Let them eat flapjacks

I have a sudden glut of topics to write about. And, unlike the highly organized and methodical person I am, I am going to forgo the ideal chronological order of these "discoveries" and cut straight to the latest, greatest, and freshest on my mind. Kerbey Lane pancakes. Go ahead and click on the link..see the pancakes in the background behind their name? Yeah, they are great. If you order a short stack that is by no means short, you get 2 pancakes as big as the plate and each about an inch thick. These, my friends, are pancakes. Pancake types include blueberry, buttermilk, apple whole wheat, and, my personal favorite, gingerbread. If you are ever in Austin long enough to allow you to eat, find a Kerbey Lane Cafe and enjoy pancakes, migas, breakfast tacos, or omelets. I have tried them all and there is not a weak player in the bunch.

Back to me and the pancakes. I was reading the Austin-American Statesman on my lunch break about a month ago and there was a note in the Food & Life section. This weekly section is devoted to letting readers know about new kitchen gadgets, chefs and restaurants in Austin, and seasonal food favorites around the area. And today, there was a little paragraph about how Kerbey Lane Cafe is now making their pancake mixes available at area HEBs. Could it be true, two of my favorite places combining forces and providing me with happy grocery shopping and pancakes? I hit the road to find out for myself.

HEB Plus at the corner of Anderson Mill and 620, around noon on a lazy Saturday, baking aisle, beside Aunt Jemima and Bisquick, a column of brown paper bags with the familiar logo donning its front. Kerbey Lane Cafe buttermilk pancake mix. The Hallelujah chorus rang out from the speakers and the overhead lighting shone a little bit brighter. Unfortunately, the gingerbread mix had sold out, but I snatched up a 2-pound bag of the buttermilk mix. Excitedly, I took the bag home and awaited a Saturday morning to make pancakes and lounge on the couch.

Cut to today. Not a Saturday, potential lounging on the couch, and a definite desire for breakfast at dinner. Out came the Kerbey Lane pancake mix! Little water, one egg, some oil, mix and batter was made. At this point there is something I must confess, two things actually. First, I love pancakes of all shapes and sizes. They are great with butter, syrup, peanut butter, jam, or fresh fruit. Secondly, I have many troubles making pancakes. I manage to char the outside without completely cooking the inside. Yuck. Understandably, I went into this a little nervous for my dear pancakes. Kept the stove temp down, did not overmix the batter as to keep the airiness of it.

After making 5 pancakes (as the directions told me they would - I like it when their portioning matches my portions), I took a pancake, buttered it and gave it a little syrup. I cut a wedge out from the round. I had to put my fork down after that first bite. Oh my. If you had asked me pre-Kerbey what a pancake should taste like, I would probably refer more to the sugary toppings and not the pancake itself. But now I know. These are the best pancakes I have ever had in my life, without a shadow of a doubt. They are light, springy, and tangy from the buttermilk. I could actually taste the pancake through the syrup and butter. As Paula Deen would say, "Ooh, honey. You better slap your mama, that's so good." Each bite was divine.

If there is an HEB or Kerbey Lane Cafe within an hour of you, go. Go now and get yourself some buttermilk pancake mix. And if HEB and Kerbey Lane Cafe are a little too far for you, order some online. Go all out and get a taste of all the kinds with the pancake mix trio, it is only $21. Your mouth will thank you. (And they include a recipe page with each bag with other things you can make with the mix like muffins, cookies, and crepes!)

Care to Remember?

This past weekend, I watched a documentary entitled Unknown White Male. I had heard about this film some time ago from a blog I read, and the premise intrigued me. Thirty-something man wakes up one morning on the New York subway, not visible injuries or trauma, and has no idea where he is or who he is. His episodic memory is completely gone, meaning he cannot remember any events from his life. Through a series of situations, he contacts someone who does know him, he is Doug, a British photographer, former stock broker. The film is his journey to reunite with people from his "other" life and sort through what he did and did not like about his old life.

As I watched film reel and heard stories about Doug's old life, I gathered that he and his group of friends were wealthy people with money to burn and fun to be had. Climbing mountains in Bolivia, summering on the Mediterranean, expecting and getting things when and how they wanted them. They were arrogant and did not care about the consequences. So, given this background, one would expect Doug to talk about how beautiful life is and great it is to get a chance to experience things all over again (fireworks, chocolate mousse, love, snow, etc.).

But Doug does not display a sense of loss over his memory. He comments that he is not sure he wants his memory back, and sees no real need to figure out what happened to make it go away. Sure he cannot remember growing up, his mother (who died), or all those little moments that grow a person, but he does not seem to mind.

So, the film is not looking at the loss Doug experienced, it must be focusing on the rebirth. Right? Wrong again. Doug goes to school to better his photography, there is some quip about how his portraits reflect loss, but to me it looked like a bunch of head shots of people staring, bored. Doug has a new girlfriend, but he gave all appearances that he was just along for the ride of the relationship. Although, when he talked about her, it was one of the few times we saw Doug happy and smiling.

Here is another issue brought up in some of the amazon.com reviews. It is quite possible this documentary is a fake. Filmmaker friends got together and thought how they could make a film that is different and would appeal to people by its synopsis. There is no way to prove this to be an actual event or not other than by talking with those in the project or friends of Doug. However, if it was a fabrication, what was the message the film was trying to send?

Eat, Pray, Love

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert is an okay book. Gilbert did not stun me with how intimate or transparent she was in her writing about her year-long journey through Italy, India, and Indonesia. Quick rundown of the story: Gilbert gets a divorce from her husband, does not know who she is or what she wants to do with her now-single life. So, she decides to take a year off from New York City and spend 4 months in Italy eating pasta and learning about passion, 4 months in India learning about Yoga and finding spirituality, and 4 months in Indonesia figuring out the balance between passion and spirituality. Or something.

To me, the book read like a self-help book. But not a self-help book to help the reader, a self-help book for Elizabeth Gilbert. And, if it were to be a self-help book for the reader, how many people could follow Gilbert's plan and spend a year traveling the world "finding" themselves? So much of the book seemed trite, immature and shallow. I think her goal was to instill an amount of humor and lightness to what could be seen as a pretty depressing time in her life. Yes, there were funny parts, but it was not a humorous book.

One of the issues, I think, was Gilbert's aim to have a balance with each section of the book (country) she went to. Italy was fun to read about, wine, gelato, and touring, but it read much like a newly-graduated college girl experiencing her first trip away from the parents. The Indonesia (Bali) section was colorful to read and I could feel how relaxing it must have been for Gilbert to be there. Which brings us to India. India went on for entirely too long. I got it, it was hard for Gilbert to stop thinking and just meditate. She did not like the song they had to chant every morning. She thought the Yogic master was intimidating. I do not need to read each of these things every other chapter. There was very little "light" side in the India section. I wanted to read about the food she ate, any illnesses she suffered from, any quirky people at the ashram. Something other than how hard it is to meditate and whether she still loved Daniel (old boyfriend) or not. Grow up, Gilbert.

Now, I am going to put forth a disclaimer. Perhaps I went into the reading of this book with wrong expectations. I thought it was going to be a travel journal about different cultures, foods, practices, and lives as viewed from the eyes of an all-American girl. So, when I began to read, the book came off more like the entries in a teenage girl's diary than a 30-something woman taking a year to seek out the commonalities and positive and negative differences between her life and the lives people live in Italy, India, and Indonesia. All-in-all, this book is no Julie and Julia, Heat or The Know-It-All.

The Happiest Place on Earth?

No, I am not talking about that castle with the talking mouse, duck with no pants, and soaring pachyderm. The location I am referring to is H-E-B. What is HEB? It is a grocery store. I know what you are thinking, "This gal is waxing eloquent about a supermarket? Does this place sell a life?!" No, it does not sell a life, but it does sell Life. HEB is a Texas-based company that was started by the Butt family (yes, that is their name) in Kerrville, Texas in 1905. Since then, HEB has expanded across Texas and even into Mexico. They are committed to serving Texas, both with the food in the store and in the community with camps for lower income families and supporting local events.

But what is it that makes HEB so great? First of all is the HEB brand food. Usually when you buy store-brand products, they can be a little sketchy. But I have yet to find an HEB product that is not comparable or better than a national brand product. For instance, HEB recently began producing their own fresh pastas that include ravioli, tortellini, long pastas, and short pastas, along with sauces. The bakery also has begun to make their own breads, both loaf and artisan, as well as tortillas, all of which are in my shopping cart.

Another great thing about HEB is its produce. HEB strives to attain whatever in-state produce it can get its hands on. This not only helps the Texas farmers, but also means HEB customers can get fruit and veggies that have not spent a week on a semi being shipped from Florida or California. Every time I go this summer, I can get Texas peaches, blueberries, ruby grapefruits, and other produce. The meat and seafood department is also great, especially the butchers and fish mongers. They know what they sell, and will readily suggest ways of cooking, marinating, or grilling whatever it is you want to buy. This is how I ended up with some steelhead trout when I intended to get tilapia.

However, the best part about HEB has to be the people. The people who work at HEB are perhaps the best service people I have ever encountered. They greet you with a smile and are willing to stop what they are doing to help you look for oyster sauce or rice noodles. They are committed to quality. If you notice you put the wrong kind of croutons in your basket, they will run to replace it with the right kind. If you have a passel of children with you, they will grab an extra cart and shop with you if it helps you at all. Every single time they are done bagging my groceries they ask if I need help to the car. This is in no way insulting or degrading to me, they just want to make sure my shopping experience continues to be enjoyable after I exit. Even the security guys standing at the doors are great. They cheerily wave and say "Have a nice day" or "See you soon" when I leave.

I contend that no grocery store is worth going to if you cannot leave happier than when you came. And HEB does that for me. They have everything I want from Kashi cereal to bulk Brazil nuts, freestone peaches to stuffed portobello mushrooms, and they are committed to helping their customers out in whatever capacity. So, that is why I heart HEB.

A Dinner of Tomato

My dinner last night. It was simple, unexpectedly good, and filling. This is not the first nor the last simple, good and filling dinner I have eaten. It simply exceeded all my taste expectations. What was it that I had that prompted me to write about it?

Soup. Yes, you are reading this correctly, I said soup. Soup in the middle of July...in Texas? Yes, hot soup in the middle of July in Texas. It can be done. I did it. The soup, to be specific, was Campbell's Select Gold Label Italian Tomato with Basil and Garlic. I have never been a fan of tomato soup. It has been salty, grainy, and a little bitter. But this tomato soup was rich, light, and a perfect balance of herbs and tomato. Each little box has two servings of one cup each, so you are by no means getting scrimped on how much you eat.

I paired the soup (paired sounds so chef-like and intentional) with some Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuits, my new favorite crunchy cracker of choice. These crackers are really good. The pepper creates a slightly spicy pop in the mouth and yields itself to feeling like you are eating a higher end cracker. Yes, there are such things as high-end crackers. I also had some smoked cheddar that I sliced and placed atop the Triscuits.

The soup, the crackers, the cheese. Every item complimented one another in flavor, texture and ease in creation. I am now a fan of the tomato soup, and am willing to try some other Campbell's Select Gold Label soups. If the others are as flavorful and rich as the tomato, I may have to institute a soup night every week.

American History X

American History X is a terrifying movie to watch. Terrifying for is visuals of murder, familial relations, race relations, and hatred. Terrifying at how persuasive Edward Norton, as Derek Vinyard, is in his white supremacist speeches, rants, and actions; not because they are so extreme, which they are, but because as the viewer, you begin to understand where he is coming from. Terrifying in how this film speaks to some of the conditions of our country. No one can trust anyone, and those you do trust may turn on you or not be what they seem.

However, American History X is also a movie that must be seen. It shows the tension on both sides of the black/white racial conflict. It speaks to how, while the US has worked so hard to right this situation, the situation still remains. It shows how we as white Americans cannot fully comprehend the struggles minorities face in America. One of the things the film best succeeds in displaying is how these ideas and motives are born from the people who have influence in your life. Derek was taught to hate blacks through his father, and he then passed that same hatred onto his brother. It was only after Derek murdered two black men and was sent to prison that he began to see the flaws in the white supremacists. While they spoke of not dealing with people of other races, within the prison, those same people were the ones they made deals with. Additionally, Derek is befriended by a young black man who shows him through simple words and actions that hatred only begets hatred. This same point is driven home through one of Derek's former (black) teachers who keeps up with him in prison, challenging him to rethink his focus. One of the key questions this teacher poses to Derek is "Has anything you've done made your life better?"

This is a movie that is extremely hard to look at, listen to, and take in at times. But it is a movie that reminds of the hatred in this world and, more importantly, how people can change, and redemption can happen.

Blue Like Jazz

I began reading Blue Like Jazz over a year ago on a slow day at work. One of my coworkers had it on his shelf, I had heard crumbs of goodness about it, so thought I would give it a try. It was enrapturing. Unfortunately, my coworker friend soon left, and so too did the book. Fast forward to another slow day and another coworker's shelf of books. I saw the blue spine, picked up the book, and have been (re)reading it for the past month or so.

This is a soul book. Don Miller speaks so honestly about faith, Christianity, acceptance, singleness, and life. Honestly, I am finding this review difficult to write because the book is so personal. While this book is about Don's journey, I found myself relating and reflecting on my life repeatedly throughout the book. Don grew up in a fundamentalist church and, as he got into his 20s, began wondering what does it mean to be a Christian, love Christ and people, have Christ and people love you, and believe in God. At times, his honesty about Christians and Christianity was tough to swallow. Not because it was always controversial, but because it was truth, and the truth was not great. Christians, we, say we love everyone, and yet we judge the poor, different, and outcasts among us. We believe in a "health and wealth" gospel that teaches us that if you are not successful in the American sense, something is wrong in your life. And that is not true.

There are an abundance of quotable sections from the book, but here is one that reflects Don's forthrightness and transparent take on part of the Christian culture. (Taken from pg. 218)

"The problem with Christian culture is we think of love as a commodity. We use it like money...If somebody is doing something for us, offering us something, be it gifts, time, popularity, or what have you, we feel they have value, we feel they are worth something to us, and, perhaps, we feel they are priceless. I could see it so clearly, and I could feel it in the pages of my life. This was the thing that had smelled so rotten all these years. I used love like money. They church used love like money. With love, we withheld affirmation from the people who did not agree with us, but we lavishly financed the ones who did."

If you consider yourself a Christian, spiritual, searching, or are just looking for a thought-provoking read, get this book and a pen or highlighter. It is rich with truth, life, love, and even some humor.