The Fork is Feeling Low
It happens like this every year, Fork readers—your fearless friend The Fork looks out at the dying leaves and changing light and starts to feel allllll sad. We've tried everything from drinking too much (didn't help) to special lights (totally helped) to that thing where you curl up into a fetal ball on the bed with all your clothes on and stare at the wall as the snow falls softly outside.
But this year we're determined to defeat what we like to call the Autumnal Sadsies (TM) with the help of food. Y'know, because eating your problems is always the answer (note, this is not always the answer even at all, but we're gonna provide some tips to feel better through what you eat this time of year just below).
So we asked around and read around and cooked up (Oh. Em. Gee. Cooked up? In a food newsletter? You're welcome, America) some bits and pieces to mull over as we phase into darker, colder days.
Pretty high on the list according to our sources is lean protein. In other words, ditch that big fat steak for some turkey or chicken. It's something about amino acids but also something about how not feeling like you just ate a brick should make you feel better. We've got similar advice about omega-3 fatty acids. This means fish, y'all. So fish it up. Or don't if you don't eat fish.
If meat's not your treat, think about reducing sugar and upping folic acid found in things like leafy greens (spinach always rules) or even oatmeal. These things are cheap and easy to make, too, and we always feel better starting the day having had a big ol' oatmeal. Throw some berries in if you can, because it turns out they might help your mood as well.
Lastly, while keeping in mind that there are tons of other options not mentioned here (like broccoli and eggs and bananas), think about picking up a little dark chocolate. Benjamin Franklin once said, "Eat shit in moderation, ya bunch of jabronis!" and he was right—try not to overdo it—and dark choco treats not overindulged-in can perk you up a tad.
What do you readers eat for the sad-time months? Let us know.
Also
-We hear that a whole mess of chefs are getting together on Nov. 3 to benefit the New Mexico History Museum with the second Annual Fred Harvey Foodie Dinner. According to participating chef Johnny Vee, everyone is cooking with The Harvey House Cookbook. At $150, tickets are a little steep, but with chefs from places like Harry's Road House, the Inn & Spa at Loretto, Dolina and many others, it might just be worth it.
-According to the Santa Fe Master Gardener Newsletter, there are certain Do's and Do Not Do's when it comes to your winter garden. If you've been looking for the answers The Fork can't give you, why don't you sign up for their newsletter too? Like, keep reading ours, but read theirs, too.
-We bring this up just because we're barreling toward holidays and figure y'all want to be good people, but the Roadrunner Food Bank is always looking for donations and good folks to volunteer and the like. If you're strapped for time, however, at least be aware of the Tap Into New Mexico Craft program. Through TINMC, anytime you buy certain things from participating partners like Marble Brewery, Santa Fe Spirits and St. Clair Winery, said place donates a little something to the food bank. Easy, right?
-On a similar note, SFR has a donation bin from The Food Depot in our office for the next little bit, so if you've got a chance and wanna help, drop some food our way (we're at 132 E Marcy St.). And if you're the type who uses these things to get rid of old condensed milk or pumpkin pie mix, you're a jerk.
-The Food Network—whom you may know for unleashing Guy Fieri on the world—recently compiled 50 States of Nachos, a list highlighting their faves from across the US. The local connection? Rio Chama's green chile nachos.
-We can't recall if we already mentioned this, but we're going to again because it's important, dammit (and because a lot of you seem to forget things we talk about)—Raaga, the Indian eatery that closed a little over a year ago, is reportedly gearing up to reopen in to-go-only form. Stay tuned for more as soon as we know it.
-Lastly in the local category, do y'all remember when food website eater.com spent all that time making videos in Santa Fe restaurants? Whether or not you do, you can find them all right here, and they're pretty fun to watch. Not as fun as it might be if The Fork were to ever learn how to make movies, but still pretty fun.
More Tidbits
-Speaking of eater, there’s a pretty cool story about murder mystery books involving food over there right now, so check it out. If clickin’ isn’t your game, we’ll just tell you that writer Joanne Fluke has a series about a small-town baker who keeps getting embroiled (boom!) in murders and stuff. This made our mind wander to Murder She Wrote, a show about another small town where people kept getting murdered and—wait a second! If Cabot Cove was so small, how did people keep getting murdered so often? Like, wouldn’t it have ceased to be a town at that rate? And why is their best and brightest Angela Lansbury? Wouldn’t the cops be fired? Wouldn’t people have moved away? No—none of this adds up at all!
-Anyway, in non-Angela Lansbury news, new evidence from Croatia suggests that cheese and yogurt and the like may have been around even longer than we realized. The evidence, in fact, aims to this stuff being about 7,200 years old! Why is that a big deal? Welp, according to this article here, such items would have decreased infant mortality, freeing up the people of the day to spend more time farming and prospering and bronzing and ironing things than they did burying children. In your face, Angela Lansbury (who, fun fact, is also from about 7,200 years ago)!
-Sad news for fans of La Croix sparkling water, and not just because acting like drinking a specific sparkling water somehow makes you interesting … or because you're a hipster … or because you're dumb—turns out the company is facing legal woes because one of the ingredients in La Croix can also be found in—are you sitting down?—insecticide. Ruh-roh. There's other stuff to consider here, but that's really the big one.
-Meanwhile, Reader's Digest (the magazine for people who hate reading but have everything to prove) has compiled a rundown of the best food festivals to visit this year. There's even one in the Cayman Islands, though we're not sure who is reading the Digest regularly and also hitting up the Caymans. Whatevs.
-Nineteenth Century! Chemist! Grisly! This NPR story about a new book on Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley has all the words you'll want to read when it comes to food and its safety regulation. Sounds cool, but the La Croix thing begs to differ.
-CNN digs into how CBD is shaping food and drink lately, though as SFR reported in July, that might be a little tough around here. Not sure what CBD is? Dr. Fork is here to help. Y'see, dear readers, CBD, or cannabidiol, is a naturally-occurring compound found in marijuana plants, though it doesn't get you stoned. It's been shown to help with everything from anxiety and insomnia to the Autumnal Sadsies (TM) and beyond. You can usually pick it up at your local dispensary and you don't even need a cannabis card to do so. Slip it in your drink or food (y'know, like CNN says) and be prepared for all of your problems to stop forever and ever. If you're looking for more benefits, Santa Fe's own Fruit of the Earth Organics has a nifty resource page right here. Also, we're not actually a doctor, we just play one on TV.
Finally
Just so everyone knows, "chuffed" is absolutely a word, and it means "pleased." Thanks, though, for your MANY emails about what a jerk The Fork is for having used it. We thought we were friends, dear readers … we thought we were friends.
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A Totally Scientific Breakdown of The Fork's Correspondence
Number of Letters Receieved
47
*And so-so-so many about the word “chuffed.”
Most Helpful Tip of the Week (edited slightly for length)
“Are you serious?”
*As a heart attack, baby!!!
Actually Helpful Tip (only slightly edited for content)
“This edition is particuarly fantastic and I thank you.”
*Not really a tip, but we love you for it, Fork Reader Mary Ann!
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In this week’s print edition of SFR, find out more about Kakawa Chocolate House’s ever-expanding empire while picking up some light history on the noble history of chocolate. As we may have mentioned before, it can treat the Autumnal Sadsies (TM).
Fork thee well,
The Fork
