Food fatigue

As a very proud fatfat girl, I am ashamed to share that I think I am actually suffering from food fatigue as we come to the end of this holiday season.  But that will not stop me from posting the top five to ten foods we ate in 2010 list somewhere between New Years Eve and New Years Day.  Also soon to come is our top ten treats we plan to eat in 2011.  I'm thinking that this pie shake concotion will be near the top of the list.  Most people will probably find the concept of a flaky and buttery slice of apple or blueberry pie and a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream blended together to be pretty disgusting.  But I think this sounds a-may-zing.

If I'm covered in sugar and flour, it must be Christmas Eve

It's tradition in my family that several hours to half of the day before a major holiday is spent in the kitchen.  And the work is not done until everyone in the kitchen is at least lightly coated with a bit of flour or confectioners sugar...maybe a few grease stains on pants legs or favorite t-shirts.  Perhaps there is also a new red mark on a forearm from carelessly pulling hot pans out of the oven and grazing the heat source in the process...

The payoff is always worth the mess and the hours spent chopping, mixing, dropping and burning.  This year I had the pleasure of introducing Dip and Dap, my 2 and 4 year-old nieces, to the tradition of baking Christmas cookies from scratch and leaving a few for Santa (or Janta as Dap prefers to call him).  The sugar cookie recipe I used this year was pretty good, but even better after Dip and Dap sprinkled on copious amounts of yellow and pink sugar crystals.  In case you didn't know, yellow and pink are the new red and green of the holiday season.  Dip was so excited by this new trend that she pounded the bottle of yellow sugar into the cookies, creating little half-moon indentations.  An extra special touch.

The cookies are pretty good, but what truly blew FatCat's mind this year are the apple pie cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting she made from scratch.  One of my favorite fatty girls put me on to this recipe a few days ago and I couldn't resist trying this out.  I did make a few changes though--I wasn't feeling the concept of an open-faced cupcake so after sauteing the apples in salted butter, cinnamon and sugar, I layered them in between two tablespoons of cupcake batter.  This resulted in a yummy apple pie-like surprise a couple of bites into the cupcake.  I probably should have taken a picture after I bit into it to show y'all.  Next time.

Porkorn!!!!

Blue Box Blues

The worst days of my usually very sexy and fabulous single life have typically ended with a hungry and  uncomfortable bus ride home on a cold and dreary evening after a long day at my 9 to 6.  I love to cook, but not on days like that.  There is only one thing that will turn my frown upside down and satisfy me on crappy weeknights: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.  The original.  Not the quick microwave version or the whole wheat and white cheddar versions.  Only the unnaturally orange and gooey goodness from that original sweet blue box.

I usually turn my nose up at such highly processed food-like substances, but from a young age I have continued to indulge myself every once in a while with this stuff.  Honestly, I don't think my mom even allowed me to eat boxed macaroni and cheese very often at home (if at all) when I was a little girl.  Perhaps this partially explains my mild obsession with it.  I even get fancy with the blue box, adding real butter instead of margarine, organic whole milk, frozen petite peas or steamed fresh broccoli, and freshly ground black pepper while trying to convince myself that I am eating a legitimate food.  Anyway...today I salute you, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

Mmmmm.....bacon. *shivers*

As a reformed vegetarian who still professes to eat predominantly vegetarian (when I'm not at my mama's house) I'd like to take this moment to share my secret love for bacon.  It's pretty phenomenal.  Bacon is even better when it is taken to the next level.  I've been known to nosh on dark chocolate covered crispy bacon treats at Co Co. Sala, a fab little place that bills itself as a "chocolate lounge & boutique."  My next bacon experience will be porkorn.  Yes, porkorn.  Otherwise known as salted caramel popcorn with little bacon bits sold at a newly opened restaurant called Bayou Bakery.  This will be a diet fail.  But a bacon win!  Pics to come...

**Update**  Now that I have climbed back on the vegetarian wagon, this article is incredibly relevant and appropriate to share: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/01/28/133304206/why-bacon-is-a-gateway-to-meat-for-vegetarians

Allow me to introduce myself...

Princess Rotound-a here. I'm so excited to join my partner, FatCat, for an exploration of all things food-related. I'm pretty sure this is a moderately unhealthy obsession but I hope you all enjoy. A little about myself from a food perspective...

-I'm the weakest vegetarian you will ever meet. Like ever. Like I sometimes pretend I don't know Cream of Anything soup includes chicken broth. Like I might accept a bite of the noodles from your Beef Curry. I once took a bite of my friend's hamburger, spit it out, and claimed she made me do it. But labels matter dammit.

-I'm also the most unhealthy vegetarian you will ever meet. Like french fries and bread for dinner. Cheese is one of my major food groups. I think chips and salsa is the perfect meal.

-I have a list of forbidden "Fat Girl" foods. I view these foods as gateway drugs to a life of obesity. And since I don't believe in moderation, I refuse to allow myself to partake in any of the following: milkshakes, Snickers, pints of ice cream, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, sundaes, whole pieces of cake, and chocolate chip pancakes. Snickers=Death.

-I am a full believer in crash diets. Like I believe in JC. Again, moderation is not your friend.

Deuces.

Science supports this endeavor!

So possibly the most brilliant researchers of all time recently found that thinking about eating certain foods could potentially result in eating less of them.  I can dig this.  For example, this blog was the lovechild of two days worth of conversations with an equally food-obsessed friend about my craving for a cheeseburger.  That friend will indeed be this blog's co-author.  Three weeks later, I still have yet to eat that burger that we both envisioned on ciabatta bread with crunchy bacon and any given yummy smoky cheese.  And I probably won't.  That means that this journal of food porn may result in me more easily meeting my fitness goals for the upcoming year by writing about my cravings instead of giving into them.  We shall see...

NPR: Thinking about eating may mean eating less

The Beginning

I am a foodie.  Good food and I have a co-dependent and sometimes abusive relationship.  This blog is an attempt to use my brain and my words to control my strong appetite for the yummiest, most dangerous food. A food that I would like to eat--but probably shouldn't--will be profiled each day.  I will win most of the time.  But other times I will give into my cravings.  And when I do I will share my failure with the world, accepting your judgment and my shame.  Ha!  I probably won't really feel any shame.