5.13.07

In this issue:

• Parmigiano Reggianito
• Newman's Own
• a semi-Italian, semi-American foodasfuel™ dinner
• and breaking records

Until about a year ago, I had never heard of Parmigiano Reggiano. It is simply put, real parmesan, aged for a minimum of 12 months in Italy. It is real. It is really good. It is also really expensive. This picture shows wheels of it that cost 490 euro ($661). It's usually sells for about 9 or 10 dollars a pound around here.

But yesterday, I found a new cheese with the taste of Reggiano, but at the price of our American grated version. It's called Parmigiano Reggianito, an Argentinian import, named because it is made in smaller wheels than Italian version. I didn't have Reggiano to compare it to, but it was delicious. And at 4.49/pound, I bought 8 oz. at a lower price than the Kraft green bottle. And just like guacamole, parmesan tastes so much better when it is fresh (in this case freshly grated).

Incidentally, parmesan is much better for you than soft cheeses. It has less calories, and you generally use less, too.



I'm not strictly loyal to that many brands...off the top of my head--Gillette face moisturizer, Suave for Men shampoo, Old Navy for jeans, Skippy Honey Nut peanut butter, South Beach protein bars. I buy a lot of store brand groceries and can't think of any bad purchases--even things like olive oil or steak sauce have been pleasant surprises. But I think I'm adding Newman's Own to that list for salsa and pasta saue

Plain and simple, his sauces taste so much better, so much fresher than anything else I've had in a jar. It's usually about 50 cents more, but that's where the savings from store brands on other products comes in. Sure, it also feels good knowing that you're helping give to charity through buying pasta sauce, but ultimately it comes down to taste. And he's got it.



For a Sunday evening dinner, I was inspired my Reggianito cheese to put an Italian twist on an American favorite: burger and fries. It's a bunless burger topped with grated Reggianito and Newman's Own Sockarooni sauce, along side oven baked garlic and parmesan fries.

(click for tasty close-up goodness)

Without the bun, it's a whole lot easier to taste the meat. The fries took about 25 minutes at 450 degrees, tossed in a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper, then finished with garlic and reggianito when they came out. The smaller ones only take about 20 minutes, so pull those before they burn.



And lastly, I've been breaking some personal records. 5 weeks ago, Brittany walked longer than we had ever done continuously: 9.5 miles. Then over the next 3 weeks, we did it again and again--our first time was 3:45, our fastest was 3:14.

On Friday, I ran 2 miles, which I've done before. But I have my eye on running a personal 5k, a distance I'm pretty sure I've never done. Perhaps tomorrow, when my legs are less sore.

And in general, some time soon I will definitively say that I'm in the best shape of my life. Perhaps I already am, it's hard to remember things from high school, but soon I'm confident that I'll reach a fitness level that I've never achieved before. And that's pretty exciting.