Attended a used book sale last year and picked up a vintage cookbook of United Nations recipes. Contains a lot of really cool international recipes (including from a number of countries that no longer exist!) and foreword notes to Americans encouraging them to broaden their tastebud horizons.
Friday night I made Saudi Arabian cabbage rolls from the UN book. (Actually, there were cabbage roll recipes from at least 6 countries.) Paired it with falafel balls from mix (would make from scratch next time), dill cucumber yogurt salad, and a carmelized onion – tahini spread that is a recreation of one of my favorite snacks from Arabian Breeze. I am completely in love with their veggie mezza platter. Made a very popular meal, especially the cabbage rolls!
Saturday night a friend and I paired up to make a chicken pineapple thai curry, as adapted from a curry recipe in the book. The recipe calls for us to make our own coconut milk, which was a highly entertaining experience that I am glad I tried once but will not attempt again. Broke a cleaver trying to get the coconuts open. We ground our own curry spices in our molcajete, and cut fresh pineapple for the curry. Paired it with jasmine rice steeped with whole cinnamon and cloves. Diverted enough pineapple and coconut milk to make the best damned pina coladas I’ve ever had in my life. Three and half hours to create not counting the hour or so spent wandering the aisles at Fubonn and admiring their selection of pig snout and duck feet.
I was really impressed with the Iron Artist Benefit for SCRAP on Saturday. Well organized, whimsical, and a lot of fun. I really hope they were able to reach their fundraising goals.
Their mission is a noble one: keep usable art materials out of the landfills while supporting teachers, classrooms, and artists. Whenever I stop by there for materials, I am continually impressed with the unique stuff that I am able to find. While I think it is terrific that America is undergoing a craft revolution where knitting, scrapbooking, and other DIY activities are cool, I would love to see more communities embrace programs like SCRAP. The box craft marts carry good supplies and encourage folks who wouldn’t ordinarily craft to get creative, but I believe trying to find new uses for recycled items fuels the imagination much more than following instructions from a kit.
Billed as “one part Iron Chef, two parts Junkyard Wars,” the Iron Artist Competition pitted teams against each other to create the ultimate masterpiece from the supplied boxes of materials. Teams (and bystanders) were encouraged to attend in costume, and a great number of people did! Very colorful. A carnival took place inside for the kids, and a raffle was held for a number of snazzy prizes. The emcee continually reminded the teams that the refs and judges were bribable with drinks from the beer garden, and chotchke gals worked the crowd selling temporary tattoos, patches, and other event souvenirs. Overall, a very fun afternoon of hijinks and hilarity.
My snail-mail box has been deluged as of late with coupons and annoucements for the newly remodeled Safeway in Rose City on Sandy Boulevard. With this and the recent renovation to the Lloyd District store, Safeway is trying to upscale their clientele with a mix of low prices and artisan items. End result? Pretty appealing.
Pocket overflowing with coupons and grocery list in hand, I joined the madness at the grand re-opening this afternoon. It took a while to secure a parking spot, but I got in! Couldn’t push my cart more than a few feet without running into another sample station. I tried everything from fresh cantalope to New York steak. It was fun to comiserate with my fellow customers about the crowds, and several staff members commented that they hadn’t expected such a huge turnout.
Once I was finally done with my shopping, the checkout lines were eight- to ten-carts deep. Several staffers functioned as “checkout hosts” and kept the area in front of the stands clear for cart traffic while the rest of the line extended into the grocery aisles. I strategically chose the one in the “Magazine and Greeting Cards” aisle because there was no avoiding the wait, and at least that would keep me entertained. I flipped through a copy of a home deco mag and people-watched. Since they were ready for crowds, it didn’t as long as I thought. Kudos to the staff for being well-organized and polite even after being on their feet all day.
It took about two hours altogether for me to emerge triumphant, saving a whopping 48% on my groceries. Complimentary Starwhore’s frapp-a-chino in hand (wouldn’t drink if I had to pay for it!), I dodged the cars headed in for their turn at the shopping adventure, loaded my rig, and headed home.
