I've been going through another one of my existential crises lately. This time it revolves mostly around the fact that I'm not someone who is meant to be chained to a desk for 9 hours a day. Just because I am good at Excel doesn't mean I enjoy compiling spreadsheets all day. And unlike my fellow coworkers who doodle on their note pads and yawn during sales meetings, IMing all day with friends who have more exciting lives in NYC is not going to make me a happier person.
So, what exactly does a girl who can't help rolling her eyes at management and sigh way too loud: "Oh, Gaaaaaaawd!" in the middle of a meeting then shrug it off as stretch do?
She get knives.
Now, I'm not rich. Obviously. But I try to make do with my budget. So, I headed to Target last weekend and purchased some decent knives. Now, they're not Top-Iron Chef quality. But they've been doing the trick so far.
This of course has gotten me even more interested in cuisine. I'm totally proud to say that I now cook and prepare all my meals at home. That's right: breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'm saving roughly 50 bucks a week, if not more. And I feel so much healthier.
It's my own version of Slow Food.
And speaking of which. I was privileged enough - or, quick enough - to grab a pair of tickets to the opening night of Slow Food Nation at Fort Mason. This is an all weekend event, but I only got tickets for the first night which was mostly for the hot shots of the trade and media. (Yes, there are some fabulous perks to my job that do make those mundane meetings worthwhile.)
A whole pavilion dedicated to all of my favorites: beer, wine, spirits, breads, olive oil, ice cream, tea, coffee, chocolate, honey, jams, fish, salumi. Total and utter food porn, as my future boss Tony Bourdain would say. This is hedonism to the tenth degree in foodie world.
So, for an event of this magnitude the extra ticket had to go to someone worthy. I chose my old Oakland roommate, culinary student, and connoisseur of all things gastronomic, J-Man. There's nothing better than having a fellow foodie who can lead the way to the good stuff.
We started with raspberry beer, made our way to the tandoori naan, then on to the fish. I have to hand it to Yoshi's for creating something that looked like, and had the texture of udon noodles out of squid. Then it was on to the cheeses, the wines, and olive oils. Some were sampled with bread and others were just sipped in cups. That's just hard-core. I did finally get to try Absinthe from Paris among other cocktails.
Now, I consider being a slow food foodie akin to being a Free Mason. I was actually five feet away from Alice Waters. Talk about wow factor. She's responsible, not only for the Gourmet Ghetto in Berkeley with Chez Panisse, but also for championing local and sustainable food as a way of life.
I have yet to dine at Chez Panisse, but everyone knows that the Alice Waters' disciples who end up opening restaurants are the most successful. You work for her, you're pretty much set for life. The East Bay inside joke among foodies is that even if her janitor were to open up a cafe it would someday earn a Michelin star. (Who knows if that's true, Chez Panisse only has one.)
But of course the best thing about being a VIP at any event is the goodie bag. A girl could get used to being pampered like that. Now that gets me off.
Yeah, I totally tried these pickles . . . the salmon roll was bomb. Pickles not to my tasting.
So, what exactly does a girl who can't help rolling her eyes at management and sigh way too loud: "Oh, Gaaaaaaawd!" in the middle of a meeting then shrug it off as stretch do?
She get knives.
Now, I'm not rich. Obviously. But I try to make do with my budget. So, I headed to Target last weekend and purchased some decent knives. Now, they're not Top-Iron Chef quality. But they've been doing the trick so far.
This of course has gotten me even more interested in cuisine. I'm totally proud to say that I now cook and prepare all my meals at home. That's right: breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'm saving roughly 50 bucks a week, if not more. And I feel so much healthier.
It's my own version of Slow Food.
And speaking of which. I was privileged enough - or, quick enough - to grab a pair of tickets to the opening night of Slow Food Nation at Fort Mason. This is an all weekend event, but I only got tickets for the first night which was mostly for the hot shots of the trade and media. (Yes, there are some fabulous perks to my job that do make those mundane meetings worthwhile.)
A whole pavilion dedicated to all of my favorites: beer, wine, spirits, breads, olive oil, ice cream, tea, coffee, chocolate, honey, jams, fish, salumi. Total and utter food porn, as my future boss Tony Bourdain would say. This is hedonism to the tenth degree in foodie world.
So, for an event of this magnitude the extra ticket had to go to someone worthy. I chose my old Oakland roommate, culinary student, and connoisseur of all things gastronomic, J-Man. There's nothing better than having a fellow foodie who can lead the way to the good stuff.
We started with raspberry beer, made our way to the tandoori naan, then on to the fish. I have to hand it to Yoshi's for creating something that looked like, and had the texture of udon noodles out of squid. Then it was on to the cheeses, the wines, and olive oils. Some were sampled with bread and others were just sipped in cups. That's just hard-core. I did finally get to try Absinthe from Paris among other cocktails.
Now, I consider being a slow food foodie akin to being a Free Mason. I was actually five feet away from Alice Waters. Talk about wow factor. She's responsible, not only for the Gourmet Ghetto in Berkeley with Chez Panisse, but also for championing local and sustainable food as a way of life.
I have yet to dine at Chez Panisse, but everyone knows that the Alice Waters' disciples who end up opening restaurants are the most successful. You work for her, you're pretty much set for life. The East Bay inside joke among foodies is that even if her janitor were to open up a cafe it would someday earn a Michelin star. (Who knows if that's true, Chez Panisse only has one.)
But of course the best thing about being a VIP at any event is the goodie bag. A girl could get used to being pampered like that. Now that gets me off.
Yeah, I totally tried these pickles . . . the salmon roll was bomb. Pickles not to my tasting.
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