The Pantry Files

Privilege per Webster's is defined as a right or immunity granted as a benefit, advantage, or favor

Perception seems a bit tougher, involving observation and comprehension...

This past weekend I spent time at my older sister's house in Oregon and both my brother & were left with some serious questions. My sister has the perception that in comparison to her own diet, my mother's is extremely unhealthy as my mother likes the occasional cookie or donut or candy bar.

Yet my sister's pantry is filled with boxed and canned goods filled with sodium that Mom's diet should not include. We ate fried eggs and pork products everyday. Erica made cupcakes from a mix, used frosting from a container and baked premade biscuits, all of which have partially hydrogenated oil.

Oh and she drinks Ovaltine everyday. Isn't that technically a sweet?

The third, or maybe it was the sixth, time my sister griped about my mother wanting to buy danishes at the store, I opened the pantry and said "Do you have any idea how much sodium is in all this stuff?" Her response was a shrug and a comment about the fact that her husband liked that food, so that is what they had.

The only meals with vegetables we had were Thursday at Sizzler because we had the salad bar and Friday night when my brother made vegetable goulash with veggies my mom gave us money for. 

This has got me deeply thinking. I came home to a lovely beef stew with fresh potatoes, sweet potatoes and green beans. The weekend left me longing for fish. My perception is that my mother is eating the same crap my sister is serving only adding a few sweets here and there. My mother is known for liking her dessert, and we used to have 'a little something' every night when we were kids. In summer she would buy strawberries and douse them in sugar before putting them in the fridge and I would always ask if she could leave just a few plain so I could eat them that way.


So am I just responding like someone of privilege who is lucky enough to eat fresh produce with ease and has almost no canned or boxed food in their home? Or is this an issue of perception: she believes that canned food is perfectly acceptable because it isn't sugar and in her view the lack of sugar makes it 'healthy'?


When we stopped by the Ashland Co-Op on Sunday, Erica commented that she noticed how expensive things were. I said that with all my health issues in the past and our family health history I was willing to pay a little more for good, fresh food that wouldn't make me sick. She responded in the positive, so maybe in the end, she heard me after all.

Tacos Mi Tierra

The best meal we had while visiting family was on Friday in Medford. After we got off the bus we saw a library, so of course we had to go in. The library was closed but the store was open. lucky me, I got two books and scored a bunch of magazines for the whopping total of $1.50. 

href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/218/1574583/restaurant/Tacos-Mi-Tierra-Medford"><img alt="Tacos Mi Tierra on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1574583/biglink.gif" style="border:none;width:200px;height:146px" />


Then we walked across the street to Tacos Mi Tierra which smelled so good upon first entering we knew we had made the right choice. We decided to share the chicken nachos, which were enhanced the excellent tomatillo sauce we poured over them. We also got chicken tacos to go that we scarfed later. We ate another Mexican place Saturday but to our dismay, it didn't even come close to being as good. Tacos Mi Tierra is already in our list for places we plan to eat on our next visit to Medford.

The chips were wonderfully crunchy and the meat was fresh & hot off the grill. The prices are great too, we fed two people for $10, which was well within our budget. The couple behind us had burritos which looked and smelled amazing. My brother said that is what are trying next time we go....

what to eat, what to eat

I love the look of this, like an old fashioned kitchen

Meat is cooked fresh for every order and it tastes like it

It's all about the cheese: I loaf you!

I admit that it is no secret that I am a longtime cheese lover. There are a few I won't touch: taleggio makes me want to run out of the room. Havarti is a bit bland for me. Brie is good, but there are so many cheeses out there to explore, I couldn't possibly always light upon that one.

I was not very knowledgeable about Tillamook. I knew their mild cheddar made a perfect grilled cheese sandwich when you needed one, with some red onions and a little pepperoncini on wheat. However, I learned at the San Francisco stop of the Loaf Love tour just what I have been missing.

Tillamook is a farmer owned cooperative. The first Tillamook cheese plant was established in 1894, so you can bet they have plenty of practice getting it right. They have a visitor's center and cafe, so it looks like we all need to trek over to Oregon! The gang from Tillamook are fun know how to throw a party and are really great dressers!

Heather and I were early and enjoyed watching from across the street as people stopped and smiled, laughed and took pictures of the Baby Loaf buses. Truly these babies really do have a way of making you happy. I mean how can you not smile when you see them?

As they make their way across the country, or parts of it, you to can meet up with these cutest of little buses carrying some really tasty cheese. Oh, and you get to pose with them too! Here's Heather with a Baby Loaf.

I was also reminded just how good beer is with cheese! Really you have to do a tasting with beer and cheese. You will be delightfully surprised. Go for something exciting or spicy to pair with your cheeses and you won't believe your taste buds. Big thanks to Coney Island Beer et al!

The event took place at the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen, who whipped some amazing treats for us, including Heidi's amazing blondies, the Piglet Tillamook sharp cheddar, artisan cured ham, apple mustard, rosemary butter, and the Jalapeño Popper chèvre, monterey jack, applewood-smoked bacon, apricot-jalapeño relish.

All of the cheeses were tasty and it was great to be able to try all of the different varieties available.

 I really loved two specific cheeses, the Vintage Extra White Sharp

and the Smoked Medium Cheddar which in no way diminishes any of the others!

One of my favorite cheese combinations ever is one introduced to me by my soul mother, Althea. We would get crusty bread, smoky cheese and pumpkin oil. Then we would drink wine and feast. Smoky cheddar and pumpkin oil are positively brilliant together. Trust me.

There was some fun swag, like a magazine and a squeezey cheese loaf! And the atmosphere of the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen is nice and homey. It is also a nice walk from the BART, and right across from 21st Amendment Brewery, so it's an all around win, right?!

Thank you so much to the Tillamook team who was kind enough to fit me in at the last minute, and to the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen for hosting and cooking!