I’m no purist but when it comes to food I feel as a society we have gone too far.   We’ve processed and manipulated the ingredient to the point where it becomes unrecognizable.    Why must a simple cheese burger contain ingredients we can’t even pronounce and be over 1000 calories per serving?  Don’t get me wrong, I eat fast food from time to time, but it is extremely rare.  It’s usually on a long road trip where the choices are few or if I’m hungry beyond words and need to grab something fast, otherwise I skip the mystery meat served with an even more mysterious special sauce.   

Recently I saw an ad for a Cheeseburger pizza that is being sold in the Middle East.   Let me clarify what this Cheeseburger pizza is.  No it’s not a pizza crust that topped with tomato sauce, ground beef and cheddar cheese as one might expect; they freaking baked tiny cheeseburgers in the outer crust.  Imagine a pizza surrounded by a “crown of cheeseburgers.” While others may jump with joy at the idea of having two of their favorite foods combined, I completely gagged.

My first thought was “what the frack?”   That is a complete violation of the use of ingredients.  What would possess the genius of a chef to invent this type of heart attack educing, stomach wrenching concoction?   When did freshly baked crust with great cheese and tomato sauce become not enough?  Why do they have to resort to such tactics to entice the public?   No, I don’t expect every meal to be the way our mothers would make, where they would spend all morning making lunch because every component was fresh, but I don’t expect that food would evolve to this.    Can we meet somewhere in the middle?   Can we promise to not invent anymore cookies butters, cake shakes or rings of  burgers?  Sometimes simplicity is best!

 

Tamarind Balls

also known as Tamarind Candy

½ cup Tamarind Paste

½ garlic clove, finely crushed

½ Thai chili pepper, crushed finely

1 cups white or brown sugar plus additional for rolling

Pinch of salt

Place tamarind, garlic, chili pepper and salt in a bowl.  Using your hands, mix all the ingredients together.   Roll into even sized balls and then roll in sugar.

Notes

  • If you are using fresh tamarind you will have to remove the shell and seeds.
  • If the tamarind mixture is not holding together when rolled, add ½ tsp of water to the mixture
  • Use wet hand will prevent any sticking when forming the tamarind into balls.  It will also help the sugar to stick to the outside.
  • Tamarind paste can be found at most Asian Markets