Laura in the Kitchen

One of my favorite YouTube recipe feeds is Laura in the Kitchen.  Oh, I know what you'll say after you watch the video below...she's good lookin', that's why I watch her.  Well, it doesn't hurt that she's pretty, but that's not the reason I watch her.  I find her engaging and her recipes are things I think I'd like to make.  I also like it that her videos aren't perfect, she misspeaks now 'n then and recently has started including bloopers after the main video is over.

She also has a makeup/style channel, as well as one with her husband, but I'm not in the least bit interested in either of those.  No, I'm here for the food!

The pretty face is a bonus, though.

I think that, with a little more polish, she could have her own show on the  Food Network, maybe even displace the resident Italian hottie.

No Waffling on This Quiz

I grew up eating frozen waffles, so I never cared for them, then I ate some fresh-made ones and my attitude towards them changed with the first bite. I have looked at waffle irons on Amazon, both electric and the stove top kind, plus I've read dozens of recipes. I don't think I'd eat them on a regular basis, but they're nice for a change-of-pace.

You Are Maple Syrup

You are dependable and even a little old fashioned. You're not one to change a good thing. You have simple tastes and enjoy simple pleasures more than most people. For you, quality always comes first. You can be a bit of a perfectionist at times, but mostly just in your service to others. You like to do a good job. You consider yourself a normal person, and you are very dependable. You only need a few comforts to feel content.

What Waffle Topping Are You?

Something's Der Hotten in Denmark

Last week in Copenhagen, a large crowd gathered to collectively hurt themselves for this amusingly masochistic video. Individually wrapped ghost peppers — a chili pepper that’s about 100 times hotter than a jalapeno — were passed out, and then everyone bit in at the same time…

Realistic Popeye

Food Wishes

One of my favorite YouTube channels is that of Food Wishes; I first became acquainted with it via Allrecipes, another of my most-liked recipe sites. I subscribe to their feed in my reader, as well as the Food Wishes blog.

Under almost every video from "Chef John", there's someone complaining about his narration. (it's usually because he'll end quite a few sentences with a rising inflection. Personally, I like it.) That aside, what I always look forward to are his attempts - sometimes corny - to insert some humor into the vid. Others object to his propensity to add cayenne to nearly every recipe.  I haven't seen EVERY video, but all of the latest ones have a similar joke analogy, such as "But you do it as you like...after all, you're the power behind the flour."

Maybe not the best video or the greatest recipe, but it IS the latest and a good one...with a pinch of cayenne.

Hot or Cold Dinks

I was just reading an article from one of my recipe sites, Spiced.  The recipe was Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream and the author was writing about his favorite ice cream flavor being vanilla, but why wasn't there a vanilla syrup for chocolate ice cream like there is chocolate syrup for vanilla?

Well, I've never used it for ice cream, but there IS such a thing as vanilla syrup and I started to reply and say so...but I didn't want to be one of those insufferable people who feel the need to point things like that out to others.

I mean, I don't want to be one of those people any longer;  I'm working on that, honest.

I've seen vanilla syrup in grocery stores, usually in the coffee aisle, right there with the powdered flavorings and creamers and the liquid form is in the milk section along with the other perishable items that need to be refrigerated.  A quick search online shows that you can make it yourself, or buy it from Walmart or Amazon.  I've never made a simple syrup w/ vanilla, but it sounds easy enough and the closest to an ice cream syrup;  personally, I've never cared for the coffee flavorings - they just don't taste very good and leave an aftertaste.

Back in grade school, I fell in love with a girl who sat right next to me.  I was far too young to be physically attracted to her, but there was *something* about her that drew me to her.  I finally worked up the courage to tell her she really, really smelled good and she told me her mother wouldn't let her wear perfume, so she dabbed a little bit of vanilla extract behind her ears.

That was when I learned a life lesson;  boys are either hungry or horny, one or the other, all the time...just not both at the same time.

Maybe that's what I need to do; create a perfume that smells like baked goods.  Oh wait, they already have.

Anyway...something caught my eye on the Amazon listing:

(click graphic for larger view)

TV Dinner Trivia

The first TV dinners were invented in 1953. Someone at Swanson severely overestimated the amount of turkey Americans would consume that Thanksgiving. With 260 tons of frozen birds to get rid of, a company salesman named Gerry Thomas ordered 5,000 aluminum trays, recruited an assembly line of women armed with spatulas and ice-cream scoops and began creating mini-feasts of turkey, corn-bread dressing, peas and sweet potatoes - creating the first-ever TV dinner. Thomas later said he got the idea from neatly packaged airplane food.

Chinese TV Dinners

I'm not sure how long my favorite supermarket has carried them, but I recently discovered Tai Pei frozen dinners. My favorites are Beef & Broccoli, Pepper Beef, and the Combination and Chicken Fried Rice varieties.  I've also had their egg rolls, but there are only three small ones in a box.

TV dinners sure have come a long way, especially Chinese food. I wouldn't have bought these, thinking of bad experiences from years ago, but Tai Pei was on sale, 2/$4 and I bought just one, thinking I wouldn't be losing much by trying it.  I've really been craving Chinese food, particularly rice...and that's one of the things that really raises my blood sugar. -sigh-

So, I put it in my shopping cart and brought it home, popped it in the microwave and less than ten minutes later (cook and resting time), I was munching down on some pretty darn good Chinese food.  It was just enough to satisfy me and not so much I went into a carbohydrate near-coma.

Plus, I wasn't hungry again 30 minutes later!

I wholeheartedly endorse this product!

And I Make Your Pee Stink

You Are Broccoli

You are down to earth and practical. You go for whatever is tried and true. You tend to be a bit cautious, but you're not as boring as people think. There's a little room for spice in your life. You are very healthy, and you take good care of yourself. You do your best to make good choices. You are reliable and stable. You may not be the hottest thing, but people come back to you over and over again.

What Vegetable Are You?

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Not sure about being very healthy or taking good care of myself or even making good choices, but I think most of the rest holds true.  Well, maybe not reliable and stable, either, but I DO like broccoli.

The one problem with it is it's on the list of foods to avoid if you're prone to kidney stones...but I don't pay a lot of attention to that list.  Then again, when I'm in the throes of agony from a stone, I always regret not paying attention to the list.

Oddly enough, a good online friend of mine and I were talking about vegetables earlier today on Facebook after she had posted a cauliflower recipe.  Cauliflower isn't in the results, but I wouldn't have minded being that vegetable, either.  After looking at all the possible results, I'm surprised I wasn't a mushroom.

Why?  Well, because I'm usually in the dark and people feed me crap all the time.

Happy Waffle Day!

You Are Innovative

You find entirely new ways of doing things. You are progressive and original. You are knowledgeable and well-read. If no one can teach you, you'll teach yourself. Nothing escapes notice your notice. You are highly observant and attentive. You are wise and thoughtful. You are very philosophical about life.

The Waffle Test

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Coincidentally enough, I "waffled" on choosing the waffle pics. I finally settled on this one, even though I've never had waffles with chocolate sauce and fruit, which sounds/looks delicious.  I'm not sure the results really fit me, but I'd like to think so. (except I'm definitely not "progressive", at least in the political sense)

I haven't had waffles in years and years;  I guess the last time was at an IHOP and it was a mistake on my order but the place was so busy I didn't have the heart or inclination to send them back for the pancakes I had originally ordered.  They were pretty good, so much better than the frozen type we used to sometimes have when I was a kid.  I don't know what it was about those things, but they usually had a cold or frozen spot left in them and if you toasted them longer, they'd come out nearly black, inedible and tough.

As my friends and loyal readers of this blog know, I subscribe to a bunch of recipe sites in my reader.  Every now and then a recipe for chicken and waffles pops up and while that isn't something that's on the menu in this part of the country, I think it would be good.  Then again, I'm a person who likes to dip  french fries into my chocolate shake, so....

Today is Waffle Day, btw, although there's a little bit of controversy about just what day it really is.

Empty Plate

404 page I got after clicking on a link for Sriracha marinade on Bon Appétit.

Click graphic for larger view.

Flipping Out

Yesterday was National Pancake Day, but Blogthings didn't post this quiz until later in the day and I didn't see it in time. The best news was that Liberal beats Olney, England, in annual Pancake Day race.

 

You Are Buttermilk Pancakes

Your prefer traditional, old fashioned foods. You shy away from anything fake, and you like meals with simple ingredients. It's not likely someone would find margarine or diet soda in your kitchen. Instead, someone might find a loaf of homemade bread baking or a soup simmering.

What Kind of Pancakes Are You?

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Actually, you WOULD find diet soda in my house...not in my kitchen, but right next to my computer desk. I don't drink much of it, but it's what I drink, along with coffee and most of the time, water.  You also wouldn't find margarine in my fridge, but I'm not sure the butter that's in there is any good now.  I just don't use a lot of it.

About the title of this post: I used to run around with a guy who was bi-polar and when he'd be coming out of his depressed phase, he'd say he was "goin' to see Aunt Jemima". It was his way of saying he was flipping out...flipping like a pancake.

Daisy Goes First

My (Mostly) Masculine Meals

You Eat Like a Typical Man

You prefer food that's hearty, traditional, and filling. You don't like to mess around when it comes to your meals. You believe the plate should be focused on meat, and you really can't get enough of the stuff. You like a meal that's big and satisfying. Nothing bums you out more than small portions. You aren't huge on snacking, so each meal needs to hold you over until the next.

Do You Eat Like a Man or a Woman?

The part about my wanting meals to be mostly meat isn't quite true, but other than that, I'd agree with the results, although I've seen some women that could eat (and drink) me under the table. I'm not much on these male/female stereotypes, either, because I like quiche and I'm a real man. I'll eat most things and would try nearly anything.

NEARLY anything.  I don't think I'd put it in my mouth if it smelled bad or was still alive...especially if it was alive and wriggling.

albumen

albumen al·bu·men [al-byoo-muhn] noun

1. the white of an egg.
2. Botany, the nutritive matter around the embryo in a seed.
3. Biochemistry, albumin.

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I knew this word, even before I started being obsessed with recipes. I'll have to say I've never heard of an "albumen omlet", though.

Here's a site where you can see where the albumen has turned into feathers.

GRIT Live Chick Cam

Cupcakes!

I never had children, but if I did, I'd have a little girl just like this one, I'm sure.

For Your Hairy Brownies

I really like shopping on Amazon, finding it easy to get certain items without having to buy from the local Walmart and most of the time the items are less expensive on Amazon than they are at that "discount" store.

Earlier this evening, I searched for an unfamiliar candy ingredient I saw in a recipe and saw the sale listing on Amazon in the search results.  After finding out what it was, I started looking at other items on Amazon, checking out the related items.  I looked at baking chocolate and saw a high rating for a Ghirardelli brownie mix.  I glanced at the price,  reasonable enough for four boxes of premium mix, then scrolled down to read the comments when I saw a "Frequently Bought Together" listing.  Amazon has these under nearly every product and usually there's a price break when the items are purchased together.  It's mostly like items or those that compliment each other, such as several pieces of microwave cookware or a set of knives with a sharpener.  I couldn't understand this pairing, though:

Bacon Explosion

Heart attack on a plate...but what a way to go!

What a Days!

Today is National Peanut Butter Day. It's also National Compliment Day.

My loyal readers of this blog are all nicer than a peanut butter sandwich. (not sure if you're all nicer than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, though)

And I'm sure you don't stick to the roof of the mouth, either.

French Fries or Onion Rings?

You Are French Fries

You are friendly and easygoing. People can't help but like you! You are always welcome wherever you go, and people crave you more than they'd like to admit. You are extremely fun loving. You try not to think about responsibilities whenever possible. You are rich in personality and spirit. You have a lot to offer, but you never let it go to your head.

Are You French Fries or Onion Rings?
 

Blogthings: 100's of Fun, Free Quizzes and 3 Stupid Ones