Sunday, July 31, 2011

Exercise and Nutrition Tips from Harvard School of Public Health

Nutrition tips:

1. Eat whole fruits instead of drinking fruit juices.

2. Replace white rice, bread, and pasta with brown rice and whole grain products.

3. Choose whole grain cereals for breakfast.

4. Snack on raw vegetables instead of chips, crackers, or chocolate bars.

5. Substitute legumes for meat two to three times per week in chili and soups.

6. Experiment with international dishes (such as Indian or Middle Eastern) that use whole grains and legumes as part of the main meal (as in Indian dahls) or in salads (for example, tabbouleh).

Exercise tips:

1. Choose activities you like. A lot of different things count as exercise: dancing, walking, gardening, yoga, cycling, playing basketball. To make it easier to get moving, choose whatever gets you moving. Also, choose an activity that fits your self-identity. Do you see yourself wearing attractive clothes and bicycling comfortably to work, or wearing workout gear at the gym?

2. Piece your workout together. You don't need to get all your exercise at one time. Ten minutes morning, noon, and night can give much of the same benefit as 30 minutes all at once.

3. Exercise with a friend. Finding a workout partner can help keep you on track and motivate you to get out the door.

4. Keep it brisk. When you walk, make it brisk, since this may help control weight better than walking at a leisurely pace. What is brisk enough? Walk as though you are meeting someone for lunch and you are a little late. You can also time your steps for one minute: 120 to 135 steps per minute corresponds to a walking pace of 3 to 4 miles per hour, a good goal for many people. If your steps are not quite that quick, trying picking up the pace for short bursts during your usual walk, on different days of the week. Over time, you’ll stride your way to a faster walking pace.

5. Take lunch on the move. Don't spend your lunch time sitting. Grab a quick meal and hit the gym or take a 20-minute walk.

6. Try a pedometer. Step-counters (pedometers) are cheap and easy to use. Best of all, they help you keep track of how active you are. Build up to 7,000 steps a day—or more.

7. Take the stairs. Use the stairs instead of elevators and escalators whenever possible.

8. Turn off the TV, computer, and smart phone. Cutting back on screen time is a great way to curb your “sit time.” Trade screen time for active time—visit the gym, or even just straighten up around the house.

9. Walk an extra stop. During your bus or subway commute, get off a stop or two earlier and walk the rest of the way.

10. Hunt for the farthest parking space. If you drive to work or to run errands, purposefully park your car a little farther from your office or the store. It may not seem like much, but over weeks and months, these minutes of exercise add up.

11. Make it your own. Consider buying a piece of cardiovascular equipment for your home, such as a treadmill, stationary bicycle, or elliptical machine. Home models can be more reasonable than you think, and you can't beat the convenience. Keep in mind, though, that cheaper models tend to be less sturdy.12. Make it fun. Try a new sport like tennis or rollerblading. The more that you enjoy exercise, the more likely you are to stick to it.

13. Make it social. Walk with a friend, your spouse, or your family in the morning or evening.

14. Sign up for a class. Check out the fitness course schedule at your local gym or community center, or the dance or yoga class schedule at a nearby studio. You may find that having the structure of a class helps you learn a new activity and keeps you on track.

15. Turn sit time into fit time. When you get busy, try to combine your cardiovascular exercise with a sedentary activity that you do already. Hop on that piece of home equipment while watching TV, reading, or returning phone calls.

16. Keep an exercise log. Monitoring the amount of activity you get each day will help to make you more accountable.

17. Walk or bike for errands around town. Leave the car at home for trips that are less than a mile or two. Cross something off your to-do list while getting in your physical activity.

18. Ask the experts. Hire a personal trainer for a session or two to help you with your weight training and flexibility training. Then you'll have the confidence to branch out on your own.

19. Plan exercise into your day. Set aside a specific time in your schedule to exercise and put it in your planner.

20. Reward yourself. Set short-term goals—and reward yourself for achieving them. Try targeting a specific event, such as a road race or a walk-for-charity, to participate in—this can help keep you motivated. Choose fitness-focused rewards for reaching your goals, such as new workout gear or a heart rate monitor.

-from The Nutrition Source - Harvard School of Public Health

Monday, July 25, 2011

Sage Pesto, Home Made Noodles + Pasta Chips

My friend Chelsea showed me that you could make pesto from fresh sage. The herb has been growing in my backyard for years! I picked a bunch and combined it with olive oil, salt, and fresh garlic and pureed it in my blender. I made homemade semolina + whole-wheat pasta, boiled it and mixed the pesto in. Delicious.

While rolling the noodles and hanging them on my wooden clothes rack to dry, I put a few noodle scraps on a plate and zapped them in the microwave for the fun of it. The pasta came out crispy, like pasta chips. I had to be careful not to burn them! I imagine you could also place the strips of pasta on a hot pizza stone for a minute to toast. Next time I'll mix herbs in with the pasta dough and make herb-flavored pasta chips.

Mark Twain

Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.
-Mark Twain

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
-Mark Twain

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Baking

I'm indoors with the oven cranked at 450. I'm baking crackers and rolling out dough for home made pasta on this hot sunny day!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

I Love Marinades!

I love a marinade! I think it's because I know it is working to tenderize and flavor the beef, fish, or chicken while I am doing other things. It's also why I love to simmer soups, soak beans, incubate yogurt, and cultivate sourdough bread, and why I love having a washing machine washing my sweaty clothes while I am working at my desk. It makes me feel good knowing something is happening while I am working. Something is ALWAYS happening while I am working even if it is just the continuous stream of public radio talk shows or the fan blowing at my ankles or the dog napping on my couch. But I feel doubly good if my food is preparing itself while I work. Don't get me wrong, I am no multi-tasker. I can't talk while driving a car. I can't measure flour or coffee while talking either. I can't have any outside sounds if I am on the phone. When I am interrupted I NEVER remember what I was saying. I can only do one thing at a time. I can't make three different sandwiches at once like a short order cook. I always wanted to be an actress but I can't memorize the lines. I am less capable than most people in this way. But I am imaginative, so I have learned how to maneuver around my attention deficits. I may be a bit hyper-active, but it is mostly out of joy and enthusiasm for this luscious weird and wacky world.

Back to marinades. Today I'm marinating chicken breasts. They are a bargain this week at $1.99 a pound at Jamie Sullivan's grocery. He owns Shaw's Meats on North Main Street in Woonsocket. Nobody in my circle is allowed to buy meat anywhere else because Jamie's is the best AND the freshest AND he exhibits my paintings! The marinade I just made is nearly everything found on the inside of my refrigerator door: home-made yogurt, fresh garlic, sesame oil, fresh ginger root, Rooster brand chili sauce, Gulden's mustard, sugar, balsamic vinegar, and my brother-in-law Marcus' home-made maple syrup.

Sally Sampson's CHOP CHOP magazine

Check out Sally Sampson's new cooking magazine for families. ChopChop's vision is to reverse and prevent childhood obesity. The magazine is filled with nutritious, great-tasting, ethnically diverse, and inexpensive recipes.
ChopChop

Peanut Butter and Fresh Basil Leaf Sandwich

Toast two pieces of whole-grain bread. Place fresh backyard basil leaves on one piece and spread natural salty peanut butter on the other. Assemble into a sandwich - delicious! It's not so crazy when you realize basil and peanut sauce is eaten together in Thai cuisine. Think of the delicious and popular Nim Chow and Pad Thai. In England they eat butter and cucumber sandwiches for high tea, so why not?

Hot Tips for the Summertime

Even though summertime is the most challenging time to hike in the desert, it is also the busiest time. Of course, the main reason for this is that the majority of people get their vacation during the summer months, and it is certainly when most kids are out of school. I will only say this once, if you can hike at any other time of year—DO IT! Even though the weather on the North and South Rims is glorious in summer, the heat in the Inner Canyon can be oppressive and downright dangerous.

Heat, heat, heat! I cannot stress enough just how hot it can truly be in the summer. Don't let the high country weather fool you into believing that it can't be THAT HOT.... People get complacent while lounging in the coolness of the rim and never realize that by the time they get to the bottom, it is likely to be 50 degrees hotter than when they started!

If you decide you just HAVE to hike in the summertime, I am providing some tips here to help you do it safely and more enjoyably.

* Hike Early. You can't start hiking too early! Get on the trail before dawn if at all possible. Take a flashlight and get started. The trail is wide and very obvious when hiking in the dark. Also, if there is any moonlight at all, you may not even need to use a light. The tiniest sliver of moon provides enough light in our dry air to light the way. During a full moon, you can even see all the layers of the canyon walls. If you just can't get used to the idea of hiking in the dark, be on the trail by dawn's first glimmer of light. Seriously!
* Wet T-Shirt. Pack a wet cotton t-shirt in a Ziploc bag to put on later in the day when you just don't think you can take another step. It revitalizes you and cools you off in a way that you wouldn't believe!
* Wet Yourself Down. Every chance you get, wet your clothing, hair and hat completely down. The air is so dry, your perspiration evaporates instantly. That sweat is trying to provide you with evaporative cooling. Unfortunately, it evaporates so quickly, it has little effect on how much it can actually cool you. By wetting yourself down, you are assisting your body in keeping cool.
* Bandanas are one of the most useful items for the trail! During hot weather, soak a bandana and wrap it around the back of your neck. Over 80% of your heat is generated at the back of your neck and head. A wet bandana goes a long way towards cooling you off. I also like to soak two more bandanas and wrap one around each wrist. This is very effective at cooling you since your blood vessels are close to the surface.
* Terry cloth wrist sweat bands work really well in the heat. Rather than use then as intended, rim to rim hiker Bill Huseman soaks them every stream he gets and puts them on his wrists. Dry, they weight next to nothing; wet, they provide effective cooling due to your blood vessels being so close to the surface. This is a variation of the bandanas I mentioned in the tip above.
* Bagged Ice. Phantom Ranch has bagged ice. Bill Huseman makes a great recommendation that you get a bag and fill your water bottles and bladders. Great idea!
* Spray Bottle. Carry one of those very small spray bottles and spray yourself down on the trail. Feels so good!!! As an Inner Canyon backcountry ranger, I would carry one on the trail and spray hikers. They were so appreciative of the cool moisture.
* Moisten Clothing. Nighttime doesn't cool down very much at Bright Angel Campground. You're lucky if it gets down to 80 degrees! Most people find it nearly impossible to get to sleep in that kind of heat. But there is something you can do that is very effective at cooling you down. Wet a t-shirt down and wear it to bed. I promise that it will cool you off so much, you may even have to cover up to keep from shivering. And once you get to sleep, it is usually pretty easy to stay asleep, even once you've dried off.
* Wet Cotton Sheet for Sleeping. In the hottest of months—June, July and August—you shouldn't need a sleeping bag. A cotton sheet should provide all the warmth needed in the coolest hours before dawn. And even more importantly, you can dampen the sheet to cool yourself down for sleeping; a variation on the wet t-shirt mentioned above.
* Shade. Pay attention to where you stop on the trail. ALWAYS stop in the shade, if possible. Many people get so hot and tired, they're not even aware that they are stopping in the sun. You've got to stay aware and as cool as possible!
* Eat and Drink Continuously. Salty snacks are best during the hottest summer months because they help replace all the body salts you loose sweating. Do not wait until you're thirsty to drink! Thirst on the trail means you are already dehydrated, and in this intense heat, you've got to stay ahead of the game. Also, keep your water and snacks handy so you don't have to stop and take your pack off to access them. You won't stop as often as you need to to keep yourself hydrated!
* Don't Hike North Rim to Phantom Ranch in One Day. During the scorching hot months of June, July and August, do yourself a huge favor and DON'T try to hike all the way from the North Rim to Phantom Ranch or Bright Angel Campground in one day. If you have to hike during these summer months, plan on staying at Cottonwood Campground to break your hike up into two halves. It is extremely important to get through the last four miles of the trail, known as the "Box", before 10:00 AM. If you have to do it in one day during this time, get a start from the trailhead by 1:00 AM to 2:00 AM. No joking! You don't want to be in the Box once the sun hits the black rock and heats up. It is literally like an oven in there! For those who have never hiked the Canyon, it is nearly impossible to know how hard hiking down (yes, down!) 14 miles will be. It is the longest 14 miles you will ever hike. I guarantee it!
* Take Breaks Often. When hiking down, be diligent at taking breaks and eating and drinking often. One thing happens way too much and needs to be emphasized. If you have dinner reservations at Phantom and find that your hike is taking longer than expected (very common I might add!), DO NOT forego breaks to get down faster. Even if you succeed in making it to Phantom on time for dinner, you'll be too sick to eat it!!! Phantom Ranch will often save food for someone who comes in late and had dinner reservations. They would rather you not get sick either!
* Freeze a Few Water Bottles. If you have access to a freezer the night before your hike, place a couple water bottles or an extra hydration bladder in the freezer and bury inside your pack the following morning for later as a cool treat. You won't believe how wonderful that water will be when you are roasting on the trail! (By burying them deep in your pack, they remain insulated and are likely to stay frozen much longer. But do check them in advance of needing water to make sure that they aren't so insulated that you have solid ice when you need water to drink! By checking them a little early, you can put them a little closer to the top of your pack to thaw and have them ready to drink when you're ready.) If you don't have access to a freezer, make sure you fill your water bottles with ice from the machines at your hotel to cool the water nicely. Again, put your extra water deep into your pack to insulate them and keep them cool.

-from www.hitthetrail.com

Coals to Newcastle

Every summer my pal Gerardo brings those little boxes of dry Italian seasoning that you can find in the supermarket to his mom in Italy. I ask him, Isn't that like carrying coals to Newcastle? But, he tells me, She can't get this over there! I picture his suitcase popping open upon arrival, lined with boxes of it.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Ocean Moon

Last night at supper time we drove to East Matunuck Beach and sat against the dunes and stared at the dark blue ocean. We ate our cold mushroom-sesame noodles and watched people prance along the shore in the orange light. The full moon rose up in front of us on our way home.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Space and Time Inversions

From Morning Edition on the radio this morning:

The Mediterranean diet is dying. Italians are getting fat on hamburgers and soda. Sugar and meat are cheap! Olive oil, fresh vegetables, and fish are expensive. Now you have to be wealthy to eat like a peasant.

Space food is thermostabilized or dehydrated to be ready for space. There are 60 different varieties. A favorite is shrimp cocktail because it's spicy. The bomb is cheesecake, due to its unappetizing color, and ice cream just does not fly except for museum tourists. But Tang still works.

Beets in Space

A tube of borscht soup was produced in Estonia for the Soviet space program.

Space food is a food product specially created and processed for consumption by astronauts in outer space. The food has specific requirements of providing balanced nutrition for the health of individuals working in space, while being easy and safe to store, prepare, and consume in the machinery-filled low-gravity environments of contemporary manned spacecraft. In recent years, space food has been used by various nations engaging on space programs as a way to share and show off their cultural identity and facilitate intercultural communication.

-wikipedia.com

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Karen Maezen Miller

Laundry presents a mountainous practice opportunity because it provokes a never-ending pile of egocentric resistance.
-Karen Maezen Miller

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Borscht

The soup began its existence from trimmings of cellared vegetables consumed throughout the winter months. Most families had a container, usually a kettle or stove pot, kept outside to store those trimmings. Around the first spring thaw that pot was placed on the fire and cooked into a soup-like meal. One of the primary vegetables of the Slavic diet consumed during the winter months was beets. Hence the recipe morphed into what is traditionally known as a beet soup.
-Wikipedia

Mushroom Bag

We have a red cotton drawstring bag that used to hold my husband's ski wax. I have never skied but I claimed this bag for mushrooms. I fill it with a pound of loose mushrooms that I buy every few weeks at Fernandes Wholesale Produce on High Street in Woonsocket. The cotton bag enables the mushrooms to keep breathing out their moisture without rotting in the fridge - they'll keep for two weeks. You can use an old pillowcase or a clean cotton sock depending on how many mushrooms you buy! I wash the bag between refillings.

Swimming

Tonight we walked Lily to the pond and I stripped down like superman into my bathing suit. I've had this tank suit for 23 years. It's made of acetate or asphalt or linoleum or some darn indestructible thing. It looks so old fashioned, like what my grandmother wore. Bill threw the stick and Lily and I both jumped in and fetched. The water was clear and cold with a warm layer on top. Perfect. We fetched and swam for about twenty minutes then we dried off by walking the mile and a half distance to our house. When we got home I was inspired. I cooked Asian-style spinach onion garlic mushroom stir fry in the 12" cast iron pan and boiled whole wheat angel hair pasta and mixed it all together in the big skillet. We ate it on little blue plates with iced coffee and beer. The leftovers will make a delicious cold lunch tomorrow, or breakfast if I can't wait that long!

Beets!

I just made my pumpkin cake using beets and a few yams. The batter was magenta but when it baked it was the usual color. It's delicious with iced coffee.

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

A friend sent me a surprise! A pound of coffee beans from Jamaica. This morning we brewed up a pot. It is delicious Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. I love the bright flavor. It's so good, it's delicious black or with milk, hot or iced.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

How Many Stomachs Does a Cow Have?

The basic answer that most people look for from this question is that a cow (or any other bovine such as a bull, a steer, a heifer, or even a bison or buffalo) has FOUR stomachs. However, physiologically speaking, a cow does not have four stomachs; it has four digestive compartments within their single stomach.

The four digestive compartments in order are:
Reticulum (the hardware stomach, where foreign objects collect that cannot pass through the digestive system; this compartment is also responsible for further breakdown processes from the rumen, and is the compartment where partly digested feed is collected to be regurgitated as cud.)
Rumen (where bacteria and protozoa break down cellulose, hemi-cellulose, lignin and fibre from plant material; this is where the process of fermentation takes place)
Omasum (absorbs water and digestible nutrients)
Abomasum (which would be the true stomach, as it is in humans)

One thing that should be noted is that because the abomasum is considered to be the true stomach (and the only functional stomach compartment when a calf, a newborn bovine, is born), the other three compartments are simply an extension of the esophagus. Thus the primary reason that a bovine only has one stomach and not four. The definition of a stomach is that it is an organ which secretes enzymes, acids and other digestive compounds which enable the ability to break down food to mere molecules. Since a cow does not have four of these types of stomachs, it is safe to say that, physiologically, a cow or any other ruminant only has one stomach with four compartments.
-http://wiki.answers.com/

Bread Sticks

The past few weeks when my sourdough whole wheat bread was set out to rise overnight, by the next morning the loaves had overflowed. So I trimmed off the excess dough and shaped them into bread sticks. I baked them on my baking stone next to my loaves. The bread sticks came out so well that last night I decided to shape the dough into bread sticks from the start. They're delicious and they taste like the world's healthiest pretzel. I like to dip them in mustard. They are a perfect picnic food along with a chunk of hard Italian cheese and leftover sausages.

Leisure, the Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper

One of the most important philosophy titles published in the twentieth century, Joseph Pieper's Leisure, the Basis of Culture is more significant, even more crucial than it was when it first appeared fifty years ago. Pieper shows that Greeks understood and valued leisure, as did the medieval Europeans. He points out that religion can be born only in leisure-a leisure that allows time for the contemplation of the nature of God. Leisure has been, and always will be, the first foundation of any culture. He maintains that our bourgeois world of total labor has vanquished leisure, and issues a startling warning: Unless we regain the art of silence and insight, the ability for nonactivity, unless we substitute true leisure for our hectic amusements, we will destroy our culture-and ourselves. These astonishing essays contradict all our pragmatic and puritanical conceptions about labor and leisure; Joseph Pieper demolishes the twentieth-century cult of "work" as he predicts its destructive consequences.

-Amazon.com

Multicultural Multiethnic

I love multiethnic environments. I feel claustrophobic when I am living with or teaching just one ethnic group. It's probably a throwback to my lily-white Larchmont upbringing. I prefer to be continually reminded of the BIG WORLD of multiple languages and cultures in order to be happy. I even listen to Spanish-speaking radio and do not understand a word except when they say Nueve York. I love to listen to Parisian radio to brush up on my high school French.

I am trying to learn more about mild autism, and about theater games, for the summer social skills class that I'm assisting. The kids are naturals at performing. I love PLAY as a learning tool. I may be able to continue with them after school in the fall!

I told my co-teacher that I think some of the school's regular teachers could use the social skills class. Not all of them know to look you the eye and say hello. I find this extremely rude, and it can throw a wrench in my day.

I am growing basil but I am like a woodchuck. I eat the leaves off as they are growing!

The Scoop

Lily gained five pounds since her last trip to our vet, Dr Belinsky. I have been thinking that the scoop we use for measuring her dry dog food has its own psychological impact on me. Just like I use a smaller plate for my meals so not to over-eat, I am now rethinking the measuring device I use for my dog's meals so I don't over-scoop! Today I discovered that the Eukanuba two-cup measurement (which is actually two-and-a-quarter cups) is harder to use accurately, especially first thing in the morning. Naturally their cup measurement is designed to sell more dog food! I am, as of today, using a spare one-cup kitchen scoop for measuring Lily's daily four cups. We did the same thing for Sammy our cat. His food is also extremely calorie-dense. We use just a quarter-cup scoop a day (approximately two mice!) for his dry Science Diet kibble, and he maintains a healthy weight.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Paradise

We just went to paradise to visit my newly planted basil and check on my flat leaf parsley. A toddler's pair of pink sparkly shoes were left on the wooden bench under the grape arbor. A couple of women came in the garden gate with a little boy who ran joyously over to their garden. He harvested peas from plants taller than himself. I sat with Lily while Bill climbed the berm. I was reading Leonard Cohen's book of illustrated poems, which I had just gotten from the public library next door. Lily chewed grass and drank water out of a red wheel barrow. This piece of paradise is my new daily oasis. I visit ten minutes a day and hope to do so all summer long. I want to build a beehive oven and have a bread fest, pizza fest, and apple pie fest in the autumn. Maybe I'll even have a mask-making workshop and a storytelling festival for families at Harvest Weekend.

Middle English paradis, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin paradisus, from Greek paradeisos, enclosed park, from Avestan pairi-daēza, circumvallation, walled-in park: pairi, around + daēza, wall.

Potato Poem

Inside one potato
there are mountains and rivers.

-Shinkichi Takahashi translated by Harold P. Wright

Purple Sweet Potato

A few weeks ago I saw purple sweet potatoes for the first time and I bought them because I loved the color. When I got home I chopped them open and was surprised to discover that they were white inside. Tonight I cubed a bunch of them while keeping the skins on, and put them in my Dutch oven with a bunch of cubed beets. Then I added a few cups of water for steaming and simmered the potatoes and beets while keeping the heavy lid on. Everything turned purple, of course! The potatoes and beets were delicious and didn't need a thing added, not even salt or olive oil. It was a simple delicious supper.

Spicy Broccoli with Garlic sauce

I just learned that using Rooster brand chili garlic sauce, fresh garlic, sesame oil, toasted almonds or peanut butter, and white wine is the secret to spicy broccoli with garlic sauce. A favorite meal.

Crazy Summer Breakfast

Large fresh backyard basil leaves on buttered sourdough toast!

And a mug of iced coffee.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Colorful Circulars

I love to see those little colorful advertisements for meat and other items in the circulars that come in the mail. For some odd reason they fascinate me, as if I were visiting from another planet. Maybe I never got over my love of miniature things like my doll house and my pet gerbils. Maybe I feel a strange sense of abundance, or of vicarious pleasure like when I babysat in junior high and tried the family's instant coffee for the first time. It's a novelty enjoying someone else's life.

The Chicken or The Egg

My neighbors down the street have two new puppies. One looks like a mixture of a Basset Hound and German Shepherd, the other is a very small black dog. I walk by every day with Lily to say hello to the puppies. Lily gets slightly jealous but mostly wishes she could play with them. This neighbor also has chickens, and I guess this is peak laying season for them - she gave me three dozen eggs! The shells are bluish and greenish white. I wonder what Lily would do if I had chickens?

Mark Bittman

When I cook, though, everything seems to go right. I shop an average of every two weeks in a supermarket, and make a couple of trips a week to smaller stores. I’m aware that my choices are mostly imperfect, but I rarely conclude that I should make a burger and fries for dinner or provide a pound per person of prison-raised pork served with fruit from 10,000 miles away, followed by a cake full of sugar and artificial ingredients. Yet, for the most part, that describes restaurant food.
-Mark Bittman, NYT

This time of year, I’ll buy local greens and local fish and wind up eating half or less of the food I would have if I had eaten out. Dessert only happens if someone else buys or makes it because I won’t do either; I might schlep home a piece of watermelon. The starter, if there is one, might range from bread with butter or oil to homemade hummus or other bean dip to home-roasted or fried nuts, or some salami or ham, hunks of which remain in the fridge for weeks.
-Mark Bittman, NYT

Shopping is the time to be critical. (Eating is the time to enjoy.)
-Mark Bittman, NYT