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Jun 25 2013

Dear Proprietor

The Coffee ShopI had three consecutive meetings set up in a new coffee shop. Two of these were set for me. The third I set up because it made sense to just piggy back it onto my morning schedule. What this meant was that I was going to spend 3-4 hours in this (in your) coffee shop. From experience I know that this is never completely pleasant. I’m just not a “work from the coffee shop” kind of person. I like my little desk with all my tools.

If it’s left up to me I’m not going to choose the cute little coffee place I’ve never been to as the place to hold a meeting, or series of meetings. I would pick a known place where all my wants are met. This was not my choice, but I’d made the decision to give you a chance, because I’m just nice that way. That didn’t go well. Maybe I’m too old for new places?

You only have street parking. In Houston, really?

At 8am the place was already warm. I understand that allure of setting up a coffee shop in an older building in a hip neighborhood, but if you’re going to do that you at least need to make sure that the air conditioner is working. And I mean actually cooling the establishment to a comfortable temperature and not just blowing cool air in one or two spots.

The music was much too loud. If I’d been sitting by myself this wouldn’t have annoyed me as much, I think. But, wow was the music loud.

I had to ask for the Wi-Fi password, and then it kept dropping me.

Your limited food menu has all cutesy names and you mocked when I got mine wrong. Even if I hadn’t already been grumpy from the 8am time and the other stuff, this one would have catapulted me into a bad mood.

And the coffee wasn’t all that.

The name of the establishment has been withheld because, really, this rant is about more than just Saturday’s experience. I acknowledge that the early hour (and the fact that my first meeting stood me up) made me cranky.

Written by Paloma Cruz · Categorized: Food & Cooking, Ordinary · Tagged: restaurants, reviews

Jun 03 2013

The Ultimate Egg Guide (infographic)

The Ultimate Egg Guide

The Ultimate Egg Guide infographic

Written by Paloma Cruz · Categorized: Food & Cooking, Ordinary · Tagged: infographics

May 03 2013

Recipe and food posts, May 3

Cooking

Another great Lifehacker article I’m sharing today is “How I Broke My Addiction to Takeout and Started Cooking at Home.” Because, as they remind us, Cooking at Home is Cheaper Than Takeout. 

Don’t Overeat

Want to stop overeating? Don’t multitask and focus on your food. According to this article in Health Magazine, too much multitasking can make you overeat. Good to know.

Eggs

Lifehacker has a great tip article on “What’s the Best Way to Separate An Egg White From the Yolk?” They provide several methods, and even a link to a video that illustrates how to do it… and I can’t. Maybe you’ll have better luck.

French Fries

I love love love frenc fries. I make them at home, but they never come out crispy enough. No more. According to this article by Lifehacker, the trick to making crispy french fries is to cook them at a low temperature until they are fully cooked. Then you remove them from heat, increase the temperature of the oil and fry them until golden brown. In addition, the article notes some additional tips to make sure you have amazing results.

If you want to buy some, though, you need to go to Boheme and try the Vietnamese Fries. When both CultureMap and Houstonia Magazine recommend a dish, you know it’s going to go on my must-eat list. In this case what’s recommended is the Vietnamese Fries from Boheme Cafe & Wine Bar. Culturemap describes them as follows: “Sweet and pungent Hoisin sauce, spicy Sriracha, creamy aioli, fresh cilantro leaves and roasted peanuts.” How can you resist?

Fruit Salad, with spice

I grew up eating food from street vendors: tacos, tortas, elote en vaso, and fruit cups. So, when I came across this recipe for Spicy Mexican Fruit Salad on Babble, I knew I had to share it. The video is from Presley’s Pantry; I’ve spotlighted recipes from that blog before. I enjoy her recipes, but I love her videos. 

Onions

Want to cut onions without tearing up? Check out the methods suggested in this Lifehacker article, “Tested: The Best Tear-Free Tricks for Cutting Onions.”

Tabouleh with a twist

One of the great things about living in Houston is that I can indulge in many different types of food pretty much whenever I want. I love Mediterranean food, mainly Greek. Tabouleh is one of those things I try to order as often as I can. I used to call it “cilantro salad” even though, technically, it’s not made with cilantro — it’s made with parsley. And I know this even though I’d never made it myself. This recipe in Running to the Kitchen has a variation of Tabouleh made with strawberries and walnuts. And now I want to know what that tastes like. If you try it out, let me know. 

Written by Paloma Cruz · Categorized: Food & Cooking · Tagged: recipes

Apr 28 2013

This week’s updates

My brother and his fiancee are on the paleo-diet. From what I know of it, it sounds like a modified version of Atkins. I will probably look into it more, so I have info on what it’s actually about.

Because they’ve moved back into his house, where I’ve been living/housesitting for them, their diet is only one of the things I’m going to have to learn to deal with until I decide on my next step. The first thing they did was clean out the pantry and the refrigerator for items that they can’t eat. In their (weak) defense, they did check with me first. I told them to go ahead.

I’m hoping that everyone in the house being on a diet will make it easier for me. We shall see. I know that he’s already started to make noises about getting me to work out. Again, we shall see. 

Monday, April 22

9:00 am
I drove by McDonald’s for my morning coffee, as I do most mornings, and I added a sausage burrito. That’s my typical breakfast. I’ve figured out that that’s 10 Weight Watchers points for me, it’s fast and filling.

2:00 pm
Lunch was a roasted chicken salad with blue cheese dressing. Yes, I know that the choice of dressing adds to my daily intake by quite a bit, but I wanted the taste. For some reason, the salad just wasn’t as appetizing to me as it usually is. I think I just wasn’t in the mood for a salad today.

The rest of the Week

I forgot to update this blog post the rest of the week.

Written by Paloma Cruz · Categorized: Food & Cooking · Tagged: diet

Apr 17 2013

Cuts of Beef (Infographic)

Cuts of Beef

Cuts of Beef infographic by sounas.

Written by Paloma Cruz · Categorized: Food & Cooking · Tagged: infographics

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