Bacon Takedown

Last Sunday, I had the fortunate pleasure of attending the Bacon Takedown at the Thirsty Bear in San Francisco. 15 deliciously bacony creations were pitted against each other, and both a couple of judges and the crowd decided which came out on top. My good friend, @SeanaLyn had the fortunate pleasure of participating, along with the help of @heidikies.

There was everything from sweet, creamy bacon ice cream to deliciously heavy bacon fried chicken, biscuits, and gravy. Seana and Heidi delivered with bacon jalapeno popper tamales, a tweak of a recipe Seana got from her boyfriend's mom. Another favorite of mine was the bacon and herbs ravioli.

Suffice it to say, there was quite a crowd there. I mean, honestly, who doesn't want to wander around with a beer and munch on bacon? I'm pretty sure that's what heaven is. Good beer and lots of bacony goodies.

So the winners were determined in two ways. There was judge's choice, and crowd's choice. First place in crowd's choice was the good prize: a year's supply of bacon, a spatula trophy, and all sorts of cookware goodies. Judge's choice was won by the bacon friend chicken, biscuit, and gravy. Crowd's choice, however, was won by the lovely ladies of team White Hot Tamale, Seana and Heidi!

Calories Count

I stumbled across this article today in the business section of the LA Times website. Chains in California are being forced to prominently display the calorie counts of every item on their menu, and it's brought about an interesting change. Customers are now seeing that the, for example, sandwich they usually order is 900 calories, and second guessing their restaurant ordering habits. As a result, these restaurants are finding ways to make the food they offer a little lighter on the caloric wallet. They do this by offering healthier alternatives, offering smaller portions, and cutting back on fatty condiments and ingredients.

I've definitely seen the second guessing first hand. I used to work at a coffee chain, and when confronted with the number of calories the carrot cake had, most people opted to split a slice with a friend or chose something with fewer calories. If they hadn't been confronted with that huge number, they might not have thought twice. I do recognize, however, that there are always people who honestly don't care how many calories they consume, so listing these numbers isn't going to change their eating habits.

I love that this change in behavior is prompting restaurants to really consider the ingredients in the food they serve, and how good they are for you (although the healthiness of food is not just about calories). I can't tell you how many times I've been to a restaurant, looked at an item on the menu, and thought "Where are all those calories coming from?"

Are we really what we eat?

I came across this article today on Don't Panic online via Reddit. It's about a photographer's exploration into the refrigerators of varying types of people. It turns out you can learn a lot about a person based on what's in their refrigerator.

Most fascinating to me was the college students' fridge, with beer, condiments, and little else. Also, the refrigerator of the former amusement park owner- it's only a one person household, yet the fridge is chock full of food.

It makes me wonder what our fridge says about the boyfriend and I. Looking in there, the most prominent items are the filtered water pitcher, carrots, lettuce, cheese, deli meat, and tortillas.

The Best Berry

I'm going to dedicate my first real post to a food I've had a love affair with since I was a child: Strawberries. When I was a kid, my mom would buy a basket for the family and put them in the kitchen. She'd come back five minutes later to me essentially double fisting the strawberries, shoving them into my mouth like a kid who hadn't had fresh fruit in years. Honestly, even now, when the boyfriend and I bring a basket home, I find it all that I can do to stop myself from doing the same thing. Seriously, they're like nature's crack.

So, true to my food nerd self, I've found out a few fun facts about these delicious little morsels. Allow me to regale you with my learnings.

The primary species of strawberries sold around the world is the fragaria × ananassa, or the garden strawberry. It's a hybrid of the fragaria virginiana, from North America, and the fragaria chileonsis from Chile and Argentina. The garden strawberry basically couples the flavor of the North American variety and the size of the South American variety to produce a SUPER STRAWBERRY, THE LIKES OF WHICH THE WORLD HAS NEVER SEEN.

The U.S. is the top producer of the little berry, coming in at 1,148,530 tons in 2008. Next in line are Turkey, Mexico, Poland, and Egypt, all producing over 200,000 tons that year. At first glance, those countries all seem to have pretty different climates, but that just reveals one of the strawberry plant's primary strengths: it can grow nearly anywhere. Even a potted strawberry plant will produce fruit.

Now, the good part. I have made this strawberry muffin recipe from A Recipe A Day, and I really enjoyed it. I also really like using them in tarts, like this one from Epicurious. Honestly, though, I really just enjoy them sliced up with a little bit of sugar as a dessert. I'm a simple girl, and a good strawberry doesn't need to be in anything but my mouth.

The Start of Something

I'd been kicking the idea of starting a blog around for months. You see, deep down, I'm a writer, and I'll always be a writer. A blog gives me a reason to write regularly. 

My problem was figuring out what I'm interested in that others would be interested in reading. I asked friends and relatives and it all kind of came back to one thing: food. I love cooking, I love eating, and I love learning new things about food. I'm kind of a food nerd without the pretentious "foodie" attitude.

So that's what The Omnomnomicon is for. It's going to be a collection of fun facts about food and food culture, maybe some recipes I like, and just general observations about what we stuff our faces with every day. It's a food blog that isn't pretentious, but kind of silly. I hope you enjoy!