A currant affair

I've been fairly industrious lately in the kitchen--at least when it comes to making up new things to eat.

I've had a clamshell of red currants in the fridge for over a week. I couldn't think of much to do with them--I tried mixing them in with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and milk to make a berry smoothie one day. (That came out OK, but currants have these little nubbins--yes, highly scientific--on them that come out crunchy in liquids.)

The other day I decided I would try them with some French vanilla ice cream.

My presentation wasn't pretty, but the dish was pretty darn good.

I put about an eighth of a cup of currants into the bottom of the bowl. I drizzled 1.5 tablespoons of Nutella over them. Then I put a cup of ice cream on top of the Nutella. I mixed the ice cream around so the berries and Nutella were on top, and dug in.

The flavor was tangy, sweet and chocolatey all at once--rich and refreshing.

Once again this week, I am successful in the kitchen!

The fat tax

My boyfriend and I were debating whether or not banning trans-fats from restaurants and banning fast food restaurants from poor areas of town are bad ideas.

I said they are bad ideas, he said they're not--he opposes all bans, even on drugs (which I have to agree with--for some things, if people can't have it, they want it more. Just see how many American teens drink underage if you want an example.)

But as far as food goes, I believe there are some things Americans eat that just shouldn't be allowed on the market. Ever. Like trans fats and fast foods, refined sugars and processed foods (although I do enjoy a good slice of Velveeta every now and again).

So when I read an article yesterday about France considering a tax on fatty foods, I naturally agreed with the idea. It's not a ban, but it prevents poor people from being forced into obesity because they can't afford healthier foods.

You see, fast foods are cheap. They are quick and easy to get. Low-income areas are rife with fast food restaurants and convenience stores. I've heard several stories on NPR in which experts said the reason so many poor people are overweight is because (a) they can't afford many healthier products, (b) they work many hours, often more than one job to support their families, and don't have time to cook nutritious, balanced meals, and (c) fast food restaurants prey on low-income areas because of the cheap, quick and easy factors.

Obviously this isn't the whole story, but it's a pretty good argument for banning fast food restaurants. But if you're not into bans, a fatty-food tax seems like the way to go.

Sure, it would mean low-income families have to plan menus, shop accordingly and take the time to cook. But in the long run they won't have to pay for the side-effects of eating so much fatty and fast food (i.e. the stigma that goes with being obese and the cost of health problems associated with obesity).

I'm sure it's not a perfect solution, but something's gotta give.

Another pita possibility

If you thought one pita recipe this week was plenty, tough.

This pocketless pita bread is proving endlessly versatile (OK, two recipes isn't endless, but still).

Well, I tried something new today--a pizza recipe.

"Didn't you just have pizza yesterday?" my boyfriend asked when I told him about it.

"No," I said. "That was different."

Well, it was. The last recipe was all veggies and dressing. Yesterday's recipe was all pizza sauce and cheesy goodness.

So, I took a "loaf" of pita bread (basically, one piece) and spread my Trader Joe's pizza sauce all over it. I could have used my special spicy pasta sauce instead, but I knew my boyfriend would frown at the idea of using pasta sauce on a pizza. Then, I covered the sauce in a thin layer of cheddar that I grated myself.

To add the finishing touches, I sliced some cigiellegne (baby mozzarella balls) and arranged them on top of the pizza. I popped the whole thing into the oven for four minutes at 450 degrees (the oven was partially pre-heated), and it was perfect.

Total yum. I recommend you try it.

How to drive your dog batty

If you want to make your dog feel helpless and frustrated, give him a Kong toy.

When I first got Bijou, I bought her a Kong toy. I figured, all dogs love these. She ignored it. So I took back to the store, happy to have $9 in my wallet again.

Then I took her to my parents' house a few months ago. She absolutely loved the Kong toy there--bouncing it around, trying to lick peanut butter out of it.

After discovering her love of tennis balls, I soon decided it would be a good idea to get her another Kong toy.

So I went to Petsmart on Sunday and shelled out the money for it again. I took it home, washed it. Put one of their free treats in it, and threw the toy at her. The treat fell out. She ate it. Started sniffing the toy, licking it. I put the other treat in the toy and set it down. Then she started to get excited. It didn't take her long to get the second toy out, because it was smaller than the opening.

So I put some chicken jerky (for dogs) into the toy. For half an hour (at least) she was frantically running around the house, clawing at the toy and chewing on it. She would sit down, stand up, sit down, stand up, run from one side of the house to the next. She was so frustrated she couldn't sit still. She wouldn't let me touch the toy because she was so intent on getting it out herself.

And how did the last bit of jerky come out? Much to her dismay, as she turned the corner--running frantically from one room into the next--the jerky flew out and she was left with an empty toy. So she had to sniff the entire house to make sure this hadn't already happened without her knowledge.

Sure, it kept her entertained and busy, constantly working. But she might have had a nervous breakdown if she hadn't succeeded in getting the jerky out when she did.

I think she can handle it, though.

A pita concoction

I had this strange urge to buy pita bread at the grocery store this weekend. I haven't purchased pita bread in years, much less pocketless pita bread.

But it sounded good, wasn't too expensive, and had some recipes on the back.

One of those recipes mentioned vegetables. Without even reading the recipe, I thought up my own.

I slathered the top of the pita bread in ranch dressing, just like you'd do with regular pizza sauce. Then, I diced some tomatoes and cucumbers, and layered them on top of the bread.

You could also do this by spreading cream cheese on the bread instead of dressing, or not spreading anything and drizzling the whole thing with olive oil and spices.

It looked yummy. I just bit into it, and for the first few bites, things were going well.

Then veggies started sliding off the top, so I had to get out a fork and knife. If you're not the kind of person who likes to eat pizza and burgers with a fork and knife, you should probably just cut this dish into slivers or slices with a pizza cutter before serving it. But if you're like me, a fork and knife'll do ya right.

It's not a hugely hearty meal, but it was refreshing after coming inside from the heat, and certainly healthy.

Amazing ice cream!

I just had the most delicious ice cream sandwich ever.

Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches are good, yes. That goes without saying. I love getting a 24-pack of them in vanilla and chocolate from Costco and then subsisting off of them for a few days (I do eat regular meals, too).

The mint flavored ones were on sale at the grocery store (Fry's/Kroger) two weeks ago, so I bought a pack. There are only six in there, but I figured that would be a good amount to try.

I waited until today to try one. And I died and went to heaven after the first bite.

Mercy, these things are good!

Main Gate Square: constantly changing

If there's one thing I've noticed about Main Gate Square (aka University Ave.) in the past four years, it's that things are constantly changing and always expensive.

The very first time I visited University when I was in high school, I remember there was a J. Crew store and we ate at Gentle Ben's. Well, the Gentle Ben's is still there. But J. Crew is gone, as is the White House Black Market, skateboard shop and countless other stores that followed it. Not to mention the restaurants--one slot on University changed twice in the last year because both attempts at an upscale dining experience on-campus were (go figure) too expensive for most college students. Hah.

A bunch of new places went in last year--The Cereal Boxx (a cereal restaurant: utter stupidity in types of restaurants, but I'm intrigued because you can bring your pets on the weekends now), Sultan Palace (yummy Afghan food), Saigon Pho (intriguing Vietnamese food), Villa Thai (expensive but tasty Thai food, though I've heard the service is very poor), Paradise Cafe (soups, salads and sandwiches and all of one vegetarian option--I've never been impressed although the baked goods are...good), and a handful of clothing, hat and beauty stores I never set foot in. There's also an Aveda going in now.

And Fuku Sushi. A sushi restaurant right off of campus--my absolute dream, right?

Well, that depends on how pricey it is. I can easily drive a block away to Sushi Cho for the cheapest sushi in Tucson that I've discovered to date. Since sushi is generally expensive, I guess we'll have to wait and see when Fuku Sushi opens. And also see how many veggie options there are.

See, Fuku Sushi is going into the same slot the last two unsuccessful, expensive restaurants were planted and uprooted. Perhaps the spot's cursed--it burned up two years ago when it was home to Chicken Daddy.

All I can say is, that sushi had better be tasty, and it had better damn well be $3 or less for a generous avocado roll.