Light Bulb! aka Realizing the Obvious

Ugh I'm so stupid sometimes. I've been looking for something to write about (not just on this blog but as a topic to focus on in order to improve my writing) and also for an area of interest to explore in terms of career potential. I've been super distressed about not being able to figure something out.

Ding! Hello, Kelly. You work in a restaurant, you're dating a culinary manager, you love grocery shopping, the highlight of your days off is cooking, you watch food related TV shows, you search the internet for recipes for fun, and you (semi-recently) read a book about food and history that left you giddy.

Write about food, silly girl.

Now I just need to tell myself that all it takes is passion. Because I'm far from the expert on food. I'm definitely a cook-in-training who ends up eating some botched recipes (ideas for cooking always sound better in my head....). And I'm definitely not rich enough to eat at super fancy restaurants all the time to do research on foods. I've thought about culinary school, but decided it wasn't for me (as much as I enjoy the restaurant business, I don't want to cook all day for streams of anonymous customers. I want to cook for ME damnit!).

On top of it all, I dislike the word foodie. First of all, no one seems to have the same definition of the word. Secondly, it just sounds obnoxious.

I like food. I like smelling food. I like eating food. I like cooking food. I like the feeling of peace I get when chopping vegetables for soup. I like the way flour feels when you stick your hand completely into a fresh bag. I like watching Anthony Bourdain travel around the world eating and talking about nonsense. I like Top Chef as well as Worst Cooks in America. I like to read about food on blogs. I like to read about food in books (the book that made me giddy is this one). I like to look at pictures of food. Z and I go out to restaurants on our days off together - not because we're a boring couple, but because we LOVE food (oh and we cook together on occasion as well). I like the fact that Hamburger Stroganoff brings me back to my childhood, the thought of French Onion Soup brings me immediately to a tiny condo dining room with deep red walls belonging to one of the best cooks I know, the smell of corn tortillas takes me to Guatemala, and the taste of an empanada transports me back to Chile (provided awesomely in the DC area by Julia's Empanadas).

All this leads to the question: How am I not supremely fat?

Just kidding. The real question is: How can I learn more about food (other than experimenting in my closet-sized apartment kitchen) and discover my food destiny?

Oh great, something else to stress about now!

The Foodie Label

What is a foodie?

I can't seem to get a straight answer on this at all. And like pretty much every trendy/newly-invented-word*, everyone has their own definition.

When I first started to hear/read the word foodie I was like, "ok, these are people who really like food..." But seriously folks, who doesn't like food? So is there a higher degree of like-age here or something???

Then I started to hear that it's basically the same thing as a "gourmet" - but that people think that gourmet = snobby, so they made up foodie to imply something more down-to-earth.

Digging further I found that a lot of people HATE the term foodie AND think that it implies plenty of snobby-ness (I came to this conclusion after reading far too many message boards discussing the definition of "foodie" - made my head hurt honestly). It seems that these "foodies" get obsessed with reading up on every new restaurant, going there and critiquing their dishes based on whatever article/book/blog they just read (these readings generally telling them what the new trends are for ingredient pairings and which newly discovered wines go best with them). Some of the foodies actually get into actually cooking things themselves in order to substantiate their expert knowledge of food.

This description of foodies kind of reminds me of those "sports fans" who get all their information from Sports Center and PTI and proceed to repeat the opinions of these television personalities instead of actually watching the games and coming up with their own opinions.

I'm definitely not pretending to be better than these types of people AT ALL. With my constant moving around for the past two years, I've done a piss-poor job at keeping up with my favorite sports teams. Sometimes I like to pretend I'm still a dedicated fan, but I will quickly admit that I know nothing these days about the players, stats or what-have-you. And since I'm just getting into this whole cooking/culinary thing, I know I have plenty to learn - and I will read articles and books about food in order to do that.

I guess my conclusion here is that I still don't know what a foodie is and so I will never call myself one. I'm not an expert on food or cooking and even as I learn more I will take everything with a grain of salt (BAM! food idiom!) and try my very best to stay true to my personal taste.

* according to my research, the term "foodie" was coined in 1981. So maybe no-so-new. Depends - like always - on your perspective.

Help save Kelly's bacon (and other food idioms)

As I have hinted at before, this blog is going to take a turn in the foodie direction. Fun! I'm still working out the specifics along with a blog name change... which is where you come in! I'd like some input on new blog names. I don't want to try to force this blog into being something that I'm not. So I'm embracing all aspects of my interests in order to incorporate them into something entirely and uniquely me. So I want the title to include an English food idiom.

So think up your favorite or pick one from what I have found and leave a comment. Explaining why you like it would be helpful as well!

cool as a cucumber

with a pinch of salt

in a nutshell

easy as pie

a piece of cake

spill the beans

nutty as a fruitcake

in a pickle

(etc etc .... yes I'm a language nerd - and I'm hoping all my fellow language nerds will add to the selection)

And so I'll leave you with the sandwich I had for lunch yesterday...laugh all you want, it was delicious.

And I have to say, buying the right bacon totally makes a huge difference. Being poor and so, in turn, rather frugal with my food purchases, I always opt for the cheaper alternatives. Obviously this will change the taste quality but I got used to it. Now with the help of my financial backer (thanks mom!) I can get my hands on slightly better quality and slightly more expensive food items. In conclusion, this bacon was awesome. (in case you're wondering, it is Oscar Meyer bacon. no joke)

(turkey lunch meat, bacon, spinach, colby jack cheese, pickles, banana peppers, mayo, and spicy mustard on whole wheat bread. Accompanied with Utz Maryland Crab chips - the best potato chip ever created! - and a pickle)

Cooking with Kelly: Cheesy Bacon Potato Soup

Sorry that I've been lazy about writing posts for the past few days. I've been busy with a few job leads (yay!), so all my energies have been focused on that. I have also been cooking a lot. I've made cilantro-lime rice, Kelly style chopped salad, red rice and chorizo, and more! I've mentioned my cooking adventures to a few people and have gotten some recipe requests. So todays post will be an awesome foodie post.

If you know anything about my eating habits and addictions, you know that I love baked potatoes. I'm talking a baked potato with the works: butter, cheese (usually cheddar), sour cream, etc. Yes, it's exceptionally unhealthy, but it tastes oh so good.

Unfortunately, I don't have an oven or a microwave for making my awesome potato goodness. So I have to be more creative.

One of my favorite things to cook is soup. I think I like the fact that there is a lot of knife work involved -- chopping veggies is oddly relaxing for me. Within the soup category I tend to make classic chicken soup a lot, as well as Chicken Tortilla soup (an awesomely zippy tomato and chicken broth concoction topped with cheese, avocado, and tortilla chips).

Today I had a craving for a baked potato with the works -- so I decided to branch out with my soup making and have a try at Cheesy Bacon Potato Soup. And man oh man was it successful. And now, I'm sharing the goodness with you!

*please keep in mind that I tend to "eye" things a lot when cooking. So a lot of the measurements here I'm just guessing at. Just listen to your gut :o) *

4-5 medium to small potatoes thinly sliced

4-5 leeks chopped (depending on size of leeks)

4-6 pieces of bacon

water - enough to just barely cover the potatoes

2 chicken bouillon cubes

8 oz Velveeta cheese (or something of the sort.. Velveeta is a little expensive in Guate, so I used something similar but more reasonably priced)

1 cup of cream (I guess this would be heavy cream ... I got mine from a corner store where you ask for crema and get cream in a small plastic baggy tied in a knot at the top. You could probably also use sour cream, although that would give it a slightly different flavor ... possibly more "sour" haha)

Slice potatoes and put in pot. Fill pot with water to just cover the sliced potatoes. Add chicken bouillon. Boil potatoes until soft (do not throw out the broth). While the potatoes are boiling, fry the bacon and set aside. Do not discard the bacon grease, use the same pan to quickly fry the chopped leeks (I added a little butter to the pan as well). Add the leeks to the potatoes and broth. Mash the potatoes in the pot along with the broth and the onions (I wish I had one of those mashed potato mashers, but I managed to get the job done with a spoon and knife) Stir cheese and then stir in the cream. Chop bacon and stir into soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!

Let me know how it goes if you try out the recipe!