Monday, November 29, 2004

think thin

Thanksgiving is over, but we’re still in full holiday swing. When the food is plentiful…and so is the guilt and extra weight-gain. Today’s links are all over healthy eating & weight-loss tips.

First things first, put down the donut, and back away slowly.

Drink lots of water.

I like soup as a healthy but comforting meal. Today I had split-pea soup from the cafeteria that was mighty yummy and perfect for this cold cloudy day. For some soupy inspiration, check out this list of movies that feature soup.

Obviously, an American-style diet ain’t gonna cut it. Check out how people around the world eat. Lots of good tips in this series of articles.

Speaking of tips, here’s some about how to avoid binge eating during the holidays. Speaking of holiday eating, check out some of these healthy holiday recipes. yum.

Instead of just trying to diet, maybe you should reflect on relationship to food.

Or get spiritual and artsy with your healthy self with diet inspiration from Our Lady of Weightloss. Check out her greeting cards. Pretty.

A glossary of diet pills and weight-loss terms for the studious dieters. And while you’re nerding up your diet, might as well use a calculator!

For healthy lunches, this company makes really cute compartmentalized lunch boxes, much like Jaapanese bento boxes, except more tupperware-ish. Their website has lots of great ideas for healthy lunches.

For those who read this but don’t give a crud about eating healthier, I’ll just come full circle (pun intended) and end with a link to tips for eating donuts.

Let’s get physical!

Monday, November 22, 2004

gobble gobble

Gee, what could I possibly post about this week? Is there anything special going on in the world of food?

Oh, I know! I just found out it’s National Games week, and I just found out there’s an Iron Chef boardgame!

Oh, and there’s that Thanksgiving thing. Are you thankful for the internet? I am. A few reasons:

Cooking for Engineers’ guide to turkey.

Fun turkey facts & History. Ben Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird!

Tofu Turkey.

Tips for a gay thanksgiving.

Tips on choosing wines. I usually stick to my favorite reds, ‘cause I can drink red wine with almost anything. Last year, we brought a big bottle of Pieporter Riesling along to share, because my family is the oober-sweet Beringer white zinfandel type (yuck!), and we thought we’d introduce a better sweet wine. It was a big hit.

I will overeat.


Pie!

Monday, November 15, 2004

the unthinkable

Not my proudest food moment, but I thought I’d share anyway.

So I go out with some family and friends to this lounge at a local casino, heard some live cover songs, did some girl-talk, and drank too many Fat Tires. How do I know I had too many? Well ‘cause on the way home Jack managed to talk me into stopping by White Castle for some late-night chow. I have never liked white Castle… not one little bit. I don’t like smelling up the car with it, and I don’t like the taste nor texture of "slyders." But Jack insisted I would like their new chicken sandwiches, which are all real breast meat. He was paying…and driving, so I caved. The sandwiches were pretty good...

My fear of the crave started early in life. I saw a t.v. show one time, like a today-show type format. They had a guy on who wrote a book of top-secret recipes, and for the show he was making White Castle hamburgers. Here’s the yucky part…one of the ingredients was beef baby food! Yummmm. Kind of like This recipe. But apparently everyone and their mother has their own way of making them. Even Alton Brown. I don’t think I’ll be trying any of them soon.

I’d kind of like to see This movie though.

you look delicious

I’m not really a fashionista or anything. But lately I’ve come across a few things that have inspired me to do a post about fashionable food and food fashions.

For the chef, these aprons are so cute. And don’t forget your wine!

For the stylish little girl in all of us, doll cakes are like playing dress-up and easy bake oven at the same time! Doll cake supplies, anyone?

Have a shoe Fetish? Having Cake? Here’s everything you’ll need. Cake stand. Cake server. Plates.

A book about fashionable food through the years. And an article about Japan’s chic food of the moment.

You can use your fashion for food purposes , or go crazy and use food for fashion purposes. Mmmmm…chocolate.

A little style in your eating is a good thing, but this is taking it way too far. brrr. What’s next? Chanel Croutons and Louie Vuitton mustard?

Chic appetit!

Monday, November 08, 2004

It's just "different" is all...

I consider myself pretty open-minded...especially when it comes to food. There aren't many things I won't try. But today, I'm dedicating this post to the worst recipes ever.

This Fruit Cocktail-SPAM Buffet Party Loaf is wrong in soooo many ways. It even has Miracle Whip in it...and if you know me you know I'm totally nauseous right now.

So that was very 50's. The 70's are notorious for strange food. These 1974 Weight Watchers recipe cards kill me! Fluffy Mackerel Pudding....yum.

Take a tour through fascinating old cookbooks and food ads at Lilek's Gallery of regrettable food.

And, along those same lines is Cate's Garage's Food section. The Scandalous food section especially makes me giggle!

This site takes a more international approach to "different" foods and recipes. Some look like mighty fun Halloween ideas, while others are just plain scary.

Speaking of international, here's some Questionable Drinks from far away lands.

For dessert, how's about a cool, refreshing meat shake?

Whew. I need a drink!

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

coping

A special election edition of food links, designed to help us get through this dark time.

First let me say that we're all doomed. So let's start preparing for the worst.
How to dry foods in the Sun.

How to make a solar oven from a pizza box.

Some solar oven recipes.

Until then, we can quell our fear and disappointment with Comfort foods.

Nigell'a's Roasted chicken sounds like a big warm blanket.

But Chocolate and Ice Cream are the all-time go-to favorites for making life seem rosier.

Or maybe you should familiarize yourself with Canadian food.

Monday, November 01, 2004

House of Yum!

Friday Night I met some friends at House of India at Delmar and I-170. I adore Indian food, but have only been to a couple of restaurants. I've heard that House of India is very good, and it's true! The service was good, like at all Indian restaurants I've been to. We had a big table of people, so service was affected by that a bit, but overall no major problems.

I tried my friend's Mango Lassi, which I've never had. Those things are fantastic...at least for a huge mango fan like myself. We got and appetizer sampler platter. Being one of the 2 meat eaters in the crowd, I tried some kind of tubular lamb sausage and tandoori chicken. Both very flavorful.

For dinner I order #73-Chana Alu, which is "Chick peas and potatoes cooked in curry sauce with fresh tomatoes and onions." It sure was tasty. I have such a weak spot for potatoes in curry sauce. They are just the perfect couple. House of India has wonderful rice, too. Basmatti rice comes with most of the meals, but it's not just plain ordinary rice...It's delicately flavored with, I think, cinnamon, maybe lemon, maybe cumin? Like I said, subtle but it makes a positive difference. I tried my friend Kristen's homemade cheese with spinach dish. It was good, too, but not as flavorful as I like...very simple.

Mine was only $8, and I even had a little left over to bring home a sample to Jack! Oh, and when you get a to-go box, they supply you with some fresh basmatti rice! How nice is that?

4 cups of fame

Today’s link category is "Cooking with Famous People." It’s a theme with real star power (insert laugh track here).

Even though Halloween is over, I think we can enjoy Elvira’s recipes all year long! I espeically like the Honeymoon Salad recipe:
-lettuce alone
-dressing optional

Speaking of famous spooksters, did you know that Vincent Price was a gourmet? Here’s his recipe for Pork roast.

Who’s tight with more stars than Oprah? Her website has a food section, with a whole page of
celebrity recipes! Tom Cruise’s Carbonara looks quite tasty.

And it looks like Oprah’s good pal Dr. Phil is one of the illustrious contributors to this New book of star food.

Even though I’m not familiar with any of them, I bet these Jamaican celebrities cook up some yummy dishes, mon.

Isaac Hayes not only plays a chef on tv, He’s in the restaurant business, too! Here’s his crab cake recipe.

And finally, check out Cooking with Christopher Walken. "I think these brownies need something….Yeah, they definitely need more cowbell."

Cut! That’s a wrap!