to rot. Lettuce is ignored because it isn’t picture-perfect.

It isn’t just the vegetables and fruits, either. Meats that aren’t the ever-desired center cuts are cast out. Chickens with a broken wing are thrown away because people might think it means they are diseased (when the truth is that they are perfectly fine to eat). Bagels left at the end of the day and pre-packaged foods with creeping expiration dates get the garbage bag treatment.

As the contestants gathered food, the amazement at their finds increased. So did the disgust. Perfectly good food was being thrown away every day. While 1 in 4 children go to bed hungry, while people scrounge around wondering where their next meal will come from, mountains of food are being tossed in the trash. The food recovered by the contestants was a mere drop in the bucket.

This show got me thinking about food waste by me. I am not innocent of passing over produce because of minor blemishes. I also wondered what my local grocery stores, bakeries, and other food shops did with their waste. If the food is still good, albeit blemished or slightly older than customers tend to like, does the store toss it away? Or do they donate it to a local food pantry/shelter/etc?

Thanks to this program, I plan on calling some local companies to see how they handle their food waste. If they don’t donate it, I’m going to see if I can arrange for at least some of it to be donated. I encourage everyone to do the same with companies in their area.

Have you seen the Food Network special? How do you think you can help raise awareness about food waste?

Disclaimer: I wasn’t compensated in any way by Food Network for this post. I simply wanted to share what I felt was a good program and an important issue. The image above was created using two images from OpenClipArt.org.

Cooking with TechyDad: Spaghetti Squash Sauté

December 22, 2011 TechyDad Cooking, Food, Photos, Recipe

I love cooking squash. It’s pretty easy to make and goes in a variety of dishes. Spaghetti squash has a bonus, though. It looks like pasta after it is cooked! This means you can make pasta-like dishes with it.

For this recipe, you’ll need a spaghetti squash, some sliced mushrooms, onions, garlic, jarred (or homemade) spaghetti sauce, chickpeas, and ricotta cheese.

First, we’ll slice the squash in half and remove the seeds and "goo" (that’s a scientific cooking term) in the middle. Don’t toss those seeds, though. You can bake them later for a tasty snack.

Place the squash halves face down on a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 30 – 40 minutes (depending on how heavy your squash is).

While the squash bakes, sauté some onions and garlic. Then, add some mushrooms and cook them down.

When the squash is done, use a fork to pull the flesh off of the shell. The spaghetti squash will string out just like… well, spaghetti. Put this in a big pan.

Mix the squash with the mushrooms, chickpeas, sauce and ricotta cheese.

Then, you simply serve and enjoy.

I’ve made this dish quite a few times. It’s relatively quick, easy and very healthy. It also makes quite a bit. One spaghetti squash can last make enough to last us for two or three dinners.

e-Latkes

December 11, 2011 TechyDad Food, Holidays

I can’t mail these latkes to everyone, so here are some photos. Just try not to slather your screen with apple sauce or sour cream.

No, I didn’t make these. This was a collaborative effort between Aunt M and B’s grandmother. And, yes, they tasted as delicious as they look.

Aloha Friday: Thanksgiving Food Memories

November 25, 2011 TechyDad Aloha Friday, Food, Holidays

As I sit here writing this post, my stomach is filled to the brim. I couldn’t eat another bite. I’ve indulged in turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, Asian salad, chocolate rugalech, pumpkin chocolate chip cake, and dark chocolate peanut butter banana ice cream. I can’t eat any more. I can’t even think about food.

Ok, maybe I can think about food a little bit. Thanksgiving, to me, always means certain dishes. It just doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving otherwise. Of course, one is turkey and another is stuffing. The dish that most says “Thanksgiving” to me, though, is sweet potato casserole.

Growing up, my mother and I seemed to have a ritual. Every year, she would make a sweet potato casserole topped with marshmallows. Every year, I would eat the marshmallows and leave the “yucky” sweet potatoes behind. Every year, my mom would bug me to try a little bit of sweet potato. I never would.

One year, I had enough of being bugged. I decided to just give in, take a taste, and show my mother just how disgusting those sweet potatoes were. I took a small bite and… loved them! I couldn’t believe how great they tasted. I went from skimming the casserole for the marshmallows to eating the whole thing. (My portion, that is, not the entire casserole.)

My Aloha Friday question for today is: What Thanksgiving food brings back memories?

P.S. If you haven’t already, go visit FollowerHQ and let me know what you think of my Twitter application.

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #115

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