Not food or driving... but there is a map

So it was suggested that I start a work blog to chronicle my year at Americorps but I haven't really been sold on that idea. This isn't really the kind of job that makes for thrilling stories, at least not yet. Recently, however, as I've been doing research for the job, I've been coming across some really random interesting information. I'm not sure that I have the endurance to devote an entire blog to it but I'm thinking maybe I will put in a little feature post every now and again.

What kinds of things am I talking about? Here's some highlights from today's research:

1. While looking up social services resources I discovered a hotline called the Middle Earth Hotline. Obviously my interest was piqued immediately by a Lord of the Rings reference, but I was highly skeptical that it was indeed a LOTR reference and not just some sort of religious name.

To my utter delight, it was a LOTR reference, although it was not a hotline for people who want to become elves (as S suggested). In fact its a very serious and important hotline for teen crisis and suicide. I definitely appreciate the use of the name Middle Earth, even if it doesn't really make any sense. The crisis center that runs the hotline had this on their website:

Middle Earth Hotline was Long Island Crisis Center’s first hotline. In fact, we were first known as Middle Earth Switchboard, borrowing from J.R.R. Tolkein’s name for a land safe for young people. Like all our hotlines, this service is free, anonymous, confidential and open 24/7. Crisis intervention and suicide prevention counseling are available; counselors also provide information and referrals.

There's also a Middle Earth at University of Albany which is a counseling center which seems to have no relation to the Long Island Middle Earth, although it does also have its own hotline.

(Also, if you don't know what the real Middle Earth is, you may want to consider not reading this blog any more.)

2. I was looking for religious organizations in Hempstead and I came across a listing, on the website of the public library mind you, for The Church of the Four Leaf Clover. I was pretty intrigued by the name so I decided to try and find it. There were lots of general listings for it through all of those websites that list businesses like Manta and all those other internet listing sites, but I couldn't really find any solid information on it except on one pop-up ridden site. This site listed all sorts of weird spiritual places and included this.

Church of the Four Leaf Clover

(Defunct)

The Church of the Four Leaf Clover was founded in 1925 by the Rev. M. E. Claas. The four leaf clover is a symbol of humility, its four leaves standing for eternal life, everlasting light, divine love and truthfulness. The church emphasized the fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount. The church was among the early Spiritualist bodies which taught reincarnation and karma. There were, in the 1950s, four churches, all on Long Island. Headquarters were at Jamaica, New York.

Now, it says defunct and I haven't really found any other reference to this church so aside from calling them, which I may end up doing, there's not a lot to go on. Still, I find the premise of the church interesting since it seems to mix eastern and western religions.

So, those were my discoveries for today. Oh and I also discovered that the water taxes and dog licensing somehow fall under the same department. So, thoughts on the weird work news?

Let there be cake!

So far since I've started working here, we have had two cakes in the office. One was for my birthday, and one was a pre going away party for my supervisor who is very heavily pregnant. They like to eat at IH. Just my kind of people.

I'm fairly fussy about cake and it isn't really one of my favorite desserts, however I do love a good ice cream cake, and miraculously that's what I got for my birthday! My parents have been telling me to go to a bakery they love out on the Island and these cakes came from local bakeries, so I'm starting to feel like Long Island is a good place for baked goods. Hooray! In support of that theory I present the Entemann's outlet store which I've passed several times recently. A cake outlet store???!!! WHAT? I haven't gone in yet, but rest assured I will research that for you. And I'm sure it's not just cake but every yummy product they have.
And when I get a kitchen I'm sure I will do some baking myself.

On a non-cake topic, Long Island drivers are pretty bad. I don't want to say they're worse than Jersey, but they're at least as bad.

Philly Mac and Cheesesteak

This is an emergency post because I saw this and it is far too crazy not to share. Occasionally I read Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me! NPR, which features a sandwich every Monday. Recently they featured the Philly Mac and Cheesesteak, which unfortunately is no longer in production ( they tried to create their own). This is exactly what it sounds like. It is a cheesesteak topped with mac and cheese. What??? Talk about indulgence. I don't know how I feel about this one, aside from overwhelmed by grease. I love mac and cheese like its nobody's business and I do love a good cheesesteak, but somehow putting them together seems like a strange mixture of textures. However, I'd be willing to consider the fact that this could be divine. Luckily for my arteries, Great Steaks has discontinued it so I will never be able to taste it.

If you want to see what NPR has to say about it you can find it here.

Yuppie Drinks

When I walk into a store like Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Wegmans, or any other health food or high end type grocery, I am instantly attracted to the wall of shiny and colorful bottles of juices, waters and beverages that can't be qualified by any known category. These drinks are what I fondly refer to as yuppie drinks. I can't help it, but I'm seduced by the array of packaging and bright colors every time, even though, in my experience, these drinks rarely live up to their lofty descriptions. Occasionally I succumb to reason and pass by these cases, but yesterday while in the city with R we stopped in at Whole Foods and I decided it was time to try something new. Sadly I didn't have my camera with me at the time to give you the full effect of the size and beauty of this drink case. The store itself, being in the city, is fairly compact, but luckily they felt the need to keep the drink case at proper size.

I felt in the mood for something with carrot in it. I don't drink carrot juice very often but every once in a while it seems appealing, and it did yesterday. The problem with yuppie drinks is that they tend to be obscenely priced, as are most things in Whole Foods. They had the standard array of juices including the Naked juices which is probably as close to drinking a whole fruit as you can come. I didn't feel like paying $3.50 for a tiny bottle so I opted for something else, which I suspected from its cheaper price would be less carroty than a few of the others, but seemed intriguing. I also love things that are orange, particularly foods, and this met the bill %100.

The drink I chose was by a company called Ralph and Charlie's and was titled Carrot Everyday Beverage. I read the ingredient list which consisted of Carrot pomace (30%), concentrated lemon juice, water and sugar. So I assumed it would be a bit lemony with a carrot flavor. I didn't really know what carrot pomace was but I imagined it was some sort of carrot pulp. As it turns out, pomace is the solid remains of fruit after its been pressed for juice. So I'm drinking the remnants of something after it was made into juice, which let me tell you, doesn't leave much room for carrot taste.

The experience of drinking this "everyday beverage" was quite unique. I wouldn't say I don't like it, but I'd be quite fine if I never tasted it again. It's sitting here next to me right now and still causing me much confusion. It tastes like several things simultaneously, none of which are carrot. First off it has body, you can see it clinging to the side of the bottle, which is what I expect out of a veggie juice. Second, when you open it up it smell a bit like tomato juice, or V8. Third, it tastes somewhat like lemonade since its sweet and lemony, but at the same time it also tastes like drinking a yam. I'm not sure if that's reinforced by its orange color, but I definitely get the feeling of drinking a lemon flavored yam. In no way do I feel I am drinking a carrot.

Reading the ingredients and nutrition facts makes me realize that this shouldn't be surprising at all since its basically composed of carrot waste ( grape pomace is used in winemaking, but carrot pomace seems to be a topic for discussion among the food industry). So despite the fact that this drink says right on the label that its "Fresh and Healthy," there is really no nutritious value at all. The nutrition per serving (1/2 a cup) of which there are 4 servings per bottle is as follows:
Calories: 60
Total Fat:0g
Total Carbs: 13g
Dietary Fiber: 0g
Sugar: 13g
Not a significant source of cholesterol, sodium, protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium and iron.

So basically its sugar and carbs and no nutritional value whatsoever. That's what you get for drinking pomace. Don't think this will deter me from trying more yuppie drinks though. R tried some sort of cold tea which turned out not to be overly remarkable as it basically tasted like tea. We also found a remarkable array of cheeses in several stores including a log of goat cheese the size of my arm, but I'll save that for another entry since I could go on and on about dairy products, particularly cheese.

Our Daily Bread...

It only just occurred to me today that I've managed to keep food in my job/ service, without really thinking about it. Today was my first day working with Island Harvest ( a great organization by the way) and their primary function is as a resource for families in need of food. They provide a lot of access to resources for poverty but the overall program I'm working with in AmeriCorps is the New York City Coalition Against Hunger. So basically we don't want anyone to have to go without food. Food is a very basic need and I felt strongly about being part of this organization's programs, more so than some of the organizations within the coalition. I wanted to be part of the program because food is just something everyone should have, but the more I think about it, the more interesting I find it that I wound up here, working in a food-based environment.

While I'm not dealing directly with collecting cans or serving meals at a soup kitchen as part of my job description, I am going to be working with and talking to organizations which do these things. And when I go to training in February there is some talk of helping out at a food bank. Anyway, I'm certainly not going to tell anyone how to spend their time or money but I just want to put it out there that organizations like Island Harvest and their partners are a very good thing for the world, and that no one should have to go without food.

Smashburger follow-up

Like any subject, food requires research, and for the sake of this blog and the few people who read it, I decided to do some more in-depth research on Smashburger. I did this for you obviously. I just want to be clear on that. The opportunity for consumption of greasy, fried deliciousness had no bearing on this endeavor whatsoever.

Having brought Smashburger to everyone's attention in the last post, I found a good opportunity yesterday to see if they really were as delicious as they sounded.

First, a note on the restaurant itself: It's actually pretty nice on the inside, for a fast food type joint anyway. It's certainly not like going to McDonald's. Of course you aren't getting a dollar menu either but still. It looks like a diner or a restaurant inside with the same bold red color from their logo splashed around onto booths and light fixtures. I don't know if this is standard decor or if its fancy because it's located in a fancy mall.

The Food: I ordered the 1/3 pound classic burger which comes with lettuce, tomato, onions and ketchup on an egg roll. Either they made a mistake or it automatically comes with fries because I ordered fries on the side and I got some in the burger box and then an extra box as well. ( Side note: I got it to go and everything comes in little white boxes similar to Chinese food boxes.) I probably should have tried the sweet potato fries but I was craving nice, salty potato fries. I couldn't pass up the chance to try the fried pickles either. Way too tempting. I could smell them on the ride home, tempting me with their delicious salty fried smell. Luckily its a very short ride so I didn't have to suffer too long.

The pickles did not disappoint. They were VERY salty but they were a terrific mix of flavoring. I wouldn't want to eat them very often but they're a nice treat. The fries on the other hand were terrifically disappointing. They were pretty cold even after the short ride home and had that dried out texture. They sounded so tasty. At least if they had been mushy like McDonald's fries are inside they might have had a shot at staying tasty. I'd like to try them hot out of the oven some time when someone else is paying.

The burger was quite tasty and all the things on it looked fresh and in good condition, unlike most fast food accompaniments.

So the conclusion of my dedicated research is that Smashburger is a success if you have $7-10 bucks to spend on grease but skip the fries and try something else. Also don't think about the exorbitant amount of calories you are likely consuming by eating these monstrosities.

So this is what the fried pickles look like along with their ranch dipping sauce ( also tasty). As I learned from the Food Network, each batch is individually made by tossing the pickles and batter around in a plastic bag and then popping them in the deep fryer. Yum!



And there are fries in the back...




A blurry shot inside of lettuce, tomato and onions