Geeks have a lot of street cred these days. It's their moment, you could say. They own cool grown-up toys and wear hot glasses and everyone wants to befriend them or marry them or something. And now, geeks even have their own culinary genre: geek food.
According to Urban Dictionary, geek food is considered high-calorie, often caffeinated, easy-to-make food that works with the lifestyles of techies and the like (check out this geek food pyramid). For those looking to try out some geek recipes, this Geek Food Podcast (which is sadly no longer posting) teaches everything from Donkey Kong bars to Wookies (the perfect snack for watching Star Wars). Geek food is by no means limited to sweets and snacks, though, or even to American dishes. This article on Geek Delicacies reports that sushi and various forms of take-out are absolutely within the genre.
Additionally self-proclaimed geek boyfriend informs me that pizza is another classic geek food, and that in the book Microserfs (about computer programmers), a character only eats flat foods like pizza and cheese for weeks, as these are the only foods that his friends can slip beneath his door while he works. Okay geeks, I know you are out there. It's your turn: What do you eat?
And to blog about it. And to share it with your friends. Don't believe me? Check out these recent items from around the interweb. As I said: All the cool kids are doing it.
After typing a post about a wasabi popsicle, I started to think about other spice and and ice combinations. Naturally, I thought of cardamom, one of my favorite spices. A friend of mine recently suggested that we make cardamom ice cream. Unlike wasabi, cardamom is widely used in both savory and sweet dishes, such as rice and pastries. Its deeply aromatic qualities have always attracted me. And now, I'm dying with curiosity to find out its potential with ice cream.
That's right , a wasabi ice pop to function as both a palate-cleanser and a tart dessert. According to this week's New York magazine, Masaharu Morimoto, formerly on the Food Network's television show Iron Chef, just put this popsicle on his menu at Morimoto. It is made with fresh wasabi rather than wasabi powder which is much spicier.
It's not everyday that you find a spice being used in a dessert that is supposed to cool you down. Could this be the start of a new trend?
I haven't tried this wasabi popsicle yet. If any of you have, let me know your thoughts.
There is a book that came out recently about our obsession with bottled water called Botllemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It. In it, the author talks about our reliance on bottled water and how tap water is generally as pure or more pure than bottled water.
Americans are getting away from bottled water, but it isn't because of this new book. Apparently bottled water is just too expensive, and in an economic downturn it's one of those luxury items that gets cut. This report from CNN.com interviews several people who have switched to tap water as well as a few calculations of how much you can save by cutting out bottled water.
The report also briefly mentions the environmental aspect of this trend. Refusing to buy bottled water helps cut down on the plastic bottles, which we've been told for years is what we need to do. Are you cutting back or cutting out bottled water for economic reasons?
When I was younger and had trouble falling asleep, I used to fantasize about my perfect birthday party. I would plan everything in my head -- my dress, activities, the guests, even the flavors of cake I would serve.
Now when I can't sleep, I imagine my dream kitchen. It's enormous and beautiful and light, and it opens seamlessly into an outdoor deck area where I have another (you guessed it) huge kitchen. The outdoor kitchen is for serving guests and hanging by the pool (with hot tub and waterfall) in the summer. It has a gorgeous grill with a rotisserie, as well as a smoker and a shiny stainless steel refrigerator, sink and dishwasher. This is a bit embarrassing, but sometimes when my boyfriend and I are bored, we like to drool over these appliances in magazines and stores.
Who wants to use their imagination? After the jump, let's play make believe, and look at some amazing outdoor kitchen equipment and pretend that we own it.
Back in January, I determined that I wanted to try and reduce my consumption of single-use containers. I have stopped by buying bottled water and carry my coffee to work with me each day in a reusable mug or canning jar (I like the canning jar better, because it means I can seal up my coffee and toss it in my bag until I get to work. I realize a thermos would also work, but I get a crazy sense of satisfaction out of drinking from a glass jar).
I've also tried to find places that sell in bulk and where I can bring my own containers and thus reduce my consumption even further. Whole Foods doesn't mind if I bring my own plastic bags for goods from the bulk section, but when I tried to bring a jar for peanut butter, I got some strange looks and was eventually told I couldn't do it that way. What I really want to find is a place like the Good Food Store that the No Impact Manwrote about today. This is a grocery store in Missoula, Montana that encourages its patrons to bring back clean jars. The store then sterilizes the jars and puts them on a shelf near their bulk section so that other shoppers can use them for a variety of bulk wet products. It seems to me like an excellent way to get your food shopping done and consume less packaging in one neat step.
I am all about pickles. One of my favorite eating sensations is when you chomp into a kosher dill and the sweet-salty brine makes your cheeks cave in. Yeah, that's good stuff.
Y'know what else I like? Kool-Aid. Because even hyperexaggerated interpretations of fruit deserve their own flavor palette. That, and I have no shame.
There was a point in my life when these two snack joys maintained independent existences. It was a simpler time. But then someone pointed me to Alton Brown's recipe for Koolickles and my world was upended. Apparently, these are standard fare in the Mississippi Delta, and the trend picked up steam when the New York Times ran a piece on them last year. So now I must ask: Who here has tried these? What are they like? Are they the solution to all of my Kool-Aid-pickle-pairing problems? Or are they hell in the form of an cylinder? I demand answers.
Fruit has overtaken cookies as the most popular snack for children under the age of 6 according to a study from the NPD Group. Back in 1987, cookies held the top slot according to a similar study done by the market research firm. The study also found that kids are less likely to partake of carbonated soft drinks, ice cream, candy and cakes than they were 20 years ago.
Back when I was a lad, a bit more than 20 years ago, we kept soda in the house, but I didn't drink it all that often. I have fond memories of saving it as a summertime treat for ice cream sodas. I would enjoy these in a Coca-Cola logo glass. My folks usually bought C&C Cola, but my concoctions were usually pretty tasty anyway. I haven't thought about that in a long time. It's funny how childhood memories about food bubble up to the surface of my consciousness. I also used to make my own marshmallow sauce for homemade sundaes.
My own childhood taste in treats aside, it's a good thing that young children these days eat less pie, cake and ice cream than they did 20 years ago. The one thing that surprised me about the study is that milk has maintained its third-place slot since 1987.
Back in high school, I loved woot -- a site that offers a great deal on one item of technology per day. The idea of selling selected items for low prices has really caught on, and now I subscribe to a tons of these sites (especially fashion ones, which are amazing).
I finally learned about a site like this for foodies, and I'm so excited to see what deals they plan to offer. The site is called OneFoodieGoodie, and they sell one item (in limited supply) every 24 hours. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to view past goodies, so it's hard to say what type of items the site typically features. Today, they're selling travel salt and pepper shakers, which are cute but definitely not necessary for someone like me.
Do any of you use this site regularly? What do you think?
I've never been able to afford Johnnie Walker Blue, though I am partial to the Black variety. Russians, though, seem to have no problem affording it. The land of vodka and harsh winters is now the biggest market for the world's priciest Scotch whisky according to the Financial Times.
Vodka still accounts for more than 90 per cent of the country's spirits sales, largely because Russians are not used to the taste of whisky or gin. Despite this barrier sales of costly libations have been rising largely due to the populations increased wealth.
Last year Russia became the first European country to import the "King George V" edition of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, which can go for up to $1,000. That's quite a markup over the everyday version, which sells for a mere $180 a bottle.
First there were screw tops, and now there are boxes. According to this article over at Mainstreet, high-quality boxed wines are becoming increasingly popular as wineries have begun packaging some of their finest products in this stereotypically cheap fashion. The story provides a list of the top six boxed wines available, but you can check out our boxed wine tasting, too!
I actually like the idea of toting a classy boxed wine to a picnic or serving some at a casual BBQ. What do you think? Would you drink a good wine from a box?
There's a pretty interesting story in the New York Times about the prevalence of coffee "cuppings" - basically wine tastings for java, minus the spitting. Aficionados sit around discussing different roasts, trying to find the right words to describe the subtle flavors of a cup of Kenyan or Guatemalan roast.
Now, I drink coffee every day, usually multiple cups, black. Aside from water, it's probably the single consumable I have most regularly. But while I can certainly taste the difference between the watery, acidic, sewage brown stuff sold in most gas stations and a good French roast, that's about where it ends. When people tell me they drive half an hour for special beans or they 'hate' the (to me) perfectly ordinary cappuccinos at my local cafe, I just shrug. I mean, I'm willing to believe that other people have the ability to discern flavors I can't sense. But is a bag of beans from a single farm lot discernibly different than beans from a handful of farms in the same region? In a town with dozens of independent coffee shops, is it really plausible that one has the absolute 'best' coffee?
What do you think? Do you have sensitive coffee palates?
Tiny oyster growing operations are feeding New York's massive shellfish habit.
At "flavor tripping" parties, guests nibble miracle fruit, which turns sour flavors sweet. Vinegar becomes, for an hour or so, as sweet as apple juice; unadorned chevre turns into cheesecake.
Once considered bland, ricotta is taking center stage.
Eric Asimov, our wine and liquor critic, considers bitters.
Something tells me this story is going to be controversial.
Tesco, one of the largest supermarket chains in England, has banned the sale of alcohol if parents are with their children while buying the alcohol. This isn't just in cases where an underage child might help the parents carry alcohol to the checkout, it's for all cases where a child is with a parent. In one case, a cashier didn't sell the alcohol to a man because the cashier didn't believe that the man wasn't going to share the alcohol with his daughter. The man is a well-known medium who has his own TV show (I would think if he was a medium he would have seen this coming).
I like how some parents call the rule "daft." We really need to use that word more here in the U.S.
Geeks have a lot of street cred these days. It's their moment, you could say. They own cool grown-up toys and wear hot glasses and everyone wants to befriend them or marry them or something. And now, geeks even have their own culinary genre: geek food.
And to blog about it. And to share it with your friends. Don't believe me? Check out these recent items from around the interweb. As I said: All the cool kids are doing it.
When I was younger and had trouble falling asleep, I used to fantasize about my perfect birthday party. I would plan everything in my head -- my dress, activities, the guests, even the flavors of cake I would serve.
Fruit has overtaken cookies as the most popular snack for children under the age of 6 according to a study from the NPD Group. Back in 1987, cookies held the top slot according to a similar study done by the market research firm. The study also found that kids are less likely to partake of carbonated soft drinks, ice cream, candy and cakes than they were 20 years ago. 
Back in high school, I loved 
I've never been able to afford Johnnie Walker Blue, though I am partial to the Black variety. Russians, though, seem to have no problem affording it. The land of vodka and harsh winters is now the biggest market for the world's priciest Scotch whisky according to the 
First there were screw tops, and now there are boxes. According to 
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