Posts Tagged ‘Duchess’

Mmmm, Plastic!

Posted 11 Apr 2010 — by FV
Category As I see it.

Have I mentioned my least favorite restaurant?

Yep, McCrap, and all the other fast food eateries wrapped in different packages.

The Duchess and I are coming up on our third week of gardening and I must say that I am so impatient waiting fot the first shoot yo break through the Earth’s surface. With the anticipation of an edible yard I am reminded of a eating rule which I love.

If it doesn’t rot, don’t eat it.

This is a very simple eating rule to live by and just this idea alone can help you avoid so many of the additives and preservatives so prevalent in our foods these days. If your cupboards are full of stuff that can stand up to unusually long periods of time without changing or going bad, than it is likely you shouldn’t be eating it. There are, of course, some exceptions like spices, vinegars, and some canned goods.

So many people complain about the space they have available in their freezer, refrigerator and cupboards. We have become obsessed with storing up and buying in bulk. Also, as food storage space becomes bigger, counters become smaller. No need for a lot of counter space if everything goes directly from storage to the oven. Our diets have become full of foods that just don’t go bad. This is good for the grocery stores, they can stock more and more products for longer periods of time and use less manpower to keep the shelves stocked. Look how insanley big grocery stores have gotten!

We are not a business, we are living, breathing animals. Profitability, convenience and stability are great ideas to make money, but lousy ideas to put in our mouths. I came across some interesting ariticles about McCrap’s food that they are shoving down the world’s throats.

Here is the first article, this is too funny (and scary). It is a true indication that we should never eat fast food.

Here is the second article.

The “food” that the fast-eddies provide are ruining a good portion of our population. The fats and sugars in the over preserved, plastic food make the meal less nutrition than the paper in which it’s wrapped.

We spend a good portion of early parenting chasing our young children all around and saving the day time and time again as we thwart little Todd and Sally from stuffing everything under the son in their mouth’s. Then we load them in the car and WILLINGLY and knowingly let them chew on this un-nutritional, highly fattening, plastic food. Yet we stop them from putting the plastic toy from the meal in their mouths. How can you tell the difference between the plastic toy and a plastic burger anyway?

Maybe if hands of bananas or fresh greenbeans came with a toy, we would not be a nation overweight.

Slow down,

FV

A Day At The Pool

Posted 30 Mar 2010 — by FV
Category As I see it., Reveiws

As The Duchess and I prepare to break ground today for the garden, I am already thinking of the tired back that I will surely have later today. (Yes, I know, we were supposed to break ground on Friday, but weather and other factors did not permit)

With the promise of tight muscles, I am reminded of a destination that we came across last year. Usually the word “bath-house” conjures up images of burly nursemaids delivering punishing massages or even snickers over thoughts of ill-repute. But the Jefferson Pools, in Warm Springs, VA, could not be more natural, wholesome or relaxing. The Pools are a natural mineral spring that are said to have been producing a constant 98 degree crystal clear mineral water for around 9,000 years. That’s a pretty good reputation, don’t you think? The octagonal wood building was built around the Pool in 1761, making this spa about 14 years older than the USA.

 In 1818, Mr. Thomas Jefferson splashed onto the scene at the Pools and was instantly hooked. He spent three days soaking and proclaimed the Pools to be “of first merit”. Jefferson pulled some kind of “Founding Father” strings and they changed the name from The Warm Springs Pools to Jefferson Pools. When I visited with the Duchess, I attempted to proclaim them the Food Vigilante Pools, but to no avail.

Soaking in the Pools is simply amazing. The water is so clear and the same temperature as your body. Plus it is constantly effervescing with rich mineral goodness. There is a mild sulfur smell in the air, but not so bad that it detracts from the experience. So, after several stops at some local farm stands we were armed with fresh vegetables and even a pound of salt cured bacon. After a good sound lunch, we took to the waters.

                                               Â

 
 
 

Pools are constantly fed with fresh 98degree mineral water!

Oldest Spa in America.

The Skylight

The local watering hole!

The pools are open April through November, so I suppose after gardening today, The Duchess and I are going to have to sneak in for a dip. If we could get there, we’d look like this afterwards…

Dipped in relaxation!

I’ll be posting pictures of our progress and I implore you to email me with your garden pictures. Whether it’s a window sill herb pot or a sprawling farm, I can’t wait to see your pictures. I’ll compile them and show everyone! Email pictures to foodvigilante@gmail.com.

Dig it??

FV

That’s why they call it “New York” Cheesecake

Posted 22 Mar 2010 — by FV
Category As I see it., Reveiws

I have probably eaten more cheesecake in my life than I should have. I’ve always been, at the very least, pleased with the taste. It seemed to me that mixing cream cheese, eggs, sugar and milk could never go wrong. But, until recently, I had no idea just how right it could go.

As you might know, the Duchess and I recently took a quick jaunt to the Big Apple. Sleep, we did without, but we had to eat. We packed fruit, nuts, and gallons of coffee, but we decided to stop and eat somewhere in the city.

First we stopped in a bar/restaurant called Cooper’s Tavern, attached to the New Yorker Hotel.

We enjoyed a mid-day, mid-town Bloody Mary.

After attending to other business, we were famished. It’s amazing how you can walk around New York and eye up an endless array of eateries and not be able to make a decision as to where to eat. This was the day after St. Patrick’s day and the birthday of my oldest son and the birthday of the Duchess’s friend’s daughter, Mila, who has a sister named Lindy. So, the obvious choice was a corned beef sandwich at…

CLICK ME FOR MORE INFO!

The place made reference to it’s own famous-ness and apparently has a celebrity following. Here’s a pic they can use for when the Duchess reaches her full fame-dom.

We were so hungry and dazzled by the gritty-NewYork-Seinfeld-esque of the place, we ordered without regard to the prices. I mean, how much could a corned beef sandwich be, right? Well, let me tell you. I have a new get rich scheme. Open a widget store across from Madison Square Garden and charge whatever the hell you want. The Duchess and I will be in line to buy one, eyes closed and wallets open.

View from Lindy's front door!

The sandwiches were very good and very big and very $17.95 EACH!!! Oh, well, celebrities can afford it, I guess. Here was the said sandwich.

It was indeed tasty and very filling. In fact, I only pushed down about $8.97 worth so I’d have room for the World Famous Cheesecake. The Duchess tried the fish sandwich served on pumpernickel. Honestly, it tasted quite good too, but it was a square, pre-formed fish pattie, also $17.95, UUGGGH! I know!

She also only ate half so we could try the cheesecake. We were both stuffed, even on just half-sandwiches, but in the spirit of American overindulgence and gluttony, we pushed forward. I’m actually glad we did. The cheesecake was like nothing I’ve ever had. Almost three inches thick, light, fluffy, perfectly sweet, perfectly smooth. I may never eat cheesecake again outside of New York and maybe not outside of Lindy’s for that matter. Plus, with all the profit made on the sandwiches, it seems that Lindy’s can afford to dole out this Pièce de résistance at a modest $8.95. Actually a reasonable price for a restaurant dessert, especially across the street from the Garden! Here she is…

See the Duchess's fork in the background, ready to pounce!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a bite was worth The Iliad, The Odessy, The Bible and War and Peace all together! It was simply the best I had ever tasted. See,

I didn’t even save you a bite! So, toil along with the hard, sub-standard cheese cakes here in the ‘Burgh, but rest assured that there’s no better sandwich around than a Primanti Bro’s!

Be cheesy!

FV