Tag: food | OCSPLORA.com

Travels with tea

Posted on 2 Jul ’11 by Dan Cloutier

Steve Evans (flickr.com/photos/babasteve/3618157129/)

I remember my first walk through the old city of Jerusalem. My body was jet-lagged, walking with two of my best friends. We started going down famed King David Street, and before long it was a scene I had never seen before. The streets were so narrow and crowded that you had to squeeze your way through. The men were yelling loudly in Arabic, and some of the women were fully veiled in dark black. Lining the streets as far as the eye could see were small garage shops selling wooden camels, hookahs, and fancy chess boards. For the record, camels do not live anywhere around Jerusalem.

The second the shopkeepers realized that three Americans were walking towards them, we heard a constant echo of a broken English, “Hello, hello, shopping? Shopping? English, shopping? Hello?” After about twenty minutes wandering lost through this new chaos we arrived at a bright green door that led to a clearing. It seemed like the best way out and we were ready to leave the claustrophobic streets behind. When we were just a few feet away from walking through the door, we were turned away by two confused armed guards yelling harshly at us in Arabic and pointing their guns up in the air…. Read more…

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a complete and unabridged introduction to coffee

Posted on 8 May ’11 by Matt

As I write in the early evening of this burgeoning spring day I do so with a mug of steaming coffee close at hand. The slim ring of bubbles circumnavigating the rim reflects the unforgiving light cast by the small desk lamp. Wisps of steam begin to fade as the coffee cools to meet the cool, nearly uncomfortable temperature of this older home in Southeast Portland. The brown of the desk nearly matches the hue of the coffee I now drink – the blackness of the coffee diluted with a hint of cream. It’s lovely, this cup of coffee that sits beside me, a constant companion, filling my senses with chocolate, citrus and sweetness of plum.

I blame my friend Jon. One harmless afternoon, a year and a half ago, we began talking about coffee, and I just haven’t been the same since. Thank goodness. It’s that conversation about coffee that began my own education – a journey he’s been on for some time now…. Read more…

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The ramen sandwich

Posted on 26 Dec ’09 by Jake

When money is tight, which it often has been for me, I reach for ideas. I reach for resourceful ideas to eat and have fun. I learned this sandwich from my old boss. He learned it in jail. He called it a bang-bang and had many variations for it. You can add mackerel, veggies, honey or jalapenos to spice it up or use cola to boil the noodles instead of water. This is a decent meal for under four bucks!

THE RAMEN SANDWICH
(presented by: the dead broke cook book)
step-6b … Read more…

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The incredible edible peanut

Posted on 26 Dec ’09 by Natalia Nevarez-Rovira

flickr.com/photos/30998192@N04/2902014149

Maybe you know all the multiple uses peanuts have. Here is a little reminder to try the ones you haven’t tried if you aren’t allergic. Peanuts are high in protein, cheap and easy to find in the supermarket. Peanuts can be eaten the old way, straight from the plant, mixed with other nuts, as peanut butter in your PB & J or with candy. If you like fried food and want a healthier oil you can fry or cook with peanut oil. There’s flour made of peanuts for gluten-free pastries. You can also feed birds with crushed raw peanuts. There’s also a kind of lactose-free peanut milk. Also some cosmetics, paints, glues, soaps and fuels are made with peanut oil.

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My initial thoughts after learning i might be allergic to food in general

Posted on 19 Dec ’09 by Jenn

flickr.com/photos/dan4th/152277217

I LOVE FOOD!

I wish there were a better way to portray that via the written word. You can’t hear my scream followed by a slight sigh of satisfaction. Imagine the great gloom that overtook my soul when I received the long list of ‘eat-nots’ from my naturopath. We figure one or more of these foods have been causing migraines for the last thirteen years.

Dr. Amy nicely told me that almonds are out. Citrus & bananas should be avoided. Dairy is still off limits (but my intestines have known that forever). Peppers are a BIG no-no. I’m allergic to peppers, which is fine because I hate them to the core of my being. I hate them the way some (coughMateoahem) hate broccoli. However, I shouldn’t eat the rest of the nightshade family either—tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant.

But the culprit—the foe that has gone undetected for twenty-five years—the instigator of hideous migraines? Gluten. Bread, you have just become my arch-nemesis…. Read more…

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Cheese o’ Pete

Posted on 12 Dec ’09 by Autumn Brenton

$flickr.com/photos/refractedmoments/244856192$

flickr.com/photos/refractedmoments/244856192

Warning: not for the lactose intolerant

Do you ever find yourself with your eyes closed and your body slowly swaying side to side after you place something so delectable in your mouth it releases your hopeless romantic? And you’re transported into a dream world of magic. Then, when you come to, everyone at the table is staring at you, trying to hold back laughter. This rarely displayed surprise is one of my favorite experiences.

A succulent morsel believed to have originated around 3,000 B.C. in ancient Mesopotamia is the means to this surreal state. I journey here when my taste buds detect the evidence of cheese. Yes, cheese. The majority of girls in today’s society have their typical vices: chocolate, cupcakes, cookies, ice cream… mine is cheese. Mozzarella, Colby jack, Asiago, feta, cheddar, Swiss, string, pepper jack, Parmesan, sharp cheddar and Gouda are but a brief ensemble of the culinary genius that equates to cheese. Although the true origin of cheese predates recorded history, I would like to extend my gratitude to Pliny the Elder for finally documenting what he called a sophisticated enterprise by the time the Roman Empire took rise…. Read more…

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Food production: Beware the yeast of the pharmacies

Posted on 5 Dec ’09 by Rich McDonald

Originally posted June, 2009 @ http://crh.scatterseed.com/june09/beware-the-yeast-of-the-pharmacies/.

flickr.com/photos/tambako/2524829095

‘Man cannot live on bread alone’, says the proverb. In this day and age the proverb should be ‘man cannot live on bread at all.’

Food. We spend a lot of money on it. We spend a lot of time thinking about it. We spend a fair amount of time eating it. But we seem to be spending less time preparing it. We spend less time enjoying it. And as a result we spend less time enjoying one another, and less time enjoying the beautiful provision of God…. Read more…