Bloviating
Recipe Needed Alert: Lomo Saltado
June 14, 2011 | 
Author We recently had a visitor with us via Rotary Group Study Exchange — she was delightful, and we all learned a lot about each other and our respective cultures and countries (and she learned about outlet malls, muhahaha) but anyhow, it reminded me of one of my favorite dishes — lomo saltado. This is a combination of beef cooked in a special way, rice, and, well, french fries.
However, all I have for recipes are those I find in various Google searches. If you have one you’ve tried, that you really really like, please post it here, and I’ll give it a go (and post pictures, steps, etc.) …
Help a hungry brother out…
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No Cake at a Wedding? Say It Ain’t So!!!
A good friend of mine, Cindy, attended a wedding recently. She shocked me with some astounding news, so it’s a good thing I was already seated or I might have keeled over and knocked a tooth out when I collapsed onto my desk: There was no wedding cake.
C’mon, join me — clutch at your chest as your eyes bug out, gasping for breath as though all the air has been punched out of your lungs.
No … cake? No cake! It’s a sacrilege! There has to be cake at a wedding! Guests ooh and ahh over it, vie for the best pieces, hope to get some of the edible decorations. Brides and grooms indelicately shove some into each other’s mouth. Cake at a wedding is a tradition!
But perhaps not so anymore? Cindy said that people she spoke with that evening told her that there hadn’t been cakes at other weddings they’d attended recently, either.
I’m sufficiently ancient and decrepit that my friends and relatives have either been married for 30 years or they’re divorced, and our children aren’t yet old enough — please, God, make sure they’re aware of that! — to get married. So I admit that I’m not an authority on this subject.
I hadn’t been to a wedding in years until attending one in July, and thankfully there was a cake. (Who knew it was now possibly considered optional?) It was really good, too, with luscious creamy white frosting … But I digress.
I’ve known of people who offered tiers of cupcakes that were arranged to resemble a cake. I’ve known people who offered an array of treats and sweets in addition to the cake, but the cake was still a major attraction.
Cindy said that other desserts were available at the wedding. There just wasn’t a cake, and from what she can gather, having no cake is becoming a trend. So, in horror, I started to do some remedial and less-than-scientific research.
Here is an assortment of quotes and responses gathered when I tossed this life-altering notion out into cyberspace and sought comments via Facebook and Twitter (so excuse grammatical/spelling quirks inherent in trying to type on a phone or cram a message into 140 tidbits!):
What else would the bride shove up the grooms nose? 
Seriously, yes…cake, of some sort, is a MUST!
What are people going to do, cut into a cupcake or a cookie? Sheesh!
That is ridiculous! If anything I have heard people turning to options but not getting rid of cake entirely! Thumbs down!
Haven’t heard this in the UK, though some friends had tiers of cheese instead.
I don’t know if I want to go to a wedding that doesn’t have cake. It’s a travesty!
We had cupcakes as our cake and then an ice cream sundae bar with cookies and brownies and no one ate the cake! We had like 100 cupcakes left over. Maybe it’s true 
Shut up!
Some things are just wrong, this is one! weddings=cake
Not any weddings I’ve been to.. no.. wait.. there wasn’t a wedding cake at the most recent one. Probably because the bride and groom didn’t want to spend $1,000 on a cake.
Plus, you have to save the top of the cake for your first anniversary! I have such fond memories of our wedding cake — made at a Swedish bakery in Minnesota with lemon filling… and it’s been almost 36 years!
So, there you have it — I’m apparently not alone in feeling weak and dizzy at the notion of not getting my cake fix at the end of the festivities. Deep sigh of relief.
I also did a search and found a website called Exquisite Events Seattle that addresses the cake-less issue:
“Cake has dominated the wedding industry for years. However, right now there is a growing trend to skip the cake all together. Maybe cake is not your thing. For many people cake is okay, but they have a dessert that they simply swoon over. So, why not have that dessert at your wedding?”
Why not? Because people expect a cake and want a cake! And they won’t leave your ceremony talking about how beautiful the bride was, but instead will leave talking about how deprived they felt at being denied cake!
I am fully aware that there are more earth-shattering and life-altering situations taking place in the world than not serving cake at a wedding, just in case anyone was wondering. However, this clearly struck quite a nerve for many of us.
In my obsessive compulsion to learn more about this issue, I’ve discussed it with many people who are in their 20s and 30s, those on “the wedding circuit,” in other words. Almost universally, there has been cake at the receptions they’ve attended. One of my co-workers told me that she’s never been to a wedding that didn’t serve cake.
Cindy (who may regret, at this point, ever having mentioned this to me!) brought up the issue of the Jewish dietary laws, and having to serve a non-dairy cake — which is very often inferior — with a meat meal.
In that instance, settling either for the lesser cake or for a vegetarian meal wouldn’t make for an optimal situation. The better dinner served without a cake might easily take precedence over the butter-less dessert.
So finally, as my brain was starting to hurt from all of this contemplation, I consulted a true expert: my favorite baker, Bryant Stuckey of Ann Arbor’s Decadent Delight. Here’s his professional opinion:
“I don’t know if I would say it’s a trend, but I have had many instances in the last couple years where couples have forgone the wedding cake … I think this is to stay within their budget. It seems a shame to me… I just can’t see a wedding without a wedding cake. The wedding cake is another character in the wedding. It’s symbolic to an idea of a ‘sweet life’ together.”
I think the notion of cake playing a role and symbolizing a sweet life together is absolutely perfect. And I think that symbol should be enjoyed with all the loved ones who’ve joined the happy couple on their special day, literally and figuratively sharing that sweet life with all of those who have been — and will continue to be — integral to it.
So skimp on the rose petals that flower girls toss along the aisle; they’re just going to get ground into the rug or the runner anyway. Do away with having 14 bridesmaids and save money by not ordering so many bouquets. Don’t bother with an ice sculpture that will just melt. There are so many non-essentials at weddings.
But cake — cake is an absolute! It’s a classic that never goes out of style. Change the shape, the colors, the flavors, and even the doohickeys that go on top.
But never, ever shun the cake! And if you do, please know that I will not be offended if you leave me off the invitation list.
“floo·zie \ˈflü-zē\: a usually young woman of loose morals.” Thus a Food Floozie is not a woman who can be seduced by virtually any man, but rather a woman who can be seduced by virtually any food (other than sushi).
For more blathering about recipes, restaurants, beverages, ingredients, and anything else even tangentially related to food, please come visit me Monday through Friday at Food Floozie or check out my mostly-regular Tuesday posts on AnnArbor.com.
Tags: The DIPE Dilemma
I learned a new term the other day while reading a New York Times article about the trend to have famously and notoriously thin actresses be interviewed at restaurants, a seeming effort to make sure that someone records their having ingested a few morsels at some point during the day.
And the new term???
DIPE = Documented Instance of Public Eating
Hmmmm. Plenty to consider with that one, eh???
Now, in all honesty, I feel a need to offer some defense for those skinny girls, since people often take issue with my weight and my appetite. For the record, I’m 5’8″ and weigh maybe 120. I have such a small frame that my wrist is only 5-1/2″ around, so I simply can’t carry a lot of weight and I’m fortunate to have a metabolism which cooperates with that limitation.
But anyone who knows me can give you an abundance of examples of my own DIPEs. Although I strive to eat sensibly, both in terms of portions and also nutrients, I’ve got a pretty hearty appetite and can eat far more than most people would guess at first glance; I also possess not just one sweet tooth, but sweet teeth. So I feel as though the actresses in question must eat more regularly than is presumed despite their physiques, and may even truly enjoy junk foods like macaroni and cheese or fried zucchini, which were mentioned in the article … everyone has their cravings, after all.
But it is admittedly difficult to consider how emaciated some of these women are, and then to reconcile that visual with the image of them eating high-calorie garbage. It should show on their skin, on their hips, somewhere!
Now, of course, these are women who earn good paychecks, who undoubtedly have personal trainers to whip them into shape and the clout to set their own schedules so that there are opportunities to exercise; peons like moi have none of the above, and are lucky to find time for a nice long walk or to do some yoga and push-ups. So the indulgence would show more on me and last longer, too.
Or is it, perhaps, that the actresses really don’t have that much power, and that they’ve been instructed to eat publicly for the sake of documentation and to do so obediently? Bumble Ward, a blogger quoted in the NYT article, says “They’re so sure that people assume they have an eating disorder that they’re forced to wolf down caveman-like portions of ‘comfort food’ in order to appear normal. And worse, they feel they have to comment on how much they’re enjoying themselves.”
So, rather than having publicists continue to earn their salaries by defending their clients’ eating habits, the actresses have been cowed into timing their food consumption for maximum exposure …?
Or, consider that this may be the only meal some of these women will eat during the day, supplemented by an energy drink or some nibbles at a glitzy party; by necessity, they’d need to load up on their calories then. But this isn’t a healthy way to live, and I think if this were the case there would be periods of exhaustion and hypoglycemia followed by rumors about unreliability or unpredictability and the potential reasons for such behavior.
I don’t know … I admit that I look at some of these wispy creatures and say: “She needs to eat something. She’s MUCH too thin!” (Good Jewish mama, here!) I also say it about some men, too, so everything’s fair.
And yet, no one accuses the skinny guys of binging and purging, do they? No one accuses men of feigning affection for fatty foods merely for the sake of publicity. Men aren’t expected to be thin while people scrutinize what they eat to either approve or disapprove depending upon what’s being consumed.
Robert Redford was recently interviewed for AARP – The Magazine, and the meeting took place over lunch. “We sit at a small round table in a classroom at Santa Fe University of Art and Design. Redford, known to friends as Bob, has requested Chinese chicken salad, water, and coffee for lunch. ‘Mind if I steal an egg from your salad?’ he asks, as if we’re old pals.”
Was there even a whisper about this in the New York Times article, that a man may have staged an interview in a restaurant? Is there any suspicion in anyone’s mind that Bob picks at his food most of the time, but that he is making a public demonstration of eating for the sake of having the meal documented? Is there any questioning of his ordering a salad rather than a steak? Nope.
So why are the women being scrutinized???
Well, for one, Bob looks like he eats well on a regular basis. Some of our most famous actresses (Cate Blanchett and Keira Knightley were referred to in the DIPE article) look as though they eat well maybe quarterly.
And yet, what are the societal expectations for actresses, hmmmm …? Are they frail and fragile because they choose to be? Because that’s what theoretically looks best on film? Because that’s the standard of beauty? Because that’s what audiences demand of their movie stars? Men should be broad-shouldered and chiseled and muscular and sturdy, while women should be skeletal and then criticized for it … this is the norm.
So then, the actresses are chastized for being too thin only to then also be chastized if they dare to eat. What’s a girl to do???
Eat. Just eat! Enjoy yourself, stay healthy, have some fun while paying attention to nutrition, and be sure to exercise. But eat — and not just as another acting job, pretending to be a woman who enjoys hearty helpings of fatty foods. Set an example for women who admire you and girls who will grow up emulating you.
Just eat, and eat well — lean protein, whole grains, fruits and vegetables — whether you’ve got an audience or whether you’re alone in your jammies.
“floo·zie \ˈflü-zē\: a usually young woman of loose morals.” Thus a Food Floozie is not a woman who can be seduced by virtually any man, but rather a woman who can be seduced by virtually any food (other than sushi).
For more blathering about recipes, restaurants, beverages, ingredients, and anything else even tangentially related to food, please come visit me Monday through Friday at Food Floozie or check out my mostly-regular Tuesday posts on AnnArbor.com.
Changes coming…
… I’m getting a bit tired of the look and feel of our theme, so over the next week or so there may be some changes. Please let me know if it’s just too horrid for words, or if something is broken, or the like, and I will get it fixed. In the meantime, there may be occasions when you’ll see a very different looking FoodNuts! that will change yet again as I hone in on our new look and feel.
Happy New Year!
Matt
Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays, from FoodNuts!
I’d like to take a moment and wish our whole community a Merry Christmas (or other holiday, as appropriate) as we head for the end of the year.
I’d also like to thank each and every one of you who’ve shared your foodie experiences, recipes, reviews, etc. with us during the past year. This has been a great adventure, and I see even bigger things for us in 2011. And a hearty thank you to those who have shared this site with friends, family, and others!
Have a safe and happy New Year — together, we will continue our adventure as Food Nuts, sharing food, fun and friendship!
- – Matt