Chickpea Salad

I'm following the Big City Cooking blog and finding some great ideas. Yesterday I made this very simple and tasty chickpea salad (picture is from their site). It was blend of great summery tastes, especially the cilantro and red onion. Living in Texas now, the thought of cooking anything that's hot is extremely unappealing, so I'm collecting good recipes for cool treats. I'd recommend adding a bit more garlic and parsley--the cilantro sort of drowns out the parsley taste, so you might want to adjust the ratio slightly depending on your own taste preferences. As a commenter suggested, I'd also add a bit of red wine vinegar next time (and slightly reduce the olive oil). Maybe some celery for a little more crunch? Lots of possible tweaks, but it was already quite tasty as is.

YUM!

This is Why You're Fat

Just like the header says. This site is alternately glorious and vile. Looking through the pictures, some of them made me feel ravenous while others were nauseating. One of the most impressive selections is above: the junk food pizza covered in mini tacos, onion rings, potato skins, jalapeno poppers, and mozzarella sticks.

Silly, brainless fun for a Friday.

Dumpster Diving

When I saw the headline for this article, I predictably cringed. I can hardly get through an episode of "Dirty Jobs" without almost gagging, so the idea of dumpster diving is far from appealing to me. While I don't expect I'll be taking it up soon, I did enjoy reading about some UGA students who are happy and successful dumpster divers (so successful, in fact, that most of them don't even have to buy food anymore). They find fresh and package-intact food that's often quite expensive and frequently organic. Most stores discard the food because it's past the display date but not the expiration date. One student says he eats much better now than he did before taking up this, er, hobby. Apparently there is a larger movement in support of dumpster diving as a way to reduce consumer waste ("freeganism").

There are certainly some health concerns that arise with this practice, and it does seem like ultimately there has to be a better way to procure this food from stores through actual partnerships (not foraging), but in the meantime it's still a quirky and novel idea to cut back on waste and spending. Good for these guys.

Greatest Condiment Ever

Wow. There are really no words. Well, just one word: baconnaise.

This showed up on my facebook ads...I'm not really sure what that says about the content of my profile. I'm fairly certain there aren't any references to condiments. Maybe the interwebs somehow knew that I bought Mark these bacon flavored toothpicks when I was in Austin last week.

Man Vs Food

I'm conviced that The Travel Channel does food shows better than Food Network. Be ashamed, Food Network, be very ashamed. Oh, and get rid of that Guy Fieri guy and his 8th grade boy hairdo...I'd watch "Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives" much more often if you got a new host.

On Wednesday nights at 10:00, following the drool including "Food Paradise" that I blogged about a while back, is a new show called "Man Vs. Food." The host, Adam Richman, is an energetic and funny everyman who has an impressive apetite. He comes off as slightly too eager verging on annoying in the commercials for the show, but when you watch the show he's hard not to like. Each show he visits a different city to try three restaurants, the third of which always has a daunting eating challenge. Richman is batting better than .500 on challenge completion by now, or at least from the shows that I've seen. Part of what makes the show so entertaining are the funny restaurant patrons who team with him or compete against him on the challenges to varying degrees of success. The most amusing part is when they inevitably start to get the meat sweats.

Food Paradise

I like eating even more than I like reading or sleeping, which is saying a lot. Lately I've been loving Travel Channel's "Food Paradise" show. It comes on Wednesday nights at 9:00 (so check it out tonight if you're bored) and features the greatest foods across the country. Each episode has a different theme, like pizza, steak, donuts, sandwich, and my personal favorite, DEEP FRIED PARADISE. The Web site lists the different restaurants featured so you can check them out if any are near where you live or where you're traveling. Make sure you've eaten a substantial dinner before you watch or you are likely to order and eat an entire pizza, carton of ice cream, or other such gluttonous fare. At the very least, you'll need a napkin to wipe the drool off your face.

Yard Dog Wine

I must be especially hungry today with two posts about food and drink. I discovered the Redheads Yard Dog wine at the Decatur Package Store, which does a great job of displaying descriptions, awards, and recommendations of wine. The fugly dog was what first caught my attention, and the price was the second ($12). I read the rave review and was sold. This was by far the best wine I've ever had for that price, and probably better than a number of those costing $25 or more a bottle. I'll leave the fancy-schmancy technical description of the aromas and tastes to the experts (or at least the wine blogger I link to above who seems pretty popular). If you can find this wine, snag several bottles and enjoy!

Boca Chik'n Patties

I've always liked the Boca veggie burgers for a healthier grilling option (though don't get me wrong, I love a real burger even more). I found these Boca Chik'n Patties (made from soy) recently and came up with an AWESOME, quick, and healthy-ish sandwich. I toasted two pieces of sourdough bread, from Publix of course, added the Boca patty, melted a little cheese on top, sliced a plum tomato, and spread a bit of wing sauce on the bread instead of mustard or mayo. DELICIOUS. I have found a new favorite easy meal.

Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka

For all you Southerners and wannabe Southerners who understand the power and glory that is the perfect glass of sweet tea, here is heaven in a bottle: Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka. Mix it with half water and a lemon slice, plop down in a rocker on the porch, close your eyes and take a sip...it doesn't get any better.