Serious Fun Food. I hope you know that’s more than a tagline here at Sippity Sup.

Sure we have some fun with our food here. Food can be one of life’s great joys. But there’s more to food than the pleasure it brings & the nourishment it provides. So I’d like to take a moment to introduce you to Doi Chaang Coffee.

These days it’s not hard to be aware of the social aspects of the food we eat and how it gets to our table. This growing awareness of the politics of food is a very good thing. But do we really understand the consequences of our choices? There’s more to it than buying  ‘natural’, organic, locally-grown produce and healthy snacks for kids. These are important issues to be sure. But there are more basic concerns as well. The politics of food, including the how and why we consume what we do has deep social and moral implications. This is where the serious part of Sippity Sup comes in because it provides a platform to discuss these issues within our community.

One of these issues is ‘fair trade’. Our enormous demand for quality products at Walmart prices has created an unforeseen monster. That monster is the growing divide between rich and poor, reduced access to basic needs (food, water and shelter) and inadequate education and healthcare. Now, this monster has been growing for a long time. We modern folk are not entirely to blame. But we modern folk are in a unique position to learn from our past and try to build a better future for all the world’s children.

VOTE for me HERE!

Autumn is one of the nicest times of the year in Los Angeles. We often have clear, sunny days. They can be bright and warm, without being stifling. Even the sky seems bluer. It's the perfect time of year to pack a lunch and take it on the road. There are so many wonderful places in Los Angeles to enjoy a meal outdoors. The park, the beach, up to the mountains or out to the desert. Beauty is all around us, so it's just a matter of deciding where to go and what setting to enjoy.

But picnics can make a lot of trash. Plastic plates, plastic cups, plastic wrap. All destined to be used once, then spend the next 100 years in a landfill. Well just the thought of all that garbage ruins the occasion for me. It really does. So when I take my meals outdoors I try and give them an environmentally friendly spin. I don't pack our finest china, but I do use real dishes, real glasses and I try to find other creative ways to eliminate the trash.

But let's be clear. The rules for this challenge were to 'whip up' a four part meal (entree, side, drink, and dessert), that was easily transportable and fit into the cooler provided. All these other constraints I took on voluntarily. I even threw in two extra courses (an appetizer and cheese course). Which means my post could have veered into dangerous territory, filled with lots of tedious photos and tons of useless blather. When I say I want to cut down on the garbage, well that is an editorial decision as much as an environmental concern.

So I opted for a video. It clearly shows me packing my meal and transporting it. Saving you (and me) from blog overload. CLICK here or on the screen grab below to watch my Project Food Blog Challenge #6 video.

I found out I don't know squat about quats!

I mean I know kumquats. I am quite familiar with loquats. Ditto limequats, and orangequats. I have even eaten dishes prepared with the least quatly named of the quats the calamondin.

But I gotta admit I never even heard of the quat I quaffed recently from the Hollywood Farmers Market. It's called a mandarinquat, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that this little fruit is a cross between a kumquat and a mandarin. And I didn't need to be a genius to decide to choose these as the subject for my weekly Market Matters post. After all, it's citrus season, and I mean look at these little beauties! They've got Sup! written all over them.

The farmer who grew them said, they are best eaten raw– simply popped in your mouth like a kumquat. He said they were sweeter than a kumquat, with the same yummy skin as a kumquat. Sounded pretty good to me. So I left the market with a couple of pounds, quite pleased to suggest to all of you to do just that.

It’s my Birthday! Yep, today is the day. November 11^th. Eleven/Eleven!

Don’t ask how old I am though, not that I wouldn’t tell you; it’s just that I have not quite decided how old I am going to be this year. I used 32 for way too many years. I can’t really get away with that one anymore. So I gotta think of a new age. Once I decide you’ll be the first to know. I promise.

In the meantime what are we going to do to celebrate? I am not really a “gifts” kind of person. Presents always make me uncomfortable, in an “I’m not worthy kind of way”. It’s always excruciating, even when I love the present, because I always manage to come across as ungrateful. I can be such a prickly bastard. I don’t know why. In actuality I have never been given a gift I did not love whole-heartedly. I just have trouble expressing it in any other way than an “I’m not worthy” kind of way.

It’s kind of like that scene in the movie Harold and Maude. Harold gives Maude a lovely token of his love and she flings it into the bay as Harold watches in astonishment. She then sighs contentedly and says, to Harold’s confusion– “so I’ll always know where it!” It’s not that she didn’t love her present, it’s just the emotions of the moment overwhelmed her, and she acted unconventionally. Well, I am kind of like Maude, only younger and not as good looking… so don’t make any jokes, ‘cuz I’ve heard ‘em all before!