Lollyphile lollipops are some of the best lollipops I've ever had. I even devoted a cupcake to their maple bacon lollipops. I had the opportunity to interview Jason Lewis, Lollyphile's founder, on Food Interviews and learned that his company actually started because he had extra absinthe sitting around that he had been selling to a speakeasy. The speakeasy got shot down and there was nothing left to do with all the extra absinthe - except, of course, make lollipops!
Lollyphile's latest flavor, wasabi-ginger, is now on the market. I can't wait to try it! Jason says, "Wasabi-Ginger lollypops are made with no artificial flavoring, and contain real wasabi, adding a little kick to the natural spiciness of the ginger. They are guaranteed to not actually make your sinuses explode."
I wouldn't want to give these out to kids for Halloween (mainly because four lollipops cost ten dollars) but, they would be a perfect, special candy treat for yourself.
As if I didn't already love our St. Louis local brewery, Schlafly, the election versions of their beers have won me over completely. Baracktoberfest is not your only choice. You can also choose from McCain's Maverick APA Ale, Palin Ale, and Hefebiden Unfiltered Wheat Ale. You can view photos of all four bottle labels on STL Hops.
The beer selection, however, does bring up all kinds of difficult decisions. If I prefer the taste of Maverick APA Ale, but I'm an Obama supporter (hypothetically, of course), do I buy the Baracktoberfest just to show my support, or do I get the beer I like?
I was recently told about study at Washington University where a group made both elephant and donkey cookies to see which ones the students would buy more of. It turns out that students bought more elephants simply because they were bigger - smart students. I suppose that, given the choice, I would take a lesson from the college kids and drink the beer I liked. I could always remove and crumple (tear to shreds) the label.
Would you buy based on your beer of choice or your politician of choice?
I spent yesterday at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Over 25 countries were represented at the festival. You "travel around the world" buying small food samples at each country's booth. I had expected typical theme park food. However, the food and wines were above average by any standards - not just theme park standards.
The festival runs though November 9. I have a few strategic tips for those of you who have the opportunity to go:
Picture this: You're starving. You head into your office break room, open the refridgerator door to grab the lunch that you woke up extra early to pack. It's gone! Who took it? Was it that guy who sits two cubes down from you? You always thought he was sort of shady. Or, maybe it's that innocent looking office admin. For a moment, you consider stealing someone else's food - those leftovers that the new consultant brought in look great! But, you decide you'll just have to go out to lunch again.
Apparently New York-based Sherwood Forlee had one too many lunches stolen. Sherwood designed plastic lunch bags with built-in spots designed to look like mold. Who would steal that sandwich? My concern, however, is that people who buy the bag may face a differnt problem - kind co-workers throwing the bag in the trash.
What measures have you taken to protect your office lunch?
The image of a friend offering a popsicle with high fructose corn syrup and being treated like a drug pusher could have been taken straight out of my life. Although, at this point, our friends know better than to even offer.
What are your thoughts on high fructose corn syrup? Did the commercial and the associated web site, Sweet Surprise, change your behavior towards the sweetener?
My husband spotted crème brûlée stout by Southern Tier Brewing Company on a beer menu at at new local restaurant. Ordering it was a no brainer. We had to give it a try! The first thing we noticed as it arrived at our table was the smell. It smelled just like crème brûlée - a very unexpected scent when you stick your nose into a beer bottle.
The crème brûlée stout tasted like someone poured a ton of vanilla syrup into their beer. It was really sweet and very crème brûlée - like, but also definitely tasted like beer. Oddly enough, the combination was great! After we tried it, several other people at the table ordered their own. We drank ours with the meal, but you could just as easily have it for dessert on its own or as a beer float with some cinnamon ice cream.
I would definitely try it again. But maybe, I'll just pour some vanilla syrup into a regular stout instead. It would be cheaper.
These cream cheese penguins are clearly taking a death march to someone's mouth. They are so cute that there is no way that that they wouldn't be the hit of any party. They were made by blogger Sweet & Sticky who proudly says that they were the only dish that everyone completely finished off at her family get-together.
To further raise the level of cuteness of these little guys, commenter Karly said that she made these penguins with a cheeseball igloo!
These would be a perfect way to cool down on one of the remaining hot days of summer or to complete a winter scene during the holidays.
For complete instructions on how to make the penguins, visit Sweet & Sticky.
The Cook Hook is a little gadget that lets you hang your towel anywhere you could put a portable hook. The hook works with magnets - simply stick the towel between the two magnets and then pull it out when you need it.
I keep my towel draped over the stove bar. The hook in this picture is really cute, but I do have to wonder why they don't just throw the towel right over the bar directly.
On the Fusion Brands site (where they sell the Cook Hook), there is also a picture of a guy with the hook in his belt loop. It might be convenient to have a towel right on me while cooking.
Who wants to invite me to a wedding with this cake? Please? I want it! I admit - it might be a little more pricey than the cake you were thinking of getting, but it's healthier. Surely sticking pieces of sushi in each other's faces is more romantic than frosting. Although, if you really wanted some frosting, perhaps you could add a green wasabi frosting. I'd be OK with that.
If you need some help with it, you should know that the picture came from the wedding of Jef and Jin Yoon and the cake maker has shared the recipe on her website. Now, you've got no excuses. It's sushi time!
Why shower at home when you can take a luxury bath in the sink at work? In a video from Break.com, a Burger King employee couldn't be happier to be celebrating his birthday in the Burger King sink. What's more disturbing is that the store manager doesn't even flinch when she finds out he's in there.
A follow up video on WDTN 2 News shows that several employees were fired after the incident. Mr. Unstable, as the Burger King employee calls himself, had to expect this outcome. Perhaps in addtion to being clean, his birthday present to himself was his brief moment in the Internet spotlight.
Next time, check closely... is that pepper on your burger, or body hair?
I've taken two trips in the past two weeks. The first was to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Frontier Airlines. Snacks were available for purchase and they even tried to sell bottled water (although, if you waited a few minutes you could get a cup of water with the regular beverage service). The second trip was to Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Southwest Airlines. Southwest offered as many cheese nips and peanuts as you could eat. While it was a step up from Frontier, it was a far cry from the early days of flying.
In a New York Times article, William Woys Weaver (on a totally unrelated note, I love his name!) writes about how he has been collecting airline menus for the past forty years. Not surprisingly, as airline's food and other offerings degrade, more and more people seem interested in his collection.
The New York Times article also contained some images of menus from his collection which feature items such as Selected Delicacies from Various Countries, Roasted Duckling, and Poached Turbot.
Floods did not keep people away from a restaurant in Xiangfan, China. In fact, the floods not only brought in the water, they brought in the people. According to Ananova, "The owner said he was prepared to temporarily close the restaurant after the heaviest rains for 50 years brought floods to the city. But he had a change of heart when he heard how the eatery's new wet look was bringing in the customers."
I wonder if they have a no splashing rule.
If this could actually happen in the U.S. with all of our health codes, I could imagine owners taking the wet look one step further with Hooter's-style servers in in wet bikinis. Judging by the photo, though, it looks like it is business as usual in Xiangfan, just with a pool of water on the ground.
NEWTREE is having the ultimate chocolate lover's contest. One winner will receive a bar of chocolate every day for a year! Not only that, but they will get the new iPhone - making it easy to brag to their friends about all the chocolate.
To enter, you need to create a text message short story that includes the names of all of their chocolate bars: PLEASURE, VIGOR, RENEW, REFRESH, FORGIVENESS, SEXY, BLUSH, TRANQUILITY, COCOON, REJOICE and CRAVE. Get the complete details and enter on NEWTREE's site.
Good thing the contest doesn't ask you to pick one of the two prizes. I'm not sure which prize I would be more excited about; it would be a close call!
You can win both, but let us know which prize you'll be more excited about - the techie or the foodie prize.
Cake Wrecks features cakes that people have actually paid for that have turned out less than stellar. I am glad of the blog's stance to not mock home bakers as I've certainly made some regrettable looking creations, but if I'm going to pay for something, I would expect it to look good.
As for the cake in this picture, the blog offers no explanation. However, the commenters came though. One commenter, Jen, pointed out that the characters say "Happy Birthday" in traditional Chinese and another commenter, Tom, said, "A little pile of poo is a good luck symbol in Japan." It seems that there is an explanation for everything.
Check out Cake Wrecks for more cake disasters that you can't help but stare at.
I've never been a cake for breakfast person unless you count pancakes as cakes. In a recent post by Cakespy (who I can't help but adore due to my love of cupcakes), she makes a strong case for eating cake in the morning. By writing about this, I am not advocating cake as a daily breakfast treat, but rather as an extra special morning indulgence.
Cakespy gives many slices of information on why cake for breakfast can be good. Here is one of my favorites: "You can't deprive yourself all of the time. If you wake up craving cake and instead eat something virtuous like oatmeal, it's likely that you'll still be craving the cake all day. This will undoubtedly lead to idly munching various non-cake items throughout the day in an effort to fill the void. Really, you should have just had the cake. So have it!"
New York Times Magazine's food issue
Chicken McNuggets frolic at New York City pet store
Eat your broccoli orbs! 
