Essay: Confessions of a foodie who falls for slick packaging.

I love food in general and good food in particular.  I cook the majority of the food I eat from scratch and there are all sorts of vegetables and fruits and whole grains, lean protein, etc. etc. in my regular diet.  I support organic agriculture, have bought quarters of beef, grow a few of my own vegetables and massive amounts of potatoes.  I think a lack of good food is a large part of what ails this country and I wish that everyone felt as passionate about food growing, preparation and preserving as I do.
With that said, I must confess that I have a great love for microwave entrees.
Walking down the freezer aisle of the grocery store, I feel a feeling not unlike the feeling I used to get walking down the toy aisle as a child.  There are so many choices!  And they all look so pretty!  The boxes look neat and tidy, with their square corners and their attractive photos.  The prices are quite cheap and the nutrition information is already calculated and prominently displayed. 
Unlike so many areas of my life, I can have exactly what I want.  Italian?  Yes, there are tons of pasta choices, from low fat to full fat, budget to gourmet.  Burrito?  Yes, so many attractively wrapped little packages.  Quiche?  Nancy’s has a mini quiche just for me.  What about a full meal with way too many calories in it? Marie Callender’s can step up to the plate.  Personal sized pizzas?  Lean Cuisine has me covered.  What about a grilled panini?  There are several choices.
Even heating up the food is fun.  The directions are all different, meaning I have to pay attention.  Sometimes I have to remove the plastic entirely, sometimes just poke a hole in it.  Sometimes, as with the paninis the packaging transforms into a space age type microwave “grill” after careful tearing along a perforated line.  I know the marketing people have figured out that people feel better if they have to be involved at some level of their food preparation, even if the extent of that preparation is squinting at the label and stabbing plastic repeatedly with a fork.
The other thing I love about microwave meals is portion control.  When I’m wandering the frozen aisle, I do not feel like cooking.  Because the funds for my personal chef have not yet come through, when I don’t feel like cooking my choices include finding food in the frozen aisle or going out to eat.  I love to go out to eat, but it’s a love/hate relationship.  The portions are always extremely large and I’m not very successful at limiting my consumption of the large servings.  Unlike restaurants, with microwave meals, most of the brands I buy clock in at 350 calories or less.
Take the grilled paninis I’m currently a fan of.  I get two thick slices of sourdough bread, beef, peppers and cheese all for 330 calories and less than four dollars.  If I were to purchase that same Philly-style cheesesteak from a vendor, it would cost me seven dollars, minimum, and clock in at at least three times the calories, if not four.  If I were to make it myself, it would involve purchasing an entire loaf of sourdough bread as well as making a beef and peppers mixture that would be more than one serving.  This way I have my cheesesteak, eat it and when the next meal rolls around I’m actually hungry again.

There are a ton of drawbacks to frozen entrees.  I don’t really like supporting agricultural food conglomerates by purchasing them, the packaging often seems wasteful and isn’t recyclable and most of them have entirely too much sodium.  They also have a factory made sameness about them that I can’t abide on a regular basis.  But I only have a frozen entrée every month or two, so for me they remain so much of a treat.

Three sentence movie reviews: Premium Rush

O! Joseph Gordon-Levitt, you could not be any cuter when you combine your charming self with the character archetype of the modern urban cowboy: the bike messenger.  Aside from Mr. Gordon-Levitt’s performance, this also had a female lead with something to do and the always welcome presence of Michael Shannon.  This was a well-crafted film with great chase scenes and a good bit of heart and I had a very good time watching it.

Cost:  $1.00 from Videorama
Where watched: at home.

Requiem: Bookmark

At some point during the Kenton Library Book Group, David, our book group leader, offered us free bookmarks he had received.  They were promoting the 2011 Jane Eyre movie and had a  picture of Mia Wasikowska and a pretty blue tassel.  Sentinel pulled off the tassel right away, but I started marking my reading goals on my bookmark and just kept using it.
 
As you can see, this carried on for quite some time.
 
Here’s Mia’s profile peeking out from a reading goal.

I’m taking a three-month hiatus from book group because a writing class conflicts with the time.  I’ll be back in August, and I’ll find a new bookmark to keep track of my progress.  This is a good time to let this bookmark move on.

Only Twenty Dollars?

Kristyn Schiavone is a new-ish fashion columnist in our paper and I’m on the fence about whether I like her or not.  Cons:  she’s not local (she seems to be out of Chicago), her writing style is a bit too “sorority girl” for me, and she’s quite peppy.  Granted, those last two might be a given with fashion columnists.  Pros:  Um, I keep reading her?
 
But today a sentence in the article took my breath away.  Check out #4.

Only twenty dollars?  To me, a fully-employed professional, there is no “only” about a twenty dollar bill. There’s not really an “only” about a five-dollar bill in my world.  So to read that a manicure is “only” twenty dollars is pretty jarring.  I think columnists/commentators make this mistake a lot.  They think that all their readers are in the same demographic as they are.  It’s not a good thing.

More Aprons

So I’ve come to my senses (a bit) regarding the “new uniform” project, slated for this summer.  In my mind, I was going to have time (and money) to make dozens of aprons.  But I realize that isn’t going to happen and, if I’m lucky, I’ll get the two shirts, two dresses and perhaps ONE apron done.  But I found this great book and here are more awesome aprons, including my apron of choice.
 
I love the circle skirt aspect of this and the very awesome pockets.
 
Very cool side pocket.
 
Good high waist.
 
Excellent Handkerchief example.
 
This yoke is fabulous.
 
Good details here.
 
So cute!  Like a flirty 50s party dress, but an apron!
 
Good gathers and a cute pocket.
 
I love the movement here.
 
Good detailing.
 
This is cute, but I think would lead to massive hippage on me.
 
 
I like the full body cover of this one and the ruffle.  It’s also reversible.
 
 
 
Sort of your classic “diner waitress” look.
 
 
But this is the winner.  I love the yoke, I love the pockets, I love the criss-cross in the back and I love that it has no waist.  I’m not so into the waist right now, at least not mine.
 
Awesome apron, here I come.  Just as soon as I finish the reunion dress, two work shirts and two work dresses.
 

Three sentence movie reviews: On the Road

I tried, once upon a time, to read this classic of mid-century literature and eventually discarded it, thinking, “You know what? These guys are jerks.”  And you know what came through loud and clear in the film version?  You guessed it:  these guys are jerks.*

Cost:  $4.00
Where watched:  Laurelhurst, with S. North.

*This book/movie is navel-gazing male literature/cinema at its finest.  Which for me means “most boring.”  Although there were fun period details and the cameos were interesting.