Tag: food

Whatever happened to the tribe of two sheiks?

It used to be that the only hummus you could find in a grocery store here in the US was sold in a yellow and red plastic tub with a drawing of two guys on camels. Then, sometime in the last few years they dropped the sheiks from the package and just started calling themselves “Tribe” which I attributed to the company trying to save sales in the face of rampant Islamaphobia. Now, the yellow and red is gone in lieu of a clear package the lets you look at the hummus before you buy it (in case it’s actually ranch dip and not hummus?). They’ve also taken the opportunity to go way way to cutesy with the ad-copy on the package.

First we have, as puts it, the screed. This saccharine diatribe is on the inside of the lid so you don’t see it until you’ve opened the package.
The screed!

Once you start eating the hummus there’s more screed on the inside.
More screed

And finally the entire tub of hummus is MADE WITH LOVE and other actual ingredients.
made with love

I don’t think the quality of the hummus has suffered for all the re-packaging but now I’m just less inclined to buy it.

Halfway up the mountain

* Gill and I decided to take a ride up Mount Doom Diablo today (I still can’t believe we actually live near Mount Diablo. It’s like we’re living in a bad fantasy movie or something.) Anyways, it was fun. Once you get past the super-expensive homes at the base of the mountain, the road into the park itself barely qualifies as two lanes, and the lane up the mountain is right on the edge. There were some great views here, but only a single place to pull over and park right before the gate and the Ranger’s station. We had a great view looking south though.

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As you can tell, the slight overcast we experienced on the ground had turned into full-on fog up the mountain, and it only got worse the higher we climbed. We passed several camping and picnic areas, with the fog getting worse and worse, until we finally decided to turn around even before we got to the road leading to the summit. I think we only got as high as 2200 feet before the fog became too thick to continue driving.
On our way back down we stopped at this little picnic area called the “Bridal Nook Picnic Area”. It was literally a half-dozen muddy steps up to a picnic table and grill, but the fog really made it magical.

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We stopped again about halfway back to the gatehouse and did a little walking on a trail. Unfortunately, the trails are all hard-packed dirt and had turned into mud with the last several days of rain, but we managed to pick our way over to what would have been a beautiful view, if the fog wasn’t in.

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All in all it was quite an adventure. I’m amazed at how green everything was, especially as I can count the number of days of rain we’ve seen since we moved here on both hands (as a sign at the park entrance said “The fire danger today is LOW”.)

* On the way back home we stopped in Danville to have a bit of a walk on the Iron Horse Trail. We also found where the Trader Joe’s, Post Office, and Z Pizza are in Danville, so that’s handy.

* Speaking of Trader Joe’s, we did a brief bit of shopping. The cookie butter is so good but so bad for us. And the freeze-dried unsweetened blueberries are fantastic!

I don’t know why this stuck with me so much

I read this quote on Tumblr, having been reblogged by an author I follow:

“Cakes have gotten a bad rap. People equate virtue with turning down dessert. There is always one person at the table who holds up her hand when I serve the cake. No, really, I couldn’t she says, and then gives her flat stomach a conspiratorial little pat. Everyone who is pressing a fork into that first tender layer looks at the person who declined the plate, and they all think, That person is better than I am. That person has discipline. But that isn’t a person with discipline; that is a person who has completely lost touch with joy. A slice of cake never made anybody fat. You don’t eat the whole cake. You don’t eat a cake every day of your life. You take the cake when it is offered because the cake is delicious. You have a slice of cake and what it reminds you of is someplace that’s safe, uncomplicated, without stress. A cake is a party, a birthday, a wedding. A cake is what’s served on the happiest days of your life. This is a story of how my life was saved by cake, so, of course, if sides are to be taken, I will always take the side of cake.”

― Jeanne Ray

and it got me to thinking. On the face of it it’s a wonderful sentiment – enjoy the little moments in your life. One piece isn’t going to harm you.

But if you read further it’s basically the speaker condemning the person abstaining from the cake without any knowledge of why they did it. The speaker is really saying “I know more about your situation than you do, so I’m entitled to judge you.” The quote presents the abstainer as the smugly superior person when really it’s the speaker. And for some reason it infuriates me. What if I were to flip this around, change the subject of the quote?

“Alcohol has gotten a bad rap. People equate virtue with turning down a drink. There is always one person at the table who holds up her hand when I serve the wine. No, really, I couldn’t she says, and then gives her flat stomach a conspiratorial little pat. Everyone who is raising thier glass for that first sip looks at the person who declined the drink, and they all think, That person is better than I am. That person has discipline. But that isn’t a person with discipline; that is a person who has completely lost touch with joy. A single drink never made anybody drunk. You don’t drink the whole bottle. You don’t drink a whole bottle every day of your life. You take the wine when it is offered because the wine is delicious. You have a glass of wine and what it reminds you of is someplace that’s safe, uncomplicated, without stress. Wine is a party, a birthday, a wedding. Wine is what’s served on the happiest days of your life.”

Really, if someone decides they don’t want to share in a food/drink that you enjoy, who are you to judge them for that?