Author Archives: Tasha

Welcome to MetaCookbook!

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  • Thursday, August 9, 2012
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So, you saw something on Twitter or Pinterest that intrigued you, and you want to know more about me and my web-home? Thanks! I’ll try to keep it informative, but brief.

h2. About Natasha

I currently live in Portland, Oregon, but I’ve also lived in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and its surrounding suburbs; Baltimore, MD (briefly); and all around New Mexico. Bill and I so regularly contemplated moving to Portland, OR that we did so. I still consider going back to Baltimore, MD. I don’t know if Bill still contemplates it.

I’m in my 30s and discovering how much I am obsessed with food. My obsession is rooted in my undergraduate days, but didn’t really bloom until I landed in Chicago for a Ph.D. program. I have since left that program, and sometimes I very much miss it.… Continue reading →

What’s the strangest item you’ve brought home from a restaurant?

For me, I think it might be the quail bones I brought home on Saturday. I also brought home one tiny chicken leg bone, but between it being both small and chicken, it hardly counts.

This is a habit I think Jonathan Bloom of Wasted Food would at least somewhat approve of, but I’m not sure. Don’t think I won’t ask him, though!

I bring home bones. I don’t own dogs, and even if I did I wouldn’t give them most bones from restaurants. But I bring home bones anyway.

Though I cited Bloom and Wasted Food as deeper influences a week ago on my state of mind, I’ve been bringing bones home from restaurants since last December. And frugality, not waste, was really the motivation.… Continue reading →

While I am focused on other things

I wanted to share with you a photo I took about two weeks ago. It’s what $35 worth of peaches looks like in my world.

My freezers are full of peaches and blueberries. Yet, I am contemplating more peaches. Up to and including another crate of them, which is how many the above is. It’s probably a bad plan, but I’m very tempted.… Continue reading →

Links for a Friday.

Today’s post is a quickie, but I wanted to share three links with you that I thought were quite good reads. They are all from the same blog that I was recently linked to, written by Christi Wilcox, a PhD student at University of Hawaii. Before you ask, yes, she studies biology. Her bio (on the site) says she studies Cell and Molecular Biology, so she’s not completely out of left field in commenting on these topics. Particularly the last link.

Mythbusting 101: Organic Farming > Conventional Agriculture

I really appreciated this post, in part because it said some things I’ve also said (but I said it without backup), but also because I learned a few things.

For example, I always knew organic farms also use pesticides.… Continue reading →

The blueberries did it

In my last couple of entries, I discussed getting to feeling like all things associated with food were terrible and then how I moved past that situation. That could be a sufficient set of posts to put out there, but I felt like I should post a bit on how I got there. This is as much for myself to have something to look back to as it is to share, but I hope others will find it valuable as well.

So, what the hell went wrong?

Lots of things, but let’s start here: I love a farmers’ market. Oh, MAN, do I love a farmers’ market. I love the bustle of people. I love looking at all the produce and the cheese and the plants and the flowers (this time of year).… Continue reading →