gordon ramsay has invaded our kitchen

It started with MasterChef Junior. The kid found it on Hulu and got me addicted too, as we watched a bunch of pint-sized aspiring chefs, from the ages of 9-13 compete for the title. We were not only enthralled and entertained by the kids and their knowledge and passion for food, but by how impressed the three chief/judges were, and how encouraging of their efforts: Graham Elliot, Joe Bastianich, and Gordon Ramsay.

Ramsay with the MasterChef Junior champion, Alexander

I was familiar with Ramsay and his reputation for being a bit of a bad boy chef, with his shows called Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares, but I had never actually sat and watched any of them. After watching the kids whip up everything from Beef Wellington to amazing layer cakes, we binge-watched the latest season of MasterChef, which had recently wrapped up its fourth season.

After MasterChef we decided to try another series, where Ramsay was the focus. We have been watching The F Word ("F" is for food, right?), which is part reality show, part food magazine. Each episode has Ramsay training real home chefs in his restaurant. They must prepare a three-course meal for the restaurant's diners, who will decide based on how long they waited for their food and how it tasted whether they will pay or not. The restaurant patrons frequently include British celebrities, including folks like Joan Collins, Jonathan Ross, and Sharon Osbourne, who join Ramsay in the kitchen or taste-test, sometimes even cook, some of the food. The restaurant drama is intercut with Gordon visiting folks at their homes and encouraging them to cook a home-cooked meal for their family instead of packaged or take-out food. It also includes scenes of Ramsay at home with his wife and four children and their efforts to raise animals for food.

Ramsay and his kids set up a shelter in the back yard for the turkeys

We happened to watch the first series, which featured Ramsay raising six turkeys, which he had amusingly named after six other celebrity chefs. Timely, in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. The idea was that he was teaching his children (and the audience) where their food was coming from. The kids (and my daughter and I) got attached to the turkeys. Ramsay seemed to, too. When it came time to slaughter them it was handled in quite a humane way, but it was still really hard to watch. I told the kid she didn't have to watch, ut she wanted to know. My daughter has since sworn off eating turkey, although at the moment chickens may still be OK as "there are lots of chickens in the world." We had chicken for Thanksgiving, but she seemed doubtful about that, too.

We've started watching the second series and this time out Ramsay and his family are raising and fattening two pigs. We haven't gotten to the end of the series yet, but the kid, after she saw some baby piglets in an episode where they visit a farm has sworn off eating pork now too. Ramsay himself, after meeting with a good farm practices advocate and seeing how pigs are raised in most farms, including crowded, dirty conditions, castration, and tail docking, seemed shocked.

"It's enough to make anyone turn fucking vegetarian, for God's sake. And I've always sort of knocked vegetarians and vegans for missing out on the most amazing flavour you can get from meat. But you can see why so many people change instantly."

I like Ramsay's direct approach to food, of many cuisines, and his sincere efforts in trying to motivate folks to cook for themselves and their friends and families. His overall message is quite positive, even though he frequently uses foul language to get his point across. I am not phased by the kid watching these episodes with me and hearing a few f-words. She knows that she isn't supposed to use that word. More importantly, I'm not sure yet what the impact will be regarding her possibly newfound vegetarianism. I have tried to cut out all meat in the past and I don't do too well without it — I feel depleted. But she is on her own journey, and I will support her with whatever she decides.

It seems that the way we eat, between my daughter's ethics and my desire to eliminate artificial additives and toxins — is undergoing quite an overhaul. Somehow Gordon Ramsay has gotten mixed up in all of this.

the kid discovers mr. bean

Thanks to Netflix I am getting acquainted with many shows and movies that  I haven't seen in years. Ihave always liked the comedy of Rowan Atkinson, from his small parts in Four Weddings and A Funeral and Love, Actually to his epic craziness in his various Blackadder series and Johnny English spy soot films. But my all-time favorite comic performance is still "Mind the Baby, Mr. Bean" from his 1990s Mr. Bean series. I just had to share that episode with the kid, and not only did she love it as much as her momma, but she insisted on seeing the rest of the series. So we have hopped around, and then binge-watched from beginning to end all nineteen episodes. She even likes singing along to the Latin choral theme song.

Ecce homo qui est faba [Behold the man who is a bean]

Mr. Bean wants to go to the fun fair, but has also unwittingly invited a baby to tag along ...

These roller coasters are so dull

Maybe if I give the baby a balloon it will stop crying?

Or a lot of balloons?

It's awful that there are only nineteen episodes, but Netflix also has available the Mr. Bean animated series, which I had never seen before, so now we are discovering and enjoying together. There are a more of them — 26 double episodes, which is nice. After that, who knows, maybe I can start her off on Blackadder, too, as all four seasons are available ...

carrageenan — just say no

I am becoming one of "those people." The ones who have to read every food label in the grocery store, who are banning certain go-to products from my shelves and refrigerator. You may think of me as a crank, but I don't care. I am getting sick to death of all of the processed crap that is being passed off to us in this country as food. How companies that we think we should be able to trust, because of their pledge to use "organic" or natural ingredients are just as bad as the ones who don't pretend to care. Case in point: carrageenan.

For decades, most organic food companies considered the seaweed-based “natural” food additive to be safe. The carrageenan industry lobby group had been effective in suppressing research. But since May 2012, no one in the organic industry can claim that they are not aware of disturbing research tying the food additive to serious potential health problems. — The Cornucopia Institute, "Carrageenan, How a 'Natural' Food Additive is Making Us Sick"

Carrageenan is classified as a natural ingredient because it is made from seaweed. It is used to thicken and stabilize a diversity of foods from milk to ice cream to meat products. It has also been linked to inflammation, especially of the digestive tract, which for someone like me who has tummy issues, is especially concerning.

So to avoid carrageenan should be easy, right? Just avoid most processed food and shop organic. Well, not as easy as one might think. The FDA considers carrageenan an OK ingredient to be included in organic food as well. After combing labels it is next to impossible to find almond or coconut milk without it. My cat has been having some gastric issues lately too. I expected Friskies and Fancy Feast and other main brands to employ the thickener in its products, but I was in for another surprise. Apart from the pricey Science Diet food that I can get at the vet, it was next to impossible to find carrageenan-free cat food. One of my go-to organic brands is now off my shopping list — Newman's Own, which uses carrageenan in all of its canned food. I am definitely writing them a letter.

Thankfully, after a little internet searching, I have found some information on brands to avoid/brands to buy regarding carrageenan. Some of the OK brands are a bit obscure, so I will still be reading and checking labels. As I hope, will you.

it's december

The countdown begins, to Christmas, to the end of the year, to school vacation, 3, 2, 1 ...