July 2010

August 5 marks a very silly, frivolous, and fabulous holiday—National Underwear Day! Whether or not you think our undergarments are in need of their own holiday, the fact remains that there are endless possibilities for celebrating such a day, such as…

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Apparently America's Test Kitchen puts out one of these books every year.  I have to admit, I'm surprised!  The volume of work that clearly went into producing this book must have been staggering.  

Although admittedly it seems that the book itself is just cherry-picked awesome stuff from the Test Kitchen Empire.  According to the back of the book this includes eight different books produced during the year, plus a television show.  

So in theory, if you are consuming all that other Test Kitchen stuff, everything in this book would probably be old hat by now.  But if, like me, you have only the vaguest recollection of having heard the phrase "America's Test Kitchen," then you will be delighted by this book.  DELIGHTED I TELL YOU.


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You know, I am honestly not sure if I have ever had a Clark Bar before I picked these up on a whim.  I always sought out Fifth Avenue bars in that particular ecological niche of candy.  

A Fifth Avenue bar, for those of you who haven't had the privilege, is basically a Butterfinger bar with two almonds on top.  (Or rather it used to be, and now I date myself, because I see by the Wikipedia entry that they discontinued this practice in 1987.  Explains my confusion the last time I had one.)

Clark Bars could best be described - and I'm sure they hate it when people do this - as "kind of like a Butterfinger."  Except independently owned by a small company (well, relatively small - in this case, owned by NECCO as of a financial downturn in 1999.)


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Personal Lubricants Can HelpI was charmed by the film “Superbad” starring Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. Seriously, who doesn’t love movies about young virgins trying to get laid?  

At one point in “Superbad”, the characters of Seth and Evan are in the parking lot at the liquor store waiting for the much-loved McLovin’ to buy booze with his questionable fake id. As the two are talking, one busts out a bottle of lube and the other chucks it across the parking lot. His reasoning? Lube is only necessary for old ladies- not hot high school girls.

I beg to differ.


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Tomorrow, July 24, is the day everyone gets to sigh with collective relief because they don’t have to come up with new jokes to entertain people with. Okay, maybe those of us who aren’t comedians don’t really lose sleep over such things, but there is a joy in recycling old jokes, isn’t there?

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Someone, seriously, please take this bag away from me.  I can't stop eating them  I'm worried!  Help!

Last night at the store I cast my eye across the candy aisle, looking for something interesting to review.  (That's my excuse nowdays - I need it to review.)  I skimmed over the Maple Nut Goodies then stopped, realizing that I had never actually tried them.  I just assumed they were gross.  Well that's hardly fair, is it?

I'm "meh" on maple flavoring.  I like it okay when it's done well.  But all too often manufacturers will compensate for problems with their maple flavoring by adding more MORE MORE sugar.  Like making it sweeter helps cover up the fact that they use cheap maple flavor.  You are familiar with this problem if you have ever had a maple bar from the grocery store doughnut case.


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July is National Blueberry Month, and for good reason: blueberries are in season all across the country, ripe and fresh and on sale. The foods are considered one of nature’s biggest superfoods, filled with antioxidant super-ninja powers—or, at least, plenty of nutrients. To incorporate blueberries into your summer meals, here are ten things to do with the small blue fruits.

10. Add Them to Cold Foods

What better way to cool off during the summer than by adding blueberries to your cold foods like ice cream, yogurt, or iced fruit drinks?

9. Freeze Them in Ice Cubes

For a festive summer look as well as a surprise taste when your cubes start to melt, freeze some blueberries in your ice cube trays. One or two per cube should work fine.

8. Stick to Your Diet

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Let me say this first: I know coke is bad for me. I know it like I know my own name. In fact, I know that when I drink too much of it, or depend on it to keep me awake, I can get very, very ill. I’ve even seen family and friends experience ill health effects from too much soda. It’s bad, it’s not an everyday drink, and I just shouldn’t love it…

But I do!

And not just any coke, but fountain coke. I can’t stand the stuff in aluminum or bottles—I can taste both. Glass is okay, but what really tickles my fancy is a nice, freshly iced fountain coke (or cherry coke, or any other flavor available) when I’m craving it. And no, I don’t drink coke every day; I usually reserve that experience for the one, maybe two times a week we eat outside the house. (Or if we order in—one of my favorite pizza companies delivers fountain sodas.)

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Having never been a TV fan, I find myself falling into the chair at the end of the day (how common! How suburban!) and, waiting for my daughter to finally fall asleep so I can head to work (else she will hear me type and come bother me every two minutes for hours), I turn on the Food Network.

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Recently, a friend off-handedly mentioned that "everyone's out of pumpkin, you know.  There's a national shortage."  I didn't know, actually!  

As a big fan of pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, and pumpkin muffins, you would think I would have noticed. In fact, I hardly believed her, and had to look it up myself.  But it's true: America is experiencing an unprecedented shortage of pumpkin.

At grocery stores nationwide, the pumpkin puree spot on the shelves lies empty.  Most of us probably won't notice until fall (when the market for pumpkin-based foods starts cranking up for the season).  Those who need pumpkin immediately are having to turn to alternatives, or simply do without.

This recent article from the Washington Post explains the situation.   Libby's, the nation's primary producer of canned pumpkin puree, has an inventory that totals precisely: six cans.  

The problem is weather.  Three years of bad weather has pushed the commercial pumpkin crop to its breaking point.  The record rainfall and flooding in the Midwest has caused pumpkin fields to become all but impossible to plant and harvest.  

And to compound the problem, pumpkins are a crop that do not like to get overly wet.  In fact, here in the Pacific Northwest it's taken as a given that pumpkin plants will fall prey to powdery mildew and other "too wet" diseases.  The question is whether it will happen before or after you get your pumpkins harvested.

So what's a pumpkin-hungry public to do?


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The hottest days of the summer are upon us, and everyone is suffering - including your chickens!  Heavily feathered breeds like the Buff Orpington and Wyandotte are at a distinct disadvantage this time of year compared to closely feathered, Mediterranean, and tropical breeds such as the Rhode Island Red and the Leghorn.

A chicken's body temperature is normally between 104 and 107 degrees Fahrenheit.  Their body temperature is lethal when it reaches between 113 and 117 degrees Fahrenheit.  Therefore it is extremely important to keep chickens cool when the outside temperature starts hitting the triple digits.  If a chicken is unable to dissipate its body heat, it can become heat sick very quickly.  


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Something about Winco Foods brings out the candy experimenter in me.  Maybe it's just because they have such a wide range of unusual and off-brand candies.  (This week they had Idaho Spuds on sale, 5 for a dollar!  People, you cannot top that!)  Or maybe it's just that my mental resources have been worn down to a nub by the time I get to the checkout stand.

At any rate, this week I picked up a box of Chewy Gobstoppers, despite the fact that I dislike the original Gobstoppers, and I'm not a big fan of "chewy" as a candy texture.  


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