Thoughts On the Road

Sadly, I said, "Good-bye," to my fav foodie friend to start on the 6-hour drive back home. Amanda sent me back with two bags of kimchi that she made earlier during the week, one for me and one for our good friend Jenn. So I grabbed my bag and loaded all my stuff in the car: clothes, souvenir beer glasses, computer, and grocery bags of Amanda's homemade fermented spicy cabbage. I strapped my kimchi into the passenger seat and started on the journey home.

So I hit the road, not feeling the hours as they passed. My windows were down, the music was blasting, and the wind breezed through the car. When the radio started getting fuzzy, I looked at the time to see how far I had left to go. It was nearing 8:30 p.m. so I decided to stop and get gas. I'm rather neurotic so I carry mace with me but I'm still cautious of my surroundings. As a general rule, I don't like to be at gas stations, alone, after 9:00 p.m. So I looked for a well-lit exit, turned my blinker on and shifted to the right lane. I must admit, the reason I stopped at the exit I decided on was not for the cheap gas prices (though it's always a plus) I stopped because of a particular fast food restaurant.

Amanda told me about "Cook-Out" and the name stuck with me in the same way that you perk up whenever you hear someone say the boy's name you like. You can't help but want to hear every detail. "Huh? What was that?" I asked her. She continued, "Their banana pudding milkshakes are so good! They use real banana pudding."

So naturally, when I stopped for gas, I had to stop for food, and I had to stop at Cook-Out. I ignored the fact that I had a full dinner a whole 2 hours before. "California has their In-and-Out Burgers, Tennessee has their Backyard Burgers, and North Carolina must have their Cook-Outs," I reasoned. "You have to try this place out," I said to myself.

I walked in, noting how crowded the little fast food joint was. Families were seated everywhere in their Sunday Best. Their health score displayed proudly: 99 in bold red type. I felt underdressed for this establishment and was instantly overwhelmed by the menu. I stepped up to the counter, anxious because there was too much to read on the menu. So many choices. I asked the girl behind the counter what was good here and she gave me a look that said, "Really? You can't make this decision on your own? We're a fast food place." She answered, "Um, the chicken sandwiches are really good and so are our burgers." I felt stupid. Then I felt snobby because I didn't take any of her recommendations. I was starting to feel uncomfortable. I just wanted to get out of there. It felt like a bad date.



Quickly, I ordered a chili cheese dog with cheese and onions, a corn dog, chicken nuggets, and something called a Cheerywine Shake. I didn't order off various parts of the menu just because. That was all apart of the combo meal. I got all that food for less than $5? "That's amazing!" I thought, but well, I also found it a little eerie.

I left Cook-Out and headed towards the nearest gas station, eating the chicken nuggets on the way. They were a little better than the economy sized bag chicken nuggets you buy at Wal-mart. I got $20 worth of gas and while I waited for the tank to fill, I ate the rest of my corn dog. Five minutes later, I was on the road again with more than enough time of beating the rush of crazies that would be piling into Texacos at 9 o'clock.

I turned back onto the Interstate and changed the radio station. Sadly, the only station coming in was Dawson McAlister's Advice Hour. I turned the radio up as the next caller made her way through, "Dawson, I met this guy on the internet and 2 weeks later we moved in together and then he beat me and I put him in jail." "Excuse me, wwwhat?" Dawson and I said at the same time. I continued listening then reached for the chili dog. "Waiit. How am I suppose to eat this" I started cursing fast food chains, "Why would you put chili on your menu? You can't eat that in the car. Your job is to have car-friendly foods!" I reached for a fork. Didn't work. I should have taken a minute to meditate. If I had thought it through, I could have cut the dog into small pieces before I started driving again. But I didn't. Stubbornly, I continued on.

Eating a chili cheese dog, while driving down the Interstate, is a lot harder than it sounds. To add to the challenge, there were onions on my chili cheese dog and every time I reached for my Cheerywine Shake (which is like a cherry-flavored coke float, just in case you were curious) I had to waste 2 1/2 napkins to clean up.

Morbid thoughts drifted through my brain. I spilled chili on myself and was having problems paying attention to the road. "What if I get into an accident?" I couldn't help but wonder. I could hear it on the news, "Girl in her early twenties found unconscious on the side of the road, flown to the nearest hospital. Cause of accident unknown though subject was covered in what appears to be chili. Car smelled strongly of fermented cabbage. She is in stable condition."

"There must be others like me," I thought. Surely someone's out there in a lab somewhere modifying foods to make them more car friendly. Is it possible to put chili and cheese into a corn dog? My life would be so much easier if it was. I don't think that people really appreciate the genius of a Hot Pocket. One day, one day, things will change.

-Jennifer

Going Noodle Crazy in Grand Asia Market

I have been searching for these noodles that I heard about on television that supposedly imparted close to no caloric intake. How could this be?? NOODLES?! WITH NO CALORIC INTAKE?! Show me these marvels! So I had been searching all of my local Asian grocery joints with no success. I saw noodles made out of soy, wheat flour, rice flour, just about anything you could imagine...but all of these contained close to the 100-150 calories per noodle serving that we all have become used to.

Most people who live in Raleigh know about Grand Asia Market, an Asian (and part Mexican- why is it that all Asian grocery stores seem to all be tied to Mexico?) grocery store that has an amazing array of produce, meat, seafood, frozen, prepared, shelf stable, and hot restaurant-style foods and then a grouping of Asian knick knacks that could make the average patron think they are walking into a Chinese market. Just logically speaking, this place had to have my noodles.

I searched once to no avail, but never fear- I don't easily forget my searches. I tried again yesterday and found them: JFC Shirataki Yam Noodles, packed in a bag with clear liquid in the refrigerated section. There were a few different types: small and large noodles and then a type that contained seaweed and one that did not. The ones containing seaweed had FIVE calories per serving!! Better yet, the noodles without seaweed had ZERO calories per serving, yes- you read that right- ZERO!! My little Food Science brain was spinning! How could this be??

There is a pretty well known reaction in Food Chemistry that makes use of some pretty basic ideas. Alginate and pectin solutions, when in the presence of an ion, such as calcium, tend to harden because that ion fits in to complete that back bone. In simpler terms, if you make a solution with water and alginate or pectin and then put it into a solution of water and calcium carbonate, then put the two together, you will have hard pieces that form. This is how the chefs in molecular gastronomy make those olives that aren't really olives. This is also a trick that food scientists like to show to little kids to teach them about the magic of food science.

So, my guess at least is that these noodles utilize the same principles. The yam flour is present because it lends calcium (there is calcium oxalate naturally present in yams), the hydrated lime is present because lime rinds naturally contain a lot of pectin, the water is present as a carrier and to keep the product stable during storage, and the seaweed seems to be present just as a flavoring agent.

I cooked them up, by themselves first to get rid of some of the moisture. Then I added some onions, fried tofu, egg, and a paad thai inspired sauce made out of tamarind sauce, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, lemon juice, ground red pepper, and peanut butter. The first thing we noticed upon opening the container was that it smelled slightly like Nickelodeon's gak. It wasn't difficult to cook with, the hardest part being to separate the individual pieces.

The noodles definitely had a unique texture, almost causing a *squinch* sensation when biting down. They were fairly nondescript in flavor, but may not be for people who have a hard time eating texturally challenged foods. We decided that they might be diet food, ready for people that like the action of eating more than the actual food. However, the satiety value, how long it keeps you full, probably isn't high enough to call it a real meal. The noodles were also about $2.39 for a package- definitely more expensive than the average noodle. It was a very fun experiment indeed.

More searching around the store ensued and Jennifer found these noodles that she had been searching for, Banh Canh noodles from Vietnam. We happily got to cooking them up with beef, kimchi juices, kimchi, apple juice, onion, carrots, and water. They are made out of potato and turn from an opaque color to more translucent. Completely delicious! They had a little bit of a potatoe-y taste to them that was perfectly complemented by the flavor of the beef and kimchi. As a side note, upon reheating in consecutive days, the texture did not hold up- a little bit mushy. So we noodled it out on a nice Sunday afternoon. Thank you Grand Asia!


~Amanda

A Weekend in Raleigh

I moved down to Raleigh a couple of months ago for grad school after having spent the past 4 years in Knoxville. It has gone well so far; I am learning the area, the groceries, the restaurants, and the people. However, I must say that I don't feel completely comfortable in a city until I have found a fellow foodie to go crazy with. My favorite crazy foodie, Jennifer, lives all the way back in Knoxville. Enter this weekend: 2 days of total Jennifer and Amanda foodie intensity. This weekend was packed with a night out in Raleigh, a hot dog stand, the Raleigh Farmer's Market, the Seafood Restaurant, walking around the lake, Grand Asia Market, Ole Time Barbecue, Durham's World Beer Fest, and of course National Taco Day. Pictures and Adventures to follow.

~Amanda

The Spicy Lemon Drop

We were sitting in the Beer Garden one night in one of our favorite Knoxville restaurants, The Crown and Goose, chatting, laughing, sharing an appetizer and having a good time, when an inebriated gentleman sat down at our two-top table with us. He said to us "You beautiful girls looked like you were having such a great time, I just had to come over and join you." Amanda and I laughed, then looked at each other with apprehension. He continued talking, his eyes content and glazed from one too many Manhattans or whiskeys or whatever over-priced drink he was sipping on. "Two lemon drops!" he motions to the waiter toward our happy little table of three. The waiter, ignored our gentleman caller, recognizing him as the same man who decided to take off his pants earlier on the dance floor.

We were then greeted by another visitor, a friend of our new friend. "Howard, are you still here bothering these two young ladies? I left 45 minutes ago for a smoke," he said. "I'm sorry, Ladies," he turned to address us, "Has he been here long?" We nod solemnly. Howard laughs, "It's funny because they so obviously hate me, especially this one," he turned to face me. I have a blank expression on my face. He turns to get up. "It was a pleasure meeting you. Sorry you have to go," I say flatly. He smiles at me. "You're my spicy little lemon drop!" The two of us both laugh. Howard smiles like a child that just made a successful poo-poo. He sat back down but his friend pulls him away.

Howard left, so we mused for a while. "Is a spicy lemon drop possible?" I asked Amanda. "What if we add cayenne to the sugar?" Amanda's eyes sparkled. I could tell she was sifting through her repertoire of food science knowledge in her brain. "Would the heat of the peppers be too much?" "What if we add coriander or thyme?"

That was the beginning. One philosophically enchanting night in a beer garden has led us to this; here is our compilation of thoughts on the subject that the two of us love most: Food. This is documentation of the ideas that drift through our heads, the processes we take and the events that shape our thoughts that have led us to some of our best recipes and our favorite food finds.

We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we have living in these moments.

-Jennifer