Luke Judge

‘tis the Season to be Merry.

I’m, I really am. we already started to receive the Christmas gifts. Yesterday 3 big boxes arrived from my mother-in-law. My face was all a smile when I unpacked and put the gifts under the tree.  In my mind I was counting the days until I can tear the wrapping paper apart and enjoy my gifts. I think I’m worse that a child when it comes to gifts. It’s so hard to wait.

I also love the short movies CBS plays almost every evening at 8 o’clock. we all get as comfy as possible and enjoy the Christmas tales. last night is was Frosty the snowman and Frosty returns.

We have some gifts, we have carols playing all day long but something is missing … hmmm… wonder what?

Of course, some Christmas cookies

Well, not anymore. Yesterday I tried my luck with a recipe from the Taste of Home cookie magazine and it was a hit. I have to tell you, is the second time in my life I’m making cookies. And the first time it was a complete failure. But, not now, these cookies are so easy to make that everyone can make them. oh, and they are so good and moist, it’s so hard to stop after eating one. You’ll come back for seconds and trust me, even for the 3rd one

Aren’t they pretty?

Christmas Cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup room temperature butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

Imitation Rum extract

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

Cream the butter and sugar until soft.

Gradually stir in the egg and egg yolk

and flour.

Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in foil and chill for 30 minutes.

On a floured surface roll out the dough and cut out shapes with floured cutters.

Place them on cookie baking trays and bake, in preheated oven at 375F, for 6-9 minutes, depending oh how big/small are your cookies.

Cool completely before decorating.

To decorate I used some white chocolate melts and few drops of food coloring (red and green)

Let the decorations dry well before storing in air tight containers.

Still not convinced to try them? how about now?

biscuits Cookies cookie magazine, frosty the snowman

I need a cake recipe without eggs thats hopefully WHITE CHOCOLATE cake, is there such a thing?,, Thank you?

each once I make a plain white cake it tastes sooo boring and I've been to a party where there were those who patty cakes were made with white chocolate, they were really nice but i cannot add the egg because there are some children with egg allergy in my son game u hope I can help, thanks xxxxxxxxxxx ive tried searching the net but I can not find chocolate cakes without eggs are white, I egg overridden in my closet, that would b allowed to replace the eggs in a cake recipe?, dont know if u can b allergic to that too, I use egg substitute here cos my husband has high cholesterol

This recipe is a vegan cake and you can add chips white chocolate white chocolate baking flour self-rising 250 ml (yes, milliliters ) powder 1 1 / 2 c. tsp bicarbonate (type 1 + 1 apartment / 2 tablespoons Tea, coffee spoons not cook) 150ml caster sugar a pinch of salt Sift these into a bowl. then mix: 150ml 70ml soy milk oil (I use sunflower) 1 / 4 c. tsp vanilla essence (teaspoon same as above) Add ingredients wet to dry ingredients. Mix and place in a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake in an oven. I found this recipe, recipes vegan and in general, tend to be sensitive to the furnace used. in our current oven, we put it on 180 degrees celcius and cook for about 40 minutes. I think that our oven does not heat as much as the setting suggests, and people with other furnaces might want to try lower temperatures, $ 170 or more. in some ovens it could fall in the middle, with the pie crust is hard. Faourite my cake and the cake is the tastiest recipe chocolate cake from depression when eggs, butter and milk were scarce easy vegan chocolate cake Ingredients 3 cups flour (680 g) 2 cups sugar (450 g) (read this first) 6 tablespoons cocoa (100 grams) 2 teaspoons of baking soda (10 cc = 10 ml) 1 tsp teaspoon salt (5 cc = 5 ml) 3 / 4 cup vegetable oil (200 cc) 2 v. vinegar (30 cc) 2 v. teaspoon vanilla (10 cc) 2 cup cold water (480 cc) Directions Mix the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients. Blend until smooth. Cook two greased, floured pans at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. makes two layers of a two-layer 9-inch round cake or 8 inches, or a cake small sheet or you could put in pie pans. once cooled, frost it.

Eggless Chocolate Cup Cakes

Tagged as: cake, chocolate, dessert, easy eggless chocolate cake recipes, eggless chocolate cake recipes, eggless chocolate cake recipes from scratch, eggless chocolate cake recipes with pictures, recipe, recipes, simple eggless chocolate cake recipes

chocolate bicarbonate, cholesterol, egg allergy

This 2007 file photo shows a turkey with meat thermometer. However you roast your turkey, use an instant thermometer inserted at the innermost part of the thigh (without touching bone) to determine when your turkey is done. The meat needs to hit 165 F for safe eating, though some people say thigh meat tastes better at 170 F.

The North Platte Telegraph

With so much food to prepare, it can be tempting to resort to shortcuts when cooking Thanksgiving dinner. However, experts with the Nebraska Regional Poison Center say that’s often why they see an increase in food-related illnesses during the holidays.

Public education nurse Joan McVoy said that a lot of times people confuse food poisoning with the flu, or other ailments. The symptoms are similar to the flu: abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

“We worry about salmonella the most,” said McVoy. “It’s usually not fatal, but can be widespread. Temperatures have to be over 100 degrees to kill the bacteria. That’s why we say turkeys should be heated to 165 degrees inside.”

she said most food poisoning is caused by poor food handling, preparation, cooking and storage.

“Knives are especially a problem because people go right from cutting up one type of food, to cutting up another kind,” said McVoy. “That leads to cross contamination. It’s important that hands, dishes and utensils be washed thoroughly and frequently. The food warnings change every year because we’re always learning more about safety, but cleanliness is one thing that has stayed the same.”

The following are more of the poison center’s Dos and Don’ts of Thanksgiving cooking.

Dos:

n Keep turkey in its original wrapping and refrigerated until ready to cook.

n make sure the sell-by-date has not expired.

n Defrost a frozen turkey by refrigeration or cold, running water.

n allow one day for every five pounds to defrost in the refrigerator. In a cold water bath, change the water every 30 minutes. a 20-pound turkey will take 12 hours to defrost in cold water.

n use a meat thermometer to determine whether the turkey is done. It should cook until the internal temperature reaches 165-degrees Fahrenheit.

n Remove the stuffing immediately after the turkey is cooked.

n Store the stuffing separately.

n Store leftover turkey in the refrigerator and use within three to four days.

n Store leftover stuffing and gravy in the refrigerator and use within one to two days.

Don’ts:

n Defrost a turkey at room temperature. Bacteria can multiply to unsafe numbers on outer layers before inner layers have defrosted.

n Leave an uncooked thawed turkey out of the refrigerator longer than two hours.

n Partially cook the turkey one day and continue roasting the next day.

n Stuff the bird the night before cooking.

n Re-freeze a completely thawed uncooked turkey.

n Stuff turkeys, as it makes it difficult for the internal temperature to reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit within a safe period of time. if you must stuff your turkey, stuff it lightly, leaving room for the oven to cook the inside.

People who suspect they might have food poisoning can contact the poison center at 1-800-222-1222. a nurse is available around the clock to answer questions.

Click on this story at nptelegraph.com to post your comments, or e-mail heather.johnson@nptelegraph.com.

meat Poultry Seafood illnesses, salmonella

Here is the second recipe (of two I must note) that I received… I’m looking forward to trying out both of the recipes I got this year.

Name – Tracie (Santos) Audifferen
Home – San Diego, CA
Story – I am hosting a cookie exchange tomorrow and was going to make my favorite, oh so Christmassy cookie…White Chocolate Macadamia Cranberry cookie. But I encountered several problems: a) macadamia nuts were crazy expensive so I substitute walnuts. this recession calls for desperate baking measures! b) my kids, other wise known as Cranberry-Hater 1 and Cranberry-Hater 2 screamed, “No more cranberries!”….kinda like the how Joan Crawford screams, “No wire hangers!” in Mommie Dearest. so I substituted chopped dried apricots for the cranberries.
White Chocolate Walnut Cranberry Cookie

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (or macadamias…the bling-bling of the nut world)
• 1 cup chopped dried apricots (or dried cranberries if you are surrounded by cranberry-haters)

1. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter until creamy, about 2 minutes.
3. Add sugars gradually, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. stop once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time then the vanilla and almond extracts, beating again until smooth.
5. Scrape down the bowl again to make sure everything is well combined.
6. Slowly stir in the flour mixture, beating on low speed just until incorporated.
7. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
8. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill dough at least 2 hours.
9. Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.
10. Drop chilled dough by heaping tablespoons (or with a medium cookie scoop) onto lined cookie sheets, at least 2 inches apart.
11. Bake for about 10 – 12 minutes or just until the cookie tops and edges begin to turn light golden brown.
12. Place baking sheet on wire rack to cool for about 5, minutes then transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

fruit Nuts Seeds baking soda, joan crawford, macadamia nuts, teaspoon salt

These photos were taken by the official photographers of the USA Science and Engineering Festival.  Since they just put the link up, I thought I’d share.  Here are a few highlights:
–Check out this picture to see how much sugar is in a bottle of orange soda (count the Life Savers on the white scale in the bottom right corner).  on the right you can see the chromatography setup–each clothespin held a paper in the water.  (At home you can just fold the paper to stand it up, fold the top of the paper over the lip of the cup, or attach it to a pencil laid over the top; this was mass-production chromatography.–This picture shows my daughter demonstrating how sour Warheads are.  She’s only 7 1/2, but she worked at the booth as many hours as I did.

soft Chewy Sweets life savers, nbsp, pencil, science

Matthew Sweet first dipped his toe into the mainstream in 1991 with Girlfriend, a rambunctious pre-grunge, power pop landmark that ushered in a wave of Crazy Horse and big Star-worshipping bands like the Posies and Teenage Fanclub. ever since then, the transplanted Nebraskan songwriter has been critically praised as a kind of slacker Brian Wilson whose emotionally damaged yet highly melodic works, steeped in ’60s and ’70s influences, has garnered him a cult reputation as an atavistic avatar of an earlier time, when recording artists holed up in tiny studios to make big tuneful rock records with their bare hands.

Sweet followed up with the critically acclaimed Altered Beast (1993) and 100% Fun (1995), but shortly after 1997’s Blue Sky on Mars began to suffer the slings and arrows of corporate commercial expectations and missed sales targets. all of this did nothing to quell Sweet’s admittedly severe bouts of anxiety and legendary fear of air travel. as a result, he has flown largely below the mainstream radar for the latter half of the decade, and most of this one.

Not that he was some kind of Brian Wilson-like recluse or anything. besides a recurring role in the Austin Powers trilogy—playing Ming Tea guitarist “Sid Belvedere”—Sweet released a few low-key solo albums: In Reverse (1999), the Japanese-only release Kimi Ga Suki* Raifu (2003), and Living Things (2004), also playing an active role in collaborations with Pete Droge and Shawn Mullins in The Thorns (2003) and, recently, Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles on the ’60s homage, Under the Covers, Vol. 1 (2006).

Sweet credits the latter collaborations for inspiring the loose vitality in evidence on his self-assured new solo album, Sunshine Lies, which brims with mayhem, melodicism, and, in places, something approaching peace of mind.

Speaking on the phone from Lolina Green, his home studio near Laurel Canyon—the fabled LA birthplace of so much great ’60s and ’70s California rock—Sweet is upbeat, laughing easily, and often explains his current approach to writing, recording, and marketing his music.

“Working with Sue,” Sweet admits, “really helped me get back into the mode of having creative fun in the studio. the first Under the Covers album… and even The Thorns… were both very helpful to me as a person because they got me out of familiar territory and, in turn, helped me get perspective when I returned to doing my own thing.”

He’s likewise enthused about the business model he currently enjoys with his present label, Shout! Factory, which he believes is more realistic and artist-friendly.

“If I can sell 15- to 20,000 records, then we get to make another record,” Sweet explains with a chuckle. “It’s smaller, you know, which is better for someone like me. I’m not going to get up and try to imitate whatever the current music is, which is probably the only way someone my age could make a mark now.”

It’s a pragmatic adjustment for Sweet, who woefully recalls the late ’90s, when diminishing commercial returns often made him feel more like a devalued commodity than an artist.

“I mean, even in my best years,” Sweet admits, “I never really lived up to whatever they wished I would be. I just had to keep being me, though, and keep my nose to the grindstone. something I really hated living in LA over the ’90s were articles by these music journalists who were literally only concerned with who was selling the most units. it was as if selling a million was more important than if the artist was any good. It’s easy to see now how that attitude probably helped erode the industry, although I think that may have happened anyway with the internet.”

Sweet is emphatic and optimistic about the democratizing opportunities brought about by the internet and recent advances in home recording technology.

“More and more,” says Sweet with palpable zeal, “I just see how much the internet has been this amazing force for change! I really believe it’s gonna continue to change the whole world. and with the newer versions of digital recording software, I’m finally able to make it sound really good like a record should, right here in my room. Pro Tools, to me, just was not good enough until they upgraded to HD around 2001 or 2002. After that, I didn’t care so much about tape anymore. Tape is great, but I see now even the most die-hard tape guys are using digital.”

Such technological improvements enabled Sweet to produce and engineer Sunshine Lies all by himself from the cozy calm of Lolina Green.

soft Chewy Sweets 60s, crazy horse, landmark, mainstream, power pop, recording artists

The Food Channel® presents its Top Ten Dessert Trends for 2010. The list is based on research conducted by The Food Channel in conjunction with “CultureWaves® and the International Food Futurists®. Here’s what we see happening in the next 12 months.

Click here to view a short video presentation of our Top Ten Dessert Trends.

1. The Unexpected Complement. Who knew that bacon and chocolate went so well together? This trend is all about the non-traditional, about shaking things up and being a little, well, shocking. It’s the opportunity to give yourself something new to shake up the taste buds a bit. These days we are all about trying something new to get us out of the everyday routine. So we’re pairing sweet and savory in new ways, and it’s not just about bacon, although bacon in unexpected places undoubtedly inspired some of these ‘strange bedfellows’ combinations.

In British chocolatier Paul A. Young’s book ‘Adventures in Chocolate,’ he devotes a significant section to recipes for chocolate with savories, including port and stilton cheese, and that British favorite, marmite. Closer to home Chicago’s truffle truffle shop combines chocolate with chipotle chili spice to great effect, and if you look hard enough, you can find all manner of ice cream in flavors such as Pinot Noir wine, and Cream of Crab. Trying something that sounds a little shocking makes us feel more adventurous, more daring, more alive. And that’s not such a bad thing.

Have you tried the Caramel Apple with Crushed Wasabi Peas? It’s offered by Cake Supplies Depot and is a take off on the traditional caramel apple, which is then dipped in dark chocolate and coated with spicy wasabi peas and nuts. Of course, if you are still thinking about how bacon and chocolate go together, try our trend-come-to-life recipe for Candied Bacon Fudge. Any way you slice it, it’s unexpected.

More recipe evidence:
Rockin’ Candy Dessert Sticks

For further evidence, read:
860 Flavors of Ice Cream Including Beef-Cheddar and Cream of Crab
Sweet on Bacon
Men Love Meat, Even in Their Chocolates
Break Me Off a Piece of That Veggie KitKat
Sweet New Trend for Sweet Corn: Desserts
Total Chocolate Sensory Experience Available for a Price
Chocolate Meets Peppers for Cinco de Mayo

2. You Say Macaroons, We Say Macarons. The hottest trends, whether fashion or cuisine, often begin in big cities. In Paris and New York, dessert right now is all about macarons. Not macaroons, that are traditionally encased in coconut. No, we are talking about the very French macaron, which is like a colorful little sandwich made by a pastry chef. It’s a soft, airy and chewy pastry that holds a layer of something flavorful and rich, like a chocolate ganache, or a flavored buttercream.

There may be an element of elitism in this trend, to be the one who is in-the-know enough to know the spelling, the flavor, and the importance of these tiny pastries, particularly because the food pundits are saying the macaron will topple the cupcake in the food popularity game. The macaron combines the best of all the trends—it’s a small bite, with a lot of flavor, and it is unusual enough (not to mention pricey enough—one little macaron can cost $4) to be a special occasion dessert.

The macaron, which not long ago was mostly sold in high-end French patisseries and virtually unknown outside France, has recently been featured on film and television and in a new book written by a French pastry chef, called ‘I Love Macarons.’ Macarons can now be purchased at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Starbucks. It’s even available at McDonald’s McCafes in France, and earlier this spring there was a Macaron Day benefit event in New York City. We wonder, if the macaron gets too mainstream too fast, will it lose some of its French cache? Will we suddenly revert back to macaroons? Nah. Not for a while anyway. The macaron is just too darned cute—and delectable.

For further evidence, read:
Are Macarons Destined to Unseat the Cupcake?
Sweet Tooth Trend Report: Sophistication and Comfort Lure Consumers Today

3. Dessert Meister. We’ve had dessert wines for years. But what we’re seeing now is beer coming into play both as a dessert ingredient and as a pairing option when the dessert cart is wheeled out. ‘May we recommend a nice stout to go with that lovely chocolate bread pudding?,’ is what you may now hear. Dessert in general feels a little naughty, at least to perpetual dieters, but this takes it over the top, with a short burst of wheat beer or Belgian ale.

It’s part of the trend that has identified beer as the new wine, but it’s also about adding flavor. After all, beer-battered onion rings offer a different experience than any other batter. It stands to reason that adding an earthy beer, or a sour beer, or a dark chocolaty ale would give you a new flavor experience. We found this trend in action when we visited Big Dog’s Draft House in Las Vegas and tasted their bread pudding paired with dark stout.

This trend is probably the natural outgrowth of the rise in microbreweries, because any restaurant willing to brew its own beer just has to be a fan of trying new things. Once they’ve conquered some great beer flavors, it stands to reason they’d go out and conquer some new applications as well. So, while right now there is an increase in beer and dessert pairings, we’re also seeing it in ice cream and sorbets. It’s begun to spill over, so to speak, into other desserts as well.

The beer-as-dessert has really taken hold in Southern California, where real ‘beer floats have become popular, as have beer-laced shakes and popsicles. We’ve even seen dark beer floats in minor league ballparks, where the fare doesn’t typically get much beyond hotdogs, burgers, nachos, pretzels, and of course, beer.

For further evidence, read:
Belly Up to the Beer Dessert Bar
Celebrate with Style has a nice list of beer and dessert pairing recommendations adapted from the Brewers Association that you may want to check out.
Samuel Adams Hops On Beer-Infused Dessert Trend

4. Transformers. This trend is really about deconstruction. It’s the use of common, everyday foods combined with familiar flavors then reassembling them in a new way. Waffles, for example, are a common food. So is ice cream. So is fruit. Put them together for dessert, and, even more—serve them out of an ice cream truck—and you have a dessert fit for a carnival king. After all, this trend is a comfort food that is reminiscent of our favorite foods from the State Fair midway.

We’re seeing it with Burger King’s Funnel Cake Sticks, and in the use of donuts in more desserts—like at Mexican burger chain Burguesa Burger, where every milkshake comes straw-skewered with a donut. We’ve talked before about street food becoming upscale and this trend takes it just a little further, and onto our everyday plates. We’re seeing donuts made with a myriad of unusual ingredients or used as a foundation for building and stacking more exotic desserts. Homer Simpson’s favorite treat has been getting transformed into something you might find on the dessert cart at Pierre’s.

Recipe evidence:
Waffles & Ice Cream Dessert
State Fair Funnel Cake a la Mode

For further evidence, read:
“Gourmet Donuts Becoming New “It Treat
Sweet Tooth Trend Report: Sophistication and Comfort Lure Consumers Today

5. Tweet! Here Comes the Dessert Truck. The Kogi taco truck and other maindish nomadic vehicles paved the way, and now the sweet treat trucks are merging into the traffic of city life. The dessert truck is really a trend in itself, and we’re no longer sure if we’re following it, or it’s following us.

Dessert trucks are part old-fashioned ice cream truck, part Twitter-enabled, and part indulgence…and we like the desserts even more because they are flavored with a touch of eccentricity. So, tuck into some dessert as you walk down the street. And be sure to tweet that sweet as a Food Channel trend in action!

For further evidence, read:
Cupcakes Get Wheels
For Good Eats, Check for Tweets
Upscale Meals Prepared On Wheels

6. Darwinist Desserts™. This trend is about the evolution of desserts and our human desire to make them what we want them to be. That could mean gathering up odds and ends of leftovers and turning them into something, and it usually means trying to deliberately create something that no one else has thought of. Got a donut leftover from breakfast? Slide it on top of that cupcake and cover it with raisins. Some pudding in the fridge? Add pretzels, popcorn, and peanuts for a triple header! Desserts can bring out the culinary creativity in all of us.

Recipe evidence:
Caramel Corn Cupcakes

Restaurant operators have been onto this idea for years. Wendy’s turns unsold burger patties into tasty chili, while the local frozen custard emporium crumbles up Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies into its concretes to treat us sweets lovers (not to mention the sweet deal it is for the little girl that made the sale).

For further evidence, read:
Girl Scout Cookies Make Great Recipe Ingredients
Popcornsicle Debuts at Taste of Chicago

7. Freshly Baked. Here’s what’s coming out of culinary school these days: bakers and pastry chefs. If your town is typical, odds are good that you have some young entrepreneur opening up a cute little bake shop tucked away on some little street where they are baking amazing confections and selling them like hotcakes—er, cakes. And cupcakes, pies, whoopie pies, turnovers, cream puffs and more. It’s become a specialty business.

Of course, those of us who have frequented Italian bakeries over the years know it’s not entirely new, but the trend is at least partly about people finding a balance between work and life. While no one would ever say the pastry chef doesn’t work hard (does rolling dough at 4 a.m. sound easy?), it’s the perfect job to point to and say, ‘I’m doing what I love.’ This trend is about job satisfaction as well as culinary delight, and it’s turning desserts into more of a destination, and less of an afterthought.

Read our story about Amy McGehee of AmyCakes, who dreamed of baking cakes in her own bakery since she was about six-years-old. Now, at the ripe old age of 24, her tiny bake shop is thriving.

For further evidence, read:
Pastry Chefs Getting Their Just Desserts
Black & White Whoopie Pies Becoming a Nationwide Hit

8. OK, Just a Bite. It doesn’t take much convincing to try a bite of dessert. It’s like eating dessert standing up—the calories don’t count. This trend is the amalgamation of several others all rolled up into the smallest possible confection with the biggest possible burst of flavor. If you thought cupcakes were the downsized cake, stay tuned for the mini cakes, cheesecakes, and candy that are gaining popularity. They aren’t single flavor bites; no, the desserts in this trend combine soft centers with hard shells, crunchy topping with meringues, and creamy melt-in-your-mouth flavors with chewable additions to give you the biggest flavor sensation possible.

This trend is about being worth it. There’s something about the richness and decadence of a single piece of perfection that is giving this trend toward bite-sized a giant advantage.

The National Restaurant Association’s annual survey of the chefs/members of the American Culinary Federation ranked bite-size/mini desserts at number 4 in its What’s Hot top 20 overall menu trends for 2010.

Restaurants stand to benefit if the trend stays hot. Operations offering tempting small-bite desserts (at an attractive price) have a better shot at getting two or more dessert orders where before they felt fortunate to get a single dessert purchase that gets split by the entire party. And that’s a pretty big deal.

Recipe evidence:
Chocolate Bouchons with Fresh Raspberries
Toasted Dessert Ravioli

For further evidence, read:
Marshmallows Getting Fancy in Canada
Mini Chocolate Espresso Shots To Go

9. Soda Fountain Fizz. Last year desserts were all about ice cream, and we’re still seeing it mixed in here and there. Literally. It’s mixed with beer for a ‘real beer float.’ Sorbets are scooped into fizzy drinks for a refreshing take on dessert. The usual dessert drink of port or a hot latte is getting some competition from some of the new floats, shakes, malts and coolers.

Nostalgia is certainly part of this trend. Sweets connect us to pleasant childhood memories, and those of us old enough to remember fondly the old drugstore soda fountains will enjoy the new twists on those old favorites.

But it doesn’t really matter how old you are—we all enjoy bellying up to the bar and sticking a straw in a tall glass of goodness. It’s as though you could float your troubles away . . .

Recipe evidence:
Sherbet Float
Coco-Chocolate Chai Milkshake

For further evidence, read:
Floats, Shakes and Sundaes: Back and Better Than Ever
Sweet Tooth Trend Report: Sophistication and Comfort Lure Consumers Today

10. The Sandwich Generation. There is an art to creating a great dessert. This trend speaks to the artisan within—the one who wants to build something, to put something together that is greater than the sum of its parts. We see it come to life in the traditional ice cream sandwich, as it evolves into something new. Make it with cookies? Sure. But those cookies have new flavors, shapes, and fillings—and, instead of cookies, they could be brownies, cake, even mini brioche rolls, all sandwiched around ice cream that has been blended to make the insides new, too.

Think artisan ice cream made fresh with new flavor combinations. Think chunky berries, tangy-sweet lemon, artisan chocolates, fresh mint, espresso, honey, or fresh herbs. You get the nostalgia of a cookie and the freshness of specialty ice cream. The sandwich generation just got handed something quite sweet.

Recipe evidence:
Goat Cheese Ice Cream
Blackberry-Sage Ice Cream

For further evidence, read:
Ice Cream Sandwich Giving the Cone Some Competition

hard Sweets everyday routine, flavors, stilton cheese, truffle shop, wasabi peas

Rebecca Kaplan: Food for healthy communities and a strong economyby Rebecca Kaplan
This past weekend’s very successful Eat Real Festival

Posted By: Oakland Local

Food & Drink economy, healthy communities, rebecca kaplan

I know you are probably up to your eyeballs in zucchini.  Before we are knee deep in butternut squash I thought I’d pass along this one to you. I saw it in Bon Appetit.  I want to become more diligent about actually carrying out those magazine recipes I clip.  This one shouted, “Make me”. I obliged. Made it.  They ate it.  Gone.


Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from this recipe at Bon Appetit

spices & Seasonings butternut, cream cheese frosting, eyeballs

Sponsored Links:

When you’re feeling depressed you may be tempted to reach for a piece of chocolate, but have you ever wondered why? Studies indicate that the delicious treat has mood-enhancing effects. Not surprisingly, scientists have found that people who are depressed eat more chocolate than those not suffering from depression.

In a study done by several universities in California, 900 men and women were questioned about their chocolate consumption. None of the participants were on anti-depressants. The goal of the study was to find out how much chocolate the men and women ate on a regular basis and how often they ate the sugary treat.

A commonly accepted depression scale was used to gauge the mood of the participants. Scientists were able to detect a clear connection between the consumption of chocolate and feelings of depression among the participants.

Their study showed that on average, people who were suffering from depression ate about eight and a half servings of chocolate each month. By comparison, participants who were not feeling depressed ate an average of five and a half servings of chocolate monthly.

Those individuals who were diagnosed as clinically depressed consumed an average of about 12 servings of chocolate per month. When asked, the researchers learned that none of the participants believed that the chocolate they ate helped their depression. In this study one serving of chocolate was an ounce.

Researchers conducting the study didn’t attempt to determine why depressed people eat more chocolate. They did theorize that depression stimulates cravings for comfort food such as chocolate, which then leads people to each chocolate to treat their condition.

Chocolate helps with depression because it triggers the release of endorphins. However, scientists believe it could also lead to depression because people who consume a lot of it may feel remorseful and depressed afterward.

Through this study and others like it, scientists have learned a lot about chocolate its relationship to depression. Further research will likely help us gain more useful information.

Refer to various other tips penned by this same author about items like popcorn oil

sweets & Chocolate chocolate consumption, depression scale, endorphins, feelings of depression, men and women, participants

7 Vegetarian Weight Loss Foods Your Vegetarian Weight Loss Diet Should Contain
by: Laura Ng

What weight loss foods should you include in your vegetarian weight loss diet for maximum fat loss? Of all vegetarian weight loss foods, vegetables help you lose weight most effectively, particularly these 7 super vegetables:

Vegetarian Weight Loss Food #1 – Kelp

How does kelp help you lose weight? Besides being low in cholesterol, kelp provides your body with good amount of dietary fiber, vitamin C, pantothenic acid, calcium and minerals such as iodine.

Iodine in kelp keeps your thyroid function properly. It stimulates a hormone produced by the thyroid gland that’s responsible for boosting metabolism, so you’ll burn more fat. If your weight gain is related to thyroid disorder, kelp can help you lose weight. It has also been shown to lower the blood cholesterol levels.

However, seek your doctor’s advice before loading on kelp as too much iodine can have a negative effect on your thyroid. Adding kelp moderately in your vegetarian weight loss diet is the key to lose weight optimally with kelp.

Vegetarian Weight Loss Food #2 – Celery

An 8-inch stalk of celery contains approximately 6 calories. But the mere act of digesting this stalk burns more than 6 calories, resulting in a negative calorie count. In other words, you’ll use up more calories from your energy reserve (fat storage) to break down celery, achieving fat loss.

Not only that, celery provides a good source of vitamin C and fiber (as in kelp), and fiber is one key ingredient to help you detox and lose weight more effectively. It contains unique oil that helps to relax your muscles, which improves blood flow and regulates blood pressure. It’s especially good for you if you’re having hypertension.

Vegetarian Weight Loss Food #3 – Spinach

Spinach carries lots of fiber which helps you stay full longer and reduce the overall number of calories that you consume each day. You can also benefit from its rich content of vitamin K and calcium which help to prevent or treat osteoporosis and the loss of bone density.

Vegetarian Weight Loss Food #4 – Cucumber

Cucumber contains sterols which can help to lower cholesterol and prevent carbohydrates from converting to body fat. Filling yet low in calories, it’s a great choice in salads. It also helps you digest better and bears a cleansing effect on your bowel. With normal bowel function, you’ll lose weight efficiently with less effort.

Vegetarian Weight Loss Food #5 – Radish

As radish is rich in vitamin C but low in calories, fat and stimulates metabolism, it’s popular as a weight loss snack. However, eating too much radishes is very cooling for your body, especially if you already bear a “cool” body constitution, defined in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) terms.

This means that your immunity to cold and cough could be affected, especially during winter. Thus, eat them in moderation.

Vegetarian Weight Loss Food #6 – Bean Sprouts

These refer to sprouting from mung beans, alfalfa, lentils, chickpeas and soya beans. Sprouting actually helps to turn the starches, oils and other nutrients in beans to vitamins, enzymes and other forms of proteins, minerals and sugars.

A single helping of fresh sprouted mung beans contains about three quarter of the daily requirement of vitamin C. Sprouting increases the presence of vitamin B in beans, including thiamin, folate, B6 and biotin and produces less intestinal wind when consumed.

How do these vitamins in bean sprouts help you lose weight? They’ll nourish your body and keep your body metabolically active. When your metabolism runs at full tank, you’ll burn fat and lose weight. Simple logic. Oh, you can buy them at cheap prices too. A cheap weight loss food to add into your vegetarian weight loss diet indeed.

Vegetarian Weight Loss Food #7 – Broccoli

Most vegetables carry lots of fiber that helps you feel full and satisfied easily and sustain your activity over longer period of time, but I highly recommend broccoli here due to its high nutritional value – rich in vitamin C and carotenoids, and also contains protein, all-important B vitamins, phosphorus, potassium, chromium and calcium etc.

You’ll lose weight with broccoli when it stops you from eating more food, but you’ll also gain health with its antioxidant properties and anti-carcinogenic (cancer-fighting) power. Hence, broccoli is a must-add ingredient in your vegetarian weight loss diet.

No doubt these 7 vegetables can help you lose weight effectively as a vegetarian, you should also include other varieties of plant-based foods to achieve both effective weight loss and excellent health.

Related Reading:Eat Well Lose Weight (comb): 500+ Great-Tasting and Healthful Recipes (Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen)

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