What I've Learned Today

I have to admit, today I was a little Tweet-happy.  I couldn't help it.  I was a part of something so exciting I just needed to share my every thought with all of my many loyal followers.  Okay, well that is only partly true, but I did attend a workshop today at Main Street Project as a part of a Phone Justice Policy Day (post for this event will be on MSP's blog later).  As a Media Justice Intern at Main Street Project, I found myself at a roundtable with Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and staffers from the offices of Senator Klobuchar and Senator Franken, advocating phone/broadband justice and equality.  I was the youngest among some really smart media policy advocates and I was soaking up as much as I could. It was inspiring, informative and at 8 in the morning.  After a long, exhausting #mediajustice #mediajustice #mediajustice tweeting filled day, I found myself staring blankly at my pantry.  Hungry.

I vowed I would not spend one penny on food this week (other than a few groceries) in an effort to eat healthier and save money.  I grabbed my latest Bon Appétit (that provided lots for Easter brunch) and flipped to the cover recipe that claims to be the "simplest, silkiest sauce you'll ever make!"  The next thing I knew, I was eating Pasta al Pomodoro.  Of course I had to make some modifications; fettuccine instead of spaghetti, dried instead of fresh basil and I added spinach and a dash of honey goat cheese to the sauce.  I have to say, it might be one of the best pastas I've ever made at home, and I'm usually not a fan of tomato based pasta sauces.  I learned a lot from this recipe.  The article related to the recipe points out 8 easy techniques that are applicable to any variation of pasta to ensure a delicious, creamy pasta.  I learned it just takes some TLC and lots of salt to make a delicious at pasta at home.

5 Things I've Learned Today:

• Adding a lot of salt to pasta water really makes a huge difference.  I know we all like to lower the sodium when cooking at home, but it makes a huge difference in the end result.  The pasta itself is flavorful, and you can add less salt later on in the preparation.  The pasta should taste flavorful without a sauce and if you want to take this up with the Italians who swear by salty pasta water, be my guest.
• Tomato sauce at home is easy to make.  I just blended two cans of diced tomatoes and cooked with onions and garlic (see recipe).  Patience is key, and with enough time and care, the sauce will thicken and become as delicious if not more than sauce from a bottle.
• Mothering a sauce is therapeutic. Creating something from a recipe is extremely relaxing after a long day.  There is something immensely satisfying about reading a recipe that tells you if you simmer a sauce long enough, it will thicken, and then to do just that and see the desired result.
• Finishing a pasta sauce with pasta water and finishing the cooking of the pasta in the sauce, results in perfectly cooked pasta and a wonderful sauce consistency.  It is important to cook the sauce and pasta together as equal components; ensuring the sauce coats and cooks each individual noodle.  Not just two things that happen to end up on a plate together.
• If/when AT&T merges with Tmobile, it will control 80% of the market, creating an extremely powerful monopoly. Sigh...media injustice...At least I can always rely on Bon Appétit. #MediaJustice. Sorry I just had to get one more hashtag out.

A Saucy Easter

I call it that because it twas a day of sauces.  My mom made a béchamel and I tackled a hollandaise a la Eric Ripert.  My brother and sister-in-law were in town for the weekend and 24 eggs and 5 sticks of butter later, we had a delicious Easter brunch spread.

Separating egg yolks for the hollandaise

Brown sugar + bacon = candied bacon = irresistible

Can't have Easter without deviled eggs

Roasted asparagus w/parmesan

Asparagus w/ Hollandaise

Gravlax from Ikea (lol)

Bon Appétit walked me through an easy blender hollandaise

Spinach baked w/eggs, parmesan & béchamel sauce

We lazily made Crescent rolls but added a twist with shredded cheddar

Lemon pound cake w/sour cream

Hello? Spring...?

Can I call it Spring if there is still a lot of snow on the ground? I've already packed away my winter boots and winter jacket because hello, it's April.  Hi. Let me re-introduce myself.  My name is Lauren, and I love food. Where have I been? Somewhere between under a rock, at work or trying not to skip class. That sounds a lot worse then it really is.

So, what have I been up to? Let me break it down for you.

• I now realize why when I tell people I'm a Journalism major they always follow up with, "Oh, so you must like to write?" Lots of paper writing, if you didn't know.

• Birthdays.  A lot of birthdays in March.  Such a good excuse to go out and indulge.  Especially when they are 21st Birthdays. 

• Interning. I have been fortunate enough to get an internship through one of my classes working for an organization that advocates for media justice, Main Street Project.  My work with them thus far has been limited, but the few workshops and events I have been to have been really inspiring. They do a lot of work on building communities in Minneapolis and with a variety of media related issues like net neutrality, digital inclusion, racial justice and communication rights; among many others. Below is a photo from the latest People's Tech workshop I attended and it is a timeline that ties together social, political, economic, and media shifts and movements.  I wrote a blog post for their website you can see here. 

• A girls gotta eat! I have to admit, I haven't been eating/cooking nearly as well as I normally like to.  It just happens, what can I say. When there are so many easy and convenient places to get on the go, and your dishes aren't doing themselves, it becomes easy to slip into a routine of gyros from Soho Cafe and eggroll salads from Bun Mi.  My dad treated me one night to a dinner at Sea Change because he talked me into going with him to "A Talk with David Hyde Pearce" at the Guthrie. My response, "the brother from Frasier? Okay, three degree separation from a Housewife and dinner at James Beard Award winning chef's restaurant....I'm in." And what a meal it was.

Sunday brunch at Be'Wiched means delicious egg sandwiches.

Seared scallops over a ratatouille with lardo (yeah, lardo) from Sea Change

Potato pancake and a berry, walnut spinach salad

•  And of course, always trying to fit in laughs and naps throughout the days.