Chocolate Turkey Delight

So this is the kind of dessert turkey that will sweeten your Thanksgiving dinner.

Gobs and gobs of white, milk, and dark chocolate.

And they actually shaped it all like a turkey.

Sort of cute, but also sort of sugary disgusting, no?

Generally, I'm not a huge fan of eating turkey either.

Maybe when they boil it in oil, and it's cooked through and through, it actually comes out juicy and not so bad.

But give me a nice piece of beef, and I'll be your pal forever!

A colleague who was a veterinarian and worked inspecting meat plants overseas told me some things about the cleanliness though that made my skin crawl.

"The cleanliness outside of the U.S. is WAY DIFFERENT than here!"--and not in a good way.

Even in places that do maintain clean facilities and healthy animals, the way that "they make the sausage" sounded so unappetizing.

It made me think of all those PETA and other commercials that show the chickens and other caged birds in those crowded and filthy (and diseased) conditions...even aside from the cruelty, it's enough to make you cringe.

He said they mash the meat until it's like just a pink paste that gets shot into the tubes for hot dogs and things like that.

"It looks disgusting!"

Also, they put parts of the animal in that are basically leftover meats from the head and other parts of the animal that did NOT sound desirable at all. 

I'm thinking to myself...FROM THE HEAD.

Uh, no more hot dogs for me, thank you.

I think that I'll stick with a nice steak or burger or something KOSHER and palatable.

You can have your turkey and your sausage and eat it, but not me! ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Chocolate Turkey Delight

Great New Kosher Food In Washington DC

So nice to meet this impressive young Jewish women today, Carly. 

A Sophomore at GW University, who had the brainchild for more and better kosher food options in Washington, D.C. 

Hence, Brooklyn Sandwich Company food truck. 

The kids are lining up for their whole brisket sandwiches on a pretzel bun with broccoli slaw and many other kosher sandwich and soup treats. 

This is awesome opportunity for some terrific kosher food in America's capital. 

Great job to Carly and Rabbi Yudi Steiner!  ;-)

(Source Video: Andy Blumenthal)

Great New Kosher Food In Washington DC

Seaweed Success Diet

Ok, I am going to let you in on a little secret. 

Part of the success of my diet. 

This is us checking out at register. 

The cashier is tallying up dozens of Wasabi Roasted Seaweeds.

The stuff is a great healthy snack. 

I had read for years now how the healthy Japanese diet includes plenty of seaweed and fish. 

And I have been imitating their knowledgable ways. 

And it is working, thank G-d.

Of course, the wasabi flavor gives it a little kick too. 

Do yourselves a favor and get rid of all the disgusting carbohydrates in your life. 

They are poison from an industry that wants you addicted to their garbage foods. 

Get back to basics like fish, meat, vegetables, and that includes plenty of seaweed. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Seaweed Success Diet

Japanese Cuisine Through Sheltered Eyes

So I had my first Miso Soup today.

Actually, I shared it with my wife who checked that the stock was kosher--the lady said bonito--and my wife said, good. 

I'm a Jewish kid from the Bronx--what do I know from Miso Soup. 

So about the only thing that I can tell you about the soup is what a fishy taste!

I know it's supposed to be really good for you--and that's why I even tried it. 

But the closest thing that I can compare it to is the when my mom used to boil the wrapped gefilte fish in water before Shabbat--well the leftover water that gets discarded--that's what in my imagination Miso Soup tasted like. 

Would I get it again? 

Let's just say, I wouldn't run to get it--however, for good health, I may hold my taste buds and sense of smell of all the fishy stuff in abeyance, and just drink in down.

In general though, I really like some Asian cuisine--for example, with vegetarian dishes things like Kung Po Tofu and Mo-Po Tofu or Crispy Eggplant and Vegetables in Fried Rice. 

The other thing I really like is the innovative Japanese Ramune "marble soda" in which you push out a real marble from the spout into the bottle and it rolls around inside while you drink the refreshing fruity flavors (don't worry, it's not as dangerous as it sounds). 

Last thing, I'll mention is that I won't eat sushi--raw fish seems like it's primed to give you a nice big stomach ache--now this reminds me of another type of dish in Jewish tradition and that's herring (often served with cream sauce) and prominent at many a Ashkenazi kiddush served after synagogue services. 

With the Sushi, if they can somehow manage to cook it for me and use kosher fish, okay--otherwise, I'm heading to the nearest Chinese Kosher Restaurant for some nice Sesame, Kung Pao, Moo Shu, or Lo Mein with Beef or Chicken. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Japanese Cuisine Through Sheltered Eyes

Cholent Stew - Not Just A Game

So I can't believe they actually made a "strategy card game" about cholent. 

The only strategy that I know of with cholent is to make it hot, goopy, meaty, and savory. 

Cholent is a beef stew typically eaten for Shabbat lunch. 

Basic ingredients: beans, barely, potatoes, fatty fanken meat, sometimes a kishka is thrown in, onions and other veggies, salt, pepper, and lots of savory spices. 

Usually it cooks in a crock pot overnight. 

The sephardim call this dish Hamin (instead of cholent) and typically put in some hard-boiled eggs as well. 

With cholent, you can essentially throw in the kitchen sink as long as it add to the heartiness and flavor of the dish. 

Eating cholent is such a tradition that it is almost considered a special mitzvah to do it. Ah, would that make it commandment #614? 

When cholent is served at the kiddish (the meal after Shabbat services in synagogue), it is usually the highlight where everybody gathers around with big laddles to dig in and get the nice portions of meat bopping around in the stew or often sunken to the very bottom to be found and surfaced by the lucky lunch patrons. 

In New York, my friends used to have a running joke that there was a secret ingredient the Rebetzin used to make it so good--what it was, all bets were on. 

The biggest problem with cholent are the loads of beans ("the musical food") and the most unpleasant odor-filled aftereffects--and of this we will not speak again! 

What type of game can you play with cholent? You can probably just toot out the answer when you're ready. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Cholent Stew - Not Just A Game

Kidneys By The Pound

So this gallery in Santa Fe had a warped sense of what art is...

They had packages of styrofoam wrapped in cellophane with what looked like meat from the supermarket.

However in the packages, they had these disturbing plastic molds of human organs priced by the pound.

Pictured here is one labeled with a human kidney selling for $1,100.

They also had others hanging from the wall for human lungs and liver.

Considering there are a lot of sick people out there in needs of transplants, I did not think this "art" was in the best of taste. 

Also, with many who traffic in human organs and take advantage of those in poverty or otherwise at risk for selling on the black market, these pieces were more than a little troubling.

Perhaps, there are some who just think of human as just another type of planetary animal whose body parts are another form of meat that can be put up for sale or taken by force to make a profit.

The only thing is they are forgetting that humans have a soul and that can't be sold in the supermarket or black market except to the devil and there is no art in that. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Kidneys By The Pound

Walk Like A Chicken

So I've been reading about the use of virtual reality for the military veterans as a way to help the healing process of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

But this was something different yesterday in downtown D.C....

Using virtual reality to "See Life Through A Chicken's Eyes"--complements of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). 

So I go up and ask the attendant what this is all about. 

She says, "You can take the virtual reality tour and walk around a field as a chicken!"

She goes on, "Only we're having some trouble with the technology, so can you come back in 20 minutes?"

Uh, okay, but 2 things:

1. Yes, I do believe in ethical treatment for everyone (including animals), and no one should suffer where we can (and should) prevent it. 

2. I did just have some chicken (only Kosher, of course!) to eat just last week (and it was pretty good), and while I am curious to see the virutal reality, I can't make it back here in 20 minutes, but thank you!

Lesson: Treat all life compassionately, but I don't have to walk around as a chicken to see that! ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Walk Like A Chicken