The $1.50 Challenge End and Results

1 May 2015

The $1.50/day challenge ends tomorrow. For me, it ended sooner than I thought it would. Even though it did, I have to say that this challenge was very humbling.

On Day Two, I continued eating the pre-made meals I made for the week. Breakfast consisted of the congee soup, free coffee and soy milk, and water. For lunch, I had fried rice with a few carrot/celery sticks. For dinner, I tried to be a little more inventive with my food and attempted to create an Indian version of a burrito using the leftover lentil soup and some of the shredded chicken. I added Naan bread to the dollar count ($0.50).

Dinner was where the problems started to set in. I ate a few bites from dinner and then stopped. The cat ended up coming over and eating the rest of it for me. I just wasn’t interested in it. By breakfast on Day 3, I tried to eat some of the free cereal and free soy milk, only to find I had no interest in eating at all. This is where I could sense a problem is arising. To go two meals in a row and choose to not eat than to eat a poor man’s meal, that says something very strongly to me. There was a health problem arising.

As I contemplated ending the challenge to eat something healthier and more heartier (i.e. more than $1.50), I looked at my lunch of lentil soup and realized I was not hungry at all. I was about to go 3 meals straight without eating.

The last time I went through multiple meals of not eating, I was in a poor country…Morocco. I went 3 days without eating before my driver had to step in and arrange for me to eat something that met my palate (which ended up being Chicken Tagine Citron). That’s just the way that I am. I’d rather not eat than to eat something that was mediocre or boring.

This challenge humbled me in realizing just how fortunate I am. I’m thankful for the bounty that God has given to me over the years. Then I was humbled in realizing that even though I felt like I was starving by day three on only $1.50/day, there are people out there that don’t even have $1.50/day to eat the bounty I was able to create. Some may go days without eating, but that’s not by choice or stubbornness because the food doesn’t agree with their palate. They’d gladly eat a rotten banana peel from the dump if that’s all they could find.

I never really appreciated the life that I’ve been afforded until I took this challenge. It makes you thankful for the little things you take for granted. At the same time, it makes you feel compassion for those who only dream of being able to have access to such bounty. It also makes you wonder what is wrong with this world when there are so many countries that have way more than enough to feed their people that we find ourselves wasting so much food at every meal. Somehow we can’t find a way to share the wealth with those who have nothing.

Why can’t we help those find means to fight their hunger? I know in this day and age we are faced with countless issues on why we cannot end hunger, like war and politics. But when you look at hunger as a human rights issue, war and politics do not matter. Human beings matter more. They always will.

After I ended my challenge on Day Three, I noticed that I started getting very ill. I knew my health may become an issue by changing my diet and not having access to plenty of fruits and vegetables. That was the main reason I decided to end the challenge. At the beginning, I did have that ‘what if’ this lowered my immune system and I became ill, but I was willing to forego the scare just to challenge myself to understand what the majority of the world is struggling with. Well, the ‘what if’ went into a full blown fever, vomiting, inability to keep liquids or solids down, and later a horrible respiratory infection.

I can’t tell you how grateful I am for the medical services available to me. Yet, there are people out there that don’t have access to medicine or medicinal food (i.e. the good ole chicken noodle soup, broth, or orange juice). Some people don’t even have access to clean water. Some people have to walk miles just to fetch a jar of water. This is the world we live in. The difference between the haves and the have nots? Money and Where You Live on this planet.

I think many of us dream of One World someday where hunger and access to clean water is a thing of the past.

I donated $250 (my fundraising goal) to UNICEF through the Live Below the Line challenge. If you’d like to donate a few dollars to help children worldwide have access to food, water and medical supplies, please join me in donating.

If you can’t donate a few dollars, think of gathering a few non-perishable food items from your kitchen and dropping them off at a local food pantry or food kitchen. If you can’t afford to spare food or money, consider donating some of your time to help out at a food kitchen or pantry. They always need volunteers. Find ways you can help stamp out hunger in the world. Sometimes it starts in your very own neighborhood.

A “How to” Buying Guide: Caviar and Pâté

2 April 20158 April 2016

Ever been mystified by the whole caviar and pâté experience?

I was. So I decided to go out and educate myself on how to buy caviar and pâté, as well as how to eat the luxury items. The best way to learn is to go to the professionals.

Petrossian is the answer in both Paris and the United States. They are not only the experts, but they offer some of the finest goods on the market.

First off, caviar is expensive. The reason lies in the process of cultivating fish eggs. It is not as easy as one would think.

Caviar is not cheap, just less expensive — more affordable. The restrictions on wild caviar made the price very high. The actual progress in the production and the number of farms all over the world created more offerings. However, one should also remember that caviar is not raised, sturgeons are, and that this process takes over ten years. This is the reason why caviar will never be an inexpensive product. Plus, the fact that to create good caviar requires a lot of work and enormous specialized knowledge. Now, if the dream becomes affordable, then it will drive caviar lovers back to caviar — those who’ve stopped their consumption because of higher prices.

— Caviar Q&A with Armen Petrossian, The Daily Meal, by Yasmin Fahr

There are a variety of different types of ‘caviar’ out there. Let’s start from the beginning.

What and Where to Buy

First, the term ‘Caviar’ is used only from the roe (fish eggs) that come from sturgeon fish. It only comes from sturgeon fish. You will find that other variations of roe (like salmon roe) are labeled as salmon roe, not caviar. Caviar only comes from sturgeon fish. All other fish eggs that do not come from sturgeon fish is called roe.

Caviar is black, while salmon roe is orange. Depending on the fish, roe can come in a variety of colors.

If you are starting out and need a less expensive, but highly qualitative brand of caviar, start with the Classic Transmontanus Caviar. In Petrossian stores, the smallest tin is $51. Online, a small tin will cost $53.

You can also try the less expensive roe that comes from salmon, trout, or even flying fish. The reason why the eggs from sturgeon are so expensive is because for many years, the fish were considered an endangered species. In the quote above from Petrossian, it also takes many years to cultivate sturgeon. The less expensive roe comes from fish that are more bountiful.

If you’re in a city where there’s a Petrossian store, you’ll find more variety and that the prices are considerably lower in their stores than online. For instance, online, the Salmon Roe retails at $62, but that’s for a 250g tin. You can pick up a 50g tin between $12-$14 at the store.

I prefer the salmon roe and caviar. If the caviar wasn’t $50+ per tiny tin, this would be a staple in my home.

The are so many different grades and prices, with $50 being the cheapest and the price of caviar going upwards into the 4-to-5 digit numbers. The more expensive numbers depend on the rarity of a special harvest which produces an incredible batch of eggs that are unlike any other. For instance, one serving of Petrossian Special Reserve Ossetra Caviar costs $394. For 16-32 servings, the price goes up to $12,500. That’s one expensive dinner party right there.

Petrossian doesn’t just sell roe and caviar. They also sell baked goods (in store), chocolates, smoked fish, and other fish delicacies.

One delicacy I highly recommend is the Tarama Au Crabe Royal. It’s a mixture of créme fraiche, cod roe and crabmeat.

As for pâté, Petrossian offers some of the best pâté I’ve ever had in my life. Try the Pheasant, Pork & Duck with Figs, Pistachios and Port from Petrossian. The nice vinegary taste in each bite creates a sharpness of flavors that awakens your tastebuds. The Petrossian pâtés are far better than any other one I have ever tasted. They make all the rest taste like cheap liverwurst.

How do you eat Caviar/Roe?

Deviled Eggs from The Glamorous Housewife

There are a variety of ways you can eat caviar/roe. My favorite is definitely Deviled Eggs with caviar. You can create little stacks on top of a blini.

The varieties of ways you can eat caviar/roe are endless.

If you ask Armen Petrossian how he likes his caviar…nude. As in, by the teaspoon. You can follow it up with a glass of champagne or vodka, or a slice of blini.

You can purchase blinis or you can make them.

It is important to serve up caviar with a Mother of Pearl Sea Shell Caviar Spoon and NEVER use sterling silver. Using silver only degrades the quality of the caviar, and tarnishes the spoon. Luckily the caviar spoons range from a couple of dollars and on up.

Just remember that caviar hates metal and will instantly spoil it.

If you’re serving up caviar at a party, here is a HOW TO with pictures.

april2.4 — You can create stacks on top of blinis. Here: pate topped with tarama au crabe, with roe/caviar on top.

You’ll find that there are a variety of amazing ways to eat caviar. Maybe you’ll even find a certain kind of roe that you’ll love.

If you’re looking for recipes, just type in ‘caviar’ in Pinterest and you’ll find everything from appetizers to soups to main courses.

How to Eat Pâté

As you can see, I like my pâté with caviar. I’ve also eaten it alongside a baguette, some French jam, butter, fruit and cornichons on the side for an afternoon snack.

You can serve it up any which way you want. Try it on a sandwich, alongside eggs at breakfast, or with cheese and fruit. Some mousse varieties can be used to add on top of potatoes, as a dip, or even stuffed into vegetables. There are just so many ways you can eat it.

Fake Caviar?

There’s something about luxury that someone out there always tries to offer a cheap imitation. Don’t bother with the cheap imitations. You won’t enjoy it. How will you know it’s fake? Armen Petrossian elaborates in his interview with The Daily Meal.

How can you detect false wild caviar, or poor quality caviar?

Would you buy the wedding present of your daughter in the flea market, or on the net? Certainly not. You will go to a reliable source, a reputable company. It is the same with caviar. You go to a well-known specialist and let him or her guide you for your party. False balls called “caviar” are easy to spot. You put an egg on a sheet of paper and press. If there is no juice, only paste, then you know this is not caviar.

For expired roe, you can take some grains on your tongue and see if it creates an effect like small needles. If so, then your product is no good. Use your nose and smell the caviar. It should not have a strong smell like herring for example. A light, agreeable smell is what you should have. If you tilt the tin and the caviar is very oily, like a heavy soup, then this is a bad sign. Note that a little oil is normal. And if the grain is hard, with practically no juice, that’s also not good.

In other words, stick to the real stuff. Only buy from the best in the business. There is no such thing as shopping around for a better deal on luxury food. You won’t enjoy the lesser quality. In other words, it would be a waste of your money. Buy only the best and don’t throw your money away on cheap imitations.

If you are ever in a city where Petrossian has a shop, I highly recommend stopping in and trying their foods. They package everything up with ice and special containers so that you can get your purchases home without spoilage.They also ship out their merchandise the same way.

Petrossian also has cafes and restaurants where you can sample a little bit of luxury. Just come prepared knowing the tab will be considerably high.

If you can’t make it to a shop, but want to try out some of their delicacies, order online. You will not regret tasting the best of the best in the business.

French Food Made Easy: Laura Calder

1 April 201516 August 2023

French Food at Home by Laura Calder includes some of the most amazing French recipes you’ll ever taste. Laura simplifies it for you.

Before moving this site to a new platform, I experimented with a topic last year to see how it would be perceived. Each month would get its own region and we would take a look at all things from that region. We’re revisiting FRANCE and all things FRENCH to start off Diary of a Perfectionist Wannabe’s relaunch since it was so popular last year. We’ll take a look at French food, arts, culture, photography, books, etc. all throughout this month.

Each week we’ll be showcasing a cookbook and divvying up a few of the recipes from the book. This week’s French recipes are from Laura Calder’s book French Food at Home.

For those just starting out learning how to cook French food, it can seem a little daunting. As James Peterson writes, you could end up using every single pot and pan in your arsenal just to make one meal.

Calder makes the different processes of making French food a little easier.

For instance, this fabulous Honey Hen recipe with Lemon Pasta was so good, you’re not going to want to share it.

Honey Hen

Ingredients

1 chicken (3 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard*
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence

[*You can use Whole Grain Mustard as a less spicier substitute for Dijon mustard. It is equally as good.]

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Melt the honey in a saucepan and whisk in the mustard and herbs. Pour over the chicken pieces in a baking dish, and roll them around to coat well.

Bake, turning occasionally, until the meat is cooked through, well browned, and veiled in its dripping hot sauce, 40 to 45 minutes.*

[*Cooking times may vary.]

Lemon Pasta

This is one of my favorite, easy and simple pasta recipes from Laura Calder.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Grated zest of 4 to 5 lemons*
1 cup heavy cream
1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
Salt and Pepper
Lemon juice to taste
1/2 pound fresh egg pasta

[*For extra zing and/or color, use a mix of lemon/lime zests.]

Instructions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. While you wait, melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the lemon zest. Pour over the cream and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the cheese, stirring to melt. Season with salt and pepper. Add lemon juice to taste.

Cook the pasta. Drain, return to the pot, and toss with the sauce. Divide among four serving plates, garnish as you like, and serve immediately.*

[Note: This dish must be eaten hot. When it goes cold, it basically turns into cold butter and pasta noodles.]

Toast Soup

If you’re like me, it’s a little difficult to get through an entire loaf of French bread. Instead of tossing the bread out when it starts to go stale, Toast Soup is the answer.

Ingredients

6 slices smoky bacon*
4 cups chicken stock
About 8 cups cubed French bread (roughly 1 loaf)
2 cups milk, more if needed
2 teaspoons sherry or balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard**
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

[*Note: When purchasing bacon make sure it says “Smokey” not “Smoke Flavored.” There is a major difference.] [**Note: You can use Whole Grain Mustard as a substitute for Dijon mustard.]

Instructions:

Fry the bacon until cooked but not necessarily crisp. Pour over the stock, bring to a boil, turn off the heat, cover, and let infuse about an hour.

Meanwhile, toast the bread on a baking sheet in the oven until quite dark, but not burnt. Transfer to a large saucepan.

Strain the stock over the toast, reserving the bacon. Add the milk, vinegar, and mustard and purée until very smooth with an immersion blender.* Taste before seasoning with salt and pepper.

Cut the bacon into slivers and refry until crispish. Reheat the soup, whisking in the cold butter at the last minute to give it gloss. Serve piping hot with the bacon bits scattered over.

[*Note: For added texture, do not purée all of the bread in the soup. Leave a few pieces as is, but purée the majority of the soup.]

* * * *

Laura Calder’s book is one of my favorites. It’s a great beginner’s book into learning how to cook French food. She makes things simple because creating an elaborate French dinner can seem absolutely terrifying. The recipes are easy to intermediate and everything tastes absolutely wonderful.

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Try The World: Paris Box

12 February 201519 February 2016

My latest Try the World box is the Paris Box. Who doesn’t love French food?

This box included La Mère Poulard sablés (cookies), Maison D’Armorine salted butter caramels, Domaine Des Vignes whole grain mustard, Charles Antona Corsican cherries and thyme jam, Clément Faugier chestnut spread, Flagrants Désirs dark chocolate bar with raspberry and two fruit jellies.

The whole grain mustard uses vinegar produced from grapes (similar to dijon) from the Vineyard at Domaine des Vignes. The difference between whole grain and dijon depends on the vinegar (or wine) used and the fact that the whole grain mustard is not completely grounded down like dijon.

Whole grain mustard is a bit of a staple in any foodie kitchen, especially if you’re cooking up a lot of French food. When recipes call for dijon, I prefer to use the whole grain mustard in its stead.

The sablés (cookies) are made with only 5 ingredients. The salted butter comes from Brittany. La Mère Poulard is a famous restaurant and bakery located in Mont-Saint Michel. Notables such as Ernest Hemingway and Yves Saint Laurent have visited this restaurant.

All in all, I really liked this box and the Venice Box. Both curated boxes are spot on for the essentials one needs in their kitchen from these two regions. They also pick the best sweets to add to the box.

My little guy, Matthew, can attest to that. He was a little spoiled with his first subscription box from Kitnip. He assumed this new subscription box belonged to him as well. He started sorting through it before I could finish taking everything out of the box. He was pretty determined there was something in this box for him [no, he wasn’t playing in the red filler, he was pulling the food out of the box].

He even tried to open up the mustard thinking that must be where his treats are [he has thumbs, so he knows how to open up jars…at least ones that were previously opened]. We didn’t discover what he could have until I opened up the caramels this morning and took a bite out of one. It was so buttery and good, I thought he’d like to try it, so I gave him a little piece. The way his eyes lit up with pleasure…I think his determination was correct…there was indeed something in this box for him, too.

Here’s a look at all of the goodies in the Paris Box:

If you’d like to order your own Try the World box, you can get $15 off your first box by subscribing HERE.

Marshmallows and Little Friends

4 February 20154 February 2015

Oh, the weather outside is frightful. But the fire is so delightful. So why don’t you pop a marshmallow on a stick, toast them over the fire, stick them in between two fudge graham crackers and have yourself a nice little treat during the winter months?

But let’s kick that marshmallow up a notch. Butter Baked Goods, a shop based in Vancouver, B.C., sells flavored marshmallows like strawberry, vanilla, toasted coconut, mint, coffee, raspberry, passion fruit, rose, violet, pumpkin spice, maple, pistachio, chocolate, lemon, matcha tea, peppermint, eggnog and gingerbread. It gives your s’mores or hot cocoa a little bit of an unexpected, but tasty surprise.

Butter Baked Goods marshmallows are sold in the US at places like Crate & Barrel and Dean & Deluca. Each bag comes with 10 marshmallows.

I ordered the peppermint flavored marshmallows as part of my Advent gifts. They tasted so good with a cup of hot cocoa. It even made the s’mores more delectable. While you can go old school and add the regular milk chocolate and graham crackers, I like to take that step out and just stick the toasted marshmallow in between two fudge graham crackers. Believe it or not, it actually makes for a better s’more.

Subscription Boxes for Our Little Friends

If you’re like me and have a little critter (or two or several) running around your home, you may want to consider ordering them their very own subscription box. For Matthew and Surita, they loved everything about this box curated for cats from Kitnip Box.

The toys I didn’t think Matthew would be interested in like that big pink worm looking toy with a tail, it ended up being his favorite. [Called the Caterpillar Kicker.]

I gave Surita the Play-N-Squeak Mouse and the Refillable Catnip Heart Toy (because Matthew doesn’t like catnip). She had such a great time with both…that is, until Matthew stole them both from her. He actually broke the mouse, setting off the chirping. I thought the battery would die out sooner or later, but after 3 hours, I got out of bed, cut the thing open and took out the sound box.

Matthew couldn’t sleep with all the chirping, so he hid in my office to try to sleep. When I came out to silence the toy, he came running out, thankful the noise was being brought to an end.

Twinkle Tweet toy. Available at Amazon.com.

Another favorite he was still playing with the next morning was the Twinkle Tweet. It’s a plastic toy with a few feathers in it that lights up and chirps. He is a big fan of chirping toys and things that light up. He likes to stalk the toy and then pounce on it from out of nowhere.

As for the treats, this box included Zuke’s G-Zees Tender Grain-Free Treats. It’s different than what my two little ones are used to, but they loved it and gobbled it all up.

So as much as my two little ones loved their first Kitnip Box, there was also a special theme. It makes this first box for Matthew a little extra special. Since Matthew is a recent adoption, it makes sense to help out other little ones that still haven’t found a forever home yet.
A portion of the February box proceeds goes to help Philadoptables in Philadelphia, to help out other furry pals while they are still in a shelter. You can order a Kitnip Box for your feline pals HERE. See below for more information and a special discount code [from the Kitnip mailer].

Subscription Box: Try The World

2 February 20159 May 2015

There are a lot of subscription box services out there lately, but nothing that is as close to representing the foodie side of “Perfectionist Wannabe” as the Try The World box service.

I got my first box a couple of weeks ago and I have to say…I am beyond impressed with what you get for $39.

My first curated box had a “Venice” theme. Included in it were a lot of food items representing the region…and food items that any Italian foodie should already have stocked in their pantry. But then again, some of this stuff is hard to find unless you get it directly from an Italian food market.

I loved everything about this box, especially the Dark Chocolate Limoncello. I try to eat dark chocolate for health reasons, but it’s always too bitter and not a pleasant experience. This Perugina chocolate bar was just right and delightful.

The black truffles and mushrooms were a surprise. I had ordered the Oeuf Mimosa (truffle and caviar deviled eggs) at Todd English’s Ca Va Brasserie in NYC a couple of weeks ago. It had a very distinguished taste to it. Opening up this can of truffles and I found the main ingredient to the Oeuf Mimosa.

I tried this in some couscous to add a little flavor. Just a little bit can go a very long way.

The Spaghettata mixture of herbs was a delight. I warmed it up in some oil, added some bell peppers, sweet bell peppers and sun-dried tomatoes (that I picked up in Venice) then tossed in some spaghetti and parmesan cheese for a satisfying meal during the Super Bowl.

The sweet onion pesto included in the box, I put on top of tilapia. It was so simple and, oh so delicious.

What I like about this box is that it allows you to try out new ingredients from different areas of the world. It’s also not too expensive and you get qualitative ingredients to experiment with. Each box comes with a few recipes to try and an informational background on the region.

The box is delivered every two months for $39. If you’re interested in joining, you can get $15 off of your first box by clicking HERE. {If you pre-pay, it’s cheaper.}

I’m looking forward to seeing what my next box has in store.

Have you tried “Try the World?” If so, what did you think?