Famous Michele's Food Librarian Place for Stuff

Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2011!!

2011-12-12T18:36:00.000-08:00

Crazy cookies be in my hizzouse!!

This was so much fun to participate in! The ladies at Love & Olive Oil set up a swap whereby bloggers across the nation signed up to bake their pants off and share the spoils. It was a sort of Secret Santa, as you were sent three names and addresses but couldn't blog about who you were assigned to "gift" your dozen cookies to. Your information was also sent off to random participants, who sent you a dozen cookies.

I chose to bake my favorite Sunflower Seed Butter Chocolate Chip cookies. They are great for people who either don't like or are tired of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. They also don't have dairy.

Sunflower Seed Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: about 3 dozen 2-inch or so cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sunflower seed butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon water
1 12-ounce package of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Stir flour, baking soda and salt in one bowl.
Beat shortening, sunflower seed butter, eggs, sugars, vanilla, and water in another Bowl until creamy.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and blend well.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop by spoonfuls (about a teaspoon-sized spoon) onto greased or parchment paper-ed baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Cool until you can't wait any more (which for me means not at all and I end up burning my tongue, but that's OK)

I ended up making lots of different sizes and cooked-ness so I could pick and choose the best to send to the other bloggers. Here is the multitude of cookies:

I hope that my Secret Santa bloggers enjoyed my cookies!

Suzanne
Kokocooks
@kokocooks

Mackenzie
The Caramel Cookie
@Caramel_Cookie_

Kelley
Mountain Mama Cooks
@mtnmamacooks
 
So far, I've received these delicious cookies:

1. Literally Damn Delicious Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Damn Delicious

2. Totally Tasty Peanut Butter, Toffee and Pretzel Cookies
Life on Food

Thanks you so much for all the great cookies!!

One of my favorite restaurants!

2011-07-05T17:39:00.000-07:00

I love eating out, but, most of the time, I can’t afford to. My budget allows me to cook at home and only occasionally eat out. In such a large metropolitan area, finding the perfect dining spot can be grueling, time-consuming, and expensive work. Your corner bodega just doesn’t cut it. I play in the big leagues when it comes to all-purpose dining. The price has to be right. Each customer should be free to set their own atmosphere. The establishment needs to sell bags of ice. If you haven’t figured it out, I’m about to wax rhapsodic about 7-Eleven.

Where else can you get year-round outdoor dining, three square meals a day, and toilet paper? I’ve always had a soft spot in my gut for 7-Eleven. (Actually, I probably have a soft gut because of 7-Eleven.) No matter - it remains one of my favorite restaurants.

It is damn-near impossible to find a spot in NYC where I can get a buttered roll. Does anyone eat buttered rolls anymore? I want a buttered roll and a coffee either vanilla-flavored via the grinds, or via the sugar sludge that calls itself International Delight. I want to be able to get this buttered roll and coffee at any time of the day. I want to have the option of seeded or unseeded rolls, avec butter. I want there to be a bagel option for those extremely rare times I want a bagel. I want to be able to take my buttered roll and coffee outside and sit on the curb in the parking lot to eat it before I go on my merry way.

I want to be able to have outdoor dining, 365 days a year (a curb is made for sitting on, after all). The only dress requirements are: no shirt, no shoes, no service. During the winter months, be sure to bring your parka so you can enjoy al fresco hard boiled eggs and a Snapple, curbside.

A Slurpee was my air conditioning throughout childhood. There is no equal. All of those fancy iced drinks, smoothies, and other assorted frozen beverages will never win over the silky smooth texture of a Slurpee. Dr. Pepper must have creamed his pants when the Dr. Pepper Slurpee came out. Did you know that most Slurpees are kosher? I just Googled that, but believe me, it is true!

I want to eat a Truck Stopper and a Jolt at midnight, or 6am. I want to buy toilet paper with my vitamin water without walking all the way to the Rite-Aid, one block away. I want to buy smokes and a lottery ticket and a taquito. Those rubbery-looking hot dogs are merely a tool to galvanize your intestines. If you eat like a pansy all your life, you won’t survive in the jungle.

Most of these wants will remain unfulfilled. 7-Eleven doesn’t carry most of the products I adore. The NYC locations are hella different than the ones I knew in NJ. I relish my memories. I love you and I miss you Jolt (classic).

Note: I’ve officially added Slurpee to my PC dictionary.

[Insert Funny Brownie Title Here]

2010-10-20T05:35:00.000-07:00

This has been my go-to recipe for brownies for years. If I want to mix things up I add extras. It's really easy to add anything to this recipe in particular since it is so simple and has so few ingredients. Some of my favorite additions are: matcha, honey, wasabi, chili, or sunflower seed butter. I LOVE these brownies!

Marianne's Brownies (from Scharffen Berger 99% Unsweetened Chocolate insert, dated 10/05)
Yield: Makes about 25 brownies (ed. note: These must be Tom Thumb-size servings, because I usually get about four Michele-size servings when I make them.)

4 ounces Scharffen Berger 99% Unsweetened Chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, cubed
1 ¾ cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
⅔ cup all-purpose flour

Equipment: 9 x 9-inch baking pan and baking parchment

Preheat oven to 350° F

1. Grease the 9 x 9-inch baking pan and line the bottom with parchment.

2. Place chocolate and butter in a large stainless steel bowl or the top of a double boiler and set over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from heat.

3. Mix the sugar into the melted chocolate to form a gritty paste. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla, if using. Fold in the flour and mix until completely incorporated.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with crumbs but no moist batter (about 25 minutes).

5. Set on a rack to cool.

Broken Heart Brownie:

(ed. note: F U grammar police)
:)

Dream a Little Dream of Me, or B.S.?

2010-05-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

Drinking Kijafa and Akvavit reminds me of my maternal grandparents, who were Danish. I love consuming food and drinks that remind me of them because it is always comforting and, to be honest, only brings back the good memories. Memories related to my parents are another story altogether, but let's stick with good ones, eh?

I don't even know if my grandparents drank Kijafa. I know they drank Akvavit. At the Danish club, Aquavit was always present. The caraway sweetness is synonymous, in my mind, with adult beverages since I was never old enough to drink when I saw my grandparents drink it. Now, when I drink Akvavit, I feel grown-up.

My grandparents were together for decades and I never knew much about their past. What I know is made up of the times I remember being with them when I was a child and the the little I picked up when I spent time with my grandmother the two or so years before she passed away. I wish I knew more about them and I wish I could find a partner that would stay with me until the end. It doesn't look like that is happening any time soon.

My grandpa always made rice pudding for Christmas. He would always put an almond in the pudding, which was hunted after by the kids. The person who found the almond won a prize. Now, no matter who it is in my family, or where we are, we all hunt for almonds in our rice pudding. It isn't even because we are looking for the almond. It is because that is the way we eat rice pudding. I like to think that we all have good memories of my grandpa and we honor him when we search blindly for something that we know for a fact just isn't there. I have never encountered a rice pudding that was as good as his. I honestly don't even remember what his tasted like, but I will never think any rice pudding is as good as his was.

Wasa crispbread has the same effect as Aquavit, in that it makes me feel closer to my grandparents. Wasa crispbreads are best when smothered (and I mean SMOTHERED) in soft butter. On a related, and funny, note, baked chicken (that which I despise) was enjoyable to me when my grandma made it. I love mashed turnips thanks to her, as well as celery (Cel-Ray, or celery tonic) soda.

Are memories like this going to survive? I hope so. I can't think of eating roasted lamb with mint jelly without thinking of my grandparents. Currently, I'm gorging on brownies thinking of N. I hope the brownies don't cloud my brain so much that I can't eat them without associating them with what could have been. I am beginning to think I associate food with people a little too much . . .

I am my own terroir

2010-04-30T05:28:00.000-07:00

Je sais, je sais! All of my characteristics don't exactly go together like chocolate and peanut butter, so I probably wouldn't make for a good bottle of wine. Luckily, I'm just a person so my characteristics can be all over the map and that just makes me more special.

Here is a portion of my characteristics:

baked - I need to maintain just like everyone else
bright - I gots me a brain
charming - I can be very charming ;)
chocolaty - it runs through my veins
earthy - I don't shave
edgy - I have some nerve and acidity, but I'll give you a piece of bread to ease it
expressive - my face does funny things on its own
feminine - I admit this is questionable, but I can be
firm - cartilage
flabby - I have soft spots
gutsy - I have been known to do a gutsy thing or two
herbaceous - an aggressive extraction now and then is not a bad thing
hot - speaks for itself
inky - I've got tattoos
luscious - you should see me eat whipped cream!
peppery - I've got spice
powerful - yes
prickly - I can be
racy - but well-balanced
robust - I'm getting older (not necessarily maturing though)
sassy - that's me!
sharp - as a lure
smokey - it's my dirty secret
sweet - I can be
tart - chocolate pear
warm - I do make a great cuddle-buddy in the colder months

No one likes flaccid bacon

2010-04-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

Roebling Tea Room
143 Roebling Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211-3365
(718) 963-0760
Lunch - Mon. - Fri. 9:00am - 4:30pm
Brunch - Sat. - Sun. 10:00am - 4:30pm
Dinner - Mon. - Fri. 5:00pm - 12:00am
Dinner - Sat. - Sun. 6:00pm - 12:00am

Brunch-time o’clock on an early-spring morning in hipster Williamsburg, NY will find many folks dining at the Roebling Tea Room. The building is an old industrial brick structure that looks more hunting lodge than tea room inside. The wallpaper has hounds and men on horseback with riding crops and funny outfits (much like the clientele). As beautiful and inviting as the inside may appear, the noise is nigh on raucous and maintaining an audible voice over the din for any extended period of time will require that you drink more tea. It’s a marketing ploy I tell you!

I could tell that the company that the Roebling keeps is hipster to the max. I didn’t see a symmetrical haircut in the place and I could have had a field day counting piercings and tattoos. I felt like I would have fit in better if I had more tattoos or if my hair was pink and crooked-spiky. It wasn’t that crowded for a Saturday brunch, but I’m sure the place is banging at night, especially because they have alcohol.

If only the tea didn’t disappoint as much as my last three boyfriends. When I go to a tea house, I expect a certain level of tea service that the Roebling just does not satisfy. Tea will not stay warm in a pot with no lid. The place is drafty, so the tea needs a scarf and hat. Add to that the fact that the cups/mugs that a pot of tea is served with are tall, thin, white porcelain coffee mugs. Did I just write coffee mugs? Yes, I did. It seems to me to be an affront to tea houses everywhere to serve tea in such a lackadaisical, irresponsible manner. It takes gumption. The tea itself might have been good if I had been able to taste it through my initial haze of unhappiness at its tepid temperature. After that my disappointment was due to my disgust at seeing pieces of porcelain chips in the bottom of the teapot that I just don’t understand were missed by the server.

I have a minor obsession with pork roll egg and cheese (PRE&C) sandwiches. It is one of my many obsessions, but it has deeper roots than even the chocolate obsession. It’s a Joisey sandwich and deep down I’m a Joisey girl. In any event, a PRE&C sandwich should only be served one way and one way only – on a roll. The layers should be particular and why the hell would you put mustard on a PRE&C? Salt, pepper, and ketchup go on a PRE&C and that’s it. I had to order it since it was on the menu though, despite my pessimistic attitude about it not living up to my Jersey standards before I even got it. It came to me on a plate with shoestring fries. The “sandwich”, if that is what you want to call it, was on artisan white bread – with MUSTARD!! The eggs were scramble/fried, not true-fried, and the cheese was hidden in there somewhere. There were only three pieces of pork roll on this joke of a sandwich. Aside from the fact that odd numbers are bad luck, why not throw another slice on there? You’ve already decided to screw with me by putting mustard on the “sandwich”, so go the whole nine yards and put two, or none? Please don’t call that “sandwich” a PRE&C if you care so little about the food to display it and serve it like a scoundrel displays himself from underneath a dirty trench coat.

My friend ordered the drunk beans and they were by no naturally-occurring entity’s definition drunk. They were also questionably beans as there was so much liquid in the bowl that you could barely see them. (The waitress had no answer when asked what made them drunk. Maybe it was meant to be drowning beans?) The temperature of the food was lukewarm, which means that the queso shreds on the beans never had a chance of melting. The bacon my friend got as a side was flaccid and cold (here we go about my exes again). They only gave him 2 slices, which is unforgivable. For a slightly eclectic menu, my suggestion is that they go slightly more eclectic, so the bad food is part of the joke. I mean, part of the menu, of course.

There are, surprisingly, some good things I have to say about Roebling. The service itself was the only reason I didn’t leave in a huff. The waitress and staff were friendly and not pushy. We were also seated when they said we would be, which was after only 15 minutes of waiting. The dining area itself was clean and orderly. The prices were typical NYC brunch prices, so there were no surprises. I would go again if the tea itself was better. I truly believe that a place that calls itself a Tea Room should have higher standards for their tea and teaware.

Nota Bene or whatever: This was just a little ol' review from little ol' me for a course assignment.

Next up: my amazingly positive review of Barcade! Then, a post regarding the angst I've been experiencing after spending so much time in Williamsburg.

Rampage

2010-04-14T06:24:00.000-07:00

Ramps can blow me. I just don’t understand how this dirty little onion, that doesn’t taste any different from any other dirty little onion, can be so popular. Yes, it is seasonal. Yes, it is green, mostly. Yes, it has a cute name. However, I don’t see why all the fuss. It isn’t as if ramps make men more virile or women more fertile or anyone less like an asshole. They are the cupcakes of green veggies: small and trendy. As it is with cupcakes, however, you have a mob of people following other people’s tastes, instead of following their own. Where is the ramp cupcake? I want to see a carob cupcake with some garlic foam for icing. But wait! There will be a magnificent ramp sticking right out of that earthy mound. What do you think?

If I wanted to eat something that tasted like onion and garlic, and dirt, I’d eat an onion and some garlic, and some dirt. The green part I can do without too. Don’t get me wrong, I love green vegetables. They help things move along and they are chock-full of vitamins. Plus, they taste good – they taste green. They taste like you are eating something healthy and you feel better for it. They taste like Spring and sun and earth.

I love broccoli. Where did all the broccoli love go? Broccoli is dependable, timeless, sturdy, and fractal-y. It is just like Kermit, minus the fractal aspects. (I will admit here and now that I’m an old lady in many ways. I’m 32 going on 85. I eat non-dairy products so the arthritis in my hips won’t flare up. Hence, I like tried-and-true veggies.) Spinach? Who doesn’t love Popeye? He has tattoos and eats healthy and defends his funny-faced lady love. (I may have an interest in this scenario for personal reasons, but that’s another story.) Brussels sprouts are pretty awesome too. They are mini cabbages! They are little, baby, cute, adorable little cabbages. If cooked well, they are sweet and meaty at the same time. Let’s talk about cabbage. Cabbage is good too, minus the stink that some people associate with it. Lettuce? Asparagus? Broccoli Rabe? Kale? Peas? Don’t forget all of these other amazing green vegetables this Spring. Join me in the stand against ramps! They’re a’ight, but ‘a’ight’ shouldn’t qualify them for a Pulitzer!

I’m not hating; just venting. To prove I mean no harm, here is a smiley face: :) Those make up for everything! :)

Plus, being contrary is my shtick.

Travel Writing Assignment

2010-04-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

Pork roll will always hold a special place in my heart, so I am forever writing or talking about it. This was an assignment to write a short travel piece. As usual, I chose to write about the town I grew up in.

Pork Roll @ The Parrot

Low tide isn’t a bad smell. If you are walking along Bay Avenue in Highlands, NJ and high tide was 12 hours ago, you are likely to smell the bay floor. The bay floor consists of centuries of pulverized clam shells, (possibly) doubloons from the old Pirate/Rum-Running days, and trash of the white variety. (By the way, it’s the Beach, not the “Jersey Shore”.) The low tide smell in Highlands is different from the low tide in other places in the best of ways.

The appreciation for the smell of low tide comes with living in a clam-digging town. You miss it when you leave and relish it when you come back. Living in the midst of it, though, you sometimes forget. Visitors need a little schooling in order to appreciate the smells of Highlands. Everything you eat will taste like everything you see, hear, and smell. This includes, but is not limited to, low tide, skunk weed, regular weed, fish, barnacles, sand, pork roll, pizza, hot sauce, Jay Muse, cheap beer, and stray cats. Also, cat fights (feline and human), fist fights, bar brawls, old briny seamen musings, the ghost ding-a-ling of the drawbridge that is in the middle of being taken down, seagulls, and barge horns. A pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwich doesn’t taste right if there aren’t grains of sand involved, or you aren’t witness to some violence.

You will never eat a pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwich that tastes as good as the one you get at The Parrot. In a small town such as Highlands, there are few delis, but this place is the go-to place for a good pork roll, egg, and cheese (or a sub). Taste is partly smell and smell is partly taste and they are both connected. The sinuses of the locals can barely smell the nuances that a low tide pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwich contains. Pork roll is salty enough without adding salt, but the salt air adds just the right hint of ‘extra’ salt: not overboard, not undertow.

The Parrot is one of those dining establishments that have been owned by the same family for generations. They either know your name already, or will assign you one on your first visit. It is really just a rinky-dink kind of diner with plastic stools along the bar and a few tables inside. There are a few picnic tables outside in the warmer months as well. The Parrot is the place you want to visit to pick up some subs and juice before heading to Sandy Hook on a summer day, or to have your 4am breakfast on your way to work on one of the clam or fishing boats. The ketchup may have been sitting on the Formica tabletops a few days too long, but they are usually wiped clean by the babies and toddlers who suck on them like bottles, whose parents are usually outside having a smoke while they are doing it.

When the time is right and you want to take the next step in the Highlands food experience and order that pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwich, I need to warn you about something. For God’s sake, don’t just order a pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwich! If you enjoy being either laughed at or sneered at for the remainder of your stay, please order it like I’m about to tell you to. You must say, “Can I get a pork roll, egg, and cheese on a hard roll. Saltpepperketchup!” Trust me on this one.

You may decide to eat your sandwich at Huddy Park, which is across the street from The Parrot. It is nice and all, but you could go down to the beach by the Community Center to have a little beach picnic. The tables outside of The Parrot work just as well too, but the true experience comes when some sand flies into your sandwich as you’re eating it and you end up with sand-sandwich. Heck, you’ll eat it anyway. And, you will love it.

The Parrot:
71 Waterwitch Ave.
Highlands, NJ 07732
732-872-6600

See also:
Sandy Hook

Essay/Treatise/Load o' Bull?

2010-03-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

Chicken looks like people. Go ahead and look at your elbow. Notice how there are tiny bumps? Do some of those bumps maybe have microscopic hairs coming out of them that you can just barely see? Now, take that chicken out of the fridge and start getting it ready for dinner. Put it in the pan and take a look at it. Do you see the tiny bumps? If the chicken was not plucked perfectly, and you take a good look, do some of those bumps maybe have microscopic hairs/feathers coming out of them that you can barely see? It is the way of the raw, plucked chicken.

Other meats are fine because they don’t make me feel like I’m eating myself, or a version of myself. I think meat, lamb, pork, and fish all look like what they are – animals. Yes, pork is white also (and much more closely related to humans than chickens, but that is beside the point) but it does not look like my elbow.

There are certain other foods that I don’t like, but am willing to try them. Tripe, liver, raw bivalves, and some brains and eyeballs are, for the time being, still off the table. I grew up in a clam-digging town and love fried clams, baked clams, clam chowder, and other clam foods. However, steamers and bivalves on a half-shell look like boogers. Why would anyone want to eat a booger? On purpose? With hot sauce? On a date, as an aphrodisiac?

My mother had to raise 5 kids alone. There was rarely enough food. Baked chicken was one of the most common Sunday dinner meals I remember. And I hated it. My mom would bake the chicken in a paper bag - the kind you get at the grocery store that, earlier in the day, had dirty, dented cans of generic corn and peas in it. I almost thank God for my OCDs because I thought it was gross then. I suppose I'm all the stronger for it (i.e. the germs and increased immunity), but I still can't see why anyone would think it was OK to cook a whole stupid chicken in a dirty grocery store brown paper bag.
Other than the roast chicken, Sunday dinners consisted of lasagna (yum), spaghetti with gravy (which ended up on the table full of breadcrumbs because everyone would dip bread in it all day while it was cooking), ham (which turned into pea soup by the following weekend), or smothered steak. There was usually enough for everyone. We obviously didn’t starve. Having the big Sunday meal was the one time we were guaranteed a full meal (other than holidays, but that is true for most people, I believe).

I don't completely dislike everything about baked chicken. I like me some dark meat, as long as it is super-duper moist almost to the point of being wet. I also love, LOVE, the oysters. As much as I learn about the anatomy of a chicken, I still refer to them as the ass of the chicken. I'll explain. See, you got your chicken lying boobs-up in a pan baking. After it is done baking, you need to let it cool, but after it cools, flip that chick over. Along the spine (along what is probably the lower back and not the ass) are two nuggets of meat sitting in oyster-shaped cavities, lightly covered with skin that has kept those succulent chunks of other white meat juiced for the hours that bird has been in the oven. Don't even try to use a spoon or fork or knife or anything but your hands to scoop those oysters out. You need to get your fingers greasy and you really need to dig inside of those cavities to get every last morsel out. Those are the oysters, or, ersters.

Every other part of the chicken is yours 'cuz I don't want it. Besides, my three older brothers, my sister, my mom and whoever else happened to be at dinner that Sunday was bound to want a piece of chicken and I was bound to gladly give them whatever they wanted - but God help the person who tries to deprive me of my oysters. People in my family have been hit in the head with lead pipes, attacked by swarms of bees, stabbed in the leg with a fork, gotten pencils stuck up their nose, been thrown into the tub, have had their beds set on fire, have stepped on light bulbs, have been in countless car crashes, have had multiple knee surgeries, have gotten hit by cars, and have had who-knows-what-else happen to them, so don't take my oysters.

And here’s another gross thing about chicken. Am I the only one who sees the fat that coagulates after a couple of days in the refrigerator? How is that not nauseating to people who just flick it off and munch on that leftover chicken? One of my punishments (it may not have been a real punishment, but a perceived one) was to clean the carcass off after a few days to get every last scrap of meat off of the chicken skeleton. I remember the alley cats being my best friend during those times.

I should add that my mom was always good about cooking the gizzards with the chicken and letting me feed them to the alley cats. Spike, my first alley cat, would never wait for the gizzards to cool off. He would start chowing down the second I put the food down. He would mumble while chewing and it would sound something like, "Mrwoeaonfn Mewoornfggg!" Translated, that means, "Hot Hot Hot!" It wouldn't stop him. But I have stopped myself from eating baked chicken when at all possible.

I don’t completely hate roast chicken in another way too. Those Sunday dinners were the only time that my family was together. My grandparents were alive and I was able to get my grandpa’s rice pudding. Even if my childhood and my family were not perfect, there are good memories, even if they involve a baked chicken.

Adventures in Baking

2010-03-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

The title of this post has probably been over-used a million times - but I think it is fitting, so suck my toe, which is still green from St. Patrick's Day.

I am making some cakes today. Cakes, as in more than one. See, this friend of mine up and got herself married to this dude a few states over and they all, like, fell in love and crap. So some friends of hers are throwing a Congratulations on You's Guys' Freakin' Wedding and Shite party. I'm making the wedding cake. I'm only calling it a wedding cake because the event is to celebrate a wedding, but there wasn't the traditional wedding as some people like to think of it and I am not setting out to confuse anyone.

Anywho, my friend eats everything under the sun, which is cool. Her new boo is a vegan. Before you decide to stop reading further, hear me out, especially since I'm going to put some recipes right here in this here post and tell you where I got them so you can decide for yourself how bad they may come out. I don't begrudge people their dietary choices. The point I get pissed off at is when they act all highfalutin and push their morals on me or pretend to gag if I'm eating a bloody burger. It's also those people who can't live in the same house with meat or have meat-cooked within a 5-block radius of them that really get my goat. I like goat, by the way. Some nice curried goat with a side of dirty rice is fine by me. Hot dog! I didn't even get to the recipes yet.

So I found a recipe for vegan chocolate cake on Instructables. It sounds pretty easy and I think I can make it tasty. I found a vegan frosting recipe on Chow that I'm just going to add some chocolate to, maybe. I like that it sounds fluffy. I can't imagine how fluffy shortening and powdered sugar can actually get, but I'll beat it 'til it creams. (Get your jollies out now.)

The Real-People Chocolate Cake and frosting recipes I got elsewhere but they seem pretty standard, so those will be OK.

I would like to add a note, or sidebar, or something here stating that I am adding a little sumfin' sumfin' extra to the filling of these two cakes to make it not so plain-chocolatey. Yes, I'm speaking of wasabi. There won't be a lot of wasabi in the filling - just a smidge. I want there to be a bite of something in there to get people innerested. That might change, however if I see a shiny can of some fruit in the store and I add that to the filling instead. Only time will tell . . .

All the World's A Stage (but today it's a short stage)

2010-03-19T02:58:00.001-07:00

This is a food fight I'm interested in watching - and maybe getting involved in! (It involves Hugh Grant. I'm not terribly interested in him, but I think he'd be fun to get into a food fight with.)

Pensacola store charged with exchanging food stamps for cold, hard cash.

Are we experiencing Food Classism? (Yeah, this isn't new . . .)

NYPL's new Battery Park City Library is the system's first green LEED certified branch in Manhattan!

Peoples is Peoples

2010-02-19T03:04:00.000-08:00

The French National Library acquires Casanova's papers. More here.

To try:

Maple whiskey by Cabin Fever

Rocky Mountain Blackberry Whiskey by Leopold Brother (Denver)

Phnom Penh whisky business is booming.

Profile of (fairly) new Master Distiller at Jack Daniel's, Jeff Arnett.

One of three £10,000 bottles of Glenfiddich 50-year old will be auctioned off at Harrods', one of the lucky recipients of the rare whisky. The proceeds are to benefit the Evelina Children's Hospital.

The Côte d'Ivoire and cocoa remain in unrest.

I miss Abraham Lincoln's Birthday

2010-02-12T02:34:00.000-08:00

In honor of President's Day, I'm posting links that have practically nothing to do with each other. If you've seen Holiday Inn (You haven't? Well, check it out!) you know that Abraham Lincoln's birthday used to be a big deal, as well as some other president's. There is something else going on this weekend, but I choose to ignore it.

Valentine's Day is banned in Saudi Arabia. Now, the holiday means something because Valentine's Day merchandise is considered contraband. That's actually kind of a turn on. It's illicit!

Abso-freakin-lutely lovely Valentine's Day ephemera are being exhibited at the University of Oxford's Bodleian Library.

OK, those two are related, but that was an accident.

A story in the Guardian recounts a die-hard feminist's experience at a nyotaimori dinner taking place in London. For those of you not in the know, nyotaimori is body sushi. A group of diners eat sushi off of the body of a naked woman.

Library Journal names Glen Carbon Library the best small library in the nation. YAY!

I love just about everything in this article: the top picture of two cats on a counter, surrounded by books; the fact that a used book store is in a barn; and the fact that they are old books. Did I mention the picture with the cats? Now I have to go to Baldwin's Book Barn!

Thieves net £250,000 whisky haul

Uig to produce first legal dram for 170 years

I would love to have whisky toothpaste available now, but alas, it is not to be.

(512) Brewing created a delicious-sounding beer called Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter, which has officially been added to my list of must-try's.

Beerfly Pie

2010-02-08T15:25:00.000-08:00

This hearty and savory pie is so easy to make, you can whip it up even through the tears of a bad breakup. The ingredients can be interchanged and substituted, depending on your cupboard and state of mind. However, it is essential to have the proper frame of mind - that of longing for the hours of your life lost drinking at bars.

Crust
2 cups flour
1 stick butter, or 8 tbs. spread
ice water as needed to bind

Filling
1 cup sugar
1/8 cup cigarette ash (Camel is the preferred hipster choice, but Marlboro Reds should suffice; steer clear of cloves as they are a tad elitist)
1/4 cup water
pinch cinnamon
1/2 cup bourbon (plus one cup for you while preparing)
1 tsp. bitters (yours or store-bought)
1/2 cup finely chopped questionable sausage
1/2 cup finely chopped, cooked barley
1 apple, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
1/2 cup grated stinky cheese (the stinkier, the better, just like those empty promises he made)

Make crust as usual, duh!

In saucepan, stir sugar, ash and water over low heat until sugar is dissolved and you can't breathe.

In separate bowl, mix cinnamon, bourbon, bitters, sausage, barley, and apple. Set aside to get rank, like the feeling you get when you think of THEM reuniting.

Pour the sugar mixture over the sausage mixture and incorporate well - at least until you feel nauseous, if not more - just like that relationship you knew you had to end months ago.

You can now put the sausage mix into the crust, making sure to leave splashes of mess over the side because nothing is neat about a beerfly pie.

Sprinkle with the stinky cheese and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes, or until the neighbors complain.

Remove from oven and cool completely. Like relationships formed at a bar, it should be lukewarm.

Slice the pie and serve with regret, but preferably with self-loathing. Enjoy!

Do You Haiku? I Haiku.

2010-02-04T05:08:00.000-08:00

Assignment #2 was to write some food-related haikus and a simple recipe that is mine, and not something I got from a cookbook.

Lively chocolate
Adorns my plate with goodness
Tongue marks like tire tracks

Summer goes by fast
Macerated strawberries
Are but memories

Honey bees work hard
Sugar water in winter
Is how they get by

Cats are often soft
Nihilists except for food
Egotists we love

Carrots help eye sight
Digestion is eased a bit too
Carrot dust chokes me

What Cannoli?

Perfect for breakfast or dessert, this (somewhat) healthy treat is easier to make than a glass of water. The honey flavor is quite strong, due in part to the purposeful lack of a thorough final mixing, which leaves large streaks of honey in the mix. This mix reminds me of cannoli cream filling and is a true honey-lover's delight. It makes one generous serving.

1/2 cup skim milk ricotta cheese
1/8 cup dried currants or cranberries
1/8 cup raw, sunflower seeds, removed from shell
1 tbs. Honey

1. Blend ricotta cheese, currants or cranberries, and sunflower seeds in a bowl until combined.
2. Add honey and blend until honey is mostly incorporated.
3. Eat and enjoy.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 388 Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Values
Total Fat 19g 29%
Saturated Fat 7g 34%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 38mg 13%
Sodium 159mg 7%
Total Carbohydrate 41g 14%
Dietary Fiber 3g 11%
Sugars 30g
Protein 19g
Vitamin A 10% Vitamin C 2%
Calcium 37% Iron 12%

Food Writing Assignment #1

2010-02-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

Here you go people: my already-reviewed assignments for my Food Writing class. Be gentle. My grammar is getting progressively worse the older I get and I care less about that.

My first assignment was to sit in a coffee house. (You heard right.) While observing the goings on at the shop, noting details, and observing, I was to keep notes on what I heard, saw, smelled, tasted, and touched. After getting home, or the next day, I had to write up what I observed to create a 500 word essay. After that was done, I needed to cut that essay down to 350 words, trying to retain the 'flavor' and 'essence' of the coffee shop observation. It is an exercise in editing and word-play. I'll post both, although I'm not sure how interested you would be in reading both versions. There's a lot of them there words and such, so maybe take a coffee break in-between or something.

Cafe Grumpy - 500

In a place that feels like you need an invitation to hang out in, lies a coffee shop that has no more on its sign that a simple, grumpy face. Cafe Grumpy has cuteness going for it, despite its name and the customers and employees live up to the polar opposite of Grumpy consistently. The shop is always crowded and full of hipsters. Again, despite the name Grumpy, this coffee shop sells organic, free-trade coffees and teas. They also appear to do all of their own roasting and grinding on the spot, and sometimes to order.

It is the kind of place where you see things like Bard sweatshirts on laughing, bearded dudes and (whether it is your cup of tea or not) spiritual-awakening-type conversation happening behind you with things being said such as: “I'm beginning to know what I know. Then I forget.” If you are lucky, the customers can be entertaining. For example, the Bard dude looks like the guy in the Cavemen commercial – the Caveman. The customers live up to their hipster image and people wear crochet hats and pashminas and quirky scarves that they either picked up off the street, at a flea market, or in a designer store. In any case, they paid a high price. Not one of the workers has a so-called 'normal' haircut. When people leave they are more layered than a 3 year-old at Christmas in Maine.

As I was observing, some crumbs from my shortbread butter-stained my page and I tried not to bring attention to the fact that I spilled tea all over the shaky little table I scored because spilling tea is the mark of a newbie, or some other such name given to people who perform faux pas at this Chelsea tea house.

The customers ask for a particular grinding method for their latte, which is funny when you think about it because if you aren't the type of person to ask for a particular grind for your coffee, it seems pompous.

There was some interaction, in a sense, between patrons. The small, mini-pug-looking dog leashed to the short iron fence outside snubbed me. I considered that a successful interaction with a fellow customer, which is sometimes rare in these coffee shops where you either come alone and stay alone, or come in a group and discuss the Tao te Ching with your friends, then leave.

The music is coming from an ipod and it sounds like soda shop music because the song “Sugar Pie” just came on “I can't help myself. I love you and nobody else”. “I Want to Know What Love Is” just came on the ipod jukebox as my first cup of tea is out of water.

Books are barely being read and I'm wondering if they are just for appearance's sake. It could be that the customers are just so amazingly mesmerized by the orange walls, mirrored walls, and brick walls. I wonder if anyone has an aneurysm upon exiting.

Towards the end, a guy with blue USA Olympic-looking parka/coat comes into the cafe with a Starbucks coffee, orders a coffee, then leaves five minutes later with his jockey-looking boy toy.

Cafe Grumpy - 350

Here lies a coffee shop whose sign has, simply, a grumpy face. The customers and employees live up to the polar opposite of grumpy. The shop is always full of hipsters. They sell organic, free-trade coffees and teas. They appear to do all of their own roasting and grinding on the spot, and to order.

It's the kind of place where you see Bard sweatshirts on bearded dudes and overhear spiritual-awakening conversations with things being said such as: “I'm beginning to know what I know. Then I forget”. The Bard dude looks like The Caveman. Customers live up to their hipster image by wearing crochet hats, pashminas, and quirky scarves that cost a lot. There are no 'normal' haircuts and when people leave they are more layered than a 3 year-old at Christmas in Maine.

Some crumbs from my shortbread butter-stained my page and I tried not to bring attention to the fact that I spilled tea all over the shaky table I scored because spilling tea is the mark of a newbie.

Customers ask for a particular grinding method for their latte, which is funny if you aren't the type of person to ask for a particular grind for your coffee.

Interaction is limited. The mini-pug dog leashed to the iron fence snubbed me. I considered that a successful interaction with a fellow customer. This is rare in coffee shops where you either come alone and stay alone, or come in a group and discuss the Tao te Ching with your friends, then leave.

The music coming from an ipod sounds like soda shop music. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) plays. I Want to Know What Love Is comes on the jukebox as my first cup of tea is out of water.

Books are barely being read. Are just for appearance's sake? People could just be so mesmerized by the orange, mirrored, and brick walls. Does anyone have an aneurysm upon exiting?

A guy with a blue USA Olympic-looking parka/coat comes in, orders a coffee, then leaves five minutes later with his jockey-looking boy toy.

It's All Good in the 'Hood

2010-02-01T02:37:00.000-08:00

I use social media and so should you, or at least that's what they say. Librarians Michael Porter, David Lee King, and Joe Murphy got kudos in School Library Journal for shaking their social media money-makers.

YAY Open Source! The Library of Congress plans to "streamline the process for releasing software as open source". (via DigitalKoans)

This picture of La Bibliothèque infernale was in my Google Reader, but it is via a tumblr account, so I Googled it and the first result was from a collector of 19th century stereoscopes. Check out this print and others. They are fascinating and beautiful. (By the way, why is the word "googled" considered misspelled in Blogger?)

On to food . . .

The Italian Ice Cream University has seen a 90% rise in enrollment due to the recession. I'd like to attend this University, let me tell you.

This slice of Guinness Chocolate Cake with Irish Whisky Ganache and Bailey's Buttercream cake via Food Porn Daily looks very, very good. It's being pushed to the top of my to-bake list.

Not Fish, Food, and Fish

2010-01-23T06:31:00.000-08:00

After writing a big ol' paper on sushi last semester, I know more than I ever thought I would about sushi. However, that does not mean that I am a fan of the American sushi (or, Sushi American Style) which Dean & DeLuca has now started selling. If I wanted a BLT, I would get a BLT. You have my permission to buy whatever you want, but my humble opinion (which I am always more than happy to share) is that it don't work no good for me.

Ze French are known for a lot of things. I believe I heard something about them being into cooking. (Tell me if I'm wrong about that.) Anywho, superstar Alain Ducasse says that he believes that French women are not passing down their cooking skills to their daughters any longer. This is making the art of French cooking slowly disappear.

In Library News . . .

Two blog posts that were published mere days apart were so similar it was freaky. I have no idea of the posts were influenced by each other or there were talks. Who knows? They are both really insightful and both mention fish! I've been reading In the Library with the Lead Pipe since the beginning, so I'm a fan. This post talks about how a commencement speech by David Foster Wallace which mentions fish in water led Sara Seely to comparing fish-in-water with librarians.

So along comes a post in my Google feed thing about librarians and fish, but it comes from Norway. Librarian 1.5 is a blog written by librarian Thomas Brevik of the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy. His librarian-as-fish inspiration comes from an article on information literacy from the Norwegian Science Library blog. (Note: The post is in Norwegian and English, so you might need a translator.) Anywho, Thomas' posts are in English so you should check it out.

Can't We All Just Get Along?

2010-01-12T02:35:00.000-08:00

Differences of opinion regarding commenting, communication, and free speech ensues after Library Journal's John Berry responds to a post by David Rothman.

The original vlog by Rothman is Rothman discussing his opinions on the Annoyed Librarian and Library Journal's relationship with the AL as their employer.

Berry says Rothman's statements are hypocritical.

Rothman vlogs an explanation and calls out Berry as "full of crap".

It's exciting stuff and makes me proud to be a librarian!

My personal opinion on the Annoyed Librarian is that I don't care what she/it/him says so much as the recent fact that now Library Journal gave her/it/him a paid gig. I support free speech and I am known to talk like a truck driver, but I at least try not to do it publicly, online, on a professional publication's website. (There is also the tiny, minuscule issue I have with LJ for not accepting my Talk Back submission, but hey, they have the right to post what they want, right?)

In other news, I apparently work in one of the few libraries in NYC not to have a temperature clause in our union contract. I'm fine with that.

Are copyright laws equivalent to book burning?

I cheated

2009-12-24T06:05:00.001-08:00

I'm no big fancy Catholic or anything, but I love me some advent calendar chocolate. There is just something about the fake chocolate goodness that is the surprise chocolate behind those little cardboard windows that gets my saliva going. Advent calendar chocolate is a treat. When I was in London I bought myself a fancy Harrod's advent calendar which, I'm unhappy to report, did not have any bells and whistles. The chocolate did taste as perfectly un-chocolate as the best advent calendar chocolate I've ever eaten, so I was happy with it. Like most children, I cheated and finished it early. It started out simple. Starting on about the 10th, I skipped a few days, so that on the 15th I could eat six pieces of chocolate. Then, for a couple of days I ate one every day. Then, on the 20th and 21st I slacked and forgot to eat any, but made up the difference on the 22nd. Last night, I did the unthinkable (to an adult it might be unthinkable anyway) and ate today's chocolate piece and finished the box of advent calendar chocolates early. This morning, I am depressed. I don't have any advent calendar chocolate to eat today and I feel like my whole Christmas is ruined.

Luckily for me and my funk, I saw a bunch of chocolate articles today that helped me feel better. Two are sad so I feel guilty about my cheating and therefore am happy to have had an advent calendar at all. The third makes me happy that people are using cacao refuse in ways other than dumping them in a, well, dump.

First, the sad chocolate:

The price of cocoa is rising, so it is believed that manufacturers of chocolate and chocolate artisans might be raising their prices or using more milk chocolate and artificial ingredients to make up the difference. For me, this just means that I will be able to buy the good chocolate less often, but I will stock up on Reese's peanut butter hearts and eggs when the time comes and create what I can only describe as a makeshift chocolate bomb shelter for when the chocolate economy crashes completely and I need my sustenance.

The shit is hitting the fan in the Ivory Coast Cacao World. There are cocoa regulators in jail right now for suspected embezzlement and their employees are not getting paid.

The happy chocolate news:

UK company Biomass UK Limited is working with Ghanaians to process cocoa pods for electricity and stuff for export. This news will surely make you want to sing Electricity, Electricity!

Piracy, of the Bio- variety

2009-12-13T03:57:00.000-08:00

Many of you have probably heard of the GI (Geographical Indication) that can be granted to a food or product made in a particular geographical region. Some examples are Roquefort cheese, Corsican honey, Champagne, Parma ham, etc. In France, it is governed by the AOC. (The site is in French, obviously, so if you don't read French, pardonnez-moi!) This designation ensures that no one outside of a region can make a product similar to that region's product and label it as coming from that region. I've probably made the explanation more difficult than necessary, but I tend to over-write when I 'splain.

Anywho, I saw today in my fantastic google alerts that India (yes, the whole country) has started a Traditional Knowledge Digital Library in an attempt to stop, or slow, BIOPIRACY. The full story is here.

Basically, what they are doing is creating a database of traditional Indian medicinal, spiritual, and wellness recipes, cures, exercise, lifestyles, etc. to prevent patents being given mistakenly to incorrect Indian naturopathy.

Sounds dandy to me! In any event, I think the database is a good idea to store and maintain Indian natural and homeopathic traditions. However, I just hope that people don't go into the database and try things out without getting advice from their doctors first. Since I'm superwoman, I've been OK with taking whatever natural remedies I've wanted over the years, but I don't suggest the same for everyone.

Good News, Bad News; Old News, New News

2009-12-12T04:21:00.000-08:00

I'm not, and can't imagine myself ever becoming, a vegetarian. However, I go for days and sometimes weeks without eating meat. There are also times when I go for days eating meat every day. I try to eat a semi-healthy diet, but I don't put restrictions or rules on what I eat and I certainly don't punish myself for eating something that isn't exactly good for me. Anywho, I was reading an interview with Sarma Melngailis in the Village Voice and I appreciated what she said about not being strict herself and how she gets a lot of flack for not being a strict raw foodist or vegetarian. I've only ever eaten raw veggies before, so I'm really interested in trying her restaurant Pure Food & Wine. If a diet that is geared more towards raw food makes you feel better, I'm willing to try it.

We've all heard about Kirkus closing. The NY Times, ResourceShelf, LISNews, AdWeek, Poynter, and PW have all written about it. There's more, I'm sure, but the web is fairly incestuous and they all link to each other, so if you get on one the pages here, you can find the rest.

The BBC and the British Library are getting together to make a digital baby of their assets.

Je t'aime

2009-12-04T02:27:00.000-08:00

My dream kitchen looks like a Parisian Patisserie - just like this one! The famous Angelina's has opened a shop devoted to sweets and I want to live there.

The British Library unveils its huge storage facility. Obviously I'm a fan of the printed word, so I'm glad to hear them say that the library "is all about preserving the knowledge of the past and the present for the future" and not just throwing everything out when they need room.

Interesting - an online Government Comics Collection! Who doesn't love government comics? The database is run by The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Library

Beer

2009-11-06T02:36:00.000-08:00

I only recently started drinking beer. In fact, I've been drinking it for less than a year. I never liked it and I will always consider myself a whiskey gal. However, earlier this year, a friend and I went to a chocolate and beer tasting. I thought the chocolate would help smooth my way into beer-drinking-dom, or something. It helps that the chocolate was Vosges and the beer was Rogue (coincidentally, these company names sound extremely similar). Anywho, the beer was excellent and the pairings made me enjoy beer for the first time.

Personal Anecdote Alert!: My brothers drank a lot of beer (like, a lot) so I used to have a bottle of Dead Guy Ale when I was younger because I like skeletons and things. To make a long story short (I know, "Too Late!"), I kept an empty bottle of glow-in-the-dark Dead Guy Ale on my shelf for years, which means that it was fate that Rogue would be my first good beer experience.

I saw this article about Lowenbrow boxes becoming the "bricks" of a new library in Germany. Obviously, it didn't last for long, but the memories will go on and on.

International Goodness 2

2009-10-07T02:23:00.000-07:00

I forgot I had started a post oh so long ago and the article I had sitting here is really amazing, so I'll start my new linkage with it:

Women Librarians in Nigeria convene to figure out ways to eradicate poverty

School and multiple jobs and soap-opera-scale drama in my personal life has kept me so, like, busy and stuff? I'm going to have to slowly get back into posting links. I really want to start writing more about my work and school and eating (etc., etc., etc.) and I will - starting today!

SLJ has a piece on "Librarians as, um, Crap Detectors" and I couldn't agree more. I keep saying to anyone who will listen that librarians will always serve a purpose and will always be important. We weed books and information so that the patron (of all varieties) will have access to the most relevant, um, stuff.

I loved this quote in an article about librarians at Wright State University, “Every student has a librarian, find yours." This was said by Sue Polanka, Head of Reference and Instruction. This should be (one of) the motto(s) for librarians everywhere. It could be something like, "Everyone has a librarian. Find yours!"

This is just weird and there is so little written that I have no idea what the whole story is. However, the headline made me laugh a little. None of my schools ever had a lollipop man!

Here is a small piece on the increasing efforts to manufacture fair trade chocolate.

Books, Books, and Candy!

2009-05-23T05:34:00.000-07:00

This book sounds really interesting to me, as who doesn't enjoy reading about a slow hemlock death?

Biker Poet anthologies are now on my must read list!

When I was in Vegas last Christmas, I loaded up on whiskey fudge from the international supermarket near me mum's house. I bought a few varieties and can't wait to get more the next time I go out there. (I would share it with my brothers [maybe].) Anywho, now this BonBon scotch bar candy looks just as good and it is now on my list for when I see my sister in California.

The title is the best part of this article: "FDA: Pistachio Plant knew some nuts were tainted" (heh heh!)

Stuff and stuff

2009-05-14T02:27:00.000-07:00

I agree with the author here: academic librarians need to teach research methods, not computer skills.

Kindle DX? No thanks, not for me, but Princeton is giving them away!

If you really want to get technical, OSU is not burning books, they are merely migrating to more digital collections, which results in the loss of physical items. This is why I think there needs to be some sort of book landfill or place somewhere where people can go and scrounge around the landfill of thrown-away books and take some home.

You've read the news stories, the blog posts and watched the specials, but if you are anything like me, you would have found it hard to fully grasp the way the world economy is growing (or not growing). I need visuals and this article and this accompanying "parking lot" map helped me visualize the situation. Hundreds of ships just sitting around Indonesia you say? Why yes, I did say that. Now what are we going to be doing with all of these ships if we end up with an economy where we eliminate the need for these ships? What's this I hear about reducing or trying to eliminate carbon footprints by not moving food around the globe as much as we have been?

ASEAN Cocoa Contract update

For your viewing and reading pleasure, fer sher

2009-05-05T02:33:00.000-07:00

I love old pictures! I've been reading a lot of old chocolate books and they have some of the coolest pictures in them. This is from a website showcasing old photos from Sri Lanka.

Libraries that Twitter - yet another article about it!

As an aside, read Marion Nestle's blog. Not just because I told you to, but because it is not only funny, but informative on current food politic topics.

No time for 'splaining

2009-04-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

Ghana + World Food Crisis

WTF? rant against NYC locavores

Nigeria + Cocoa

One of many links to that chocolate study everyone is yapping about

Urban Garden from place of animal cruelty (obviously from my alert for cocoa!)

Ghana + Cocoa refuse potential

SWEET! Chocolate disguised as Swiss Army Knives!

World's Worst Chocolate? Judge for yourself, as I haven't tried them all . . . yet

Libraries are everywhere!

2009-04-23T03:19:00.001-07:00

The 14th Congress of Southeast Asian Librarians took place yesterday and you can find a recap here and here

Nigerians pushing for library advancement

Nestle sales decline (surprised?)

Man gets imprisonment with 6 months of hard labor for stealing 1.5 bags of cocoa beans

Rising cocoa prices are benefiting growers in Ivory Coast - which is a good thing!

Too much to handle

2009-04-18T05:46:00.001-07:00

I've been posting things on Facebook, but I see too many articles that I want to keep and don't want to post too many and end up bothering my friends.

New York Chocolate & Confections Company will start producing chocolate at the former Nestle plant

Seattle Public Library is facing big cuts, including layoffs and extended closings

145-year-old book returned to library

Kindle users' strife with accounts being locked, etc.

"Chocolate may not go straight to the groin . . ."

Chocolate innovation center opens in Wisconsin

Cars & Chocolate - why growing in Africa makes sense

Discourse on the unfairness that is farming in Africa

Nigerian farmers ask state to raise subsidies

Etc.

2009-04-02T02:46:00.000-07:00

Tomato Products Wellness Center joins Healthy Lives this April

Providence, RI Culinary Arts Museum showcases the evolution of our food culture

AIV Microbiology's Paul Hall Receives 2009 NCFST Award for Food Safety (I just copied the whole title because I'm tired this morning)

I was interested in this post because it is about a Benefit Tea at Monticello to benefit a library, but what caught my eye was the link to the local school lunch program. I rarely see so convenient a link to get information on school lunch menus. This is very impressive.

Indonesian government wants local cocoa production to increase by 300% (!)

Cocoa farmers in Ghana looking for ways to make a disease-free cacao planting materials

Honolulu wants you know that they have a chocolate industry

Ivory Coast gets debt-relief

It's been a while . . .

2009-03-29T04:25:00.000-07:00

Production:
Roasting is the most important step to making good chocolate, as Willie Harcourt-Cooze can tell you.

The Government is trying to save the cacao industry in Trinidad & Tobago.

Swollen Shoot Disease threatens Ivory Coast harvests.

YES! Energy is being harnessed using cocoa bean shells! There has always been a question as to what to do and where to put the shells leftover when manufacturing chocolate. If this works and the shells can be used to make energy - I'm all for it! Although, I should look into it more to see how viable it is.

Everything Else:
New Cacao Pearl Resort in the Philippines; more here

Why is Godiva offering "invitation only" events? You have to be on a list that Communispace has, then answer a survey - just to be invited. Sounds pretty biased to me.

You can deal with this, or you can deal with that . . .

2009-03-10T05:41:00.000-07:00

Antioch library a ghost town - sounds neat actually

Myanmar Book Aid

Should ex-hostages held prisoner in Columbia be able to voice their stories?

Book (by World Vision) donation to Kigali Institute of Education Library

Mississippi library houses Red Cross history exhibit

The thing's we'll do, or tax, for chocolate

2009-03-09T03:38:00.000-07:00

Fascist chocolate tax

Actual Headline: Trio of sword-wielding teens steal chocolate

Former President Bush knows the secret to the best chocolate chip cookie - and he'll e-mail it to you!

Don't take chocolate away from me!

2009-03-06T02:56:00.000-08:00

Toronto budget cuts include cutting 36 librarians

Nestle set to open plant, bringing needed jobs to Indiana

Why haven't I heard of this novel Bootleg? It is about the possibility of a world where chocolate and other sweets are banned. It may be a YA novel, but it still sounds interesting!

Homeless man cooked his way into a better life for his family and himself

Fat Duck sicknesses increase ten-fold

Mrs. Obama promoting food banks and soup kitchens, while actually volunteering at them

More on Chavez targeting food and farms

BPL starts fund drive to keep libraries open 6-days, and to make sure service is not affected by cuts

I'm backlogged

2009-03-05T02:55:00.000-08:00

Segment from Dave Frye's doctoral dissertation on breakfast cereals

Culinary Museum on my 'to-do' list

Senators push for boost in FDA

WIC changes list of approved food

Is the FDA broken?

I hope to God no one messes with my chocolate

Cocoa shells as fuel source. I knew the day would come when people would realize HOW useful and good chocolate is for you!

Cadbury's UK is converting about 20% of products to fair trade

I want to live under the sea

National issue of people not taking advantage of food pantries is seen in Minnesota

Construction for Prague's new national library to go on?

Philabundance and the Food Bank of South Jersey launch food drive

2009-03-02T05:37:00.000-08:00

Chinese experts and consumers skeptical of China's new food policies (via USA Today)

Heston Blumenthal discusses the closing of the Fat Duck (video) (via guardian.uk)

Food Safety at Home and Abroad, etc.

2009-03-02T02:31:00.000-08:00

China adopts Food Safety Law (via Bloomberg)

China passes food safety law (via AP)

Beijing tightens food safety laws (via WSJ)

China passes new food laws after milk scandal (via Australian Broadcasting Corp.)

ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations) pledges cooperation to deal with food safety issues (via PhilStar)

The Fatted Duck closes after food poisoning affects dozens

Statement from the Grocery Manufacturers Association concerning our safe (or not so safe) food supply

Cookbook aimed at Food Banks looking for recipe ideas to use with the food they are given

Chocolate Gala benefits food bank

Relevant to my research: The cocoa bean and Belize

Hot & Steamy

2009-02-27T02:52:00.000-08:00

Professor now allowed to use Goucher College library

Cool ocean-inspired jewelry sales to benefit coral reefs - here is the press release

THE Harold McGee says we can use loads less water to boil pasta to save energy (it also saves time)

I don't mind pimples so much when the advice to get rid of them is to stop eating chocolate - as if!

The cacao genome will be mapped. I mean, it is the world's sixth largest crop after all.

I love all of these words (hot, steamy, chocolate, cake) and the fact that they are all in the same name of something, I now need to try this!

Economics and Chocolate

2009-02-26T03:04:00.000-08:00

It is sad that kids are now worrying about what they are eating

Recession sees chocolate eating up

Chocolate IS a healthy passion - I've always said that!

The measure of a chocolate craving - analyzed (and possibly decoded?)

NOOO! Chocolate prices rising! These are dark times indeed.

This and that

2009-02-25T16:42:00.000-08:00

I hate doing this, but I want to put this link somewhere to remember some places in Brooklyn I want to try for good food (and especially chocolate)

Harvard is feeling the pinch and consolidating their libraries

The title of the article is, "Sex can't be taken off the library's shelves". How can I not link to it?

I'm just shaking my head

2009-02-23T02:26:00.000-08:00

Mario Batali confirms his arsehole qualities exist

Joe Wingo confirms the opposite of himself (that he is not an arsehole) but is actually doing a lot of good, it seems

He's just an entrepreneur!

That's right, I'll say it, "Raw chocolate sounds good" from Fine & Raw Chocolate

Happy Freedom to Read Week

The New Colossus

2009-02-22T04:51:00.001-08:00

By Emma Lazarus, 1883

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Stinky

2009-02-21T06:15:00.000-08:00

Dubai stinks

People will never learn that beach replenishment is temporary and they should just stop fighting Mother Nature

Charity/Community Service
Culinary students cook for homeless
Culinary Caper event benefits Meals on Wheels
"Men Who Cook" fundraiser benefits Women's Center

They tell me to eat more chocolate. I say, "OK!"

In Switzerland, people eat an average of one chocolate bar a day. This is why I need to live there!

Hershey Plant closed on 2/20/09

Six strange title shortlisted (or you can read it here)

Gel and beef and Koran - Oh My!

2009-02-18T03:50:00.000-08:00

Chocolate Gelée recipe (who would have thought?)

Who wouldn't want a book titled, "BEEF"?

Request made to have the Koran moved to the top shelf at libraries so as not to anger people

Wonderful News

2009-02-17T02:37:00.000-08:00

There's more than gambling in Las Vegas - the food is pretty good too.

I am sure the vegetarians and vegans will have a field day with this news piece that says beef is the most inefficient food to produce and cows produce so much methane.

The Joy of Cooking got fat, but just don't tell her.

Swedish Newspaper asks users for help on researching articles after (but not because) the WSJ fired their librarians.

So much to do, so little time

2009-02-12T03:26:00.000-08:00

Mayor's Office and City Council putting up their dukes regarding the closure of 11 libraries in Philadelphia

Wall Street Journal closes library. This can only mean that news will get worse because we all know journalists (esp. in NYC) can't research if their life depended on it.

Congress is "outraged" over peanut/salmonella issues

The Drama!

2009-02-11T04:10:00.000-08:00

Senate considers banning artificial food coloring

Single Food Safety Agency being considered as 'way to go'

A stretch of sand in Surf City and Ship Bottom is being dug up to remove undetonated munitions

Another beach replenishment aimed at rebuilding a town in Maryland's shoreline. Another fight against Mother Nature.

The Kindle's text-to-voice feature is being objected to by book publishers. They say it is "Breaking the Law. Breaking the Law".

Hardhat Required

2009-02-10T02:35:00.000-08:00

Feds rely on states for food safety inspections

FEMA recalls peanut butter contained in emergency kits

After Easter, no more Schmidt Chocolates

To dump or not to dump (sand)

2009-02-09T02:31:00.000-08:00

Southampton residents (or anyone else living on Long Island for that matter) and the councils-that-be are continuously debating various manners of beach replenishment and who should pay for it. I say, don't live on the shore and don't fight mother nature - you will lose.

Florida's Indian River County residents might soon be paying a new tax to pay for sand pumping.

Aliens at Sea!!! (Don't worry, it's just the scientists taking about microbes and kind of doing a good job of describing their work to garner attention.)

Direct quote from article on the rise of Food Stamps in Oregon.
“We do not have the legal authority to tell people that they can’t buy junk,” Stewart said.

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (the makers of Kefir, which I love!) set to buy Fresh Made, Inc.

Going back to our roots: in Calaveras County, CA, officials created Calaveras Farm to Family to assist people in need by organizing local farms' donations to shelters and food banks to provide for families in need. Starting out as fresh food donations from local farms, the program will grow to incorporate teaching farming and planting skills to families.

Food Safety & Policy

2009-02-06T02:38:00.000-08:00

Food Safety & Policy

Arizona food stamp requests rising - note that they are calling them food stamps.

USDA suspends Peanut Corp. from doing business with the Feds

Story of Senator being outraged with all the food borne illness

Widget introduced to keep you updated on the recalls! nifty

Update on farm news from FarmPolicy.com

Economy unlikely to affect U.S. farmers

Oregon food bank says hunger is growing rapidly

Georgia Agriculture Commissioner calls for state food safety division

2009-02-04T02:39:00.000-08:00

Two dudes plan to bike across the coast of Australia to raise awareness for two organizations I care a lot about: Surfrider and C.A.R.E.

"Looks like Kansas City has the major food groups covered: world-class barbecue, beer worth bragging about and exquisitely fun chocolate." This was the great first sentence to the Kansas City Star's piece on a local chocolatier's recognition in Food & Wine magazine.

Health Librarians guide you in the right direction when looking online for information.

School officials concerned over the threat of not having healthy lunches for the kids any more.

Can I get a What What?

2009-02-03T17:44:00.000-08:00

I wish I could go to this year's Vegas UnCork'd. Will someone send me please?

So many great things combined into one Culinary Weekend! Alton Brown, the Smithsonian, food, sustainability and science!

Obama blames FDA for food crappenings.

Welfare is still being cut, despite economic downturn.

Chefs hope that Obama will improve food policies.

Exhibit at the Morgan Library & Museum showcases drawings from the New Yorker magazine dating back to 1927

Link-a-roonies

2009-02-01T05:09:00.000-08:00

Senate House Library may be joining forces and merging like long-lost lovers with University College London.

Library Thing is added to the catalog at the Institute of Social Studies.

Not much going on besides this. I'm still trying to find that perfect free (or cheap) event to go to on 2/14. I'm all set to go to a beer and chocolate lecture/class thing with a friend on 2/13, but I think I can find something nifty to do that Saturday also.

Some of these library links are pretty important IMHO

2009-01-31T07:06:00.000-08:00

You can make up your own mind, but instead of pasting all of these on Facebook, I'll put them here, as usual.

Lead Poisoning is causing worry with librarians over the safety of children's books.

Not that I'm not interested in the other stories, but because I work in Serials, the Georgia case is close to home regarding e-resources.

ACRL announces the the recipients of the 2009 Excellence in Academic Libraries Award

The essay of one of the runners-up of the federated search writing contest

OK, here on in it is food and other stuff . . .

Farm show Cook-Off

Disneyland uses cooking oil to run choo choo trains

Ghirardelli wins award for their semi-sweet baking chips, which contain no dairy and are vegan friendly - I shan't comment on the vegan part, but I do love me some Ghirardelli.

Please don't forget the oceans!! It seems that too many people forget that the oceans need help too and without research, studies, testing and action, we will suffer for it.

Although the words cocaine, Texas and beaches don't often go in the same sentence, this time they did.

I love you and I'll miss you Scharffen Berger!!

Some light reading

2009-01-29T02:44:00.000-08:00

Sam Kass, the Obama's personal chef, is now assistant to the White House Chef Cristeta Comerford.

Calculating carbon footprints can be fun and funny!

Sorghum genome described - could help better the food supply in Africa

China's grain issues might impact world markets

Baby born in library

Who wouldn't want this guide to amputations, operations and some other stuff from the 18th century??

CHOCOLATE!! (among other things)

2009-01-26T02:35:00.000-08:00

This event is meant to "exhibit every possible use for chocolate". I love the sound of that!

Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival

18th Annual Chocolate Affair

Rhode Island Chocolate Festival

And, because I'm a water baby:

More plastic than plankton in the ocean

Easy Peasey or what-have-you

2009-01-25T05:37:00.000-08:00

Word on the street is that a lot of people are afraid to bake. I'll be the first to tell you that my baked goods are usually pretty ugly, but they are still pretty easy to make. I do have a couple of rules that I personally abide by because I like things the way they are supposed to be.

1. When I make anything that involves melting chocolate, I use the darkest chocolate I can get, and never use milk or semi-sweet to bake with.
2. When I make a crust, I never use Crisco. Pie crust is delicious with just some flour and butter, why muck it up with that oil crap?
3. I do use Crisco in some cookie recipes, but heck, some of the best tasting cookies have Crisco and it isn't like I'm putting an entire tub-o-oleo in it or anything.
4. Yeah I measure stuff, but I am the most imperfect person on the planet so really, an extra drop of bourbon or an extra chunk of chocolate, or a little extra sugar that 'accidentally' falls into the bowl isn't going to kill me, so . . .
5. There are no rules.

I like recipes because I am good at following directions. I don't like when people tell me what to do, but a recipe is different. So, anywho, that's my two cents on baking and scaredy-cats. And, no, you are not getting your money back.

First Entry - what else but links?

2009-01-23T02:42:00.000-08:00

Another Journal I'll never be published in because I don't know the right people or something.

Oooh, fancy, Social Libraries

Someone out there is looking for the perfect wine accompaniment to your chips and wings. I call it "Fancy Junk".

Book I want about the evolution of kitchens called, coincidentally, The Evolution of America's Kitchens!

If only Albany was closer! I would love to check out the Evolutionary Cooking Series at the State Liberry.

Mmmmm . . . camel milk chocolate

Who doesn't trust archaeological evidence of something? No one I know because it is, like, fact or something.

Old, bad, London Jazz - in a book! Sounds fun!

Holy Shit! The Huffington Post really does suck and obviously hires people who write straight BS and BS only. Maybe journalism needs to be re-defined because the journalists out there are not journalists.