This doesn't really count....

...but this post is just to announce that I'm going to go through all previous posts and put tags in. I like the fact that my other blogging friends do this, and I've always intended to do so, but I just never really got around to it. So there you go. (And no, this doesn't count towards my 25 posts in 8 weeks count.)

cheap eats

The economy has not been kind to me. Gas was killer there for a while, and now that I live in a driving community (gag....I miss the subway), that hurt me for a bit. I had to put my property taxes on my credit card back in December (because I had not planned well), and that's a HUGE chunk of cash (easily the most I've ever charged on my card). Then there's the 10% pay cut that my company required of all employees (VPs and above had bigger cuts).

So all in all, I've been focusing more on cheap food than on healthy food. This, in addition to a loss experienced recently, has meant that I've gained a bit of weight. It sure is tempting to do the quick and easy fast food thing when you have a coupon for a free burger, or free breakfast, or whatever. And I recognize that I didn't have to spend that money to begin with, so it's not cheap - it's more expensive than eating something that's already in my pantry or fridge.

I've been trying to get out and walk my dog more, not only because it benefits him, of course, but also to keep active. Problem is, my big loop around my neighborhood walks by a bunch of restaurants at the end, and I like going to the donut shop (to get breakfast burritos, this is Texas, after all) with only about three-quarters of a mile left in the loop. Clearly, things need to change.

But, as Katie Scarlett O'Hara says, "tomorrow is another day."

Today, however, is still the deal for cheap eats. And boy can Austin deliver. Even with very little money, there is something to be said for going out and spending some time with some friends surrounded by free food and half price drinks. :-)

So, below is a link to a day-by-day list of happy hour deals here in Austin. Next Monday, some friends from work and I are going to Freddie's for the free brisket and wings starting at 6pm. Aw yeah.

http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/dining/entries/2009/02/08/restaurant_deals_the_big_fat_m.html

Killer Spaghetti...or is it Killing Spaghetti?

On Saturday I was, once again, trying not to spend any money and use the food stuffs I had already at my disposal. I was also inspired (yet again) by a Nigella Lawson recipe featured on her TV show (all repeats, but I still watch them while drooling). Lemon Garlic and Mushroom pasta. Because I went to Costco back for the Valentine's party, I knew I still had scores of lemons and limes. And I had some Dreamfields (high protein, low on the glycemic index) spaghetti. I had a huge clove of garlic. No mushrooms. Okay, so my version was going to be Lemon Garlic Spaghetti.

Let me tell you, not only was this one of the easiest dishes I've ever made, but it was so tasty that I ate about half a box of pasta in one sitting. No, that's not advisable, but it's almost unavoidable due to just how good this stuff tastes.

I did this with spaghetti, and frankly, I think any long pasta would work well. I don't anything like a rotini or penne would make a nice pairing with the sauce. But that's just me.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 box of spaghetti
• 2 decent-sized cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 Tbsp really good "sipping" olive oil (super tasty, but nothing you'd cook with)
• 1 large lemon

Implements:

• Big pasta cooking pot
• Large non-stick skillet for sauce
• Garlic crusher or chef's knife for mincing
• Microplane/zester
• Tongs

Instructions:

• Once you've gotten your water up to boil, salt it like you've never salted anything before. I've often heard that you want your pasta water to be as salty as the Mediterranean. Mine might have been as salty as the Dead Sea, but it was just that much tastier.
• Put the pasta in the boiling water (check the package for the proper timing). Don't forget to stir it around periodically so the pasta doesn't stick.
• While the pasta is cooking, heat up a non-stick skillet over medium/medium-low heat with the extra virgin olive oil (not the super good stuff)
• When the oil has come up to temperature (shimmering slightly), put in the garlic. The point here is to brown it slightly, but watch out - burned garlic is one of the nastiest tastes on the face of the Earth...very bitter, almost metallic. If you're concerned, lower your flame.
• Did you stir the pasta?
• While the garlic is browning, rinse off your lemon and use a microplane (or zester) to put the zest of the entire lemon into the oil/garlic mixture. The aromas will begin to dance and it is such a happy fragrance.
• Cut the lemon in half, and squeeze in the juice from one half. My lemons were particularly large, so feel free to put in the lemon from a whole lemon. Just depends on how citrusy you want your dish. Stir in the juice and the zest.
• Turn off the heat under the skillet and just make sure the sauce is combined.
• Assuming you've stirred your pasta periodically, by the time the buzzer has gone off, you've got some perfectly al dente and separated pasta. Take your tongs and pull out some of the pasta. Let the water drip off of it, and add it to the skillet. Take the tongs to make sure the pasta is covered with the sauce. Repeat with the next bunch of pasta and continue until you've got the half box of pasta rolling around with the sauce.
• Since the skillet has been turned off, it's now "safe" to add in the really good olive oil. Choose a deeply-colored olive oil that you might use for dipping bread and pour in 1 tablespoon of the sipping olive oil. (If you don't have that great bottle of olive oil, you can use your extra virgin olive oil, but I wouldn't put as much on it.)
• Turn the pasta around in all the sauce once again, and separate into two bowls. Make sure each person has some garlic, some lemon zest, and some of the olive oil/lemon juice mixture. Just to top it off, if you've got the really good olive oil, drizzle on one more teaspoon or so to each of the servings.

I was so excited by this recipe that I posted my glee to Facebook stating I had "just had some killer lemon garlic spaghetti." A friend of mine from Italy responded with, "Spaghetti with lemon and garlic???? You are spaghetti's killer." I'm guessing that means this is not one of the approved sauces for the pasta, but boy did I love it. In fact, I've got leftovers for lunch today. :-)

Shrove Tuesday

Prior to today, I had never heard of Shrove Tuesday. According to the ever-popular Wikipedia, "The festival is widely associated with the eating of foods such as pancakes and often known simply as Pancake Day, originally because these used up ingredients such as fat and eggs, the consumption of which was traditionally restricted during Lent."

My original plan to honor this "new to me" holiday was going to be to take advantage of the free short stack IHOP (the International House of Pancakes, of course) was offering up at all of their locations. There's one a few miles from my house, and while I didn't know exactly where it was, I thought free pancakes was reason enough to find it. But I got an opportunity to play squash tonight, so that went by the wayside.

I thought about it and wanted to stick to my plan of having pancakes for Shrove Tuesday (any excuse to have pancakes for dinner). I then remembered seeing a box of buckwheat pancake mix in my pantry. It came to me. I was going to have dark chocolate chip buckwheat pancakes. I still had chips left over from making my chocolate sauce for Valentine's strawberries. I knew that was going to be tasty. And then another epiphany. Craisins.

So in celebration of Shrove Tuesday, I made and ate a small batch of dark chocolate chip craisins buckwheat pancakes. YUM.

Food Stories

Recently, I was alerted to a writing contest here in Austin. It's run by the Writers' League of Texas and it's their 2009 Manuscript Contest. The skinny is that you submit a one-page synopsis and the first 10 pages of your manuscript. There are a variety of subjects that are judged separately, and the prize is a meeting with an agent/editor.

I've decided I'm going to try to submit. I say "try to" because I honestly don't know if I can get the first 10 pages written and edited up to the standards I'd like by March 6th. Basically, I need to get the whole thing written by this weekend to allow my family and friends time to read it, give feedback, tweak it, etc. And, it only costs $50, but right now, that's a nice chunk of money. So, the plan is to work hard this week to write as much as possible, and if I make it in time, I'll pay the $50 and submit it.

What is the "it" you might ask....IT is my cookbook. It falls under their "Narrative Nonfiction" category, so Lord only knows what other types of books I'd be going up against. But the distinguishing feature of this cookbook is the funny, poignant, universal stories that go along with the recipes. Yes, the food is great, but the stories are even better (and are sometimes accompanied by hilarious photos).

Just as a teaser, some of the story titles are:

• Conflagration Popovers
• Mistake Meatballs
• Brooklyn BBQ Sauce
• Statler Salad

Understandably, for the contest, I'm not putting the recipes or the pictures in the manuscript. My contact at the WLT suggested that I might want to focus my 10-page real estate on the actual stories, b/c it's not like they're going to test the recipes anyway. I guess if I have a really funny way to describe an ingredient or something, I might leave that recipe in there, but that's still up in the air.

So....cross your fingers, send me good writing vibes and thoughts of efficiency. And if you'd like to be one of the people to help me edit the 10 pages, definitely let me know....I can use as many opinions as possible.