This excellent article in The Guardian, Meals make us human echoes Matthew's comment on the last post "i have to admit i find myself torn when it comes to food: part of me wants to consider it a mere refueling exercise, part of me wants to rekindle the part of me that led me to become a chef on the island of mallorca when i was in my twenties....in which every meal is an act that reaffirms life and pleasure and happiness and solidifying relationships with those who share the food and time. these days, in the end, i usually just have an Eggo and eat it on the drive to work. someone once said that tragedy lay not in great drama, but in the breaking of a shoelace. indeed."

From the Guardian article:

"Mealtimes are our oldest rituals. The companionable effects of eating together help to make us human. The little links which bind households together are forged at the table. The stability of our homes probably depends more on regular mealtimes than on sexual fidelity or filial piety. Now it is in danger. Food is being desocialised. The demise of mealtimes means unstructured days and undisciplined appetites...

Microwaves erode society. In these machines, eaters can heat up whatever ready-mades are to hand. No reference to community of taste needs to be made. No mummy or daddy can arbitrate for a whole family. No one in a household has to defer to anyone else. This new way of cooking reverses the cooking revolution which made eating sociable, and threatens to return us to a presocial phase of evolution. "

I almost never cook breakfast, but sometimes, on the weekend I'll be hungry enough. Last Sunday's included a sheep's cheese omelette, some hungarian bacon, some pan-fried tomatoes, okra, mushrooms and a croissant. I had some hot sauce I had made the night before for something else made with sauteed tomatillos, tomatoes, mushrooms, a little yellow squash all pureed and mixed with about a tsp Vietnamese Chili Garlic Sauce (Toung Ot Toi brand, with the rooster on the label) and about half of a roasted and seeded habanero. I used about four or five tomatillos, so it was hot but you could still pour it on.

The Hungarian bacon is called Kolozvari, and it's intensly salty and smoky. I found it, along with the brined sheeps cheese which comes in a big tin, at the Devon Market at 1440 W. Devon.

As I'm reminded to put my restaurant reviews from last week up, I also realize I have a backlog of other things to post. As always, the paying jobs get in the way of this site. Hopefully posting a list of the things I need to get around to will help me get around to them:

• A review of a busy restaurant weekend including Arun's, Tru and North Pond.

• Photos from the IL State Fair from weeks ago.

• A recipe for sweet and sour chicken, including photos.

• A recipe for trout stuffed with goat cheese, including photos.

• A recipe for millet veggie pie, including photos.

• A recipe given to me for potato chip cookies, which I will need to kitchen test. If I remember right, the recipe makes an awful lot of cookies, I better get it right. You can all come over for cookies if they're any good.

• A review of some stuff I got this week at the Devon Market.

Why you should buy wild salmon instead of farmed. found via simmerstock

Alton Brown admits to making endorsements. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

A list of bloggers who have blogged about eating at the French Laundry found via Looka

A New Yorker Article on Frozen Dinners - from 1945

Last weekend my parents were in town, which meant I got to eat at some of the best places in town, reviews of Tru, Arun's and North Pond to come.

After such a decadent weekend (we also had some pretty decent steaks at Pete Miller's) I really didn't need any food for a couple of days. But by the time Thursday rolled around I needed a meal and after such an awesome array of food, I needed something much more than takeout. I luckily had some patty pan squash (scalloped squash) from the farmer's market this weekend. So I cooked up this simple but very tasty, rich-sweet butter-browned-pan-sauteed squash, with a sauce of pureed squash and cider over some thin udon noodles.

1 medium size patty pan squash (3-4 inches diameter) sliced on the diameter about 3/4 inch think
1 baby yellow squash sliced
2 T butter
1/4 cup of apple cider
1 T cider vinegar
1 tsp ginger juice
1 T Mirin
udon noodles, thin

Slice the squash along the diameter and pan saute in a tablespoon of the butter. When one side has browned slighted, throw in the sliced baby yellow squash. Brown everything on both sides.

Combine the cider, vinegar, mirin and ginger juice in a saucepan and reduce slightly as you puree one and a half of the larger cooked patty pan squash slices (you should have at least three more). The combo of cider, vinegar and ginger should be very subtle. I included the seeds, which cook up tender. After blending down the squash, add the liquid from the saucepan and puree smooth. Heat through, reducing a bit.

By now the noodles should be done. Serve the squash slices, quartered over the pasta and sauce.