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Food Love

If you’re going to have a baby and do not have a church community, I suggest finding one. Why? Among other reasonsĀ is the fact that they tend give wonderful meals to new families. The good people at Church of the Resurrection sure came through for us.

Church volunteers coordinate a ministry called “meals for moms,” which provides new mothers with, well, you guessed it, meals. That means that three days a week, since the birth of our daughter on January 1, different parishioners came to our house toting some mouth-water, homemade concoctions. I would have been thankful for the meal no matter what I’ve gotten, and I expected it all to be satisfying in a homemade sort of way. But I’ll tell you what – we have some good cooks in our ranks. Beef ragout, pulled pork barbecue, squash soup and breadsticks – and let me tell you about the chicken. There has been a lot of chicken, as you can imagine, but it was never repetitive. A casserole one week, sesame the next, chicken breast in a tangy, tomato-based sauce cooked with squash, we even got a whole roasted chicken – it was all delicious. The meals were complete too. There were salads, side veggies, and desserts. There was even D.S., who did not cook, but brought us pizza from our favorite pizza restaurant. We have been well fed and well loved.

Having a baby has been one of the best things we’ve ever done. I recommend them. But make no mistake, these first few weeks have been tough. It is tough for us, and we are privileged in so many ways. We are together, our parents flew in to take care of us, we have a great community, a warm apartment, employment – had any of this been missing, it would have been all the more difficult. And it is still tough. It’s tough to throw together a nutritious and good-tasting meal when you’ve been up all night, trying to comfort a 10-pound crying person. Our church loved us in a way we did not expect or ask for, and it has made a huge difference.

One of the best ways to show love, to be a friend, to be a family member, is to share a meal. New parents could always use some, and if you have a child, I hope there is someone to provide one for you. This should also remind us to share meals with the new parents in our community (as my landlord did, who is not part of our church, but came by with an amazing lasagna). This is especially true for those in more challenging situations – new parents estranged from their own families, single parents, new parents where the money is tight – no questions these are people whose days would be lit up by a warm supper from a friend. Those of us who write here at Justin Loves Food love food indeed. We can also use food to love others.

A big thanks to our brothers and sisters at Church of the Resurrection, especially those who have loved us with food.

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New Kabob Shop in Dupont Circle

Like most Americans, the right sort of marketing will get me in the door. Last week, I forgot my usual packed lunch and was wandering the Dupont Circle neighborhood when I came across the Sacrificial Lamb, a new kabob and pizza joint on 17th and R, NW. It’s a basement deal with only counter seating inside (though it has a handsome patio, which I’m sure will be useful in the spring), but my love for Kabobs, the affectionate dinginess of the place (any restaurant that doesn’t look like it has a team of marketing experts determine the design is a plus in my book – unless of course the marketing guys figured that out and are using my useless quest for authenticity against me) and the name (that’s where I’m a sucker) drew me like a magnet. I like the thought that the sheep used to make my Kabob was ritually sacrificed (though this caused no small amount of controversy in the New Testament). In any case, a sheep was sacrificed so that I would pay someone a small amount of money to enjoy a tasty sandwich.

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, it would not surprise you that I my taste for Kebabs began in Germany. Germany has a significant Turkish minority, who wrapped Turkish meats and vegetables into flat-bread to serve as fast food to hungry Germans and other pale-skinned visitors. Doener Kebabs are available in any German town and train station, and, should you backpack Europe on a budget, they only cost 3 to 4 Euros (and as little as 1 Euro in the poor-but-sexy East).

According to the owner, the Sacrificial Lamb Kabobs are more South Asian – he described it as a hybrid of food you can find in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. (I believe he was from Pakistan) On my first visit, I ordered a Lamb Kabob and fries. The Kebab was delicious – more saucy and less spicy than its Turkish-German cousin. The meat was good, and the vegetables were not immaculate, but the whole combo was stupendous. I regret that I ordered a side of fries – these were no better than the fries in the back of your freezer and their more South Asian sides looked more appealing – particularly the spinach. Before I left, my host let me try the butter chicken, which was their opening special. Delicious – the chicken is wrapped in this tasty, tangy, slightly-spicy red sauce with none of the fried, high-fructose sweetness that you’ll find on the end of a toothpick in a shopping mall.

The butter chicken is exactly what I bought when I went back yesterday, this time with a side of spinach, rise and chickpeas. A tasty treat in a Styrofoam tray. It was still on special, which meant the whole thing was around about $6.75 – just under $10 when you throw in a diet Snapple plus tax. Non-special meals run about $10 on their own. As the name implies, they do have pizza there, which you can get cheaply by the slice, but frankly, like the fries, it did not look special or appetizing. I say, drop by, and see for yourself – but stick with the South Asian specialties. I may “forget” my lunch more often.

(PS: The owner is looking to rent a parking space in Dupont Circle – if anyone reading could help him out, give him a call at 202/797-2736. Order yourself some butter chicken, while you are at it)

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Cereal Can Be Exciting

For me, cereal has always been an efficient, quick way to stuff my body with whole grains before hitting the grind. This is, of course, early in the morning where I would prefer not to put much thought into anything. Other than Sundays between the ages of 5 and 13, where my parents allowed us to eat outrageously sweet serials (I’ve grown out of that), I’ve never taken much pleasure in eating it, and I’ve never understood those who like to snack on cereal the same way I like to snack on chips and salsa.

My wife is different. No, she doesn’t sit around in her PJs snacking cereal all day long. But this morning, like many morning, she put a little tender love and care to produce a delightful muesli. It included:

  1. Cornflakes
  2. Raw oatmeal
  3. “Nordic Muesli” from IKEA (which consists of almonds, dried bananas and dried oranges)
  4. Raisins
  5. Apple slices
  6. Canned pineapple
  7. The juice from the same can
  8. Flax seed
  9. Plain “Greek Style” yogurt (instead of milk)

My cereal consisted of:

  1. Cheerios, mixed with…
  2. Chex
  3. Soy milk

Guess which one of us enjoyed her breakfast.

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The Original American Brew

My wife and I are finally watching HBO’s excellent John Adams mini-series (thanks Justin for letting us borrow your DVD). There is, however, little deep exploration about the eating and drinking habits of our 2nd president, other than a few dinner scenes. There, he an Abigail always seem to drink wine from glasses that curve inward than outward (these glasses look cool but they probably did little to let the red wine “breathe”). According to Slate’s Brian Palmer, Adams was more of a cider drinker. Actually, that is an understatement. He “drank a tankard of cider nearly every morning of his life.” I’m not sure how much cider goes in a tankard, but that sounds like a lot of booze for breakfast.

Now, I’ve never been a huge cider fan, but Palmer would say I’m simply not getting enough of the good stuff. For most Americans (and this would include me), he writes, cider is

“in the same category as wine coolers or those enigmatic clear malt beverages: chemically suspect, effeminate alternatives to beer. And who can blame them? America’s mass-market ciders are comically weak and inexplicably fizzy. Many are made not from cider apples but from the concentrated juice of eating apples, which is a bit like making wine from seedless table grapes.”

American Cider declined for various reasons, and prohibition finally killed it off. Great Britain continues to make fine cider, but more importantly, they are inspiring American craft-brewers to do the same. Palmer recommends Farnum Hill, Wandering Aengus, Wescott Bay, Bellweather and Eve’s.

Have you had any of these? Have you had any of the fine British Cider’s Palmer mentions?

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