Pasta with Prosciutto and Chevre; It's Time to Calibrate; and a Rant on Big!

Remember my epiphany about my blog and website looking vastly different on different monitors? 

I decided it might not be prudent for me to recalibrate all the monitors I came in contact with. 

It would certainly be prudent to recalibrate my own.

After spending the morning tweaking controls, changing percentages and generally  mucking up my settings, I decided that, just possibly, someone else had done this before me.  Possibly, said person might even know exactly what to do.

On to Google!

I found 2 sites that I found very useful and you might, also.  Both sites explain how to calibrate your monitor settings and give verbal and visual examples to use. 
They are: http://www.momentskept.com/MonitorCalibration.htm
               http://www.photofriday.com/calibrate.php

I hope you find them as useful as I did.

And may all of our photos look as beautiful to everyone else as they do to us!

Now I have some questions/observations:

Does everyone in the U.S. live in family units of more than 5 with at least 2 rapidly growing teenage boys?

Are there no 1, 2 or 3 person households?

If you are relegated to living in a smaller family unit must you throw away 30% of your food or live on Lean Cuisine?

I recently heard a scary statistic that roughly 30% of all food purchased is thrown away.  The reasons were: actual spoilage and/or past the 'use-by' date.

I can now understand why. 

I like to have juice and cereal for breakfast.  I am one person.  I could not find either milk or orange juice in less than 1/2 gallon containers.  What do you people do if you need a cup of milk for something?  One could buy a quart and probably use it before it spoils, but a 1/2 gallon?

At my sister's I was having oatmeal for breakfast.  There was a 1/2 gallon of milk in the fridge with about 2 tbs. gone.  It was sour; she threw it out.  My b-i-l went to the store and bought another 1/2 gallon - and wondered if they should store that one for 2 weeks, also, (until it was bad) or just toss it now.

My choice for juice was the ubiquitous 1/2 gallon for roughly $4.50 or a six-pack of little individual juice boxes for roughly the same price, although about 1/3 the actual juice.

Why does everything have to be so big?  I understand the advantages of big, and, when I had a rapidly growing teenage boy, I bought big.  But, surely, there is a significant part of the population that would be interested in small, or, at least, smaller.

Then I went to Costco.  May I say WOW!  Perhaps I should say that bigger, er, louder.  I can certainly understand the appeal: for big events and big families.  And some things come in larger quantities of smaller containers that could be shared...
But, if I put that gallon of mayonnaise in my fridge along with the 1/2 gallon of ketchup, a quart of mustard, and a 5 lb block of cheese, that would fill it.  No more food!
Plus I'm pretty sure that I couldn't use it all before it spoiled - and had to be thrown out.  30%!

One more, then I'll shut-up before you all start flaming me:

Does everything come already seasoned/herbed/marinated?  Don't people realize how much added salt , chemicals and general junk is in the 'herb-flavored rice'?  The prepackaged Cuban Red Beans and Rice? 
Or how much extra you pay to have someone else pour the teriyaki marinade over your chicken breasts?

At the store I used to shop at, I asked why they no longer carried such things as plain brown rice, or even the trendier Jasmine (but plain).  The answer?  No one bought it.  What sold was the ready-made, prepackaged stuff.

I understand that the Whole Foods and Trader Joe's type store fill this need in the larger cities, but what about the smaller towns?  Is everything too convenient?  Don't people know that a simple vinaigrette can be made in about 20 seconds and one can add herbs to their own rice?

Well.... Some people know!  All of us who spend their time writing, cooking, eating, planning and obsessing about food know. 

Ruth, of Once Upon A Feast, knows.  That why she's spent the past year promoting all the wonderful pasta dishes we can make from scratch (or close).

I know the Presto Pasta Nights Big Birthday Bash was last week, but the banner is so cute....

Pasta with Prosciutto and Chevre

1 red onion
2 cloves garlic
12 Greek or black olives, pitted
12 green olives, pitted
8 oz white beans (cannellini)
1 tbs olive oil
3 oz (60gr) fresh spinach
6 - 8 slices (4oz, 125gr) Prosciutto, Serrano, Bayonne (mine) or other dry-cured ham
2/3 box chevre (goat cheese) - the little cartons of creamy goat cheese, 5 oz (150 gr)
(Chavrie in U.S. Chevraux in France)
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1 1/4 cup pasta

Cook pasta according to package instructions.
While waiting for the water to boil, prepare sauce:
Thickly slice onions. Mince garlic. Slice ham into large strips. Cut olives in half. Drain and rinse the beans.  If spinach leaves are large cut in half.  Heat oil in medium non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and sauté until tender.  Add garlic and ham. Sauté for 10 minutes longer, until ham is slightly crispy. Add olives, beans and goat cheese and heat through. When pasta is done, drain but don't shake every last bit of water off.  Put the spinach on top of the sauce in the skillet, add the hot pasta and stir to combine.  Sprinkle with cheese, stir again and serve.

This serves two.

In case your wondering, all these bits (except the ham and pasta) were leftovers from the weekend.  If you're really nice to me I'll tell you what else I made....

I am not among the crowd that throws out 30%.  Those use-by dates?   I usually give at least a 10-day grace period....longer if I still have it.

Comments

[MyKitchenInHalfCups]

Americans have a fascination with more for less money but somehow fail to understand the value of quality sometimes.
Pasta looks beautiful.

[Peter]

Ahhh, I see you still have some pasta shells left! lol

Aren't they great for cupping sauces and such?

[Joanna]

Keep out of the supermarket, that's the best way ... and I SO agree with you about use-by dates: use your own judgement - smell, look, even a tiny taste.

Joanna

[Another Joanna]

Wait, do you mean that in other countries, you can buy food in smaller quantities? You don't have to buy giant tubs of sour cream and cottage cheese? (Dairy products are always the worst offenders, in my mind, because they spoil so quickly, and I live alone and only want to eat one serving at a time!)

Honestly, I think people buy boxed convenience food without even thinking about it. I used to be guilty of it too, buying "olive oil and herbs" couscous, until one day I realized -- I have olive oil. I have herbs. I am perfectly capable of adding them to plain couscous myself. And it's so much cheaper that way too!

[Pam]

After one pass through CostCo, I realized that I can only shop there when I'm having a big, and I do mean BIG party! We are only two, MB and me. Our solution has been 1)farmer's markets where you can get just one of things because they aren't pre-packaged and 2)planned overs.

[Lynn]

Great way to use up leftovers. I hate throwing away food!

[Kevin]

That pasta looks good and sounds really tasty!

[Colleen]

I have no complaints in this as I live in Seattle where I have PCC, Whole foods and trader joes to get pain, normal sizes. Plus there is a plethora of pain rice. I shan't go into costco because I do not have a need for a large can of beef-o-reno. Tomato sause, maybe.

[Bellini Valli]

So much to comment on Katie. I have an aversion to buying anything that is premade... except maybe the stuffed salmon at Costoc...love that stuff:D

[baking soda]

I hear you on the pre-anything.. sizes? Not so much here in Holland (they do the "every family is a four-some" thing which is equally annoying), we're five, three rapidly growing teenage boys. Recently the Dutch were introduced to 1/2 gallon milk which is the biggest quantity here...

Come on over and live with us! Cream cheese, sour cream? 3 oz!

[katie]

Tanna, but there's only actual value if you use it all - not if it goes to the lanfill.

Peter, they are my new favorite pasta!

Joanna, I think we humans don't need to be quite so careful about the foods we eat - as long as we are careful about how it's treated initially.(growing, fertilizing, butchering, etc.)

Joanna, I so agree! I buy a group of 4 smaller yogurts, which are just perfect for eating, cooking, etc. - about 4 oz each! We don't have a lot of prepackaged stuff - great deli's though!

Pam, CostCo was truly amazing! My s-i-l buys cleaning supplies there - but that's it! I usually cook just enough - or enough for 2 meals...(sometimes you just have to!)

Lynn, it has to be pretty bad before I throw it out... and then we still have the dogs ;-)

Kevin, ham and chevre - always good!

Colleen, they still make beef-o-reeno???? Damn, I must have missed that. Gallon cans, right?

Val, how many people does the salmon feed? Or, can you divide and freeze. The fish and meat actually looked pretty good, and it least can be frozen in smaller portions.

Baking soda, much the same here in France. I love the smaller sizes. But don't the 3 rapidly growing boys really make you a family of 8?

[meredith]

That gets to me too. On my last trip to the states I couldn't find any small drinks, just half gallons that I would never finish before flying back to France. I have my girls finally convinced that the dates on yogurts just mean that they have to be sold by that time but we can still eat them out of our fridge for at least ten days after.

[Mike]

Wow, I didn't know it was 30%--that is pretty crazy. I admit, I used to be pretty bad about my food purchases as well and a lot would go from shopping cart, to fridge, to trash. It would drive me mad, but I really hadn't put a whole lot of thought into what I actually intended to do with what I was buying. Fortunately, I've come a long way, but still, wow!

And sorry to hear about the less appealing food selection--I always took jasmine rice as a given. Its a pretty sad state of affairs when *that* is unavailable...

The pasta looks awesome--you would have had me cheering for this dish just at goat cheese, but prosciutto, olives, and gruyere? Save me a plate...

[kate]

I could have written this post.

Meat marinades ready made? A pet peeve. I looked and looked for a plain pork tenderloin one day at the market and couldn't find it. It really irritated me. I can make my own flavoring!

Most stores that I shop in at least have smaller than a half gallon options for milk and juice, sometimes the pint bottles are available, or other single serve options. We can buy pints of sour cream, cottage cheese etc. I like the warehouse places for paper products as the price overall is much cheaper, and for cat litter, but most of what I see in those stores just makes me shake my head. No wonder our country has such a weight issue.

[Ulrike aka ostwestwind]

The first appeal I had at my first stay in the US, the size of all food packages were sooooo big. At that time I had no children and now I prefer to open two small packages than to throw away food. And pints are still too big, I buy fruit yoghurt in 125 g packages....

[pam]

Oh, Katie, I so agree with you. I made the mistake of trying a turkey tenderloin, which had been marinated in a lime marinade. It tasted just like a lime candy (kind of like a lifesaver). It was awful!

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

The whole thing about pre-seasoned food drives me nuts. It makes me think of the origin of sauces; if I remember my history, sauces were delivered to mask the flavor of meats that might not be as fresh as they should be in the days when food preservations techniques were not as sophisticated as they are now. Is pre-seasoned meat and chicken (and rice) a way to mask inferior basic ingredients?

[gattina]

we go for bigger, or we not given a choice?... I always believe that food manufacturers are the mastermind behind the fattening-people-up scene.
Btw, we freeze half the milk/ juice. For emergence, use juice-pack size UHT milk :)

[joey]

I hear you on the big sizes! Over here we have a range so it's fine...but those big "warehouse" style places drive me bananas! We are a household of two and we can't finish the sizes they have without the stuff going bad.

I remember when I was working in Amsterdam, I was a household of one then, and came upon a pack of just two chicken legs in the grocery...I heard angels singing :)

The one thing I buy in bulk is my yogurt...and I really stretch the "best before" date! :)

[Michelle]

I'm only weird about the "use by" dates on yogurt... which stems back to a bad expired yogurt experience. For everything else? The nose knows!

I find it challenging to take something that's clearly on its last leg and cook it up before it's bad. Keeps me on my toes. No way do we lose 30% to spoilage in this house! ;)

[TBTAM]

You were shopping in the wrong places. Go to a store in NYC and you will find all the things you need in containers small enough for a single person. You will have to fight to get through the narrow aisles with about 50 million other folks shopping that day, because here in the city we tend to shop daily rather than stocking up at the big box stores. Then you will go to the fish monger and the vegetable stand or the farmer's market.

You can't buy the big stuff because you ahve no room for any of it at home.

It will all seem more expensive, but you will throw little out. Or not.

[katie]

Meredith, those dates are only general guidelines ;-)). I mean, it's yogurt - spoiled milk...what can go wrong?

Mike, I'm sure the supermarkets vary in different markets, but I really was appalled at what used to be (IMHO) the premiere store in Mpls. I'll just put your plate in the fridge....

Kate, I was thinking exactly the same thing: huge containers and the 'must clean plate' mentality have to have an effect.

Ulrike, I do the same - those 125gr packs are perfect. If I want more I open 2...

Pam, Ooooh, that sounds awful! I'd be skeptical about marinated meat....

Lydia, exactly why I'd be skeptical. In my own kitchen I'll marinade something that is getting close to it's 'date' - but I know that... I don't want someone else to make that decision for me

Gattina, here I can get smaller sizes, and we keep UHT on hand as well. But I didn't realize you could freeze milk...thanks for the tip!

Joey, I buy big 'cases' of yogurt, but they are individual containers - 30 at a time... But I wouldn't want to buy 1 container of the same ml!

Michelle, I hope I don't run into the bad yogurt experience...I've been know to go as many as 15 days past... Not much waste here, either... the occasional odd bit of veg that gets shoved aside... Oh wait, that goes to the compost so it's just recycled!

TBTAM, You are so right! But Mpls doesn't have much of a 'downtown' culture. It's getting there, slowly. And in the smaller city my sister lives in, there's no hope!

[Shayne]

First thank you for making me feel even more guilty then I already did about getting a gallon of mayo at Costco because I didn’t have it in me to stop at yet another store…by the way I have gotten S**t from every one that has seen it in my fridge.

I wanted brown rice and some dried beans just the other day and after shopping at 5 stores finally found brown minute rice, I was disgusted. The only brown rice I could find was processed and not even Trader Joe’s is carrying dried beans, I mean what is this world coming to.

Ok now I have to go figure out how I am going to use up a gallon of mayo before it goes bad. I have been working on food trash reduction for the last 6 months and I am doing much better than before thanks to my budgeting.

[magpie]

We're pretty efficient eaters, so we rarely throw stuff out.

And that already seasoned business? Yuck! My sister bought a marinated pork tenderloin recently. It was truly disgusting - both in taste and texture. Never again.

[katie]

Shayne, a GALLON of mayo? And it's not even time for summer salads! How about a face mask? Body rub?
On the other hand, I know the frustration of running around and having no luck finding stuff!

Magpie, we're getting very efficient, also. I wouldn't trust the pork!