Food Headlines
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Perhaps to prove that what's goes around really does come around, a Williamsburg, Brooklyn delivery man has taken to the blogosphere to broadcast all the bad tippers he comes in contact with. His blog, 15%, chronicles the tight purse strings tendencies of certain customers, in an effort to publicly shame their stinginess. Customer addresses have now been removed, due to Tumblr's request, reports Gawker.com.
The mastermind behind the blog is Larry Fox, a 20-year-old designer and developer. He told Gothamist that the reason for starting his blog was that he "just got tired of all these big companies, these TV shows and movie sets giving us two or three dollar tips on a $90 order." Fox is not only broadcasting bad tippers, but also answering readers' questions. Some highlights (also submitted by other delivery men):
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"Went out into a Level Two Snow Emergency (We are not even supposed to be delivering, but dedication wins out over common sense) And got a whopping 0.50 tip from the guy."
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"Lorimer St. tipped me one dollar to bring him a sandwich during a hail/rain/thunder storm....I hate you."
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"Manhattan Ave. greenpoint took you 8 minutes exactly to come downstairs after two phonecalls (14 stairs in a standard american stairwell) because you don't have a functional buzzer like everyone else in brooklyn."
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"corner of meserole ave. end of delivery zone - about 23 blocks from my restaurant for 4 slices of pie during prime dinnertime. two bucks for well over a mile. thanks for the two bucks to bust my ass because you didn't specify your cross-street as meserole ave from street bro. not on deck. i dropped your food a few times. whoops."
In 2004, Congress gave the FDA until 2008 to create a definition for what a gluten-free product actually means. Three years after that deadline, we're still waiting.
The Washington Post reports that as celiac disease rates are rising, the government still has no set definition for gluten-free products.
Although the U.S. gluten-free product industry is booming (revenues were $2.6 billion last year, up from $100 million in 2003), they still have quite a bit of wiggle room. The Washington Post explains that some companies "might fail to test their products or might allow small amounts of gluten but still label their foods as gluten-free."
Other countries including Canada, Brazil and Australia have defined gluten-free foods as containing no more than 0.0007 of an ounce of gluten for every 2.2 pounds of food. Though the FDA has no set definition, it does offer a FAQ page about gluten-free labeling.
On May 4, the world's largest gluten-free cake will be brought to Capitol Hill to call attention to the issue. Currently, at least three million Americans have celiac disease, and 18 million have gluten sensitivity.
Starbucks has done just about everything it can to make you as comfortable as possible and to turn its ubiquitous coffee shops into your home away from home--but maybe it's made you too comfortable.
One important difference between your living room and your local Starbucks is (presumably) you don't have an army of strangers traipsing through your living room as your kick back with your iPad and your morning cup of coffee. It seems obvious enough, but apparently, according to the New York Times, it's a distinction that's increasingly lost on a number of people -- and they're losing their purses, wallets and laptops, too.
"Cats." "The Lion King." "Top Chef?"
While you might not be able to picture the Bravo reality show in marquee lights, restaurateur (and Top Chef judge) Tom Colicchio reportedly thinks the program is a natural fit for the Great White Way.
Bravo's program director, Andy Cohen, told New York magazine, "He thinks he has a great idea about doing something like that." Perhaps thinking about the hazards involved with fire and sharp knives onstage, Cohen wasn't initially sold. "I told him, 'I'm not so sure,' but he's trying to convince me!"
The magazine rounded up some reactions from former cast members, who were largely game for the idea of a Broadway production.
Marcel Vigneron had our favorite response: "Totally, of course, I'd love to do it. I'm a pretty decent dancer, I'm not gonna lie. Actually, I was cutting a rug for six hours last night. Yeah, I could definitely handle the freestyle hip-hop scenes."
In a country where candy displays are perched next to cash registers at every retail outlet imaginable and drinking soda is a birthright, it can hardly be surprising that Americans consume a large amount of sugar. But 22 teaspoons a day? That's hard to swallow.
Yet the statistic is true. U.S. adults consume 22.2 teaspoons of sugar daily -- or 355 calories, reports UPI. That wildly exceeds the daily recommended amount, says Phil Lempert, a food industry analyst. He says average-sized women should be consuming no more than 6.25 teaspoons; men 9.4.
Not only is the sugar bad for your waistline, but diets high in the sweet stuff have been shown to contribute to high blood pressure, increased triglycerides and cardiovascular disease, the American Heart Association says.
As is usually the case with dietary matters, a little moderation goes a long way.
Whether your house is full of sci-fi lovers or you want to bake out-of-this-world desserts for a kids' birthday party, these Alien Invasion cupcakes are sure to be a hit. Encased in a 'spaceship' made out of cups, these aliens are ever ready for transport.
Get the recipe for Alien Invasion Cupcakes.
Yes, it's a gimmick. But it's a pretty cool one. Who wouldn't like an omelet recipe printed right on their egg? (Never mind that almost everyone knows how to make an omelet.) What's cool here is that artist Dnewman came up with a clever use for the Egg-Bot, a 3D printer that can "draw on spherical or egg-shaped objects from the size of a ping pong ball to that of a small grapefruit." But as one commenter over at Boing Boing points out: "Why print the recipe for two servings on one egg?"
If you have plans to vacation in Britain, Turkey, Morocco, and the Philippines this year, you might just find a tart, cold reminder of home. By the end of 2011, Pinkberry is planning to to be in 17 different international markets, according to Nation's Restaurant News.
The chain currently has 122 outposts in eight countries, and hopes to gain 30 more international locations (this in addition to more U.S. outposts). Part of the success of Pinkberry's growth is attributed to Starbucks, as many of its international franchisees also operate Starbucks locations. Moreover, Starbucks' president and CEO Howard Schultz sits on Pinkberry's board.
"Consumer brands have to look at the landscape through a global lens, as opposed to the domestic lens that Starbucks started from 40 years ago," Schultz told Business Week. Although Pinkberry has plenty of competition in the U.S. market--Cold Stone Creamery is adding froyo to its line this spring and Red Mango has plans to nearly double its domestic stores--there is less competition in the worldwide arena, explains Business Week. In fact, Pinkberry's highest-volume store is in Kuwait.
You've probably seen some breathtaking wedding cakes in your lifetime, but we doubt you've encountered anything like this.
The cake for Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, was an eight-tiered ivory showpiece decorated with 900 delicate sugar-paste flowers. The cake was showcased at this afternoon's Buckingham Palace reception, reports The Daily Mail.
How long does it take to make a cake like this? Think weeks, not days. Five weeks, to be exact.The palace contacted baker Fiona Cairns and her team in Febraury to request the cake, and it turns out the bride had some specific requests.
"Catherine did not want it to be seven feet tall, she didn't want it to be towering and thin, and I think we succeeded," says Cairns.
The bride also wanted elements from the Joseph Lambeth technique of cake decoration, so the cake features a lot of intricate piping work, as you can see from the photos.
A hidden treat for architecuture buffs? Cairns used some of the details of the reception room in the design. 'We reflected some of the architectural details in the room so the garlands on the walls were reproduced loosely on the fourth tier - we've used roses, acorns, ivy leaves, apple blossom and bridal rose," she says.
We'd be too afraid to knock Grandma's matzoh ball soup (and, seriously, it is delicious), but Josh Ozersky has no such qualms. He argues in his TIME magazine piece that Eastern European Jewish food just isn't that tasty.
Dissing on kugel? He should probably watch out for all those bubbes out there--they're fierce when wielding wooden spoons.
The battle over sweeteners just got a whole lot more bitter.
As the Associated Press reports, a group of sugar farmers and refiners, including big names like C&H Sugar, have filed suit against the makers of high-fructose corn syrup. Their beef? They want the corn industry to stop trying to hawk their souped-up sweetener as "corn sugar."
As the country has watched its collective waistline get bigger and a generation of kids turn into outsized roly-polys, perhaps no product has come to be as maligned as high-fructose corn syrup. Indeed, among certain members of the Bugaboo-stroller set, feeding your kids anything that contains the super sweetener might as well be the equivalent of letting them snack on crack.
Faced with an image crisis (American consumption of high-fructose corn syrup fell to a 20-year low last year), the corn industry went on the offense, running golden-hued ads of bucolic American farmscapes that essentially touted high-fructose corn syrup as nutritionally the same as sugar and asking the federal government for permission to market the stuff accordingly as "corn sugar."
Anyone who has ever tangled with food poisoning knows it's nothing to fool around with. But it's often difficult to nail down what, exactly, made you sick.
A new report from the University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute points the finger in one clear direction: poultry. Birds contaminated with Campylobacter bacteria is the food-pathogen combination that causes the highest number of illnesses in the U.S. Just how many people fall victim? More than 600,000 people a year.
The top five illness-causing pathogens -- Campylobacter, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Toxoplasma gondii and norovirus -- cause $12.7 billion in economic losses each year, with the top 10 pathogen-food combinations accounting for more than $8 billion a year, according to the report. (Lost productivity, medical care and serious complications or chronic disabilities associated with the illness are all factored together to come up with these figures.)
So enjoy your grilled chicken this summer -- just invest in a meat thermometer and make sure you see 165 degrees on it before you begin your feast.
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Recipes
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 Pan-Roasted Marble Potatoes
A colorful combination of red, gold, and purple baby potatoes is pan-roasted with bacon and rosemary for a simple and delicious side or as a tasty start for potato salad.
Chef John's New Orleans-Style Barbequed Shrimp
This indigenous American shellfish dish, cooked on the stovetop, has plenty of big flavors from garlic, rosemary, and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve over hot cooked rice. Use the largest shrimp you can get.
Coconut Cupcakes
Traditional white cupcake batter gets a tropical twist with the addition of coconut milk and shredded coconut to the batter creating rich and moist coconut cupcakes.
Baked Goat Cheese Caprese Salad
Fresh goat cheese is baked in individual ramekins and topped with cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced fresh basil leaves, a splash of olive oil, and a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper and cayenne for a warm appetizer to serve with crostini, crackers, or toast.
Easy Taco Skillet
A quick and cheesy skillet dinner with beef, rice, and taco seasoning will keep your family happy and full.
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Whole wheat pizza dough is easy to prepare and will impress your family and friends on homemade pizza nights.
Bleu Baked Chicken and Rice
Chicken thighs are marinated in blue cheese dressing and baked with seasoned rice for a delicious comfort food dinner.
Best Ever Beef Marinade
Use this blend of soy sauce, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce to marinate your favorite cuts of beef or any other meat.
Alia's Osso Buco
Veal shanks braise in a comforting blend of carrots, celery, and tomatoes until very tender.
Can't Leave Alone Bars
A rich white cake sandwiches a creamy chocolate filling in these 'can't leave alone bars' that truly live up to their name.
Spinach and Mandarin Orange Salad
A spinach and mandarin orange salad with bacon and slivered almonds gets a new twist with a warm homemade dressing that is sure to impress your guests.
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Food Headlines
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Oprah Winfrey's Latest Venture Is Farming In HawaiiAfter Oprah Winfrey's friend and health adviser learned that 90 percent of the food on Maui is flown or shipped in from outside, he convinced her to turn a portion of her estate on the island into a farm. Winfrey is giving away the food she's now growing on 16 acres of land, but it may soon be for sale. Canned Peaches Are As Nutritious As Fresh. Really?What's more, when it comes to some nutrients, like vitamin C, canned peaches pack an even bigger punch than fresh, researchers say. The reasons have to do with how the canning process alters the fruit's cell walls. So eat 'em up! In Raw Milk Case, Activists See Food Freedom On TrialActivists say the case against Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger is about raw milk — and much more. His supporters have turned the case into a rallying cry for personal food freedom and the rights of farmers and consumers to enter into private contracts without government intervention. Could African Crops Be Improved With Private Biotech Data?A plant scientist at Mars Inc. has appealed to the world's biggest life sciences companies to help him — by sharing what they already know about 100 crops that could provide better nutrition in Africa. But can the kings of agricultural intellectual property get onboard with open source agricultural information for Africa? How Genomics Solved The Mystery Of Ireland's Great FamineAlthough scientists have known that a funguslike organism caused the potato blight that triggered the Great Famine in Ireland in the 1840s, they didn't know which strain was the culprit. But they do now, thanks to the genes in some 19th century potato samples. Nutrition Group Says Chocolate Milk Is OK, No Need For AspartameThe nation's largest group of nutritionists is urging the FDA to reject the dairy industry's petition to change the definition of milk. The petition aims to allow aspartame or other alternatives to be used to sweeten milk in an effort to boost consumption in schools. African Cities Test The Limits Of Living With LivestockHipsters may just be discovering the joys of backyard chickens, but in African megacities, people have been bringing their animals into the slums with them for decades. That's creating a new ecosystem of animals and huge numbers of people living closely together like never before. Vertical 'Pinkhouses:' The Future Of Urban Farming?Architects have come up with spectacular concepts for vertical farms that would grow crops in city skyscrapers. But many horticulturists think the future of vertical farming isn't in skyscrapers, but rather in large, indoor warehouses lit up magenta by superefficient LEDs. Washington State Butcher Spikes Pig Feed With WeedDespite its name, the "pot pig" experiment isn't an attempt to develop a new meaty treat for stoners. Instead, a Seattle butcher is feeding marijuana seeds, stems and root bulbs to swine as a cheeky money-saving measure. Washington State Butcher Spikes Pig Feed With WeedDespite its name, the "pot pig" experiment isn't an attempt to develop a new meaty treat for stoners. Instead, a Seattle butcher is feeding marijuana seeds, stems and root bulbs to swine as a cheeky money-saving measure. Sandwich Monday: The SaltwichFor this week's Sandwich Monday, we celebrate an expert panel's recommendations about salt intake by taking in as much salt as we can, with The Saltwich. |
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