EverythingSteve.com

Shoot Me, I'm a Suburbanite!

How About a Restaurant Review?

Hey kids, I know this post will have no relevance to those of you who don't live in San Carlos, California. But I'm out of gas, and therefore have to plagiarize myself today. Here is a Yelp review of a new joint called "The Refuge."

Do You Care If You Eat Antibiotics?

Even before the latest beef recall, I've become increasingly concerned about levels of antibiotics in our food supply. And yet, I'm a notorious cheapskate when it comes to buying meats and poultry. A favorite ritual is going through the weekly circulars and stocking up the freezer with good quality meats. But my previous definition of good quality encompassed USDA Choice or Angus. It didn't necessarily need to mean antibiotic free or organic. But in light of increasing numbers of articles discussing increased immunity to antibiotics combined with the lack of investment by pharmaceutical companies in developing new antibiotics (it makes less business sense to spend on R&D in this area than on the next super drug to fight heart disease, for example), I wonder if, similar to purchasing compact fluorescent light bulbs, we shouldn't do our part by purchasing and eating more "clean" meats.

The problem? Doing so can cost a lot of money. Hey, I like Whole Foods Market, and one can find some reasonably priced food there. Also, Whole Foods takes extreme measures to ensure its produce and meats are the very highest quality. One doesn't NEED to buy organic meats at Whole Foods...unless she or he wants to do so. Why? All meats sold at Whole Foods are antibiotic free -- period. At conventional supermarkets, such is not the case.  But the meats at Whole Foods can be astronomically priced. Case in point: pork tenderloin at $11/pound. Crazy! This is why I believe in good old fashioned competition. And yes, it's why I peruse the circulars like a crazed loony.

So when Mollie Stone's Market features Eel River grass fed organic ground beef for $4/pound, I'm there. When Nob HIll now features a new line of organic foods, called "Full Circle," and puts an organic Full Circle branded organic strip steak on sale at $10.99/pound. I'm there. Heck, in a moment of weakness I'll even pay $7/pound for organic ground bison at Mollie Stone's. But, the next time Foster Farms whole chickens go on sale for 69 cents/pound....well, I MAY not be there (for me, that price point is hard to resist). However, I did buy some Rocky Jr. (antibiotic free, but not organic) boneless/skinless breasts last night.

Want to get scared....err...I mean, read more on this topic? Click here.

Pssst...Don't Tell Anyone!

You see, it's like this. We're having friends over for dinner tomorrow night, and I'm making a lasagna. Get this---I'm using a recipe right off the lasagna box. Now I know that's beyond tacky, but I've been checking around, and there are about a gazillion variations of lasagna, all gyrating around a few central themes:
1) Tomato sauce-based
2) Bechamel-based
3) Meat
4) Vegetarian

I'm opting for options #1 and #3. Now, why am I following the recipe on the box? Because it's easy to follow, I have yet to find a single killer recipe (unlike "the killer app"), and I've got an attention span of about...ummm...what was I writing about here?

Don't worry, folks. Although the recipe calls for bottled sauce, I'm making my own tomato sauce. So, which recipe do I follow for my tomato sauce? Is there any other than this simple ditty from a proven power house I'll never have the privilege of eating at because I'm not Tony Soprano or the actor who played him on TV? Ambondanza!

Girl Scout Cookies

Honestly, I really hate everything about Girl Scout Cookies. Of the eight varieties posted on the Girl Scout Cookies Web site, I've probably tried five of them, and I think they all taste like complete crap. And BTW, I'm a complete sweet tooth. Give me wholesome chocolate chip cookies, elementary school- style peanut butter cookies, fudge...Heck, I grew up on Keebler Pecan Sandies, RIch N' Chips, Twinkies, Yankee Doodles, etc. YUM YUM YUM!! But Girl Scout Cookies? IMHO MTF'er they taste like utter crap. Oh, and let's look at the ingredients. How can something be "trans fat free" and yet still contain partially hydrogenated fats?

So call me a killjoy. Call me anti-kids...yadda yadda yadda. I used to keep this horribly negative energy to myself. Well, that's officially over now that I've posted this missive on this highly popular blog of mine. Why? Because you can't leave your freakin' house without being accosted by Girl Scout Cookie sales aggressors. They hawk you at every supermarket, every Starbuck's, underneath highway overpasses, at my favorite medical marijuana clinic.

OK--so perhaps I've overstated reality, but leave me the hell alone when I'm walking into 'Bucks for my Venti Decaf for the love of pete. They think they're so clawingly cute? They're not! In fact, an alarming majority of these young salespeople are hideous blobs of blubber. So let me get this straight, you're about 11 years old, should be at the peak of your health, and yet you clearly jones way too much on Thin Mints or Caramel DeLites...and LOOK AT YOU....disgraceful! Get a hobby, like jumping rope, or jumping JACKS....

How about Girl Scouts working Farmer's Markets, selling produce, granola, almonds, Indian spices, seafood...anything but hawking this chemical-laden pap making us all obese, sick, and diabetes-ridden? Yes, friends and neighbors, I LOATHE Girl Scout Cookies.

Smokin'!

Oh my goodness, as the weather gets warmer here in the San Francisco Bay Area, what do we men do? We break out our smokers...in droves! Actually, that's a huge overstatement, but because of the extreme paucity of good BBQ around here, I bought a Weber Smokey Mountain late last Summer. This is a fully manual charcoal smoker brought to you by the geniuses at Weber. And subjectively speaking it is the king of all smokers -- just look at the reviews on Amazon, which are outstandingly positive. In addition, there's even a wonderful affinity site called The Virtual Weber Bullet with piles of information on the WSM, smoking techniques, recipes, and morbid obesity (ummm...just kidding about that last one). So as the Summer progresses, you may see additional postings on this blog musing about how to best control the smoker temperature, the types of chunk wood to apply to the fire, wet versus dry BBQ'ing, how to best crisp up chicken skin...you know, the type of material that really makes for scintillating blog reading. Meanwhile, yesterday I smoked about 7.5 pounds of beef briscuit for 11 hours, and served it with collard greens soaked in a ham hock and salt water bath, and black beans and rice. Our friends loved it, my wife loved it, and my growing belly loved it. Beef...baby!