Dietary Dissonance

Even though I grew up on a cattle farm (and eat meat), in my mind I'm a vegetarian. I've read thousands of pages of debate, arguments, philosophy, biology, etc. on the subject - everything Singer has ever written. There are compelling arguments on both sides, but I do not seek to influence anyone else to eat or not eat animals. My reason is deeply personal - which means no one can dispute it or argue with it: eating animals offends my conscience. Period. I don't expect anyone else on earth to feel the same way, but the truth in fact is simple and inescapable: eating animals offends my conscience. But I haven't stopped. It's like cigarette smoking, or Snickers bars. I know I shouldn't, and I don't want to, but I'm weak. My addiction to pork chops is stronger than other addictions. Sometimes my craving for a cheeseburger drives me leave the house at odd hours. I've tried to split some kind of difference by reducing my meat intake to 2 days per week, but if someone dangles bacon in front of me - it's over. This condition makes the kitchen a rough place on occasion - esp. for "stocks"- chicken stock, fish stock, and veal stock. Wow. How profoundly disgusting. You know the basics: you saw up/or crush as many animal carcasses as you can (connective tissues and cartilage are best - necks, knuckles, the entire veal leg sawed into short pieces), toss them in a pot, and simmer them for hours and hours. All kinds of "scum" floats up - rancid cooked blood especially. Everywhere I turned - nothing but pot after pot after pot of roadkill. Wings, skulls, spinal cords simmering away. It pushed me even closer to being able to actualize as a vegetarian, but for now, I remain a vegetarian only in my mind. Such dissonance. Perhaps one day I'll open a vegetarian cafe (and sneak out the back door to eat cheeseburgers... and smoke cigarettes).

Kitchens

I've been a Food Channel addict for a couple of years now. Cooking school is starting to change my viewing experience in a way I didn't expect. I don't look at the food much differently (yet), but I notice countless new things about kitchens. The stoves, the equipment, the metro racks, hotel pans, convection ovens, stockpots, foil boxes, fryers, etc. Kitchens are more standardized than I would have guessed - which makes a lot of sense.

Let's Call The Whole Thing Starchy

A week of potatoes done... potato puree, duchesse potatoes, potato croquette, potatoes rissole, potatoes dauphinoise, roasted, baked, triple baked with gruyere... the potato is infinitely versatile. Omg I'll gain 20 pounds this week. Death by potato - bring it on.

Scenes From Scenes

It's Official - I Start Today

A while back you may remember I announced my plans to attend Cordon Bleu cooking school. When that fell through for various reasons I returned to filmmaking to keep myself busy, but I got a call from Cordon Bleu last week letting me know I can now attend. So I start class today. I'm putting movies on hold for a year and going to cooking school! Movies have always been so good to me. I'm sure they will be patiently waiting for my return. I need to get this next degree out of the way asap. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I'm going to be a Cordon Bleu chef! This also means no more of these 16 hour day 7 day weeks, whew! I haven't had a free second to myself for blogging or anything much but sleeping. I can finally get back to having personal time, and can't wait to start blogging about food! Stay tuned.

Happy Birthday Madonna!

Wow, it feels like I started this blog two weeks ago, but this is the third time August 16th has rolled around. The one reason I've always wished I was superstitious is so that I could ascribe some special meeting to sharing Madonna's birthday. Happy birthday Madonna - I wouldn't rather be born on any other date! It's so good to be 29 (again).

First Couchsurfer - Smashing Success

If you haven't signed up at couchsurfing.com, do it immediately. I had my first couchsurfer, a filmmaker named Seth Donald a few nights ago. Seth was driving from his home in New York to Los Angeles to attend film school. He planned to stay here for one night (which turned into two), and was a superb houseguest. I took him to set with me one day and put him to work as a grip. The entire crew was crushed upon learning he was just surfing through town and wouldn't be back on our movie. I've been couchsurfing (or "backpacking" as we called it throughout Asia) for fifteen years, but this was my first 'official' surf through the website. I imagine I will know Seth for the rest of my life, and I'm sure I'll be on his couch someday in the future. Couchsurfing totally rocks. I want to couchsurf the entire planet. As if the money you save isn't enough - you really get to know a local wherever you go, rather than be holed up in a hotel room wondering where and how to meet people. Couchsurfing is terrific. I can't wait to host more people, and start surfing myself.

Welcome To The Parker - What A Dump!

Has anyone seen this Bravo show about The Parker in Palm Springs? What a nightmare. The interior desecrater is none other than Jonathan Adler (the worst-dressed man in television history (did anyone see "Top Design"? His clothes were sickening)). The place is unbelievably tacky - tinsel wrapped in trash, lucite-dipped, and covered in garage-sale kitsch. God what a horrible hotel. "Motel" is a better word. The service looks atrocious, the staff is a bunch of screaming obnoxious queens, and the guests look like third-rate ribbon clerks with faggitude. Remind me to never go anywhere near The Parker next time I'm in Palm Springs. Creepy, creepy, creepy.