It ain't easy being GREEN

© Will Sherman

Word. It sure ain't easy being GREEN. So, here and there I do my teeny part. Taking the train places, reusing plastic and paper bags, buying local and I also have a big thing about waste. Especially food. So anyway,  there I was in Modesto, California on biz and at the end of the day we ended up at a local grocery store stocking up for our hotel rooms for the last night in town, Wednesday. We were way too tired to go out and eat. So, we all walked in together and went our separate ways following our stomachs. We were all hungry! First, lemme tell ya, if you are in the Modesto area and get to shop at O'Brien's Market, i'm a bit jealous. If you are ever in the area and get into grocery stores with great atmosphere it's a worthy stop. Lemme tell ya, I have NEVER seen floors so shiny in a grocery store! They were the first thing I noticed and just could barely take my eyes off them! They were also a deep green color, very nice departure from the norm. Ok, so I'll get to why I titled this "It ain't easy bein GREEN" in a sec, but for real, this store was beautiful. Then on top of that, something I'm not used to in NYC much, it was GARGANTUAN!! teeheehee ... there was so much to choose from. I got some salmon rolls with cream cheese, new england clam chowder from the soup bar, 8 layer dip and a bag of tortilla chips. I know, a mish-mash of stuff, nothing goes together except the chips n dip, but it was what my eyes wanted and I was shopping while on the cell so, it was a bit half-minded, plus remember the floors were hypnotizing! Anyway, here goes the title part...

The next morning I still had some chips left and the bag was so huge I couldn't see myself throwing the chips away at the hotel just because I over bought. I mean, if there was a smaller bag, I didn't see it, again, the aimless 'on the cell phone walk'. Plus, the chips were yummy, I wanted to bring them home and my flight was that morning. Throwing them away would be wack, and not GREEN. Lot's of Earth Day press these days of course, but I promise I do try to do my little bit here n there. I got to the airport to depart and while boarding the plane the guys in the seat next to me and the flight attendant all made fun of me for having such a big bag of chips on the flight. They were like "didja bring lunch for all of us?" lol. I laughed then and I even chuckle now, but a teeny piece of me was like, word ... I bet people think this chick is crazy carrying a bag of chips so big. I really couldn't see wasting them and they were good too, so you know? Then the bag wouldn't fit under the seat so, the flight attendant had to put it in the overhead compartment, I mean the bag of chips really got it's 15 minutes of fame :-). I thought about it on the plane and it's real teeny and not even an embarrassment, but I know there are things that are very GREEN, but people deem them embarrassing as if it isn't cool to save and think about the enviroment in everyday life. I said to myself during the flight in the spirit of Earth Day 2008(April 22nd), I'll write a post and call it what I have above. I used to lovvvve Kermit the Frog and how crazy is it that on my 1st page of a search for a Kermit pic online, I found a pic of Kermit amongst litter? The post was meant to be! I used to love it when he said it wasn't easy being green. Well, just wanted to pass on the idea of maybe doing a thing or two to be GREEN no matter how someone else may see it. I mean, some people save plastic bags and reuse them, I just saw a story about that this week with the Earth Day press and thought hmph, I don't do that ... why not? If you aren't already on the GREEN band wagon, you don't have to get on the fast train first, try one thing or two things that you know can help the environment. It ain't easy being green, but I'm awful proud of my bag of chips! lol I'm about to tear into them right after this!!

First, real quick ... hope you can check Cooking for Real this weekend! It's the New York Bistro Night theme. The mushroom sauce I make for the chicken is great over tilapia as well and is actually inspired by some great meals at Cafe K here in Brooklyn, NY. I really love a good mushroom sauce and I hope if you do too, you give it a try, or just mind taste it lol ... yeah, new term.

Mind Tasting- the act of tasting foods by reading a recipe or watching someone prepare or describe it's preparation.

Then, the potatoes are a hit around my spot cuz my dude loves 'em. It's a garlicky twist on a classic I hope the garlic lovers will like and the salad is yummy too. I love the sweet and salty balance of the bacon and the sugar, then the vinegar just adds a great tangy thing. Not 100% healthy cuz the bacon, but I love to eat and do my best to not stress too much. I know how to balance the baaaaad with the gooood. Most of the time :-P. Anyway, I really love the tiny bistro scene in NYC. My fave is Petit Abielle and I've gone there for years. We actually shot some of the show open and promos there out front. Just me sippin' on some hot cocoa. They have a small menu of perfection and excellent service. None of these dishes Sunday are there, but the show is more of a vibe and the dishes are some examples of great dishes you can catch all over the great city of New York at it's million upon jillion's of bistro's. Hope you enjoy the show and have a great weekend!

And now ... the bag that just couldn't be wasted ... it isn't that big is it?? That's a sheet of reg-size paper for size reference...The dudes I sat next to on the flight were pretty cool though, the kind that tap ya when the drinks are passin' by .... neeeeeed that! And if by chance she checks the blog, "heyyyyy girl!" to the airport TSA agent that said she'd taped all the shows and hadn't gotten a chance to watch them yet. Thanks so much for the support and I couldn't even believe someone all the way in Oakland, California would even notice me. Food Network has such a big family of viewers and I was so happy to meet you in a neat way. Alright, without further delay ...