Balance of Food

Girl Scouts cookies are a bargain with an amazing shopping experience

Grocery store shopping is terrible because you never know when they will be out of a product or the price is so high but you still might pay it for that product, if it were on the shelf.

Let's talk about a great food product that has been consistently great, hasn't gone up in price, with the coolest people selling you the product. I give you Girl Scouts cookies.

This is the time of year to buy Girl Scouts cookies. No grocery store needed. Ask on social media if someone local will sell you cookies. They will sell you cookies.

These girls know their product: the virtues of every cookie. There are old flavors and new flavors.

I pay $5/box now, during the pandemic, before the pandemic. I paid $5/box in 2023. I would have paid $6/box to get those same great cookies.

Here's a look at the 2023 Girl Scout Cookie lineup. 🤩 Flavors and names may vary depending on your area, so make sure to check https://t.co/CV3iyiXcti! 😉 pic.twitter.com/kGC4ytxNR0

— Girl Scouts (@girlscouts) January 20, 2023

I am of the opposite primary gender as these girls and the moms who are there to watch over the whole experience. I do sincerely love supporting young female entrepreneurs. I engage them in conversation about the cookies. They had mentioned Jenna Ortega. I said I think Jenna Ortega is great. I asked the mothers if they knew who Jenna Ortega was. They didn't recognize the name. I told them Ortega is Wednesday from the latest incarnation of Wednesday Addams on Netflix. Rare is the moment when I can be reasonably cool to young girls.

I personally love the interaction. I could be a grump, give my money, and take my cookies. I enjoy the experience of a brief conversation about the whole experience. They learn business skills, making change, and social interaction of people way older than they are. Have never been disappointed in the service I get from Girl Scouts selling cookies.

You might buy yours from a co-worker at the office, selling her daughters Girl Scouts cookies. You might not even know that experience of dealing directly with Girl Scouts. You are still supporting them.

(Yes, sometimes fathers and non-binary adults help sell cookies for their daughters. Good for them. Mostly, women do the selling even in offices.)

You deserve better than 'birthday cake' flavored anything

You could be a crotchety person obsessed over the fact that they still use palm oil in the cookies. I am that crotchety person in other scenarios so I can't criticize.

Maybe you are on some kind of Keto type diet and can't eat Girl Scouts cookies. You could buy them and then give them as gifts. They keep very well in the freezer.

The Girl Scouts who were selling cookies outside marijuana dispensaries: a great example of entrepreneurship. (They may not do this anymore and only applicable in areas where marijuana is legal.)

BalanceofFood.com advice coverage

BalanceofFood.com temptations coverage

You likely read a lot of "content" that is meant to be a commercial within a story. Please do not mistake this for "content." I personally like Thin Mints. I buy 2 boxes a year and put them in the freezer until Christmas. This is not an endorsement of the cookies.

The point of the exercise is a food where the price is consistent and service outstanding. This is rare in the food world, even rarer now. Your blood pressure may go up in going to a restaurant or a grocery store. Going to Girl Scouts will likely reduce your blood pressure.

Buying Girl Scouts cookies is a chance to have that rare customer service food-related experience.

Editor's note: I did take this picture with permission. I showed the photo to the adult women to make clear that no part of the girls were in the original photo.

photo credit: me
Twitter capture: @girlscouts

Bars should add good quality fruit and vegetable juices for better mocktails

We would be the last people to mock catchy slogans such as Dry January or Veganuary if they help you establish better habits. The Chinese New Year started 9 days ago. The Jewish New Year arrives in the early fall. Never too early or late to start to make better habits.

Your humble narrator has never deliberately done a Dry January. Due to medication issues, I have done a Dry December as well as a Dry January. While many people will have their first drink of 2023 tomorrow, your humble narrator will still be on the sidelines.

I didn't drink all that much before but being held to zero makes social gatherings a bit tricky. You could argue that the bar scene is more accommodating with mocktails, sparking grape juice, and non-alcoholic beers.

We hear about the intricate process of craft beers, top notch wines, and top shelf spirits. Mocktails, well, get the short end of the stick.

If you spent your youth drinking screwdrivers, taking the vodka out of the orange juice is rather easy. If you liked your vodka with cranberry juice with a splash of grapefruit juice, well, there are a few problems before and after.

A bar will stock 100% orange juice. Ask a bartender if the cranberry juice is 100%. They will tell you it is 100% (it isn't) or they don't know (likely true). That splash of grapefruit juice is rare to find but likely to be 100%.

A bar with a good stock of fruit and yes, vegetable juices would be a better option than a lame mocktail with poor ingredients (high-fructose corn syrup) at a cost close to the real thing.

All juices; all 100%. A cocktail of equal parts carrot juice and orange juice is surprisingly refreshing. The orange cancels out the taste of the carrot. A cranberry juice cocktail with a splash of blood orange juice? Sign me up.

Cranberry Caucus politicians want to protect cranberry juice, but few Americans drink it pure

Temptation of the Week: Homemade Clamato in your Caesar

The term juice bars are generally associated with young adults who are not of legal drinking age to listen to music. The juice in juice bars was not the reason young people went to juice bars.

An updated juice bar could combine celery juice with tonic water or a cucumber and watermelon juice drink or any of a bunch of different nutritional cocktails.

The bloody mary is a classic vegetable juice drink with spices. Bars don't compromise on tomato juice. Why compromise on cranberry juice?

Women might order cranberry juice drinks as relief for UTIs but can praise the antioxidants when asked.

Right now, people are paying outrageous prices for sub-standard ingredients (high-fructose corn syrup) for drinks nobody really wants to drink. They might be paying outrageous prices for good quality juices but at least they could be drinking non-alcoholic cocktails that taste good and add some nutrition along the way.

photo credit: Pure Green Chicago

Saute mushrooms, part deux: Cooking them with water

Sauté mushrooms with water seemed to be a contradiction to what we've learned about the sauté. Mushrooms in a cold pan … with water!?

Earlier this year, we tried the Alton Brown method. Waiting 45 seconds before adding the mushrooms and water. Cooking 2-4 minutes and then adding the butter. We tried this twice because, well, I added the wrong amount of water the first time. Neither effort came close to what Brown wanted us to accomplish.

I had some faith in the concept but not the method. I sauté a lot of mushrooms and slowly gave up on the idea of involving water.

America's Test Kitchen on PBS also tried to convince me to use the method. They had an experiment on how much oil mushrooms had been absorbed: raw vs. cooked briefly in the microwave. The difference in oil was significant. Again, the method sounded great but the practice needed to be effective.

The America's Test Kitchen (ATK) recipe is a considerable side dish with red wine, chicken broth, and rosemary. I just wanted to sauté some mushrooms to put on spaghetti. Both the Brown method and the ATK approach involved at least a pound of mushrooms.

The ATK approach started with a cold pan with the mushrooms and water. The water was a ¼ cup instead of ⅓ cup for the Brown method. No 45-second wait.

ATK noted that you should wait until the liquid evaporates to then put in the oil. The Brown method didn't mention the liquid and suggests putting in the fat a lot sooner.

The mushrooms release their liquid so in using the ATK method, there is a lot more liquid. I used a timer to keep track of the progress. There isn't a precise amount of time — a few minutes definitely — waiting until the liquid disappears is the key.

Using less butter or oil or even bacon grease is an advantage to cooking with water. Less fat and more money. This is not a no-fat approach, just using the mushrooms natural makeup to use less fat.

Food TV teaches us to eat with our eyes. The philosophy results in an uglier presentation. If texture is an issue, this approach can be your new best friend. There are advantages to both paths in terms of taste: the water path means smaller pieces that feel more meaty.

Mushrooms and other vegetables can taste better with improved texture

On the surface, this anecdote means the Brown method was "wrong" and the ATK approach was "right." This is where there is art to the science of cooking. The paths are sufficiently similar. Both recipes are checked over and over before hitting the airwaves (cable?). Both are rooted in the science of mushrooms.

ATK offers more steps, which can help some cooks who follow along step by step. The Brown method has a precision with the 45 seconds missing from the ATK approach.

You may have tried both paths and found the Alton Brown method was dominant over the America's Test Kitchen approach. This is why trying more than one path can help you figure out a cooking task.

You might try one path for certain dishes and another path for other dishes. You might combine some of each method into one that suits your cooking.

The New York Times declared mushrooms to be the 2022 Ingredient of the Year. Experimenting with mushrooms is worthwhile.

Charcuterie board offers a small Thanksgiving feast without pressure or hard work

Add vegetables to processed lunch choices for flavor and nutrition

Resolve to post more pictures of home cooking in 2019

I've been enjoying Mary Berg's Mary Makes It Easy, which airs on the Food Network in the United States. As a nod to our sibling blog, CanadianCrossing.com, Berg is Canadian, which explains why she says Fahrenheit a lot and has an actual recipe for butter tarts.

I can't say I love all 4 recipes in any episode but there is almost some tidbit or a whole recipe in every episode where I find personal temptation.

There are so few cooking shows on commercial television so the ones that are good need to be noted.

I can deal with Berg's shortened language — parm for parmesan — and find it reasonably charming. You should know that Berg goes really fast in a recipe and makes great assumptions if you are not a seasoned cook. Her show sometimes feels like you are listening to a podcast at 1.3 speed because the show goes really fast.

The idea is to realize your own speed as a cook and approach inspiration accordingly. A Mary Berg idea might be your jam, as she would say, but you might need a ATK approach to figure how to work through a recipe. This is a part of the cooking process. The idea may be great, such as cooking mushrooms in water, but this only works when you find an approach or method that suits your cooking interests.

photos credit: me

How Trevor Noah and The Daily Show poked fun at the food supply

Trevor Noah and The Daily Show couldn't live up to the standard on criticism of the food industry set by Jon Stewart in that incarnation of the U.S. TV program. Still, the Trevor Noah era — which started in 2015 and ends tonight — did weigh in on food topics.

We thought an outside perspective on the U.S. approach to food would have been a natural fit for Noah's comedy. While Stewart weighed in from the desk, Noah let correspondent pieces speak for themselves.

Here are the stories we covered that The Daily Show covered in the Trevor Noah era.

Food banks now more important than ever in COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic

Daily Show looks into alternative meats

Will people come back for the Popeyes chicken sandwich?

Daily Show addresses increased junk food in school lunches

Meals on Wheels symbol of Trump attack on food supply

McDonald's Canada kale salad high in calories, but consumers have options to reduce calories

Roy Wood Jr., who is under consideration to be a host or a rotating host, had particular fun with the Meals on Wheels segment, the junk food in school lunches, alternative meats, and the obsession over the Popeyes chicken sandwich.

Appreciating Jon Stewart, The Daily Show on food and nutrition

BalanceofFood.com Daily Show coverage

Saying goodbye to the Colbert Report

The new host or hosts take over on January 17. Hoping the new regime takes a look at the ridiculous state of the U.S. food system.

The Daily Show runs Monday-Thursday at 11 pm Eastern on Comedy Central.

photo credit: The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Charcuterie board offers a small Thanksgiving feast without pressure or hard work

After huge family gatherings couldn't be a thing in 2020 or even 2021, Thanksgiving 2022 should be that time of gigantic celebration.

As much as we want a Norman Rockwell type world, maybe we aren't in that situation. We have cooked so many meals because restaurants were difficult to do during the height of the pandemic and then restaurants were too expensive.

You may not be in the best position to celebrate. You might have massive amount of debt. You may be struggling to find work. Eating out becomes an act of laughing at the prices on the menu. Well, that is if there are prices on the menu.

You want to treat yourself or maybe as a couple. You just don't want to cook a massive amount of food.

Adjusting the turkey from a whole turkey to a turkey breast or turkey legs is a long-time strategy. A duck breast would really be wonderful and then frying out potatoes in the collected duck fat would truly be a feast.

Let's say that you are too tired even for that level of cooking. You still want to treat yourself or each other in a couple.

Charcuterie board.

The presentation is festive, Instagram worthy. Lots of succulent meats and cheeses. The photo and video feature vegetables, specifically mushrooms. Wanted to include a vegetarian option for those who think charcuterie is not for them.

Assemble a list of ingredients. Someone else did the hard work to make prosciutto and that intense Gorgonzola cheese. You just buy it and put in on a charcuterie board.

Accoutrements is crucial. Think pickles or cornichons. Feeling nostalgic? Add in a sample of French fried onions. Local cranberries are a great item on a board.

A nice multi-grain cracker would be a fine choice. Leave behind the saltines for this board.

Temptation of the Week: Cranberries by themselves

You could put this together at halftime of one of the 3 NFL games next Thursday or even a slow time during one of the many Thanksgiving parades on TV.

No 4-hour game plans. No wondering if the dark meat is too done or the white meat isn't done enough. No wondering if you made too many sides.

Showing kids that fruits and vegetables have merit through watching ads

Adapting to Thanksgiving in a pandemic

Taking broader perspective on Thanksgiving meal

Mindful eating can start over the holidays and keep going

Charcuterie board offer holiday disadvantages. No gravy. No leftovers. No afternoon nap. No squabbling over which green bean casserole is best. You can fight over dessert unless you make a dessert board, which you can totally true.

Thanksgiving is designed to be a feast, a ridiculous over-the-top indulgence. Well, not really. The first Thanksgiving was designed to appreciate the food in this new world.

The European way is higher quality but smaller portions. The American way is the polar opposite. The charcuterie board might seem anti-Thanksgiving, yet you get a feast. A feast for 1-2 people with plenty of time to enjoy each other's company or binge watch a TV show. You could even do boards for the rest of the weekend since you likely won't get all you bought on the board for a single meal.

The charcuterie board idea can also be applied on Black Friday if you don't have too many leftovers from Thursday. This could also be useful if the December holiday of your choice isn't going to be a huge family celebration, unlike Thanksgiving.

BalanceofFood.com holidays coverage

Holidays can trigger those already suffering from anxiety and depression. Easing pressure on holiday eating can be a boost. Fondue offers similar benefits in that even if you are cooking your items, you don't feel like you are cooking. Not everyone does Thanksgiving the same way. You shouldn't feel pressure to conform, even if your world seems to tell you otherwise. Thanksgiving should be fun and definitely not a chore.

video and photo credit: Mushroom Council

Enjoy foods where you travel but be careful what you bring back

I arrived back from Canada earlier this week. I did bring back some Canadian treats. Ketchup chips. Butter tarts. I brought in all of this food legally. I have missed Canadian treats.

In preparing for the trip, I was thinking back to the time of Canadian fat cakes. Well, not actual Canadian fat cakes because they aren't real. Smuggling them back into the United States would not have been a crime, even if they existed.

The Canadian fat cakes episode of iCarly is now 10 years old. Jennette McCurdy, who played Sam, the one obsessed with Canadian fat cakes, is now retired from acting.

That may be more about what we learned in her memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died.

McCurdy talked about weight issues she had due in part to the stress her mother put on her. Having to pretend to be obsessed about a fictional treat, even as lovely as one as Canadian fat cakes, had to be difficult. I don't know much about her acting ability, but Sam had me jonesing for Canadian fat cakes.

I loved how the writers noted the contrast that American fat cakes had "corn fat" while Canadian fat cakes had "cane fat." This was 10 years ago. There was a time where I would have brought over Canadian Twinkies, back when there was a difference. The Jos. Louis cakes, which are real, have the dreaded glucose-fructose aka high-fructose corn syrup.

Your humble narrator hasn't been able to "smuggle" food in from Canada in about 3 years. If I were driving, my trunk would overflow from all the Canadian food I would love to bring back to the United States. All of it legally.

The rules haven't changed. Live food, such as fruits, vegetables, and meat, are definitely not allowed. Foods that were never alive, such as ketchup chips, butter tarts, and the proverbial Canadian fat cakes, aren't a problem.

These rules also apply to entering other countries from the United States. Each country has their own rules for what you can bring into that country.

Australia has very strict rules on bringing anything into that country.  

iCarly hits Canada in search of Canadian Fat Cakes

Temptation of the Week: Canadian fat cakes

Celebrating the Michelle Obama legacy for food and nutrition

BalanceofFood.com Canada food policy coverage

When traveling, enjoy the food of where you are. Bring some home as a souvenir. Just remember to follow the rules of where you are going. 

photos credit: iCarly

Comparing Annie's bunny pasta to the departed Trader Joe O's

Foods you eat when you are tired could be a whole story in itself. One common go to when tired were fancier versions of Spaghetti O's "neat round spaghetti you could eat with a spoon."

I had been a fan of the Trader Joe's version for years. You get back late from a social event or had a rough day at work. Sure the canned version wasn't as awesome as cooking actual spaghetti. There were nights when the Trader Joe's O's were very helpful.

The COVID-19 pandemic came along and the need for food when you were tired was less prevalent because we weren't going out and had more time to cook. Still, there were moments where the Trader Joe's O's were helpful.

The O's were one of several prominent foods to be purged in 2022. We have noted the 2022 loss of the Belgian chocolate pudding that was a lifesaver during the height of the pandemic.

The official Trader Joe's edict for all of the products that disappear: "Our mission is to bring you the best quality products at the best prices. To do this, we have to manage our store space smartly. If a product is not earning its spot on our shelves, then we discontinue it to make room for something new."

You might have argued that for the Belgian chocolate pudding (it was really good) but the Trader Joe's O's were popular.

Looking at food as we enter the first full winter of the pandemic

Embracing your stress eating during the COVID-19 coronavirus

Now that we are back to being somewhat busy, go-to food when you are tired is back in vogue. Trader Joe's no longer has that option.

"Go back to Spaghetti O's. We still love you." Ugh.

Can't. Go. Back. Not even for a story. Felt some guilt buying the Trader Joe's version. Would drown in the guilt of the classic Spaghetti O's.

My loyalty to the Trader Joe's product was so strong that I never considered Annie's Bunny Pasta, set up to be a higher class version of Spaghetti O's.

Paying more money for food when I am tired is not a selling point. Cooking actual spaghetti made more financial sense, exhaustion be damned. Unlike the regular grocery store Spaghetti O's, I would try the Annie's Bunny Pasta.

Eating pasta shapes that looked like bunny heads wouldn't have had much appeal, even as a kid. I know there were different shapes in the Spaghetti O's world but short of a Google search, I would not recall those shapes. Circles do just fine.

Since most of the United States households use microwave ovens, we should be rather clear that the comparison for both is based on stovetop heating in a pan.

The Annie's Bunny Pasta sauce felt a little more adult, which translates to a little less sweet. The Trader Joe's O's were less sweet than Spaghetti O's at a comfortable level. Trader Joe's would win the sauce comparison but not by much.

The issue with Annie's is that the bunny pasta was a little too chewy. I would love to say al dente but not in that way. I enjoyed the way the Trader Joe's pasta would not require chewing. Remember, we are eating this food when we are tired.

Why Trader Joe's Stopped Selling Joe's O's https://t.co/amAnmgumg4

— Mashed (@MashedHQ) September 1, 2022

A similar experience at a similar price. That was goal of trying Annie's Bunny Pasta. For 70% of the cost of the Trader Joe O's, Annie's would be okay in a pinch. At twice the price if not more, there should be a better option.

Jacking up the Spaghetti O's to cut down on the sweetness: Canned clams or sauteed mushrooms could offset the overly sweet Spaghetti O's but that does feel like lipstick on a pig. Maybe lipstick balm like teenage girls used (still use?).

Cook spaghetti in advance: Since most of the effort is in waiting for the pasta water to boil, if you think you will be tired, cook spaghetti in advance and letting the pasta warm in whatever sauce you are making. Ideal yet not always practical. You can make that work for a lot less money.

You can reduce food costs despite inflation

The pandemic changed eating patterns for a lot of people. Your humble narrator ate a lot fewer French fries. The loss of the Trader Joe's O's could steer me to cooking more, even when tired. I do mock microwave ovens but they warm up things fast. You could cook brown rice, freeze into portions, and thaw in the microwave oven as needed.

Being tired will always be a reality. What we do about that in our kitchens: we can change the dynamic. If somehow Trader Joe's brings them back, we will be back but use them less often.

photos credits: me; Trader Joe's; me
Twitter capture: @MashedHQ

Treat yourself to better quality food on your cheat day

"Could you be 'good' for 3 days, for a whole week so you could chow down on this colossal insane burger?"

The phrases "cheat day" and "sinful" have been cropping up on Food Network and Cooking Channel lately.

Robert Irvine has a whole show devoted to the concept: Cheat Day USA. The opening episode makes several stops where in Denver "a barbecue sandwich is taken to new heights with hickory-smoked beef, pork and sausage, slathered with homemade creamy cheese sauce and topped with beer-battered onion rings."

Yum and Yummer, Food Paradise, and a Food Network special also had episodes devoted to a cheat day.

• Yum and Yummer
• Food Paradise
• Food Network special

Of course, Guy Fieri had a Cheat Day episode on one of his many reality shows.

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The concept of a cheat day isn't new. The Catholics do this during Lent where Sundays become cheat days in that you can indulge in whatever you gave up — for 24 hours.

We're not even upset over the idea of a cheat day. Your humble narrator used Saturday nights to make a special dinner during the height of the pandemic and looked forward to that during the week.

If you truly have been good on those other days, really good, that should be part of your reward. Splitting your French fries with a friend. Adding extra vegetables to your salad. Cutting bacon in half so you feel like you ate 2 slices when there was one slice cut in 2. Building in consistency on good days can make that a pattern instead of viewing it through the lens of 3-6 "good days."

Okay, so you aren't that good on your "good days." You still want the reward. You are human after all.

The problem isn't where you set your standard on those "good days"; the issue is your standard on the cheat days.

I've seen most of these segments. They remind us of most of what is on Food Paradise. I want to host a show where we point out 1-2 (sometimes 5) items that shouldn't be on said food item.

If you have too many things on your burger, you might as well have a portobello mushroom or veggie burger instead of a burger. Yes, food on TV needs to be ridiculous.

A burger should have 2, maybe 3 items at the most. Smaller, more subtle flavors in the mix. A slow onion jam on a burger is wonderful though maybe not indulgent. Blue cheese contributes more flavor than a more flavorless cheese. Crumbled bacon instead of 3 barely cooked strips. Still indulgent but a nice treat.

BalanceofFood.com reality TV coverage

"Damnit. I've been good all week. I should be able to celebrate the way I want." Yes, you should. You don't want to measure out celebration or happiness.

The barbecue sandwich from Denver has 3 different kinds of meat. Will you appreciate all the different types of meat on your sandwich? The "homemade creamy cheese sauce" sounds like calories without much flavor. That can be indulgent but not useful to truly be indulgent.

As someone who has ordered French fries and onion rings at the same time, I get the temptation of fried foods. The beer-battered onion rings might be helpful if a substitute for French fries.

If your celebration food has better quality and flavor without tons of layers, you can really appreciate the taste that goes into a cheat day item. Use those calories for maximum flavor. You deserve the best for a cheat day.

Bone marrow done at home: a most unusual breakfast

This doesn't look as glamorous as the picture at the top of the column. I took this picture but that isn't the reason. This is bone marrow on sourdough toast from my latest birthday. 2 ingredients: bone marrow and toasted sourdough bread.

Plenty of flavor and fat. Great mouth feel. Calories? Have no clue what I ate in that meal. This was indulgence. I had to do a bit of work but not that much work.

This might be the best meal I have this year. Should finish in the top 5 or 10. This wouldn't make the cut on those food television shows because the dish isn't "outrageous" and doesn't photograph well. There is certainly no third or fourth rate cheese in the dish.

You can reduce food costs despite inflation

This grilled mac and cheese sandwich from Panera is described as OTT (over the top). We would agree. Maybe you will beg for this sandwich.

If the whole good day/cheat day yo-yo isn't working for you, ask yourself if you can do better on your good days. Add some lower-calorie flavor to your good days. Add some higher quality food to your cheat day.

Perhaps you will respond better to a more even wavelength than the ones you get now where your highs are too high and lows are too low.

BalanceofFood.com television coverage

"We eat with our eyes," television says to us. We don't. "Television wouldn't lie to us." It does. All the time.

Bigger isn't better. More ingredients piled on top are not better. Think of food more like a charcuterie board than a Dagwood type sandwich.

photo credits: Cheat Day USA/Cooking Channel; me

Bourdain Day 2022: Coming out of a worldwide pandemic

Food hasn't been as much fun lately. Anxiety, depression, and a lack of money for travel has reduced my appetite.

I decided to buy some bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. I haven't had as much meat lately so this was a big deal.

I cooked up the chicken thighs from an America's Test Kitchen recipe. I kept the cooked chicken thighs in the fridge.

I decided to do some traveling in the kitchen. I bought sauces for 2 dishes: butter chicken and chicken tikka masala. Both dishes have roots in India but I tend to associate butter chicken (above) from Toronto restaurants and chicken tikka masala (below) in London restaurants.

I cooked ½ cup uncooked brown rice for each meal. I cooked the chicken in the sauce for about 15 minutes and then served over the rice.

Both were quite good. My taste buds had a suitcase packed even if I did not.

A lot of people celebrate Bourdain Day, the fourth since his 2018 death: the legacy of Anthony Bourdain with replicating dishes and drinks from his many TV episodes. The above examples satisfy wanderlust but not copying what Bourdain specifically did.

I am not interested in a Negroni with any meal. A lot of the really tempting meals were in homes where Bourdain and his crew were graciously invited.

As much as I would like to be Anthony Bourdain someday, I can't come close to drinking the way he did. Unless someone does the cooking, I'm not sure I could eat at that level, even with a camera crew.

I had dreams as a child of being the next Johnny Bench. That didn't even come close. I wanted to be the next John Landecker. I was better at that but that didn't happen.

I will not be the next Anthony Bourdain. I'm okay with that.

The thrill was to travel, eat amazing food, and make lots of money. That would be amazing. That is an obvious part of the Anthony Bourdain legacy.

Traveling and talking. Learning perspectives different from my own. Why do Spainards eat late? Why do Tuscans leave the salt out of bread? Why do Scandinavians eat open-faced sandwiches?

Film review: Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain

Roadrunner won't be the solution Anthony Bourdain fans want

I wondered during the pandemic how Bourdain would have dealt with all of this. Forced to cut back on travel. Cook more at home. Cook more with his daughter. Maybe Bourdain would have slowed down because he had to do so.

Maybe he would have bought that house in Vietnam he had sought. Or went to Melbourne with his Australian chef friends. Or gone to a place where he never did a TV show, such as Switzerland or Norway.

This assumes that Bourdain would have had a clearer head than most of us during the major portion of the pandemic.

Bourdain Day 3: How Anthony Bourdain helped me get through a pandemic

On the second Bourdain Day, how Anthony Bourdain would handle a worldwide pandemic

Bourdain Day is a way to celebrate the love of food and food cultures

Our questions about the Spainards, Tuscans, and Scandinavians are starting points to talk of differences and commonalities. One thing I've noticed is that people in those countries want to know how you eat in your own country.

Figure the United States and Canada are next door, speak mostly a common language. Yet compare the different ways Americans and Canadians eat what is know as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

Canadians call the food Kraft Dinner or KD. They often chop cooked hot dogs and put ketchup on top of their Kraft Dinner. Americans do not stretch out their macaroni and cheese.

Anthony Bourdain legacy: Find your own food adventure

Anthony Bourdain takes CNN's Parts Unknown to the mysterious land of Newfoundland

Alton Brown had some very nice things to say about Anthony Bourdain and there was mutual admiration. We also admire both of them.

BalanceofFood.com travel coverage

If you need a taste of Anthony Bourdain, something that doesn't involve a sea urchin off the west coast of Italy, here is something a bit simpler (assuming you live in North America).

This Eater video has them talking about Anthony Bourdain about his favorite restaurant in Los Angeles.

In-N-Out Burger is not limited to LA though the chain is very regional. You could go to San Francisco and find an In-N-Out Burger. If you are on a true burger quest, Los Angeles is the better stop. Upscale burgers and dive burgers.

Bourdain refers to get a burger done Animal style. In-N-Out Burger had a secret menu long before that became a thing.

Happy Bourdain Day!!

photo credits: me (x2); Instagram Anthony Bourdain
video credit: YouTube/Eater

Romeo Eats can inspire young people to try new foods

I have a new eating hero and he is 4 years old. His name is Romeo.

Romeo Eats is the result of Romeo's eagerness to try all different types of fruits and vegetables. His family released an album Walk Off the Earth & Romeo Eats, Vol. 1 .

Romeo is the child of Sarah Blackwood and Gianni (Luminati) Nicassio, who are in the Canadian indie band Walk Off the Earth. The album got nominated for a Juno (think Canadian Grammy) making Romeo the youngest Juno nominee ever at 4. Romeo didn't win over last weekend.

Romeo has a passion for wanting to try new foods. "We gave him a massive bowl of olives when he was very young, like, right off the boob, for lack of a better term," Nicassio told CBC Toronto.

Avocados, mushrooms, exotic fruits: Romeo is into them and enjoys them.

They have 2 older children but Romeo stands out in a crowd.

The parents didn't push Romeo. He had his own curiosity. Children are curious about the world around them.

Curiosity is often stifled or misdirected when food is involved. "They tried it at 2 or 3 years old, well, that's it." That is the wrong approach. Patience. You are teaching them about food, one of the most valuable lessons to learn as a child.

Romeo Dines is a spinoff about Romeo in high-end restaurants. This also goes against the traditional grain where children and those restaurants don't mix.

The hope is that the videos and music can help encourage children to try new foods based on seeing Romeo in action.

Encouraging should be the key in helping your child try foods. Romeo has parents who help him try new foods.

Romeo may be a grand exception to the rule and a reminder that different children have different paths to food acceptance.

Maybe Romeo likes raw vegetables and fruit more than cooked. Follow patterns with your child. Is texture an issue? Smell? The five senses help children learn.

Have the touch the food, smell the food. Be ready if they don't like the food.

Love the child, even if the child isn't as good as Romeo is about food.

BalanceofFood.com advice coverage

Blackwood and Nicassio said as soon as Romeo started eating solid foods, "he ate everything." Appreciate the child who can do that. Appreciate the child who struggles to figure out how to make food work.

You can find their videos on YouTube.

video and photo credit: YouTube/RomeoEats