The Nov 8, 2008 Splendid Table podcast featuring Shirley Corriher has a wonderful summation of how leavening works in baking. Chemical leavening in baking (baking soda and baking powder) don’t make the bubbles in your batter: they make them bigger. (Says Corriher. Having played with vinegar and baking soda I disagree… ideas?) So where do [...]
I’m sure the flack who came up with the Burger King scent spray meant well… then again, maybe not. from Dr. Alan Hirsch’s research on scents and sexuality: “Now, although no odor diminished male arousal, certain odors did diminish female arousal. The scent of cherry decreased women’s arousal an average of 18 percent and charcoal [...]
Miniature Waffle Party Flickr photo by PetitPlat by sk_ Thumbing through the Williams- Sonoma catalog brought my taste buds to caveman status this morning: Me want waffles benedict! On second thought, that sounds more like Animal from the muppets. The catalog has a glistening, drool-inducing, food porn spread of Thomas Keller waffles cozied up with [...]
There is only one exception I make when it comes to shopping on Black Friday: I do it if it puts money directly into a makers hands. Besides- this is a great excuse for me to buy the perfect cat food bowl (aka the “FEED THE !#[email protected]*!!!CAT ALREADY!!!” bowl). Tom Edwards, the maker of this [...]
What I’m laughing about: the wonderful humor of Wally the dog. More Wally adventures can be found on Tom Edwards Pottery.
Have you been finding your favorite canning supplies missing from your local supply stores? I had an unsuccessful trip today: I didn’t find small canning jars. My favorite Portland canning store Mirador, reported that Ball has run out of canning jar stock- and this is after they doubled their production for 2008. New jars won’t [...]
I’ve read ~ 300 pages of Good Calories, Bad Calories, by Gary Taubes this week. So far this book is blowing my mind. To quote an amazon reviewer “The research level is staggering and evidence so overwhelming that portions of the book are downright infuriating”. Taubes presents a historical overview of obesity research that is [...]
Sorry- I’m about to sound like a crotchety old woman here… this farmers market is my grocery store Yes, farmers markets are cool. They are in fact da’ Bomb. The produce is pretty, the peppers bright and shining, and the apples are disney’esque. It’s so fun meeting your friends, all 4 of them, and chatting [...]
Nothing like a round of bad luck with pie dough to set your kitchen ego straight. This was suppose to be a beautifully golden baked pie crust to build my chocolate raspberry coconut cream pie upon. Instead, my pile of old beans that I use as pie weights crushed into my delicate dough and caused [...]
Last week was a whirlwind visit to Michiana for a friend’s wedding, and a perfect opportunity for some de-virginizing: White Castle, that is. White Castle slider in box – Chicago, Illinois by Flickr user Marshall Astor – Food Pornographer 10 clammy burgers later… I’m still not sure what my verdict is. Those are some odd [...]
