Cast Iron, the choice of real men and grandmothers

The facts on Cast Iron, it's awesome and cheap. There is no denying this. Cast Iron pans are like the cockroaches of cookware. Think about it, did Viggo Mortensen cook his last can of beanie weenies in All-Clad in that horribly depressing movie before eating his son? Of course not, that crap isn't going to survive a nuclear fall out. (was any of that a spoiler?)

Dispatch from China: Hot and Sour Soup

Written by AndyFatherfolk

When I move to new area one thing I always look for is a chinese food place that has two items in a style I like. It's very important that I can get these comfort foods quick and easy. The first, an americanized dish which is far from healthy but super tasty, (depending on the style) egg foo young. It's a dish I used to order frequently from Dragon Chef, the low brow take away chinese food spot in my hometown of Needham, MA. The second dish is hot and sour soup. I love chinese style hot and sour soup but as anyone who's ordered a lot of hot and sour soups can tell you, there are many different styles and versions of this soup. Some too spicy, some too vinegary, some with too much msg and some that just plain suck.

When I lived in NYC, my budget survived on eating a lot of either wonton or hot and sour soup for dinners. for $2.50 I could buy a quart of either soup and it had flavor and nutrition. (moderately) Hot and sour soup will have lots of veggies, mushrooms, tofu and sometimes a meat or two. So there was protein and vitamins mixed in with other oddities that only chinese cooking can bring.

Weekday Quickie - Mexican Casserole

Making a weekday quickie taste like an all day affair.

Today we've got a quick and easy casserole full of Mexican inspired goodness. This is one of those throw it all in and see what comes out deals, whatever semi-Mexican style ingredients you have around will do fine.

My Ingredients:

• 2 - 3 Chicken Breasts - Bone in or not (optional and greatly reduces prep time if removed)
• 1 Green Pepper
• 1 Tomato
• 1 can Corn
• 1 can Black Beans
• 1 can Refried Beans
• 2 kinds of Salsa (sub Enchilada Sauce if you've got it)
• Corn tortillas (NOT Flour)
• Shredded Cheese
• 6" or so round Pyrex dish (roughly the same diameter as your tortillas is perfect)

Dispatch From China: Bringing Home the Bacon

Written By Andyfatherfolk

Andy blogs at http://herenow-nowhere.blogspot.com/

My first week in Beijing found me staying at Andrew's apt. Andrew is a friend of Greg, and Greg worked with Jocelyn in Mongolia where I met him (and drove a tank with him).
One day while talking about food Andrew told me how easy bacon was to make, so we decided to make some.

Coconut Water

posted by Aaron

So coconut water is a thing that, in my life is getting harder to ignore despite my best efforts. Lately I find myself searching it out in grocery stores and buying cases of the stuff on Amazon. My wife loves to drink it after a yoga or swimming workout and swears by it as a recovery drink.
Here are the basics...

Nutrition:                             
Calories: 46
Calories from fat: 4
Fat: 0g
Carbs: 09g
Sodium: 256 mg

Production: As best I can tell by the price, before being juice these coconuts are massaged every day like Kobe beef and watered with unicorn tears.

Purchase: The best coconut water brands are One and Vita Coconut. Do not be fooled into buying the Goya brand that Walmart carries. Your wife will be angry and you will literally vomit when you try to drink it. You can find cases of the good stuff here: (Vita Coco 100% Pure Coconut Water, 11.2-Ounce Containers (Pack of 12).)

Dispatch from Japan: Making Udon

Written By Andrew Rosenstock

I think it was my third or maybe fourth night while staying with Kazuko-san but she told us we'd be making udon that night. As a fan of noodles in general, I was very stoked. Starting with just flower and water we built up the base of what would become a delicious and exciting meal. It started with just Wanda (the other wwoofer here) and me listening to Kazuko-san explaining to us what the process was. A littler later Ishekawa (no idea if that's how his name is spelled or even pronounced, so apologies for that) came by. He is one of Kazuko-san's student volunteer assistants.

How to Eat a Monkey

This timely and informative article is based on the ehow wiki, how to buy a monkey

Cute as monkeys are, buying one to keep as a pet  and then consume should only be done after a lot of research. Not only should you be sure you are buying from a reputable breeder, you also need to familiarize yourself with the behavior of monkeys and decide which recipe you will want to use. I also suggest considering carefully which friends to invite to your monkey feast, and which co-workers to let in on the fact that those delicious looking leftovers are monkey flesh. Follow these steps to make your monkey dinner a success.

Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult

Dispatch from Japan: Daiyo Wasabi Farm

On my last full day with Kazuko-san we got to go to Daio Wasabi Farms, Japans largest wasabi farm. I had heard of this place from my mom who sent me an email about the farm when she found out that I'd be in Matsumoto, Japan. As soon as I had read about it, i wanted to go. I was beyond ecstatic when Kazuko-san said we'd be going. I was like a kid going to a candy farm. spicy green candy :)

What can making beer teach your kids?

If you've spent any time at all hanging around here you've noticed we're kind of obsessed with beer; the making of it, the consumption of it, etc. That may seem like an odd subject for a father-centric blog, but we think beer gets an unfair rap. From Al Bundy to Homer Simpson, everywhere you look beer is the poster child for the bad-dad. Instead, let's see if we can turn making beer into an educational process (let me know if anyone can make the consumption side educational).


Here we have just a few of the things that can be taught to any inquisitive kid during the beer making process. However, don't expect even the most patient to stick around for the entire time, long boil times and sanitizing 54 bottles takes a while.

Dispatch from China: Eating Scorpions

Written By Andyfatherfolk

well, quickly on in Beijing I got to complete another bucket list check box, eating scorpions. I was told there would be two kinds and one was good, the other not so much but i forgot which was which. So, naturally, i went for both types. The big black ones are really not that tasty. more of a crunch but not much flavoring. The little ones (which move very fast before being flash fried) are actually tasty, though it may just be the added salt. Where as the big ones were a crunch exoskeleton and not much meat, the little ones seemed to have more meat in them at least in a ratio per size. I know other people have eaten this item and lived, but there is something a bit scary about biting into an animal known for killing humans with one touch.

Ringworm - You Can't Eat It.

I got a call from a client one day that went something like this:

Caller: "My cat threw up a ringworm and I need to know which dewormer to get to treat it."

Me: "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

Caller, sounding irritated already: "My CAT threw up a RINGWORM, and I need to know which dewormer to get to treat it."

Me: "Okay, I doubt it was ringworm. Did it look like spaghetti or rice?" This question was my way of clarifying between two of the most common types of intestinal parasites in cats, roundworms and tapeworms.

Caller: "Neither. It was a ringworm."

Me: "Okay, but ringworm is a fungus, not actually a worm, so I really don't think your cat could have thrown up a ringworm. So, did it look more like a spaghetti noodle or a grain of rice?"

Caller: "Well, it looked like a ringworm. If I had to guess, I'd say a noodle."

Me: "Okay, that sounds like it might be a roundworm. Could you bring us a stool sample to check and we can tell you for sure and give you the right dewormer?"

Caller: "I saved the worm. After she threw it up she sat in the corner looking down at it and put her paw on it, but I was able to get it away from her and put it in a bag. I'll just bring that to you and you can see for yourself." At this point, she was still convinced I'd realize how wrong I was.

Me: "Oh wow, that would be great! We wouldn't even have to charge you to check it in that case, we can just dispense the dewormer once we see which type it is."

The client brought in her worm. It was a long dead millipede, curled into a ring and somewhat flattened by the cat having stepped on it. There is no dewormer for millipedes. Or for ringworm, for that matter, because to this day it's still classified as a fungus.

He Said, She Said: Breast Feeding

Here’s how were gonna roll with this—Aaron gave us a topic and I’m gonna start out, then e-mail what I have to Jamie. She’s gonna respond and we will see where it goes from there. I honestly see this going back and forth a whole bunch of couple times, so I will try and keep this short. My part will be noted as “JR” and hers will be “SMS” for her blog Single Mom Survives.

The Vegetable Truck: Lying to My Children

Cross Posted from ironicmom

When our twins were born, my husband and I were in year four of a five-year-stint in Thailand. As you can imagine, there were a plethora of noises in Bangkok, most of which assaulted our ears with video-game intensity. Sounds reverberated off skyscrapers the way noises echo in a canyon.
My husband and I talked about recording our own Bangkok Symphony, but we were too lazy. Had we done so, though, such a composition would have included the following:

• the insidious jingle of the ice cream truck, over and over again and again,
• the rhythmic pinging of the blind man’s reebar-cane as he hiked the streets selling lotto tickets,
• the souped-up, four-stroke motorcycle taxis that broke the speed of sound, and
• the discordant squawk of the loud speaker as the vegetable truck offered its wares.

It sounds exotic until it ceases to stop.
Once we got the 2-for-1 deal on our babies, however, our tolerance for external noise increased. We had our own indoor cacophony.
Fast forward two years.
We moved back to Canada, where the loudest sounds in our suburb were garage doors humming closed, lawn mowers sparking to life, and the occasional ice cream truck.
Whenever the ice cream truck circled our suburb, belting out “It’s a Small World After All,” our kids would ask what that sound was.
Each time, we answered the same: “It’s the vegetable truck.”
We first uttered this refrain when our twins were two.
By the time they were five, they’d say, “The vegetable truck’s coming.” Then they’d continue playing, unmoved by the thought of door-to-door turnips.

What kind of parent convinces their children this is a vegetable truck?

This brings us to a few weeks after their sixth birthday.
“Mom, the vegetable truck’s actually stopping,” Vivian said. She and William opened our back door and climbed onto the patio table, giving them a direct view over our fence. If you remember the sitcom Home Improvement, think Wilson on stilts.
“Jenna’s getting vegetables!” William announced.
I watched Jenna, our neighbour, disappear behind the truck.
A moment passed. My lie hung in the summer air.
The ice cream truck and its ditty started up the street.
Jenna walked down the sidewalk, ice cream in hand.
Vivian and William muttered to each other before screaming, “Mom!”
And the myth disappeared faster than the jingle.
Add this to the list of things our kids can tell their therapists in a decade.

*

Any lies out there? ice cream stories?

Veggie Baby

Originally posted by Exaughsdad: http://exhausdad.com/2010/08/30/veggie-baby/

My daughter is a vegetarian. There, I said it. We haven’t fed her an ounce of meat to date and will not in the future. For those of you who know us personally, this is no surprise because you know that my wife and I have been vegetarians for more than half of our lives.

Most people don’t think too much about food, know where it comes from, or the environmental costs of producing and transporting flawless produce around the globe. They simply go to the grocery store and buy what they’ve always bought. Eat what they’ve always eaten. Do what they’ve always done. My wife and I, and a growing number of people on the other hand, have put a great deal of thought and effort into what we put on our plates, and it is no different concerning our daughter. During the pregnancy, we knew we needed to learn more about the nutritional needs of a baby generally, and a vegetarian baby specifically. So we did. I could open up a used-bookstore with all the books we’ve read on the subject. We also discussed it with our pediatrician, expecting to meet some resistance, but instead received his full and unwavering support.

Dispatches From Mongolia: A week away at Lake Khovsgol (part 3)

I went away for a week to visit Lake Khovsgol, located in the north western part of Mongolia. I've decided to break this week into three parts so as not to bore my readers with too many pictures

Of course I saved the best for last. In part three our amazing group of travelers stay at a ger camp next to three friendly UB police officers. They help me fulflil my Mongolian dream of killing a sheep the traditional Mongolian way (cutting it's belly and reaching in to snip the aorta) and then cooking it the traditional way of Khorkhog. Khorkhog is when you cook the meat with hot stones. Originally this was done inside of the animal but this is tough to do, especially with the time and utensils we had. Instead the cops helped us cook it over fire with stones inside. It was amazingly tasty. Also, this was my first animal kill. I was very worried about what would happen to me mentally and emotionally. Would I cry like a baby? Would I never want to eat meat again? Would I enjoy it? Would I paint my face with the sheep's blood?

Dispatches from Mongolia: A week away at Lake Khovsgol (part 2)

Written by Andrew Rosenstock
Cross posted from herenow-nowhere 

I went away for a week to visit Lake Khovsgol, located in the north western part of Mongolia. I've decided to break this week into three parts so as not to bore my readers with too many pictures

Part two, in which our hero ventures into local gers and eats various homemade cheese and curd products, and drinks traditional mongolian vodka made from milk. He also visits a hot spring, gets caught in a snow storm (in the middle of summer??) and takes control of a dance party on a boat. All this and more.. so read on for the exciting second part of this story.

One of the families we stopped off at on the way to the hot springs had these delicious cheese type cookies almost. they tasted like a faint farmers cheese. It reminded me of what is inside of blintze. Quite tasty but after a few I was in need of a break.

Fatherfolk on Band of SAHD

Tonight I had the great pleasure of joining Chris and James from Band of SAHD to talk beer on their radio show live. We talked both THC and family friendly beers.
Give a listen....

Listen to internet radio with Band_Of_SAHD on Blog Talk Radio

What's that your eating?

One of the fun parts of travel is getting to try new or just different spins on culinary delights. I'm heading to China shortly and I've heard of all the crazy things you can eat there, and this excites me greatly. However, don't overlook Mongolia as a place where food is exciting. Most of my ex-pat friends here are sick of the food as it's predominately mutton based foods, but you can still get creative or exciting within this realm of food.

Yesterday I went out to lunch with a friend of a friend who is Mongolian. I wanted to have some traditional Mongolian dishes. Don't get me wrong, I love buuz (mutton dumplings) and Khuushuur (deep fried mutton patties) but surely there has to be more to Mongolian cooking than this, right? Well there is.

Bayarmaa is eating a mixed organ dish containing stomach, liver, tripe, kidney, and heart. There were a few vegetables mixed in as well, which seemed highly unmongolian. I ordered the fried liver and onions with sheeps tail. Honestly, I ordered this partly in honor of my mother and grandmother. As a child my mom and bubbie would make liver and onions and the house would reek of this horrible smell. I hated that smell, and the taste was worse. I remember coming in one night from playing with a friend and my mom was making liver and onions. I walked in the door, got a whiff and immediately felt sick.  But I've grown up so much since those days. And now I somewhat like the taste of liver, at least in moderation.  The addition of sheeps tail is to add the fattyness to it.  In other countries bacon is commonly added to this dish, but pig is not very common to Mongolia, while sheep are plentiful.  The dish was quite tasty, but again in moderation.  Halfway through, i hit a point of not wanting to eat anymore liver. But being a good eater, I did finish the plate.  Bayarmaa kept offering her food up to me, so how could I refuse. Organs are something that have really grown on me in the last few years.  I can't always taste the difference between stomach, tripe or other innards as to me they all have a similar taste but the tecture and shape/color allow me to distinguish which is which. But really, why does it matter what organ your eating when you're cramming your face down with sweet, sweet, sweetbreads.  If you haven't tried eating organ dishes, I would start slowly. heart and liver are a bit stronger tasting so try stomach or tripe first. Make sure they are cooked properly, as sometimes tripe can be to chewy and personally, I'm not a fan of this. But be adventurous with your food, don't just stick to meat and potatoes (or tofu and potatoes for the vegetarians reading this).

Speaking of being adventurous in eating, and of eating organs...

Home brew is easy and good, Part 2 - The Bottling

In the first part of our how to brew we brewed up a 5 gallon batch of Peach and Cardamom Cream Ale, tweaking a brewing kit from Northern Brewer available here: NB Cream Ale. It's been about two weeks and our air lock stopped bubbling a few days ago. A quick peak in our fermenting bucket shows the foam that rises from yeast gas has fallen back down onto the peaches, time to bottle!

Home brew is easy and good, Part 1 - The Brew

We're going to show just how easy it is to brew up a great batch of craft beer, right in your own kitchen. For this round we are using a Cream Ale kit from Northern Brewer, available here. We've used a few Northern Brewer kits, including St. Paul Porter and American Wheat with excellent results. Each kit brews 5 gallons of beer which usually yields 54 12oz bottles. For the Cream Ale Kit we're using that works out to just under $.50 a bottle, you can't beat that!