ddhr.org » Food

Green eggs

Dave — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:39:31 +0000

White eggs come from white chickens, while brown eggs come from brown chickens. But no, green eggs don't come from green chickens. Unbeknownst to me until last Saturday, green eggs literally do exist. I thought they were made-up. They're not darkly colored, but there's definitely a green tint to them. There are two in my fridge at the moment. They will be eaten within the next week.

Disappearing bubble gum

Dave — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:08:30 +0000

I'm an avid bubble gum chewer, and I have a bone to pick with the supermarkets, Walmarts, Targets, and other stores of our great nation: Where the heck is my bubble gum? At the checkout lines, there's only minty stuff and that sugar-free crap. That's not bubble gum. I'm talking about Bubble Yum, Bubblicious, and Hubba Bubba. That's the real stuff. Also, an occasional Bubble Tape and a Big League Chew wouldn't hurt. I'm forced to go to convenience stores at gas stations for the sole purpose of perusing their candy aisle in the hopes of finding a bubble gum treasure. But the food stores and "everything" stores seem to be done with the bubble gum industry. Who's my congressman? I'm gonna write him.

IZZE

Dave — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:57:50 +0000

I found this really great drink last week called IZZE. It was in a Chipotle, and is apparently available in other trendy eateries like Starbucks. It's a high-priced, sparkling juice drink made with 70% juice and containing all natural ingredients. It has no refined sugars, no caffeine, no preservatives, and no artificial colors or flavors. But what makes it cool is that it tries to be honest. The back of the bottle says that even though the drink contains real fruit juice, the FDA says you should get your daily fruit intake from actual solid fruits, so drink the juice in addition to eating real fruits. It's interesting to see a company use honesty on their product labels. It makes me want to buy more.

Fresh seafood

Dave — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:37:30 +0000

People often talk about fresh seafood like it's the holy grail of foods. Even I'm guilty of assigning a little too much significance to it. Is there really a difference between fresh seafood and non-fresh seafood? Does lobster eaten in Nebraska taste any different from lobster eaten in Maine? The immediate answer from a typical food pundit is a snide "yes". But is it a difference that's observable to the average joe? Or is it more of a fine wine type of thing?

I went to Red Lobster last week, and it was surprisingly better than I expected. I always think of Red Lobster as the ... well, the Red Lobster of seafood restaurants. It's a definition in itself. I guess it's like the Pizza Hut of pizza places, the Taco Bell of Mexican food. But I had a great meal there, thus raising my opinion of the place altogether. And why was my lobster-shrimp-pasta dish so good? Because of how it was cooked and how it was seasoned. I highly doubt I'd be able tell the difference between freshly-caught seafood and 3-month-old, frozen seafood. But as long as it's cooked well and tastes good, it doesn't much matter.

Here's to non-fresh seafood.

Food commitment

Dave — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:09:55 +0000

Food is a common ingredient (pun intended -- I love puns!) in social settings. But one thing's for sure: A bowl of chips will be finished before a plate of BBQ ribs. Why, you ask? It's because there's a certain amount of commitment involved when eating food around people. If you were by yourself, you'd eat the chips and the ribs, or maybe even crush up the chips and sprinkle them on the ribs. You'd eat like a caveman, grunting with eat bite, possibly sitting on the floor so you could more easily get the pieces that fall out of your mouth. But not in front of other people. In social settings, we humans need to make other people aware that we're civilized. We don't chew with our mouths open. We don't get BBQ sauce all over our faces. So we make the smallest commitment by eating foods that are easily consumed in one bite. Chips. A veggie platter. Pigs in blankets. Cookies. Really anything that can be eaten without utensils. As soon as a plate and a fork are involved, the level of commitment increases. And as the level of commitment increases, the chances of someone asking a personal question and the entire room's conversation screeching to a halt to hear the answer as we take the chicken wing out of our mouths and wipe the hot sauce off our chins increases exponentially.

Blackberry vs. black raspberry

Dave — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:17:32 +0000

I grew up on a spacious tract of land that housed two separate types of nature-grown black berries. One was the blackberry (left), and the other was the black raspberry (right), or black cap.

Blackberries are larger and much more sour than black raspberries, but because of their size, they're also juicier. They're quite edible and useful for making desserts, jams, and wine (none of which have been made by me). Black raspberries, also known as black caps, grow like weeds and contain a very powerful purple dye, which will stain hands and clothing for days.

Cat litter cake

Dave — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:37:27 +0000

Some strange girl made cat litter cake.

The main ingredient is crushed Nilla wafers, and the "presents" are melted tootsie rolls. But the litter box and scoop are 100% authentic. (via Boing Boing)

Skim milk

Dave — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:21:17 +0000

Skim milk shouldn't even be classified as a milk. It's a disappointing attempt at mimicry.

Wild Animal Crunch

Dave — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:42:00 +0000

From the Unfortunate Product Names file: Kellogg's Wild Animal Crunch Cereal.

Now with more mashed pandas! Also available in polar bear, baby seal, and lemur flavors!

Fruity salad

Dave — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:45:53 +0000

Last night, I went to dinner with my co-workers (all men) at a microbrewery. I felt like such a pansy as I ordered my light beer and my "berry salad" (lettuce topped with berries and walnuts ... sugar-encrusted walnuts ... mmmmm ... sugar-encrusted anything), but I did it anyway, and it was great. I guess it's a good thing I'm married. Otherwise it would definitely look like I bat for the other team.