Beer and Empathy

The food ninja of Munich

Ended up avoiding Basic. Did a drugstore run at Rossman and DM, both have organic food aisles. Snagged a 500 gram bag of organic quinoa at DM for 2.50 Euro. I was so happy when I left that I think I was doing a happy dance down the block without realizing it.

I’m heading over to the Basic Bio (organic) market to pick up some quinoa, since the markets I usually go to don’t carry it.

You know the aura of insufferableness so many Whole Foods shoppers in the US seem to emanate? That’s what the shoppers at Basic in Germany are like. I went there once to get some ingredients for that awesome lasagna I made months ago and I just did not like the place. Rewe carries a lot of the same stuff for less, of course, and the kick-ass mom and pop butcher shop the next block over has locally produced meats that are raised organically, without hormones. 

But I’ve been eating way too many refined carbs lately and I want to cut down on wheat. It’s hard to in Germany, where there are bakeries everywhere and most quick, cheap snacks involve dough in some way.

So I’ve collected some really yummy-sounding quinoa recipes and after finding out it’s really good for you (has a ton of protein apparently), I’m gonna give it a try.

I’m not trying to lose weight, not going on a “diet”, but I know the way I’ve been eating the last 6 weeks or so are making me feel a little less than optimal.

So we’ll see how it goes. But I really hate that supermarket. 

Over-thinking shit: A post about buying stuff to make Indian food at home…

I finally got around to going to the Asian market. I was psyched. Got bags of great spices, lots of ‘em. The owner had just come back from getting himself an ice cream down the street and was slicing some fresh mango to put on top. He gave me and the other customer a big slice and said in German “This is the best mango in the world”. Damn if he wasn’t close to right. It was perfectly ripe. So. Good.

I got some chickpeas, tomatoes a chile and ginger too because I wanted to make Chana Masala. Total came to less than $15 US and the spices came in bags at least 4x what you get in a standard supermarket spice jar. The coriander bag was way bigger. Lentils are cheap, rice to eat it with stretches the recipe.

Since I moved to Munich I’ve been enjoying my new bigger kitchen and cooking for us a lot. And I finally got over my feeling that making Asian cuisines was so daunting and scary, with so many spices and “exotic” ingredients.

And with the economy being so bad in the US the last few years of course there’s been a lot of talk about getting value out of your food and Indian recipes seem to feature somewhat prominently in that discussion among a certain demographic.

“Anyone can eat cheap like this, just make the initial investment in the spices and you’re good to go.” Hmmmmm…

Well, you’d have to admit even for families/people on a tight budget spending $10-$15 on spices isn’t too bad, especially if you break it up over 2 visits. But then you have to factor in where someone lives. Not even just food deserts but at a typical grocery store a small-ish spice jar can cost between $3-$6 each. So living in a city with an easily accessible authentic Asian grocery is already a privilege, ironically one that saves me money, which is of course why it’s a privilege in this instance.

So if you factor in the cost of ingredients I got today. It’s quite possible I could make a big pot of Chana Masala and live on it for the better part of a week for perhaps the equivalent of less than $15 (the fresh tomatoes in the recipe up the cost). 

And I do know people who do this kind of thing on the regular. Mostly the younger starving artists in cities. With access to the right ingredients. And access is everything…

 

I saw some dry red lentils we haven’t had in a while, some leftover Madras curry paste and some Basmati rice. So I’m gonna make curried red lentils with rice. Culinary deductive reasoning. And it’s cheap, delicious and good for you. Everyone wins!!!

After finding a great Asian food market not too far from our place, I’m jumping into making Thai and Indian food at home. It’s just always really seemed so daunting to me, the complexity of the curries, so many ingredients. But, I figure if billions of people from Thailand and India have been able to pull it off for a few centuries/millenia I might have a shot at making a decent dish or two. 

I think I want to start off with a Thai soup (haven’t narrowed it down yet) and maybe try my hand at a Madras curry or Vindaloo, both this week. Or maybe I’ll just keep it super-simple and start off with a Pad Thai.

I also love the spice selection at that shop. I had really delicious red mojo sauce in the Canaries and it’s sooooo simple to make. Good cumin makes a difference, and that seems like a place to get it.

The supermarkets in my neighborhood are great, but the Asian food section is limited, not especially authentic and crazy expensive too. Glad I found a place I can find the real deal. Now I just need to go there after work tomorrow and stock up…