Returning to the South

Returning to the South

And the things I never appreciated

Last week, I told you that I was on a 2,100-mile journey with my son, from Milwaukee to Rochester to Dallas. Well, we made it, and the car is unpacked, and his things are in his tiny apartment. I don't know the square footage, but the volume would be impressive because of the 10-foot ceilings. At least he will have an excuse not to change the lightbulbs.

The journey's been a lot of fun, despite some tense driving situations. These are all due to the fact that I am bad at reading a map but worse at giving directions. Add to that the fact that we moved in on the hottest day of the year. 96º. At least it was only up one flight of stairs!

After living in Texas for 13 years, I knew what to expect — hot weather, pickup trucks, long red lights, and lots of traffic. These things are still here, but it's the small things that I didn't appreciate.

We stopped in Texarkana, Arkansas for a night. At dinner, the waitress was friendly. Then, we went to check into the hotel. Turns out we went to the wrong one! Why put a Holiday Inn and a Holiday Inn Express next to each other?!? Anyway, the two people at the front desk were quite talkative. The same thing at our actual hotel.

We traced the behavior back to Columbus, OH actually. From that point on, the staff at restaurants, people at front desks, and people in parking lots were super friendly. Even in elevators! It seems that we must have a conversation before settling down to business. It reminds me of Europe, actually. I always thought the Midwest was friendly, and it is compared to our experience in Upstate New York, but it's nothing like the South.

The other thing I never noticed is the number of restaurants. They are absolutely everywhere. Vietnamese, Indian, BBQ, Shabu Shabu, Japanese, Mexican, Korean, Chinese, delis, and donut shops. I'm so jealous of my son, although as a poor co-op/college student, he can't afford them or to shop at Whole Foods, which is literally across the street.

But, the most important discovery I've made is that the unsweetened iced tea is far superior to anything I can get at home. I don't know what's different about it, so I will research that when I return home. Meanwhile, I'm drinking as much of it as I can!

I'm looking forward to getting back to my kitchen. Yesterday at lunch, I had a terrific pizza, Fiori di zucca, with zucchini slices, zucchini blossoms, and Scamorza cheese. It was not only delicious but beautifully presented. It also made me ask why I stopped using fresh Asiago and Scamorza as the cheese on my pizzas. That's my favorite combination. Looks like pizza experimentation is on the agenda!

When I move from Milwaukee later this summer, I wonder what I will miss. One thing is Amy's caramel apples, but they ship! I'm going to try to soak up Milwaukee while I can, but I'm also looking forward to my next adventure.

How to Make Good Choices When Traveling

How to Make Good Choices When Traveling

Stop at Applebee’s

May 20, 2017

By now, you know that cooking and eating are important to me. Some would even say an obsession. New recipes and food combinations excite me. One of the reasons I love to travel is to experience customs and rituals that push me into new areas.

Currently, I am on an epic road trip from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Richardson, Texas via Rochester, New York. Why? My son finished his second year at RIT and is going to his seven-month co-op in Texas. What mother wouldn’t love to join her son and make this 2,100+ mile journey?!? Did I mention that we have all of his college belongings in a small car?

Today is day four. Three hotels. Six restaurants. One breakfast in the car. One breakfast in a hotel. One skipped breakfast. In past travels, my mission was to find hidden restaurant gems, but this trip is different because I am on a schedule and don’t have time to venture far from the highway or want to drive extra at night.

After eight and a half hours on the road the first day, I just didn’t feel like searching or driving to a restaurant. In the same parking lot of the hotel was an Applebee’s, so I decided to eat there for dinner.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the menu and found calorie counts for every single menu item. Many restaurants include some calorie counts, but this list was simply fascinating. After twenty minutes of intense scrutiny of the menu, the waitress took my order for a chicken quesadilla appetizer.

This Tex-Mex dish was far from my desire of a salad, but it seemed the better choice. Many people think salads or vegetarian dishes are healthier and have fewer calories, and I admit to those thoughts on occasion. This menu forced me to face the facts and realize that when in a restaurant, it is difficult to make a good choice.

Which have fewer calories? Answers are at the bottom of the page.

  1. Pepper-Crusted Sirloin and Grains OR a child’s Grilled Cheese Sandwich
  2. French Onion Soup OR Mozzarella Sticks appetizer
  3. The classic burger OR Oriental Chicken Salad
  4. Triple bacon burger OR BBQ Brisket Tacos
  5. Chicken Caesar Salad OR Shrimp Wonton Stir Fry

 

When you cook food at home, it’s easy to know whether something is high or low in calories because you know the ingredients. Even if you eat prepackaged food, the calories are listed, so you have some knowledge to help you make appropriate decisions. But, in a restaurant, you are at the mercy of the chef. 

Calories aren’t everything, and these numbers are estimates at best, but it is one way to understand the ingredients in the food you are eating. I don’t know the answer to making choices in every restaurant, but Applebee’s makes it easier. After looking at this menu, I understand why eating in restaurants contributes to weight gain in the US. By the way, the menu calories do not match the website numbers.

I have many more days on the road and restaurants in my future, but this information will help me to make better choices, which is especially needed because of my lack of exercise. Will I eat at another Applebee’s? Probably not, while I appreciated the menu, the food could improve.

Here are the calories listed on Applebee’s website.

  1. 380 vs 640
  2. 380 vs 460 You will probably eat all the soup, but you would share the mozzarella sticks.
  3. 630 vs 1420 The salad has over double the calories of the burger! 
  4. 1170 vs 1220
  5. 800 vs 630

By the way, the Blue Ribbon Brownie Bite has 380 calories, the same amount as the Pepper-Crusted Sirloin and Grains and French Onion Soup and lower than every other choice I gave you. Who would guess that?

As always, happy eating and cooking!

How do I develop new recipes?

How do I develop new recipes?

Oh, and another tasty chicken recipe!

Where do I find the inspiration for meals and new recipes? It's my mood, the weather, and the ingredients I have on hand. Instead of planning menus by the day, I stock my pantry, refrigerator, and freezer for the week. This gives me the flexibility to decide which meal to cook the day I am going to eat it.

The next question is, "How do I thaw everything in time?" I don't recommend leaving food on the counter because of safety concerns, but putting a tightly-sealed package of frozen chicken in a container of cold water will thaw it quickly.

The real question is how do I develop a recipe? My nose is the answer. I know my mood and what flavors I want. When I make tuna salad, for example, I go to my spice cabinet and open random jars. Whatever smells good that day is what I use. And, every day is different.

That worked well until my younger son continued to ask me what I did differently with a recipe. Turns out, he likes consistency, and I wanted to perfect recipes for iwannabeacook. When I'm in the kitchen cooking, typing recipes into my laptop isn't possible, so I keep a notebook. Here's a picture with my notes for this week's recipe.

Recipe notebook.jpg

This notebook contains every recipe I make. The different ink colors tell you how many times I've edited the recipe. The color of the date, red in this case, shows the color of the original notes. The blue ink shows the edits right after making the recipe. In this case, commenting on the cooking and marinating time. The black ink shows afterthoughts with variations.

What you don't see is a large X or the words "REDO." Those happen. The tags sticking out of the side of the notebook mark recipes that are still under development and need more work. Sometimes the taste or cooking time was off, but other times it isn't the time to present a recipe. For example, I have a Christmas cookie recipe that is finally perfected. I can't release it until the holiday season because no one else wants to think about Christmas cookies in May. No worries though, I'm already working on November/December recipes.