Tour de Wing Uptown: Nominations
Now, it’s winter. The calendar has said it’s been winter for a while, but with all the rain it has felt more like “the unlocking” than anything else. This week, there is no mistaking that winter has finally arrive.
That means it’s time for the FLB winter tour.
I’m not entirely sure where we got the fool idea last year to do pizza slices in winter and wings in the spring. Wings are most assuredly some of the best, calorically dense, winter foods we’ve got in this frigid zone. They are the staple of taverns, which are designed to warm you from the inside out.
So that’s what we’re going to do in the very near future. And on the last wing tour, I committed to doing one last follow up tour in Albany. We started downtown. We hit midtown. And this year we’ll be exploring uptown, where I don’t think Mike Graney owns a wing place, so he can’t win a third time.
Today is the day to not only announce the date of the next tour, but also to open the floor up to nominations. So put those thinking caps on, grab your calendar and a pen, and let’s get geared up for the Tour de Wing: Uptown Edition.
Kombucha Crazy
Maybe I’m late to the kombucha game, but I’ve just recently been bitten by the bug. The word doesn’t quite roll of the tongue. I still feel a little silly saying it. But I have to admit that I love kombucha. And like all things I love, I’m a little obsessed with it right now.
Which isn’t to say I have a deep love for all kombucha, because like everything else that gets popular in America, there are a lot of terrible bastardizations that pop up to capitalize on a trend. And I’m still in the infancy of my kombucha journey, so there is still a lot that I do not know.
What I do know, and what I want to tell you, is how this whole new passion was started. And the kombucha that pushed me over the edge from being okay with the beverage to being an evangelist.
Emily L: In Defense of Eating
Earlier this month I found myself at little pecks on a Saturday morning. I got there just before the morning brunch rush, with my laptop in tow, to put in an hour’s worth of writing before heading off to do errands.
If you’re not sick of me telling you this, little pecks is an amazing place to sit, enjoy something delicious, and simply hang out. You get to enjoy the enclosed Lucas Confectionery patio, that’s heated in winter, and a great source of natural light. Why more of Troy doesn’t spend the afternoon working from this beautiful space remains a mystery to me.
So when I was ordering my morning coffee, the barista asks me if I would like anything to eat. My response was, “I’ve given up eating for January.”
Which, of course, isn’t actually true. But in a way, it is. I’m attempting to avoid fried foods, sweets, fatty meats, refined grains, and simple starches. I’m eating only when I’m hungry, and stopping when the hunger is abated. I’m giving up beer, wine, and spirits until I hit the target weight I left behind at the end of 2018.
All of this inspired some thoughts from Emily L who submitted today’s guest post. Read more…
Fantastic Frozen Broccoli
Maybe you noticed a grumpier tone than usual in yesterday’s post. Ask me how my diet’s going.
Ugh.
It sucks.
But I have to diet hard, because during these weeks when I’m dieting, I also have work events that require me to eat. That means when I’m being “good”, I have to be “extra-good”, or else all that work will be for naught.
This came to a head recently when Little Miss Fussy wanted to go to a diner, and I struggled to make a sensible choice as I scanned a menu full of deeply satisfying comfort foods. What I ordered was a small Caesar salad with grilled chicken on top, knowing full well the weight of a creamy dressing and croutons. But it was small, and mostly made of vegetables, so I felt okay with the decision.
What I should have ordered was a cup of chicken soup with a side of steamed broccoli with oil and garlic. I figure it’s kind of like a deconstructed greens and beans, just without the beans, and with broccoli for the greens.
As we’ve been trying to eat more vegetables in winter, frozen broccoli has been playing a larger part of our diet than usual. And at least according to Mrs. Fussy, I’ve come up with a simple, quick, and delicious way to prepare the stuff.
Et TU
Look, I know what I said.
I know it hasn’t been that long.
And maybe I take this stuff too seriously.
Really, the problem is that I shouldn’t have even clicked on the Times Union’s Best of the Capital Region reader choice poll. But I did.
If you think you know what comes next, you’re likely mistaken. Because this year is different. It’s really, really different. And I have to admit that I was encouraged by the changes that the TU made to how the poll was being conducted this year. That was, until I started to click some more.
The Alchemist
This is not a story about the Vermont brewery responsible for Focal Banger and its predecessor, the even more hyped Heady Topper. The latter is an India Pale Ale that really changed the beer game, and helped to bring in the current era of New England IPAs (AKA NEIPA). Although this currently popular style of IPA which is known for its cloudy appearance—in addition to flavors of citrus and tropical fruits—will end up weaving its way back into the post.
The original alchemists were trying to turn lead into gold. And I thought this was a good metaphor to explain the cocktail I created on New Year’s Eve. It’s one I have been working on for a few weeks, but I finally got it dialed in.
It’s a cocktail, yes. But effectively, I turned soda into beer.
A Question on Greens and Beans
In the Capital Region, Italian-American food is like the air we breathe.
There are several reasons why I’ve never really delved into the Italian-American restaurant landscape of the area. For starters, it’s just too massive. Cataloging all of the different red sauce joints we’ve got in the region could be your life’s work. And while I may truly love a great chicken parm, there are only so many I can eat. A lot of this food is heavy stuff based on refined grains, sometimes fried, and usually smothered in cheese.
Then you have the issue with portions, which are massive. And prices, which might be fair given the quantity of food served, but still quite high for the quality of the ingredients. Plus, I’m a pretty capable cook of Italian-American dishes, and all the ingredients one might need are readily available.
That said, there is another dish of almost equal ubiquity as chicken parm, which is loaded with vegetables, and typically served as an entree sized appetizer: Greens and beans.
Taking Stock
The funniest part about January being meat-free at home, is that on the second day of the year I’ve got a lunch date, and I’m going to get the sausage.
At least that’s the plan. I hope that still works with the rules. Since the sausage is used as a flavoring to what is effectively an entire plate of vegetables, I suspect it’s copacetic. After all, the goal of this for me is to eat more vegetables.
The other funny thing is that the first cooking project of the new year was a mega-batch of chicken stock.
The Weight
What could be more trite than starting off the new year with the promise of healthier habits?
My goal had been to go into January already doing well on the healthful eating plan, so that when the turn of the year rolled around, I’d already be in good shape. I’m not entirely sure what happened to that. Maybe it was the two Thanksgivings back to back, or the pizza from Pepe’s, or judging the Chili Chowdown, or all the heifer shakes I enjoyed from The Dutch Udder, or the week in Pennsylvania where I ate little besides meat, carbs, and frozen custard?
It’s really hard to say. I’m not even sure how one might begin to unpack this mystery. But whatever the cause, the solution starts today. Although the person taking lead on the craziest part of this plan is Mrs. Fussy.
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