Lately, I've had a small problem with radishes. I buy a couple of bunches of the most adorable, tiny-headed pink radishes with bright, shaggy greens, but before I can get around to eating them all, they're suddenly unrecognizable — withered, droopy old things — the radishes faintly wrinkled, the greens faded and limp, as if time had slipped by more quickly inside the swirl of my fridge. While puckered radishes aren't ideal for snacking on raw and chilled, they're not quite ready for my compost bin either — not yet. I have my own go-to dishes for cleaning out the scraps in my fridge, but for new inspiration, I recently turned to "The Everlasting Meal Cookbook," Tamar Adler's new encyclopedia of recipes that breathe life into all kinds of scraps and leftovers. Her radish frittata was a very persuasive argument for roasting some past-their-prime vegetables in olive oil until they turned golden brown, and tossing them, along with the chopped, wilted greens, right in with the egg mixture. Honestly, it made me wish I had more old radishes to roast, but as Ms. Adler points out, that's not how this odds-and-ends kind of cooking works. The amount you have turns out to be the amount you need — that's the beauty of it. I love cooking with my kitchen's constant supply of weird little leftovers. I was raised by a father who rinses out bottles of honey with a splash of hot water to get to the very last bit, and who mixes salad dressings in almost-empty jars of mustard. And my mother is an expert at organizing and meal planning, always turning leftovers into new meals. I'm more impulsive in the kitchen, though I've inherited some of their habits. The most satisfying part of Thanksgiving for me isn't the meal itself, but that moment when I pull the turkey meat, toss the bones into a stockpot to simmer, and begin plotting the arguably more interesting and certainly less intensive Day 2 and Day 3 meals from this one's ruins. If you were trying to convince someone about the merits of cooking with scraps and leftovers, you'd likely talk about how it's a more organized and efficient way to approach the food you buy, how it saves both time and money, and how it's better for the environment than automatically dumping food into the garbage, where it will go on to sit in a landfill and produce vast amounts of methane while it slowly decomposes. No-waste cookbooks, mostly written by women chefs and home cooks, have proliferated in the last few years, starting just before the early days of the shifted many of us toward more intentional and frugal food habits. Lindsay-Jean Hard's "Cooking With Scraps" came out in 2018; Linda Ly's "The No-Waste Vegetable Cookbook" was published in 2020; and Anne-Marie Bonneau's "The Zero-Waste Chef" followed in 2021, to name just a few. I particularly liked the organization of the 2021 Australian cookbook "Use It All: The Cornersmith Guide to a More Sustainable Kitchen," which clustered together recipes with a loose shopping list of main ingredients. But even cookbooks that don't focus entirely on no-waste cooking seem to be pushing its principles forward, with more recipes for using the entirety of fruits and vegetables — corn cobs, apple cores, spent lemons — and more detailed instructions for storing, reheating and reimagining leftovers. I enjoy the practicality and realism of these cookbooks, which tend to acknowledge the messier ways that food shopping and cooking work in real life. The most well-known archetype of no-waste American food writing is M.F.K. Fisher's "How to Cook A Wolf," published in 1942 during wartime food shortages. Though after the war, when the country was no longer using ration cards and relying on stamps and tokens, Fisher rewrote the introduction and admitted she already found something about the book quaint. It's found new life over and over again since. While Ms. Adler has her own style of writing, there's something about her confidence as both cook and writer that is reminiscent of M.F.K. Fisher, whom she has cited before as an influence. Chapters are even named in Fisher's style: "How to Grow Old" or "How to Stand on Your Feet." The one I couldn't wait to tell my father about was "How to Give Thanks," which offers clever little recipes that start with almost-empty jars of things. Add lime juice and a sprinkle of sugar to fish sauce to make a quick dressing for a rice bowl or salad, Adler suggests. She also provides a more thorough recipe for the last of the cashew butter, or any nut butter, turning it into a noodle dish with carrots, cucumbers and herbs. (Technically, you don't have to wait for an almost-empty jar to make this.) It might seem a bit odd to delight in the creativity of frugal cooking, because not wasting food, and passing down that value, often comes from a place of struggle — wartime, poverty, trauma and food scarcity, environmental anxiety and other necessities. But trying to waste as little as possible is a creative act, undervalued only because it happens in the realm of the home kitchen. No-waste cooking is just another way of maximizing the pleasures of your food, of making the most out of the least. It's not a trend — it's what cooking is, most of the time, without requiring any kind of special name. I'd specifically wanted chilled, juicy, crunchy raw radishes with bread, butter and a tin of sardines in olive oil. That's why I bought so many radishes. When that was no longer possible, so many others things were, I just had to be open to wanting them. The satisfaction was there, in the dish: It was simple to make and a perfect work-from-home lunch with a piece of buttered bread and some pickles on the side. But there was another reward, the one I'm always chasing when I peer into the fridge and wonder what's for dinner. It was in finding a beginning in what had appeared, at first, to be the end. I am writing something. Yes, I plan to make it the most boring thing ever written. I go to the store. A car is parked. Many cars are parked or moving. Some are blue. Some are tan. They have windows. In the store, there are items for sale. These include such things as soap, detergent, magazines, and lettuce. You can enhance your life with these products. Soap can be used for bathing, be it in a bathtub or in a shower. Apply the soap to your body and rinse. Detergent is used to wash clothes. Place your dirty clothes into a washing machine and add some detergent as directed on the box. Select the appropriate settings on your washing machine and you should be ready to begin. Magazines are stapled reading material made with glossy paper, and they cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from news and politics to business and stock market information. Some magazines are concerned with more recreational topics, like sports card collecting or different kinds of hairstyles. Lettuce is a vegetable. It is usually green and leafy, and is the main ingredient of salads. You may have an appliance at home that can quickly shred lettuce for use in salads. Lettuce is also used as an optional item for hamburgers and deli sandwiches. Some people even eat lettuce by itself. I have not done this. So you can purchase many types of things at stores. If I drive around, I sometimes notice the houses and buildings all around. There are also pieces of farm land that are very large. Houses can be built from different kinds of materials. The most common types are brick, wood, and vinyl or synthetic siding. Houses have lawns that need to be tended. Lawns need to be mowed regularly. Most people use riding lawnmowers to do this. You can also use a push mower. These come in two varieties: gas-powered and manual. You don't see manual push-mowers very much anymore, but they are a good option if you do not want to pollute the air with smoke from a gas-powered lawnmower. I notice that many families designate the lawnmowing responsibility to a teenager in the household. Many of these teenagers are provided with an allowance for mowing the yard, as well as performing other chores, like taking out the trash, washing the dishes, making their bed, and keeping the house organized. Allowances are small amounts of money given by parents to their children, usually on a weekly basis. These usually range from 5 dollars to 15 dollars, sometimes even 20 dollars. Many parents feel that teenagers can learn financial responsibility with this system. Now I will talk about farm land. Farm land can be identified by some common features. They almost always consist of a very large patch of dirt with small green plants lined up in very long rows. You may sometimes see farm equipment riding over these rows, like tractors or combines. These machines help farmers grow more crops in less time. They are a very helpful invention. Some different types of crops are soybeans, cotton, corn, tomatoes, tobacco, and lettuce (which I mentioned earlier). Most crops are used as food, and can be defined as either fruits or vegetables. Some are commonly eaten raw, after being rinsed in water to remove any dirt. Some are often cooked, which helps give them a more pleasant taste and makes them easier to chew. A very versatile vegetable is the potato. It can be eaten raw, or it can be cooked in a variety of ways. They can be baked, and many people like to add butter to them. They can be mashed, and a lot of times brown gravy or milk gravy is poured on top of them. They can be cut into thin strips and fried. Typically a large amount of grease is required to prepare potatoes in this style, but they are easy to make and easy to eat. You can order them at several fast-food restaurants. Potatoes can also be boiled, stewed, and scalloped. There is a wide variety of options available to you when cooking potatoes. Some other types of crops grown on farm land are used for other purposes. Cotton is used to make clothing (which I also mentioned earlier). It is a very versatile and inexpensive material for clothes. Such items as shirts, pants, socks, and underwear can be made from cotton. The process of converting cotton from a cotton plant to clothing is fairly complicated. Today, cotton is harvested more efficiently through the use of the cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney many years ago. Tobacco is another type of crop. It is used in making cigarettes. A lot of people smoke cigarettes, even though many medical sources have identified them as harmful to people's health. Warnings are printed on cigarette packages reminding people of possible dangers resulting from smoking. Cigarettes are available in several brands, including Marlboro, Salem, and Virginia Slims. There is a brand called Kool, but I don't know whether they are still available at most outlets. Tobacco farming is a large industry, and currently there is debate about it. Recently the government decided on some regulations that cost tobacco companies a large amount of money. If you notice, some farm lands have animals living on them. Most of these are cows, and there are also pigs, sheep, and goats living on farms. Some are raised for the milk they provide. This milk goes through several processes to ensure that it is not contaminated before it is made available to consumers at stores (which I mentioned earlier). Another use for farm animals is meat. Three popular types of meat are beef, pork, and chicken. Beef comes from cows. Pork comes from pigs. Chicken comes from chickens, but you probably knew that. These animals are raised to become plump and healthy, then they are killed, sometimes at slaughter houses. The meat is then removed from their bodies, cleaned, and made available at a variety of stores and restaurants. Sometimes this process can seem gross, but it is part of an advanced ecological food chain on earth. Just like birds eat worms and tigers eat deer, human beings eat cows and pigs. The main difference is that we don't eat animals raw. We cook the meat to remove blood, fat, and germs from it. We also season our meat with salt or different kinds of sauces. The end result is food that is very tasty and is healthy for us. Farmers do not like trespassers. If a farmer sees one, he will sometimes shoot at them with a shotgun that he owns. Trespassing is against the law. Laws are created by government to prevent people from living in fear. They are meant to provide safety for citizens. Our government in America consists of a legislative branch, an executive branch, and a judicial branch. The legislative branch makes laws based on the concerns of citizens they represent. The executive branch consists of the President. This person enforces the law, and he has certain other duties like declaring war and approving bills prepared by members of the legislative branch. The President is also considered the leader of our country. The judicial branch interprets the laws. This branch consists of the courts and the trials held in them. Here a judge and jury determine from evidence presented by lawyers whether someone is guilty of breaking a law. Initial law enforcement takes place among police officers. They are the first people to encounter situations where a law is being broken. If a criminal (law-breaker) becomes too violent or hostile, they will use guns or mace or nightsticks to administer immediate punishment. Their goal is to bring the criminal under control, so that he can receive a punishment determined by members of the judicial branch of government. Punishments mostly include time in jail, but they can also include fines and, in extreme cases, the death penalty. There is controversy surrounding the death penalty. Children play with toys. This is common to almost all kids. Toys come in a very wide variety. Boys tend to like cars, action figures, and toy weapons. Girls tend to like dolls, toy kitchens, and make-up. Both of them like building or assembling things, be it with Legos, blocks, Play-Doh, or something similar. Toys can be found at most stores, and these days entire stores are dedicated to selling only toys. The most popular of these is Toys 'R' Us (with a backwards "R"). Their mascot is Geoffrey the Giraffe. Children love to go to Toys 'R' Us and look at the wide variety of toys available. Most children receive the greatest quanitity of toys on their birthdays, or during the holiday season in December. For the majority of children, this holiday is Christmas. For Jewish children, the holiday is Channakuh. Either way, the kid gets presents during this time, and most of these presents are toys. Christmas is a holiday which has gradually become centered around the character "Santa Claus" and his elves and reindeer. Children are told that Santa's elves build their toys, and Santa delivers them personally to each house in the world by riding in an airborne sleigh hauled by nine reindeer, including Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, who leads the way. Another popular Christmas character is Frosty the Snowman. Frosty is basically any snowman that comes to life. So during Christmas, many children build snowmen, and some of them hope that theirs might come to life. But all of these characters are myths. The true origin of Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus, who founded the religion of Christianity a couple of thousand years ago. Many popular Christmas carols deal with his story, such as "Joy to the World" and "Silent Night." Other holidays include Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Independence Day. Thanksgiving has become a tradition of preparing large quantities of food for a large gathering of people, mainly family and friends. This meal usually features turkey or ham as the main course. Turkey and ham are both kinds of meat (which I mentioned earlier). The meal usually also consists of dressing and a wide assortment of vegetables (which I also mentioned earlier). The origin of Thanksgiving is usually traced to the days of the pilgrims, who were the first settlers in America. They made peace with the native people, the Indians, and together enjoyed a large feast, thanking God for providing them with such an abundance. (Their concepts of God were probably very different.) Halloween is the holiday when people dress in costumes to look like other characters. Most of these are children, who go from door to door in different neighborhoods to request candy from the people living there. They usually say "trick or treat" then receive a treat. Very rarely does the person in the house respond with a trick. Halloween has some sort of demonic origin that I am not quite sure about, but the name derives from "All Hallow's Eve." I will not say much about Independence Day, but it is the day Americans celebrate the anniversary of our independence from Britain. Most families purchase fireworks during this holiday and set them off in their lawns (which I mentioned earlier). America gained independence from Britain in the late 1700's after the Revolutionary War. Britain was hoping to extend its empire across the Atlantic Ocean, but the colonists who settled the territory did not want to be under Britain's control, with their various taxes and regulations. Both sides were very passionate about their position on the issue, so a war occurred. This war featured a few heroes, including George Washington and Paul Revere. George Washington became America's first president when we gained independence. I am not sure what happened to Paul Revere. The Declaration of Independence was written before the war by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 and made clear the position of the colonists. It was signed by many important people, including Ben Franklin and John Hancock. Ben Franklin is well-known for many things. One of these is inventing electrical conductors in the form of lightning rods. A famous tale is that he flew a kite with a small piece of metal somewhere on the string during a lightning storm. This was an effective way to test his theory. Another thing Ben Franklin is known for is publishing Poor Richards Almanac. This was like a magazine and contained some of his famous writings and quotations. One famous quote was "Tell me, I forget. Teach me, I remember. Involve me, I learn." Maybe this had something to do with why he flew that kite. Trees are one of our most important natural resources. They are made of wood, and wood can be made into a variety of products. Some of the more obvious kinds are furniture, houses, and toothpicks. However, wood can also be made into paper. When I first heard this, I was skeptical, but it is true. Paper is a very important product in our society. Writers and artists have greatly benefited from the invention of paper. With only some paper and a pen or pencil, a writer can produce stories and poems that can captivate readers. They can also write down historical facts about their society. Actually, these writings don't become historical until years later. At the time, the writings could probably be considered news. Artists use paper for their drawings and paintings. They can also use canvas. Drawings and paintings can be very beautiful. They can depict a wide variety of subjects, including flowers, animals, landscapes, and people. They can be realistic or impressionistic. Some paintings also attempt to convey emotions merely by the way the colors are combined and the brushstrokes are applied. This is a modern or contemporary approach to art. Many people think this approach does not require as much talent as the realistic styles. I will end my writing here. I have tried to make it very boring, and I hope I have succeeded. There are plenty of boring documents available for you to read. Check your public library for more information. You can also find boring materials at a bookstore or on websites. Sometimes this information can be found in magazines (which I mentioned earlier). Once every four years, influential Texas Monthly magazine comes out with one of its most highly anticipated cover stories. And it's not about oil or the economy or politics or tourism. It's about something that might be taken even more seriously by folks there. Barbecue. Namely, the 50 best BBQ joints in the Lone Star State. For people who had not been paying close attention to all the big changes that have been taking place in the Texas barbecue scene for the past 10 years or so, that November 2021 issue was a surprise or even a shocker. Absent from the top 50 were the longtime revered stalwarts in Lockhart, a small city in rural Central Texas that looms large in the state's barbecue lore. Instead, 29 of the 50 entries were new to the list. The No. 1 pick, Goldee's Barbecue, opened only in 2020 and has -- gasp! -- a big city address in Fort Worth. The No. 2 joint, InterStellar BBQ, opened in 2019 in an Austin strip mall. With traditional spots generally taking a back seat to newcomers, CNN Travel talked to Daniel Vaughn, who has the enviable job of full-time barbecue editor at Texas Monthly, to find out how the magazine comes up with its rankings and what the heck has been going on in Texas and with the takeover of "big city style." And he also served a heaping helping of picks in all corners of the second-largest state in the nation to craft your barbecue road trip. How does Texas Monthly come up with its list? This top 50 list a major, thorough effort, so much so that it's feasible to do it only once every four years. "We do it that way simply because it's such a huge undertaking from so many staff members. We spend about six months putting the list together." Vaughn said. "We like to think of it as the Olympics of barbecue." How do they pull it off? He said more than 30 staff members go out around the state and that "my full-time job is a scouting mission for the next top 50. I'm writing about all the places along the way, but that's primarily what I'm doing. I'm going out there to try all these new barbecue joints opening up all over the state." Vaughn assembles a large list and divvies it up among the staff members. He gives them barbecue tasting lessons in the office before they head out. They then fill out score sheets and bring them all back and comb through the list. Then it's back out again to narrow down the top 10. "When it comes down to No. 1 ... there's such a fine line between each of these top 10 places. Once you're in the top 10, the difference between the No. 1 place and the No. 10 place is pretty miniscule." It comes down to "who doesn't screw up. And we visited Goldee's enough to try to get them to slip up, and they just didn't." |
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