Gas Station Eats

Gas stations in the American South are more than just a place to fillup the truck. It's palce to get a hot meal, whether it's fried chicken ro shwarma. A new book chronicles this truly American phenomenom. It shows not just gas stations but places to enjoy a warm meal and meet neightbors and friends.

Regular contributor and a Southerner hersle,f Kim Severson wrote about this new book in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section.Southern photographer Kate Medley takes astounding and  soul revealing snaps of  this big part of SOuthern life. She was raised in Mississippi so going to the local gas station for everything form flour to Coke was normal for her. Her book also has an opening written by fellow Southerner Kiese Laymon who also grew up in Mississippi, He too spent his childhood eating fresh not food  in gas stations.On of his childhood memories involves heading to eat at one with his grandmother and her boyfiend. They would order a box of dark meat chicken a foam container of fried fish and  fried potato wedges also known as potato logs. Ms. medley discovered this way of lif when she was coveirng the area for the New Yrk Times  after Hurricnae Katrina. She also finished a master's program in Southern studies which also allowed her a glmpse into the unique lifestyle.

It's a get her done attitude that's even spreading to immigrants settling in the South. Ms Medley wanted to show this diversity so she took pictures of Nita Patel and her samosas at Tasty Tikka located inside a Shell station in Irmo, South Carolina and Gina Nguyen holding a garlic butter shrimp banh at Banh Mi Boys which opened in a family owned Texaco in Metairie Louisiana. She took Ms. Severson to another immigrant run place in Leland Mississippi in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. The Frattesi family opend up a combo of gas station and eatery in 1941.There s their famed cheesesteaks and pork roasts next to bait to be sold and pantry staples. A freezer holds frozen steaks and bags of shelled pecans.It even runs on the honor system where visitors tell the cashier what they had for lunch.There are no paper bills here.Locals put their groceries and gas on a runnung tab.Unfortunately after the owner Mark Frattesi, son of the original owner retires that's it. Th next generation does not want to take over. Up the road a better story exists.A forner gas station is home to Betty's Place. Owner Betty Campbell and her husband opened it while her brother Otha serves as a maire d'.She used to cook for blues great B.B. King and brings that devotion to the place that hosts hundreds of tourists from all over the world yearly.

Gas station and hot food served in them are as much a part of Southern life as barbecues and football. They represent a unique facet of an interesting lifestyle. The new book Gas Stations will show this slice of life..

A German Classic in No Time

 This is the weather for spaetzle and gravy. There's nothing as comforting as this German classic main or side dish. Unfortunately it is labor intensive to make them.Luckily Aldi has instant ones complete with a yummy mushroom gravy.

Aldi (like Lidl) is a German company) so they're bound to have good German products like spaetzle and chocolates along with cans of red cabbage and sauerkraut.I found their mushroom flavored spaetxle from Deutssche Kuche.I bought two packets right away bcause I knew it would be delicious anf go fast.

It's an easy make. Just boild two and aquartr cups of water and add the packet,a mix of spaeztle and powdered gravy. 

It kind of looked soupy at first but then thickened up.

I just had to stir ti a few times during the course fo about twenty minutes(the packet  says it'll cook up  in twelve to fifteen minutes but it does take longer)

                               The entire pot was steaming and frgrant with cooked mushrooms.This was going to be a tasty and satisfying treat for lunch.

This was really delicious and I plan on buying it again.It makes for a perfect winter lunch or weekend supper.It was even good reheated later in the microwave for dinnr. I just added a tablespoon of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and it was just as tasty as when it was first cooked. You could easily serve this along side pork chops or pork roast as a filling and warming side.

Try Deutsche Kuche's spaetzle for a tasty main course or side dish. They're  perfect , hearty and filling on a winter's day. These delicious noodles will warm you through and through.

The Importance of A Hot Meal

Everyone has busy lives these days. The problem is that that means certain aspects of or lives suffer, especially our diets. What can help ? A hot meal.There are so many benefits in having at least one warmed plate a day.

It is tempting to grab some easy and quick at any time during the day. The problem is an energy bar or even a sandwich isn't that great on a chilly winter day. There are also other benefits in creating a hot comforting meal, whether it's breakfast , lunch or dinner. A not meals also improves digestion, strengthens immunity , increases energy and even regulates elimination. A warm meals is a big help to the spleen which helps in digestion. If you keep putting cold food in your stomach, you'll feel fatigued and weak, along with having puffing eyes and bloating. A warm meal helps. It's also a great comfort for a stressful and busy day. Start off with a warm breakfast.if you;re rushed , then think a simple scrambled eggs and air fried bacon. Put this on toast for a tasty open faced breakfast sandwich. Another easy cook is oatmeal. Add warmed cream ro milk and maple syrup to start off the day, For a Sunday brunch go whole hog with fresh form the oven quiches  and waffles fresh from the waffle iron.

Most lunches aren't hot. This is Ok for the summer months when all you want is a salad or a sandwich along with a cold drink.Yet a hot lunch is a perfect break from a busy work or school day. Think hot sandwiches like grilled cheese or the fancier Croque Monsieur. Soup is always good too. What you can do is make  up a plot the night before for dinner and serve the leftovers for lunch.Warm up some rolls for a more filling plate.Keep in mind that those breakfast eggs can easily be turned into a lunchtime omelt or fritatta. Just add some cheese and ham for a tasty Denver omelet or some spinach and mushrooms for a flavorful fritatta slice. As for dinnr, yes you can order in or go out. It's fun to eat out mid week, However get out the air fryer if you want to eat in. This helps in quickly cooking up chicken nuggets or potato skins.Keep in mind that you can also cook chicken breasts and different cuts of steak. Also pasta comes in handy here. Jarred sauce works just as well as homemade if you're pressed for time. Add garlic bread for a fun treat.

A hot meal is not only a comfort but it's vital to your health. Try to have at least one hot one a day, YOU'll feel better anbd hav a better lif too.

Polenta, Pasta or Risotto What's Your Choice

 What is a nice accompaniment to a tomato sauce or grilled chicken ro steak? Do you go for a side or base of  polenta, pasta or risotto? or do you eat these on their own? What works best with various sauces and sides?

Out of all three polenta is the most versatile. The ground corn meal can be perfect on its' own, as a base or gracing a plate as a side.It can be labor intensive if you want to cook it.It does require a lot of stirring after a basic mixing of finely ground cornmeal, water and salt.It can also be lumpy however the best way to beat this is to pulverize the meal before cooking.An easier method  would be buying the already made polenta logs and grilling them until they're crispy and golden yellow. A simple cacciatore sauce with chicken is the best main dish with it. The thin tomato sauce works well with the polenta. Another good sauce is a simple mushroom and spinach one. This is an easy make with simply sauteing spinach with baby bellas in a mix of garlic olive oil and butter. Can you serve polenta with grilled or roasted meats. Only if there's a sauce. On it's own , without any sauce ro even butter and cheese polenta can be somewhat dry. There should be some kind of sauce there.

If you want to serve a good side with steaks or chicken then think either pasta or polenta. Pasta can accompany  achicken in the form of noodles. Again with any kind of sauce it's a great side. You can even cut up a rotisserie chicken or a flank steak and add it to a tomato or spinach  sauce to make a heartier dish.Any kind of pasta is good on its' own. Just add butter or to make it more flavorful cook it in the broth of your choice. Unlike polenta there are so many different types that work well with any type of ingredient.  Penn can work with a chunky tomato sauce while linguine is perfect  as a base for clams or chicken cutlets. Risotto is a diffrent matter.Risotto is a phenomenal , especially the saffron infused risotto Milanese. This is perfect as a main course or as a side with any protein form lamb chops to shrimp. A plus about this addition is, like pasta, anything can be added to it while cooking. The miost popular add ins are mushrooms and asaparagus. You can also mix in chopped tomatoes too along with a variety of cheeses.

What's the most versatile and best? Use polenta for sauces. Try pasta as a side and use risotto as a main dish. 

Air Fried Bacon A Tasty Treat

 Air fryer and bacon strips are a marriage made in heaven. The  heated air flowing around the strips makes for crunchy crackly pieces.The result is a mouthful of crispy goodness, to be eaten on their own or in  a sandwich or salad.

I recently discoverd this when I had the air fryer out and was looking to cook something hot and quick for lunch. Luckily I had Lightlife plant based bacon (excuse the syrup puddle on the package). This bacon is usually a chore to cook.It requires a griddle and either oil or plant butter.It's hard to get the pieces crisp.

That is until I discovred the strips can be put into the air fryer for eight minutes at 400 degrees Farenheit.

 First they';re sprayed with a cooking spray.I used Target's Good and Gather olive oil one They then just have to be flipped over at the halfway mark of four minutes. The end result?

Slices of crispy, salty goodness. These were good on their own and in a sandwich. I can just imagine a BLT with them or crumbled in a salad. I will also make them as a great side to a Just Egg spinach omelet. Keep in mind regular bacon also crisps up very well in an air fryer xcept the strips usually take ten to twelve minutes to cook at about the same degree 400 Farenheit.

Want the perfect match? Just cook any kind of bacon in an air fryer. The end product is a plate full of crispy, browned well cooked strips  that are just wonderful on their own.

Sopa Paraguayo A Tastier Cornbread

 Cornbread is always a treat. There's nothing like that dense , yellow crumb and sweet taste , perfect with a lashing of butter. Imagine that it could be made better.it can thanks to the Paraguayan version of it.

Regular contributor Christine Morales wrote about this side dish in yesterday's New York Times wednesday Food section. It is Paraguay's (a landlocked country between Chile and Brazil) national dish, created in the mid-1800's Legend hhas it that during Carlos Antonio Lopez's presidency , an over zealous chef added too much cornmeal to the often served dish of corn soup.In an attempt to fix the dish he put the dish in the oven and baked it. the leader loved it so much tat he proclaimed it the national dish of the country. However a truer story is that the bread hade been baked for centuries before that. The Cario-Guarini indigenous tribe living near what is now Ascension likely used native corn and baked a bread when they learned about dairy from the Spanish colonists. Its' hard to get here in the US where 30,000 Paraguyans live. Most  Paraguyan restaurants serve it as a side to grilled meat.It's also hard to recreate since cheese used, a rich,creamy Paraguyan queso is hard to find. Some bakers sub in mozzarella, Montery Jack or Muenster. Another problem is that it's usually wrapped in banana leaves and baked in a clay oven.

Can it be made at home? Yes. Ms Morales does include a recipe for it.Keep in mind it has a texture that os soft and spongy like bread pudding instead of the usual form one associated with cornbread. Try to use P.A.N. cornmeal which is white precooked cornmeal (if nothing else use your regular kind) aong with a cup of fresh or canned kernals.  Get the Paraguyan queso if you're lucky to have a South American market nearby.If not use grated Muenster or mozzarella. This is a very eggy dish . eight eggs with the yolks and whites separated are used along with one firmly diced yellow onion. The recipe is a little more labor intensive than the American version.The kernels have to be cooked and then pureed and then combined with the cornmeal until well mixed. The egg whites have to bee beaten into a meringue like froth . Then the yolks are wisked in one at a time. This is set aside. The onion is sauteed in corn oil and all the ingredients are mixed together. It'll look like cake batter and is baked for forty to forty-five minutes in an 375 F arenhit oven. The bakin pan should be greased with corn oil and not butter. Cool fifteen to twney minutes before serving with any grilled meat.

Sopa Paraguayo is a wonderful accompaniment to any steak or chicken dish. Try it with pork as well.Its a different take on the classic cornbread.

OnThe Menu

 Has anyone ever taken a good read at their menus? Do you know what your favorite eatery serves?Or the font that it's printed in?what about the graphics and size?Well, there's a new survey that shows exact;y what's on those pages.

Regular contributors Priya Krishna. Tanya Sichynsky and Umi Syam wroteabout this fascinatingaspect of restaurant lif in today's New York Times food section. After dealing with the pandemic , plexiglass barriers, QR codes that brought menus to our phones , masked servers and curbside delivery menus are back, They've become works of art. Mses Krishna, Sichynsky and Syam looked over a whopping 120(!!!) menus and discovered some interesting trends that emerged.One is the Ceasar salad.There are dozens of varieties of it ,from a catfish Casar, redolent with fried green tomatoes ,boiled eggs and cheddar to a Thai one with puffed rice croutons to a Casar del jardin that is loaded with carrots.There is even a tofu Caesar that many places are serving.Another interesting point is that menus have literally shrunk in size. They're not as large as they used to be. Menu colors have become brighter too.  Some are a dazzling Barbie pink while others are a cheery canary yellow.

Restaurants have also become more creative with their fonts. There are many different types and they 've become smaller. They're now fiv points (in comparison to Times which is printed in seven to eight points)  . Another phenomena popping up on menus are mascots. They could be drawn by a creative employee or borrowed from Hnri Matisse and Jean Cocteau. Like fashion restaurants have become brands. Logos are too obvious but a mascot is a sublte way of advertising.A big trend  is informal. Most look likey they've been created by a design school freshman  .Cheesy fonts reign supreme as do wonky formatting and using printer paper.A more eco version is using an inkless embossing stamp to impress a restaurant's name on a menu. The anatomy is also changing. Restaurant employees are also getting salary increases thanks to their bosses cutting down on menu costs;There's also a service charge explanation also included as well as eateries telling  diners that they offer health benefits for their help. Also on the menu is having entrees explained as smaller or bigger along with listing mocktails with their sodas and teas.

Menus are the window to any restaurant. new innovations in them show new innovations in the kitchen. They are the bestway to introduce a new diner to great cuisine.