Why I Could Care Less About Being Good

I love food. It's not a secret. I love everything about it. I love buying food, reading about food, looking at food, eating food, talking about food, writing about food...and why not? It's delicious and fun, and it's full of deliciously fun calories.

I like pasta. Even better, pasta with cheese. I cook with butter because I just don't believe in margarine (sorry, Mom). I drink whole milk. I use heavy cream. I drink wine, eat chocolate cake, love a good burger and eat pizza for breakfast (cold, of course). Do I feel guilty? Absolutely not. Why should I?

You know what I DO feel guilty about? Wasting food. That doesn't mean I have to sit and eat a 3 serving bowl of pasta so it doesn't go to waste. It means I hate to throw food away. It's a waste of money and a waste of resources.

But I digress...why could I care less about being good, you ask? I'm not saying I'm planning to rob my neighbor or trip the old lady trying to cross the street. What I AM saying is that I hate that so many females feel the need to be like "Oh I'm being good today. No carbs" or "I can't eat cake. I'm being good" or "I'm only going to get the small salad even though I really want the Big Gruesome and the quarter pound cheeseburger with cheddar and handcut fries. I'm being good." That, folks, is what grinds my gears.

Associating food with being "good" or "bad" is just uncalled for. Associating eating or enjoying a meal with a black and white tag like that isn't healthy. It's a poor train of thought where you only end up feeling guilty for having cheese fries or ordering the bleu cheese dressing. Get it? I like cheese. In some groups of girls, it's like some sort of strange competition between who can "eat the most healthy" ie. who can eat the least (on Wednesdays, we wear pink...). I promise you, you're not winning anything by only eating a slice of cucumber for dinner. Screw you all, I'm having the steak.

But in the end, it isn't about eating everything you want all the time OR constantly denying yourself about what you really want to eat. It's about finding the balance between both. Moderation. It's also about living a healthy lifestyle, working out, drinking water, and having a balanced diet. I like to be right between the brownie sundae and double chocolate stout AND the vegetables (spell it with your peas!) and Cuties. I think, if you can find that balance, it puts you right in your dietary happy place. I know I am.

Lemongrass

thaitable.com

Lemongrass or Lemon Grass - very commonly found in Thai and Vietnamese food, an ingredient you can find in the grocery store (chilled herbs) or grow yourself. It is known as TAKRAI in Thai, XA in Vietnamese, and NINGMENG CAO in Mandarin and provides a citrus-like flavor that lemon juice cannot be used to substitute.

If you are purchasing in a store, you should use rules similar to purchasing celery. The stalks should be firm and crisp, not rubbery or soft. For lemongrass, the ideal stalk color is white at the bottom and light green toward the top. You should avoid purchasing any stalks that have a brown color - which means they are older and drying out. Depending upon where you are purchasing your lemongrass, the stalk can be anywhere from 6 inches to 12 inches or longer. I've found the local grocery store sells it in the chilled herbs section - by the cilantro, rosemary, parsley, etc. It usually costs a little less than $2 for two 6 inch pieces. You can store it in an airtight container in your refrigerator for about 3 weeks.

I've heard you can root a bulb end of a piece in water to start your own lemongrass plant. While this is not something I have done (yet), I am quite curious and may pursue this option. I've read you can keep it as a houseplant, as you can with a number of herbs, as long as it is facing a sunny window. It is also a perennial, so if you are growing it outside, you may have to bring the plant indoors for the winter.

You can soften the stalks to use in soup broths, use a sharp blade to chop pieces, or crush with a mortar and pestle. You can also use the top section, which really looks like grass, for soups and stews. The grassy section will brown if you are cooking in a pan.

There is also some research linking lemongrass to cancer treatment. There have been some studies using citral - the chemical that gives it that citrus-y aroma. Lemongrass is also supposed to have a number of health benefits, also. I haven't read enough about lemongrass and cancer cells to believe one way or the other (does it help or not) - in fact I came across an article that suggested one of the plant's chemicals may magnify side effects caused by some types of cancer treatments. Even webmd has it's own opinions - suggesting pregnant and nursing women should avoid using it. So before you jump to any hasty conclusions, make sure to do your research.

I'll be sure to include this ingredient in upcoming recipes, so check back soon!