Hungry Blogger

I will state up front that I am an avowed garlic press user.  I have taken flack for this before, usually from the same person who overthinks everything right into the ground.  The kind of person who can define the difference between "purified water" and "distilled water," and can give you at least three use cases for one and not the other.

And yet I, like Guardian food blogger Felicity Cloake, have often wondered if I was on the wrong side of the debate all along.  

Fundamentally the problem for me is that my knife skills are sloppy, and my patience is lacking.  And I use a lot of garlic! If I have to process five cloves of garlic, I can do it in a garlic press in a tenth the time it would take me to mince them by hand.
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The New York Times has a mouthwatering Frugal Traveler article about "Tokyo's sprawling ramen ecosystem."  Although we here in the States are used to ramen as a ridiculously cheap, dried foodstuff, ramen is serious business in Japan.  As Frugal Traveler Matt Gross says, Tokyo's ramen stands and restaurants serve ramen where "everything is fresh, handmade and artisanal."

I learned a lot about ramen and Tokyo from this article.  (Among other things, I learned not to read articles about "real" ramen at lunchtime.  I finally broke down and fixed up a packet of Top Ramen, but it just wasn't the same.)  Many ramen shops specialize in just one kind of ramen.  For example, one restaurant specializes in green curry ramen, another in tonkotsu (a milky pork broth).
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When I was growing up, we had a cherry tree in our backyard. What cherries the birds and other wildlife didn’t get to we would consume with gusto, eating so many tart round rubies that we would get sick to our stomachs. Ah, those were the days!

Cherries are known for quite a few health benefits. They have been shown to lower cholesterol and triglycerides, reduce inflammation, arthritis, and pain, and help stop weight gain. It is said that eating 20 cherries a day can ward off inflammation altogether. They also contain lots of antioxidants, good for preserving cells against damage from free radicals or cancer. Read more

four pounds of fast food

for just shy of a Lincoln

can't be possible

I've written about the basic American pancake here. I've even linked to an easy and clearly presented step-by-step recipe by Ree Drummond, for Perfect Pancakes. In all seriousness, listen to The Pioneer Woman. Ree's recipe and procedure works. It's a case of someone who has a thoroughly tested and completely proven recipe and procedure. Don't mess with it. It works. But there are some other things, besides following a really great recipe, that you can do to have perfect pancakes. Read more

Ahh, the Oscars. What better excuse for a mid-winter party is there? You can dress up—either as your favorite nominated character or just in something formal and sexy—and spend the night wining and dining like a star. But where to begin?

Your Academy Award-winning menu should begin with some beverages to fit the evening. Sparkling wine or cider are good choices, as well as champagne; having a swanky drink on hand, like a delicious cosmopolitan, would also help set the mood.

Here’s a basic cosmo recipe: In a martini shaker, shake together 4 parts vodka, 2 parts cranberry juice, 2 parts triple sec, and 1 part fresh lime juice. Pour into a martini glass and serve with a lime wedge or curl for a sophisticated touch. Read more

Sourdough StarterThis week an internet friend sent me some flakes of sourdough starter, so that I could start my own from his culture.  You can of course generate your own starter just using flour, water, and patience.  But getting a bit of starter from someone else is the best way to give yourself a good head start.

There is a lot of mythology, rumor, old wive's tales, and urban (rural?) legend surrounding the sourdough starter.  The first and most important thing to remember is that people have been using sourdough starters for thousands of years.  The first sourdoughs were probably started in ancient Egypt, around 1,500 years before the birth of Christ.
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Pancakes in the broadest terms—anImage credit: David Benbennick almost flat cake cooked on a grill, griddle, or pan—are not only one of the earliest forms of bread, since they can be easily cooked on heated rocks, but also, one of the most enduring, popular and diverse breads since just about every linguistic or cultural group has some form of pancake. The pancake is breakfast, dinner and dessert. It's possible to make them with flour made from just about every kind of grain and nut, leavened or unleavened, topped or naked. They tend to be fairly simple to make as well, though the more delicate forms, like mu shu, blini, and crêpes, can take a bit of practice. Read more

handful of crackers

and raw vegetable platter

this is not dinner

One of the great philosophical divides among candy connoisseurs is the split between those who like Nerds, versus those who prefer Runts.  Oddly enough, in my experience there is no point trying to get Nerds lovers to like Runts, or vice versa.  In the interests of fostering an open dialogue, I will state for the record that I prefer Nerds.

The funny thing about the schism is that Nerds and Runts are pretty much the exact same candy, but in a different size and shape.  This is actually true of most of the Willy Wonka candy line, but nowhere is the similarity as remarkable as with Nerds and Runts.
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