food as a weapon?

in chillicothe, i don't have TV. i mean, i have a tv, but no channels. so i've been spending my downtime recently catching up on oscar-nominated films (up in the air, the blindside) and tv-on-dvd. i am fairly obsessed with glee. in fact, i'm embarassed to admit how many times i have watched the dvds. even all the sex and violence in true blood could not divert my attentions from the mesmorizing saccharinity and sly humor which is glee.

my point? since the glee kids are living in the sub-basement of the high school hierarchy, they are frequently accosted with slushie baths.

granted, i have not been in high school for some time, but i don't recall ever being drenched in high fructose corn syrup or smacked in the face with hostess cupcakes. and, as you may well imagine, i was fairly nerdy. i don't even remember a food fight.

maybe it was the omnipotence of catholic educators and the baby jesus that discouraged this behavior. hell, to this day i'm still afraid to deviate from the sidewalk and cut across the grass. maybe it was single sex education. perhaps the barbarianism of boys dictates food be projected into another's face as a warning against those who diverge from the herd. (elder alums, care to weigh in?)

did anyone else experience this phenomenon? and, whether it's throwing eggs or purple slushies, why is food the new scarlet letter?

cod and god 2010

ok, so i have been quite the slacker this year when it has come to the fish fry. getting home late on friday nights from chillicothe has not helped my cause. as easter is rapidly approaching, it seems unlikely i will be able to analyze a large sample size this year. i only have comments to offer on one westside fry: st. martin's.

and, i have only one thing to say about it.

the right amount of grease is a good thing.

the wrong amount leads to two people throwing away their fish fry dinners from st. martin's. the fish was batter dipped and so greasy it soaked through the bread. the fish inside the batter dipping was overcooked and falling apart. brian said the mac and cheese wasn't even good.

the next day we were shopping and i kept wondering what this horrible smell was. finally, it dawned on me that the smell was eminating from brian's jacket, which he had worn while waiting in line 20minutes for our fish the night before. grease odor marinating on a fleece jacket did not improve my opinion of our experience.

sorry, st. martin's, but you disappointed me.

wal-mart wine?

people who pay attention more than me have probably heard this, but i was appalled to learn on my drive to work this morning that wal-mart is producing its own wine with the assistance of ernest and julio gallo. the goal is to produce inexpensive, accessible wine for the masses. price point of $2-$5/bottle.

my initial reaction to this is revulsion. i must ask myself, why? is it my innate loathing for the evil empire of wal-mart? my wonderment at the reasoning behind having to reduce everything to the lowest common denominator? worry that it might actually be palatable?

and what's wrong with them just carrying some two buck chuck?

a lenten debate

ok, it probably seems like i am totally obsessing over tuna salad, but it is a pretty prominent component in the catholic diet at this time of year. and the conversation with josh about the sandwich-ready tuna salad got me to thinking...

i find it to be absolutely inherently wrong that tuna salad should ever contain hard boiled eggs. they are unnecessary and disgusting. i like my tuna salad laced with crisp bits of celery, pickles, and onion ONLY. no grapes, no water chestnuts, no apples, and definitely no eggs.

to my disappointment i ordered larosa's tuna hoagy to find it contained eggs. gag.

any thoughts for or against? does anyone think about this banal crap besides me?

food for thought

i bought a package of "sandwich ready" tuna salad and i am curious/concerned about what exactly has to be done to mayonnaise to make it "heat stable".