I have blog stalkers! Yay!

I got a first MyDailyQuestion (which was a comment, really) from a rando and that makes me SO happy! I'll continue to bring on the wit and aim to inform, humor, and entertain anyone and everyone willing to read. Do me a favor, if you would, and click "Follow Blog" at the top left if you are, in fact, reading my blog. Pretty pretty please?

So my IRL (in real life) friends know that I just started a new job. It's a government job as a clinical dietitian in a few rural clinics here in Oklahoma. So far, so good...I'm REALLY enjoying it. I have an office...4 walls, a door, and a computer all for me. RD's reading: you know how rare such a thing is in our profession...I'm soaking it up. I'm consulting with mostly diabetics... with a sprinkle of hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and weight loss thrown in there. While I love diabetes and find the disease process fascinating...there's so much to know. And so much to teach.

I had patients just yesterday tell me a few things that left me wanting to pummel my head into the concrete wall bordering my co-worker's office. Let me recall some here..

- peaches that come in "light syrup" are in their natural juices - WRONG!
- blending butter with peanut butter makes it healthier - WRONG!
- "You can't make a pie crust without lard...the protein flavor can't be replaced" - Just plain nasty
- "Four hot dogs, minus the buns, is the best night-time snack to keep my morning sugars low" - People do this?
- Me: "Did you have a night-time snack?"; "Client: No, just a Sonic ice cream cone." - Oh dear.
- Client: "I can't eat crackers, those make my sugars go sky high"; Me: "How many are you eating before bed?"; Client: "One sleeve." - ....uh huh...I'll bet crackers do make your sugars go sky high when you eat 6 servings
- "I don't drink my calories, only Dr. Pepper and only like three cans a day." - dropped jaw with a drooling stare of unamusement

And my last client of the day was so motivated, she was going straight to Walmart for flaxseed supplements. There is hope, even in Oklahoma...let the laydown of the law begin.

With Compliments...? Thoughts on Freebies

The Twittering classes are working themselves into a frothy hubbub. Journos are striking low blows. Battles lines are being drawn and codes of ethics are being drafted quicker than an emergency UN resolution.

It’s all about the freebies.

It seems that the issue is coming to a head and is rapidly gaining some serious press attention: Is it right for bloggers to accept freebies (anything from sample packets to slap-up meals) in return for write ups? If so, what provisos should be laid down? And if it’s not, why not?

For all the attention the issue has been getting, one could be forgiven for thinking that the food blogosphere is awash with cleverly disguised puff pieces masquerading as restaurant reviews and greedy amateur food writers hounding PRs for anything, so long as it’s free.

Not that I can see. The suggestion that your average food blogger would pen a sycophantic review in return for some gratis nom and half a bottle of wine is deeply denigrating. Full disclosure seems to be the consensus with very little, if any, dissent.

Honesty and transparency are crucial for a writer to maintain their integrity. The second your word becomes suspect or is revealed to have been bought, that integrity disappears and, in the words of Bill Hicks ‘every word you say is like a turd falling…into my drink’.

Perhaps a little harsh, but it would be foolish not to quote the man on this issue seen as he spoke so vociferously about it.

Sometimes the lure of pound or dollar signs becomes too great, or is a necessity (Exhibit A: Marco Pierre White with one divorce too many). Others have no such scruples about whoring out their name (call to the stand Gordon Ramsay and the arch worshipper of Mamon, Anthony Worral Thompson).

But from what I can see food bloggers are an honest bunch. We resemble the beloved Saint Delia in this respect – a woman of strict moral standing who has refused to endorse any product for monetary re-imbursement.

Our word is important. It is all we have. When it becomes suspect we lose any respect and with it any power it carries.

So where is the clamour coming from?

It’s coming from the one place that is set to lose out: print media.

The insinuation is that accepting a tidy little freebie in return for a positive report is something new, something that brings with it a new set of moral codes.

It isn’t.

The press and PR have been strolling hand in hand for decades, scratching backs and trading favours since Gutenberg first lifted the cloth on his invention. So why the furore?

It’s about access.

Before the Internet, before email, before Twitter, before blogs there was journalism. It was a closed shop on a pedestal high, high above the world in which we mere mortals lived. A notoriously hard industry to break into and one that had a monopoly on the written word. Food writing, but a miniscule part of the trade, was even more of a hidden avenue.

But things have changed. The Internet and, more specifically, Web 2.0 with its user generated and led content has brought with it a democratisation of the written word. Print journalism has finally woken up to this.

It’s not so much about their place on the pedestal being taken over, it’s about the pedestal rapidly crashing to the ground.

This isn’t necessarily new. Both Harden’s and Zagat guides have been utilising user-generated content for years to compile more democratic, balanced and realistic restaurant reviews (whether or not they can fell Michelin remains to be seen, but I suspect we are witnessing the final throes of that revered institution).

What the Internet has done, though, is give a voice to all those who want it. Naturally, there are good and bad blogs. Good and bad food writers. And the web is awash with dull lists of what people cooked for their friends, Hank and Maureen, last weekend.

But this is a product of the fledgling nature of the phenomenon. Some will fall by the wayside, others will flourish – it’s not unusual for the top food blogs to get over a million visits a month, the sort of hit rate some magazine editors would eat their own children for.

This wheat/chaff sorting is happening already and as the word on the screen becomes as respected and as powerful as the word on the page, it will happen more rapidly.

Last year I did an internship (perhaps stage is the more appropriate word as we talking in culinary terms) at a well-known food magazine. Two weeks, unpaid. Even my expenses went unpaid, the ‘economic downturn’ given as an excuse only weeks after I submitted my claim.

I’d held this form of magazine journalism in high regard, put it on a pedestal. Magazine offices were places where exciting things happen everyday, where people who love food get giddy about all the things I get giddy about. As a result I was struck, rabbit-headlight like, for much of my time there. Slightly shy and in awe of those around me. Those who were doing exactly what I wanted to do.

Except they weren’t. The daily grind was dull. The reality was that I was already doing what I wanted to do by writing off my own back, finding my own stories, working freelance and publishing online. I just didn’t realise it at the time.

On my final day the editor took time to talk to me about what I wanted to do and how to achieve it. ‘Something’s not really been published unless it’s in print,’ they said.

At the time, I agreed. Having had a couple of pieces published, there really was a thrill in seeing one’s name in a by-line. It was a buzz. But the reality is very different, and I’m only just coming to realise this.

There is a freedom on the Internet and successful writers here can be seen by hundreds, thousands, more people than those in print. Many journalists – the good ones at least – know this and are embracing the medium.

What the debate about freebies really comes down to is part of a larger discussion about the future, nature and value of print journalism.

Don’t get me wrong. I love print. Newspapers are an integral, and deeply enjoyable, part of my life. Likewise magazines. The very nature of print journalism is a near guarantor of its quality – providing you look in the right places, of course. There is something wonderful, tangible about print. Sunday papers are one of my favourite things in the world.

But to assume that just because someone only publishes online they can’t be as good as a print counterpart is just wrong. And to assume that just because someone has been offered a free meal they will happily shelve their own opinions and scruples is not just wrong, it’s also deeply patronising.

Freebies and the media go together, and always have done, like children and chocolate. Only now, food bloggers are getting a share of the chocolate and the old guard don’t like it.

5 english tv shows i love the most

hurm... taw x. org ade bnykkk sgt nak tulis. tp kan. tak tertulis. ade mase...
tp tah. cam. tunda. then. biar. then last2 camtuh je. nanti la kot~
anyway. just wanna share and remind myself... [nanti da nyanyok...]
these are my top 5 fav tv shows [drama / series] for now... since few years ago.

no 1 - will always be CSI.
CSI las vegas + CSI miami + CSI NY

seriously, kagum gile dgn facilities die org yg super duper canggih.
and... mmg gempak ah setiap 1 episod, camne die org merungkaikan kes2.
and and. bnykkk angle yg berbeza utk setiap episod.
i'm wondering... berapa kos utk 1 episod + berapa lama die org shoot?
grrr... and semua actor + actress pon mmg cam CSI btol~!
and plg skeee skrip2 die org yg mmg superb~!!!!!
cam its short, simple, but sharp and meaningful!


no 2 - grey's anatomy
sweetheart of my soul.

ya allah hye... 1st time tgk da tngkp jatuh cintan tergolek2. ahah~
and mmg gileeee jatuh dlm lombong dgn mc dreamy~!!! - patrick dempsey.
i laughed along with this story + cry a lot. hahahaha...
hurm... it's about their life as a doctor and, the hardest part,
= to save their own life. ahah~ and from this series, i met the fray~!!!
cett...ckp cam jmpe face2face. agaga~~~ yup. i love uuu the fray~!!!

no 3 - house MD
the... unpredictable crazy dr.

at first, mmg x suke cite nih... rase Dr tuh cam extra rude. but actually.
rite now, i adore him. ahah...like hello. if die rude + proud pon, at least...
he's always right. and lgpon, tuh mmg diri die. ahah... n kalo tgk btol2.
he's not that bad. seriously. wheee~ ske ske ske.


no 4 - numb3rs
math - we used it in everyday life~!

erm... thanks to AXN 4 introducing me to this series. ahah~
1st - mmg dah cinta math, automatically la skeee cite nih kan. ahah...
plg suke time die bg contoh kaitan sesuatu kes dgn nombor tuh~!
cammm... ok. gile gem~! and and. ke-genius-an die tuh. i like~
pun cam best sbb die gabung dgn FBI. so, best~!


no 5 - scrubs
long time no see~

yup. lame daaa tak tgk. ahah...cam da x de kot?
well. love it. sbb ade mcm2 jenis DR leh tgk jgk. ahah~
and kegilaan mereka. since majority still mude2 lg.
alaaa... da mmg obvious ske cite2 camnih. kan? so termsk la.
and. it's funny~! ahaha.


others;

• desperate housewives
• heroes
• oprah winfrey
  
• supernatural
• keeping up with the kardashian
• the biggest loser
• america's next top model
• kimora lee
  
• malcolm in the middle
• popular [since primary school kot..?]
• angel
• charmed

tu je. kot? yg lain...biase2 je. hee =]

Dinner at Mavro

July 6

Let me discuss again why I am not a restaurant critic and don’t recommend restaurants to my readers (although I did just express delight at the deliciousness of my lunchtime baby octopus).
Saturday night dinner during my visit to O‘ahu (two weeks ago, I know) was at Chef Mavro, where I dined with the chef's wife, Donna Jung, and was given a grand tasting menu that I shall detail in a moment.
As far as I could tell, everyone was getting great service, but it’s hard to tell when you’re eating with the chef’s wife, when the chef is in the kitchen, at the very least looking after every plate that comes your way, and later coming out to chat.
Often when chefs come out to chat they’re very polite but rather standoffish, but given the fact that we’d spent the previous day at the harbor, trudging through a watercress farm and eating malasadas, that would have been weird. And I don’t think it’s Mavro’s style. So he just plopped into a spare chair (because when you’re me — or one of hundreds or possibly thousands of people like me — even when there’s just two people dining, you’re usually seated at a four-top) and hung out for awhile after the main dinner rush had ended.
During dessert, Mavro commented on one of the trendiest flavors going these days. “Maple is a magic flavor,” he said. Like Vanilla or lilikoi (which is what Hawaiians call passion fruit; they can't help themselves) it adds an ineffable flavor that you can't necessarily itentify, but you know that it’s delicious.
I’d put nutmeg in that category, too, but you’ll start to think I’m obsessed with the spice.
Indeed, maybe I am.
We ended up closing the place down and Mavro gave me a ride back to the Royal Hawaiian in his Lotus, and I really, really should have taken a picture of my inelegant exit from that low-slung vehicle, just to show you how self-deprecating I can be.

What I ate and drank (hold on to your hat):

Abalone ceviche, croquettes of cod, red chimichuri, essence of cilantro
Craggy Range 2008 Sauvignong Blanc (Martinborough, New Zealand)

Striped olive oil-marinated marlin (nairagi) with poached quail egg, sunchoke chips, big wave tomato confit and hanapepe salt
Domaine Laroche 2006 Chablis St. Martin (Burgundy, France)

Hudson Valley Foie Gras torchon with cocoa nib and candied pecan crust, pickled grapes, citrus infused celery and toasted Portuguese sweet bread
Fitz Ritter 2007 Gewürtztraminer, Spätlese, (Pfalz,Germany)

Day boat catch with caramelized baby fennel, picholine olive purée and sauce monégasque
Planetz 2006 Cometa (Sicily, Italy)

Crispy rice flake crusted flouner fillet with braised green papaya, broccolini florets and tamarind curry
Vollrads 2004 Riesling (Rheingau, Germany)

Keahole lobster pot au feu with spring vegetable gribiche and calamansi accented crutacean jus
Marc Colin 2006 Saint Aubin premier cru La Chatenière (Burgundy, France)

Kurobuta pork “a la malais” — a roasted rack, crispy shank with sweet and sour watermelon, ginger dressing and caramelized pork jus
Nicolas Potel 2006 vielles vignes Morey-Saint-Denis (what can I say? the sommelier likes Burgundy; it’s not a crime)

Wagyu strip loin, burgundy braised veal cheek, “no eggs no butter béarnaise,” boulangère potatoes and essence of sumida watercress
(and just when you think he’s a Burgundy whore, he pulls out the Bordeau) Clos du Marquis 2003 St. Julien

“Return from Marrakesh” — chick pea crusted mountain meadow lamb loin with bulghur wheat, dates and upcountry vegetables in yogurt-garlic sauce
Dashe 2007 Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley (Sonoma, California)

Big Island goat cheese blanc manger toppe with cranberry, marcona almonds and hirabara baby greens
Jean-Maurice Rauffault 2007 Chinon Les Galuches (Loire, France)

The Grand Dessert: star anise pavlova filled with maple-marinated berries, served with berry jus and hibiscus ice cake
Jorge Ordoñez 2006 seleccion especial, (Malaga, Spain)


Lilikoi malasads with guava coulis and pineapple-cocnut ice cream
Five year Blandy’s Malmsey Madeira (Portugal)

chocolate tofu: Valrhona filling, sesame crust, macha sauce and buttermilk ice cream
Domaine de Jau 2006 Banyuls (France)

To view all the blog entries about my trip to O‘ahu, click here.

The Virtue of Tranquility

There is a school of thought that suggests if a chef is stressed, or angry, you can taste it in his or her food.

Perhaps it makes sense. If the mind is focussed on something other than the plate, the food is likely to suffer. Heavy-handedness, tension and lack of attention to detail are all by-products of anger.

Thomas Keller’s kitchens at Per Se and The French Laundry are famously calm and quiet: a far cry from the frenetic, angry, shouty affairs we have come to expect from high end kitchens (The Ramsay Effect, perhaps?)

Maybe if Gordon’s fire and brimstone moments were less frequent, his food could be even better and the future of Ramsay Holdings would be a little more secure.

It would appear the same goes for writers.

Last week was a stressful affair, for various reasons. I didn’t even realise it until Friday. ‘You’re stressed, aren’t you?’ said the GF, ‘I can see it in your writing.’

She was right. Of course. The first draft of my hot dog post was clumsy, overly verbose and distinctly without point. After sharing a bottle of wine it was summarily and judiciously edited. For the best.

There is a moral here. For me, at any rate. When you are bubbling under the surface, it’s best not to cook or write. Things will go wrong and it will make the general mood an awful lot worse. The problem is self-exacerbating.

***

In other news: it was with giddying excitement that I found out on Saturday that this little labour of love had been name checked by BBC’s Olive Magazine as one of their favourite blogs this month.



A real honour to be featured alongside such luminaries as the (multi)-award winning Cannelle et Vanille and the staggeringly good (Guild of Food Writers nominee) World Foodie Guide. Excellent company indeed.

And finally, what can you expect this week? Vindaloo, High tea. The penultimate part of Eating New York (cheeseburgers and fries) and maybe even some tripe for this week's Nose To Tail exploit. Erm, yum?

And with that delightful thought, I must bid you adieu. The train awaits and when I next login I will be back up north. Probably covered in soot and eating pie in the welcoming bosom of the family.