The Chew, Part III

This is the last of miniseries on food. I have been loving the discussions in the comments!

Part I

Part II

What food did you think you would hate but end up loving?

The first time I had kohlrabi, I did not have high hopes for it. But kohlrabi is good, yo. 

What food combo sounds weird but is actually amazing? 

You know me and I'll always rep a Midwestern "salad." Consider strawberry pretzel salad or Snickers apple salad. Those things are legitimately delicious, even if they should never be called a salad.

What food should NEVER be eaten together? 

Whatever the nastiness is that makes green bean casserole. Gag.

What’s your go-to dish when family or friends come over? 

Oh, this is fun! I almost always have fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. I keep frozen dough in the freezer so I can have cookies whenever I want. I also will almost always make popcorn with my Whirley-Pop. There will always be a charcuterie board with cheese, nuts, and jam. If I have any date balls around, I'll pop those on the table. That's all snack-y stuff if I'm hosting book club or something.

If people are coming for dinner, I'll make my regular berry and lettuce salad and then we'll have a frittata or soup or something that can easily be made ahead of time and just heated up when people arrive. 

For years I would serve turkey tacos with a Rachel Ray recipe we had, but since we don't cook meat in the house anymore, we've really steered away from tacos and burritos. I'd like to bring Mexican back into our rotation, though. 

If you were dating and a potential partner was NOT a foodie, would that be a dealbreaker? 

Obviously not. *sigh*

 

What’s on your food bucket list? 

I want a bubble waffle cone again. I could probably make this happen by just going to Milwaukee, but it's not fun to go with my husband, so I need a partner in crime to do this.

But, not really. Since I've been married to my husband, I stopped having food-related aspirations. It's for the best. 

Would you consider frozen food as good food? Why or why not? 

Frozen fruits and vegetables are just as good as fresh. But after that...I'm a bit of snob.

On a scale of 1-10, how picky of an eater are you? 

There are some foods I won't eat - pork, Brussels sprouts, and beets spring to mind. Drinking milk makes me gag. I find a lot of convenience food (think frozen dinners or canned soup) is overwhelmingly salty. I don't love to eat meat, but if I went to dinner at someone's house and something beef or poultry was served to me, I'd eat it. So, I'm not without particularities, but I'm pretty open-minded. 2.5/10 for pickiness? (Edit to add: I asked my husband how he would rate me over breakfast and he said 4/10. I don't know how to answer this.)

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This or That?

Doughnuts or muffins? Muffins, but this was a hard call.

Pizza or ramen? Pizza and it's not even close.

Sushi or tacos? Oh. Wow. Tough. Tacos, probably, but if you want to go get sushi, I'll go with you.

Chips or popcorn? Popcorn, but I'm not a food snob. I'll take either.

Ice cream or cake? Ice cream.

Coffee or tea? Coffee, but I am a daily tea drinker who only gets coffee as an occasional treat.

Wine or beer? Neither.

Breakfast or dinner? Breakfast.

McDonald’s or Wendy’s? Wendy's.

Sweet or savory? Sweet.

Crunchy or chewy? Crunchy.

Sparkling or flat water? Sparkling.

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What's your go-to dish when people come over? Are you picky?  McDonald's or Wendy's?

What I Wore to Work Last Week

FRIENDS! REGISTRATION SEASON IS OVER!! Yes, that does deserve all caps. July is a slow month at work, so I'm getting pumped up for that. Meanwhile, I enlisted my co-worker's help to take photos of me last week. Here's what went down.

Monday - The day between events. I was mostly just in my office all day inputting appointment summaries from an event on Friday and preparing for Tuesday. I'm wearing a tank I bought at Macy's approximately fifteen years ago and some linen pants. 

Tuesday - Registration event. I need to be prepared to walk across campus, complete my presentation, kneel on the ground, and move furniture. I'm wearing a Happy Earth dress from several seasons ago (love this dress) and a bolero from Ann Taylor about ten years ago. It can range from boiling to frigid on building across campus, so I have to be prepared. 

Wednesday - You guys. It was cold and rainy. I hate that. On the plus side, the rain does fabulous things for my hair. I have on a Passion Lillie dress and I spent most of the day wearing a duster from Rowan Grey Clothing.

Thursday - Last registration event of June. Woot woot! Another Happy Earth dress. The white tank is from H&M like a billion years ago. It has held up quite well considering its origin. 

Friday - We had another event on campus for prospective students. *sigh* This was less intensive work, but I still had to be prepared to move tables and cart half our office across campus. It was also quite cool. The shirt is from LL Bean and was a FANTASTIC purchase at the beginning of the summer. The pants are more of the Athleta linen pants. The H&M tank is in play again.

Accessories: I wore Mephisto Helen sandals all week (on the rainy day I had Vionic flip flops in my bag), a silver bracelet from Twisted Silver that I got from Dr. BB as a present before we were married, and my two little purple bracelets from Tobias. I'm still rocking my permanent bracelet that I got in Seattle and my permanent anklet I got with my niece. I have a pair of sapphire earrings and Hey June hoops. LOOK, I like my jewelry. 

Outtakes: Sometimes I think I sound like I am NOT FUN on this blog. But here is proof that I am an utter goof.

Full credit to my co-worker LB who took each and every one of these photos when I would barge into her office with my phone outstretched. 

Five for Friday Plus Extras, Edition #45: Another Happy Things Edition

This month has been A LOT at work, but I've worked hard to find lovely things. They're almost all about food, but let's all admit that food is one of the best things in life. 

1) Potato chips: One of my besties in Wisconsin has dual citizenship with the U.S. and Canada. I once made an offhand comment about how much I loved all dressed potato chips, which are a Canadian delicacy that one cannot find easily in the States. Now, whenever she goes to Canada, she brings me larger and larger bags of this chips. Last week, I got a giant, Costco-sized bag. What a dream. They're also labeled as gluten-free, so Dr. BB can also eat them. (Note: Dr. BB referred to them as a low-rent BBQ chip, so he's banned from eating them. He doesn't GET IT.)

I'm included for scale. The bag is the size of my torso.

2) The public library: Recently, my library stash started getting a little low and I went on an absolute rampage ordering things from the library. Look at this pile!

3) Late morning: We were having someone come over to the house to look at something and so I was hanging around to help with Hannah on a workday morning. Here are the good things that came out of that.

    a) It was raining, so it was a perfect opportunity for Zelda and I to sit on the couch together. She was purring and I was "reading." 

    b) When the workman pulled in the drive, we put Hannah in our downstairs bathroom. Hannah barked for about a minute AND THEN STOPPED. She did no damage to herself or the bathroom. Maybe we can have worker people in the house for small periods of time without me having to just take her out of the house. 

    c) My workday was two hours shorter. Yay!

4) Dunkin?: A Dunkin has opened in the town where I work. It's actually kind of sad because they bought out a location that once housed a local coffee spot, but it's great news for me because I'm hoping it puts the Starbucks across the street out of business. HOWEVER. They are definitely not operating at 100% yet. I was so excited last week to treat myself to an iced decaf americano. When I got to school and looked at it, I saw this. 

Maybe you can't read it, but what it DOESN'T say is decaf. The last time I had a caffeinated americano, I thought I was going crazy because I could not control my racing thoughts. I was already at work, though, so I didn't want to turn around. I instead just put it down the sink (after offering it to everyone else who was at work - no one wanted it) and sent my husband a sad text.

And then!

He made a special trip in to work to bring me one! (Note that the tag says "Hot" - he had been given a hot one and had to go in to exchange it for an iced one.) What a super husband.

5) Ice cream: One very lovely June evening we walked over to the local ice cream spot where I got myself a turtle sundae. It was perfect. 

Yes, I do wear this white gauze shirt over everything this time of year. Don't judge me.

Bonus!

6) How gorgeous is the place where I work?: Just look at this place. Even on a stormy afternoon, it radiates beauty. It really shines in the summer and it's a real sadness to me that more people aren't here to see and enjoy it.

7) Things I've seen that have made me laugh:

   

 a) This sign/Post-It note at the gas station. What does it mean? I love that there are mysteries in this world still.

    b) Why do we need patriotic dog treats? I don't know, but a chain hardware store that rhymes with Tenard's sells them. I did not buy any if you were wondering. Also, a very lovely young man named Alex helped at this very hardware store and I sent an email to the store telling them what a great job he did and they emailed me back that he was going to get a small monetary bonus because of my email. Alex also made me very happy this week. I hope good things for him. 

    c) My friend Rob played a clip on his episode "Hips Don't Lie" on the 60 Songs that Explain the 90s: The 2000s podcast that literally made me snort laugh and have to bend at the waist when I was pan frying potatoes cooking dinner. Imma just going to leave the clip here. 

Not particularly relevant, but I am hot and cold on The 2000s remix of my friend Rob's podcast. (Tangent inside a tangent: Do you think Rob Harvilla would think it's weird that I refer to him as my friend Rob?) The "Feist" episode? SO BORING. I DON'T CARE ABOUT FEIST. (Sorry Canadians.) But this Shakira episode? NEW RESPECT FOR SHAKIRA. Do I need all caps? Sure, why not? 

I think this post is probably long enough. Have a super duper weekend, friends. If you have a dog or military veteran in your home and you're an American, it's the last okay weekend of the summer!

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What made you happy this week? Did you have ice cream? Buy patriotic dog treats? Do you want 10% off in a Mexican desert?

Yoga Gear

For months now I've had a note that somebody asked me about my yoga setup at home. I don't remember who asked and if it was you, I'm sorry that I'm not organized enough to keep track of such things, but I appreciate the topic suggestion/question.

At home I have a yoga mat, two blocks, a blanket, a bolster, and a necktie I use as a strap that my husband will no longer use because it has a stain on it that's invisible to everyone on the planet but him. I also ALWAYS light a candle when I'm doing yoga. Yes, even when it's ninety degrees and seventy percent humidity. 

All of it gets put away in a plastic egg crate and is tucked under a table in our music/sewing/workout room when I'm done with it.

I've been known to grab pillows and blankets off of beds if I need more padding and/or elevation. What can I say? I'm a high-maintenance kind of yoga girl. 

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At school I have a mat, two blocks, an actual yoga strap, and a blanket (no bolster). I actually have THREE mats because I like to have extra in case someone comes to the yoga program I put on without a mat of their own. 

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How many yoga mats do you own? Do you have all the yoga gear or are you strictly a mat kind of person? 

Picking Up by Robin Nagle

Why did I request Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks with the Sanitation Workers of New York City by Robin Nagle from the university library? If you did not chant "because the author was on You're the Expert" you have not been paying attention. 

If you get me talking late at night, I'll start talking about how worried I am about infrastructure. The electrical grid, water treatment plants, and the safety of nuclear warheads. I will discuss the food chain, the issues of local agriculture, and how many chickens have had to die in my county in recent years due to bird flu (2025 and 2026). I will rant about roads and bridges and sewage pipes. 

So when I picked up this book about Nagle, who really wanted to understand how sanitation works in New York City, my husband did nothing but sigh at me. Just like for a bit of time all I wanted to talk about was pigeons, he knew that all I'd want to talk about was trash. 

First up, I'm going to say something controversial. New York is gross for lots of reasons, many of which are enumerated in this book. It is impossible for the sanitation workers to keep up with trash in a city that size and the whole place smells disgusting. I have never had a good time in NYC and I refuse to apologize for this opinion. But imagine a time WHEN IT WAS WORSE. 

Back in the Tammany Hall days, NYC was ripe with corruption and the folks responsible for dealing with trash usually just took the money and did nothing. Until the hero of our story, Street Cleaning Commissioner George Waring, came along. Waring cleaned house and suddenly the streets were infinitely cleaner than they had been. These are photos that show the same places in 1893 and 1895. What a difference Waring made.  

Source

Anyway, New York was rife with vermin and disease and street cleaning and trash removal is super important. 

Nagel embedded herself in the world of sanitation workers by obtaining a job with the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY). I have mentioned how much I love an ethnography and this is absolutely no different. She is puzzled over why sanitation workers are invisible in the city when she sees what they do as the most important thing in public health and safety. She introduces us to sanitation workers, rules and regulations, and the city's four hundred year-old struggle with trash removal. What an absolute treat (if you're an absolute nerd). 5/5 stars

Lines of note:

The garbage here and in every other dump in the world over reflects lives lived well, or in desperation, or too fast, or in pain, or in joy. Even without the status of worth or a claim of possession, each bag stuffed with trash, each wad of spent tissue, every shred of shrink-wrap, every moldy vegetable and maggot-covered turkey leg, hints of countless stories. Archeologists of contemporary household wasted have demonstrated this; indeed, insights that the field has given us about our own past often rest on analysis of nothing more than the garbage of civilizations long dead. (page 7)

There's another You're the Expert episode about an archeologist who gets really excited when finding dumps and privies. I feel like all of my interests are determined by YTE at this moment in my life. 

Effective garbage collection and street cleaning are primary necessities if urban dwellers are to be safe from the pernicious effects of their own detritus. When garbage lingers too long on the streets, vermin thrive, disease spreads, and city life becomes dangerous in ways not common in the developed world for more than a century. It is thus an especially puzzling irony that the first line in defense in any city's ability to ensure the basic health and well-being of its citizens is so persistently unseen...(page 17)

I can't even imagine modern life without trash pickup every week.

An alarming number of people seem to become cretins when they slip behind the wheel of a car. (page 20)

Dr. BB and I had been discussing how there is no one more entitled than an American behind the wheel of a car just before I read this. We're the same way, too. As soon as we start driving, we're dicks. Why is that? 

No city can thrive without a workable solid waste management plan. If sanitation workers aren't out there, the city becomes unlivable, fast. (page 24)

I mean, NYC is unlivable anyway, right?

Being a sanitation worker is more dangerous that being a police officer or firefighter. (page 57)

The BLS calculates that as of 2011..."refuse and recyclable materials collectors" hold down the nation's fourth-most-dangerous job, after fishermen, loggers, and aircraft pilots. (page 58)

Just FYI for the people who so admire police and fire.

Things I looked up:

peristaltic (page 5) - refers to peristalsis, an involuntary, wave-like muscle contraction that moves contents forward through a tube. This biological mechanism is most commonly associated with the digestive tract, but the term also describes specialized industrial pumps that mimic this exact squeezing motion

Blue-Collar Journal by John Coleman (page 17) - Blue-Collar Journal: A College President's Sabbatical is a 1974 book by John Royston Coleman, then president of Haverford College, detailing his experience working undercover in blue-collar jobs like a garbageman, sandwich maker, and construction worker during a sabbatical to bridge the gap between academia and the working class. (It goes without saying that I want to read this book, right?) 

Stuff by Frost and Steketee (page 239 - Chapter 1, FN 19) - Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O. Frost and Gail Steketee is an academic look at hoarding through a psychological lens. Hm. Maybe this would be good for me to read? Maybe not? 

Sorting Things Out by Bowker and Star (page 251 - Chapter 16, FN 3) - Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences by Geoffrey C. Bowker and Susan Leigh Star is about classification. That could be boring. Or interesting. Who knows?

Vogons (page 138) - The Vogons are an alien race from the planet Vogsphere who are employed as the galactic government's bureaucrats in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 

"Blizzard of 1888" (chapter 18) - That link has it all. Great resources.

Hat mentions (why hats?):

In the summer especially, flesh shines as sweat trickles down necks, squeezes from inside elbows, drips from brows, chins, and earlobes, darkens T-shirts, soaks bandannas and hat crowns. (page 53)

The adjacent picture shows a white man in hat, gloves, and boots (no apron) with a wide washtub, also heavy with debris, balanced on his head. The text does not say whether he's wearing padding under the hat...(page 55)

Suddenly san men who'd had long hair since they'd been hired years before were told to cut it, make it disappear under a hat, or take a rocket. (page 133)

It's not as if New Yorkers are going to run out of their homes and stop you from picking up their garbage because your hat's on crooked. (page 133)

Red-jumpsuit-clad Times Square Business Improvement District workers give away hats, boas, pom-poms, balloons, eyeglasses...(page 146)

...standing in the back of our little group, my hat pulled low, I considered the foreman's youth and suppressed a smile. (page 197)

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What's your take on reading books about niche communities or industries? Would you like to read this book? Do you think I'm wrong about New York City?

The Chew, Part II

This is a continuation of a mini-series I'm doing about food during June because I don't know what else to talk about right now.

Part I

Have you ever eaten alone? Why or why not?

What a weird question (obviously I got this list of questions on line somewhere, but I can't remember where). Of course I have. I lived alone for many years. I eat breakfast alone most mornings because my husband and I have different morning schedules. I generally eat my lunch alone in my office. If I treat myself to going out to lunch on a workday, I generally eat alone. Is this a trick question?

What’s your earliest memory of homecooked meals?

My parents fighting over what to make for dinner and it would always end up being scrambled eggs and toast. Surely this is universal?

How has your diet changed/not changed over time and why?

When I was young, there was a lot of food insecurity and I never knew if we were going to have food or not. When I got to to college on a scholarship that paid for room and board, I've never had so much bounty. I just ate everything. And I do sometimes call myself a garbage disposal because I will basically eat anything if you put it on my plate. 

And then I met my husband. Because of his dietary restrictions, I now eat a lot less junk and am much more thoughtful about my food choices. The whole way I eat has changed and that's definitely for the better. 

What do your food choices say about your values? 

I think we are limited in the United States about having ethical food choices. I have gnashed my teeth about this a lot. Sure, I eat mostly pescatarian, but I still buy food that has been shipped across seas and countries. Sure, I try to do a lot of shopping at Costco where I think employees are treated well, but who knows about the suppliers to Costco? Maya once said that she resents having to make these decisions herself and that government should regulate more of this and I agree. 

Anyway, I'd love to make more ethical choices about food, but I'm really focused on making sure my husband gets enough food to eat to survive and sometimes that means I don't really do the research on companies I'm buying from. 

If you were to die tomorrow, what would your last meal be?

I guess it would be Indian butter chickpeas because that's what we're having for dinner tonight. 

Are table manners outdated or essential still? 

Good manners are never outdated!

What food would encourage conversations? 

All food encourages conversations, right? I took a qualitative methods class in grad school and we had to do an interview with our classmates. I always asked about food because it would get people talking about food traditions in their families, favorite foods, and what a traditional get together looks like (is it potluck? formal sit-down dinner?). Food is universal. 

In your culture, what do you eat when you’re sick? 

Saltine crackers and 7Up. Sometimes chicken noodle soup or broth. 

How does your culture celebrate birthdays? 

Cake and ice cream! 

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What food do you eat when you're sick? Do you do cake and ice cream for birthdays?

Day In the Life, 6/21/2026

What does a Sunday look like in my world?

7:30am - Wake up without an alarm. Dr. BB has been up for a bit and he was reading his Kindle, so we rolled out of bed, pulled up the covers to "make it" and started our morning.

I went downstairs where I brushed Zelda and then weighed her. She's 10.64 pounds, which is the most she has weighed since her radiation treatment. It has been kind of difficult to get her to eat her dinner recently, but I'm not going to worry about it much if her weight is staying stable.

Then I walked Hannah. We were out for about 45 minutes. I listened to an episode of "Did Furbys Spy on Us?" while we meandered along the riverwalk. 

8:30am - We're back. I feed Hannah and get myself breakfast. By 9, I'm sitting down at my laptop to work on blog posts for the week for an hour. 

10:00am - I tear myself away from the computer to go brush my teeth, wash my face, and get dressed (in workout clothes). I collect and start laundry, iron two items of clothing that I want to wear this week, and wander downstairs. There I ask Dr. BB to assist me with cutting Hannah's nails, and then vacuum/sweep the main level. Then I fill the bird feeders outside. 

11:40am - The part of the day I have been dreading has arrived. I need to give Hannah a bath. She hates it so much. After much running away from me (and some choice words under my breath about dog ownership), she is finally washed. I walk her around the neighborhood in a futile attempt to get her to be a bit more dry before I let her go in the house.

12:15pm - Back inside. I eat lunch. We swap out the laundry. I stare into space for a few minutes wondering how to make my dog hate baths less. I search the house to find the cat because at least I know people on the street won't be reporting me for abuse of the cat. 

1:20pm - I sit back at my computer to work on my blog some more until the last load of laundry is dried.

2:00pm - The dryer buzzed. I head off to fold the last load of clothes.

2:20pm - Start my workout. I do a 30 minute total body (which means more like 45 minutes for me with additional rest and changing weights) and 25 minute yin yoga.

3:40pm- Workout is over. I message my accountability and head downstairs for the best part of the day. It's time to "read" on the couch, which actually means take a nap with Zelda. 

5:35pm - Feeding the girls and training Hannah. It sounds like this should be easy, but Hannah needs her gross medication mixed with pumpkin and Zelda takes ages to eat two tablespoons of food, so this ended up being A Thing.

6:00-7:30pm - Make and eat dinner. After dinner, I make some pistachio date balls as an after work snack for the week. They don't look appetizing here, but I promise they're delicious. 

7:40pm - Shower.

8:05pm - We start the second episode of Silo on AppleTV. 

9:06pm - Hannah and I go around the block before bed. Drippy, dreary night. Hannah is displeased to be outside. 

9:18pm - I take my evening medications and brush my teeth.

9:40pm - Finish the last of this post. After this I'll do my line-a-day and goal journals for the day and then do a final check of the kitchen before heading to bed. Fingers crossed lights out by 10:15.

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Did you have a chore heavy Sunday or was it more fun heavy? What book are you currently reading?