Normally I leave The Hills coverage to my friends Geek, Bella, and Fab, but this week's episode actually featured a lot of food scenes! On it, our favorite Los Angeles heroine, Lauren Conrad, went on a date with old flame Stephen Colletti. Did you watch? Do you know what they ate on the date? Take our fun quiz to see if you picked up the foodie details! 
Photos courtesy of MTV
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When I think of soup, I usually think of heavy, time-consuming recipes. You know, the sort of thing that sits on your stove all day building layers of flavor upon itself.
So when I saw TeamSugar member celebrity_soup's recipe in the Kitchen Goddess group, I was immediately intrigued. The soup is Nigella Lawson's "Light 'n' Tasty" soup, and it comes together in a few minutes. It's perfect for a quick lunch or a fast dinner. The best part is that it's also rather adaptable. Don't like bok choy? Replace it with broccoli. Don't have sprouts on hand? Just omit! To see the simple yet versatile recipe, read more
Farms Sprout in Suburbia
The Wall Street Journal's "Green Acres II: When Neighbors Become Farmers" reports that a growing number of Americans are "turning grass into edible greens and maybe even greenbacks," by growing food in their front and backyards. Since 2006, in Boulder, CO, school-bus driver Kipp Nash has "uprooted his backyard and the front or backyards of eight of his Boulder neighbors," and spent his afternoons "planting, watering, and tending" these minifarms, growing vegetables like tomatoes, bok choy, garlic, and beets.
My mom recently gave me a bunch of lemongrass to plant in my garden. It's nowhere near ready to harvest, so I'll have to buy some to whip up a batch of this lemongrass pudding. — Vanilla Garlic
Have you ever heard of the miracle berry? This exotic West African fruit, has the astonishing ability to make bitter and sour foods taste sweet. The berry contains an active molecule that binds to the tongue's taste buds causing certain foods — like limes or lemons — to seem sweet. Although the fruit is not a sweetener, it does have the ability to turn non sweet foods into sweet foods without any additives! In the 1970s, an American entrepreneur, realized the potential the miracle berry could have on the food industry and went to great lengths to mass produce the plant. However, his plan was suspiciously and abruptly ended. A recent article from BBC News states:
In 1974, the FDA changed its mind about the Miracle Berry product on the very eve of the product launch in drug stores across the whole of the Eastern seaboard. In the most brutal way, the FDA ordered all the products to be withdrawn at once.
Thus, the sweetening powers of the miracle berry were never fully realized. I find the story incredibly interesting and would love to get my hands on the berries. Have you ever tasted the miracle berry? What would today's world be like if junk food without the junk existed?
A friend recently told me he occasionally eats cereal for dinner. His girlfriend thinks he's crazy but I personally don't find it that unusual. Sometimes a nice bowl of cereal hits the spot, especially when you get home late and need a little chow. How about you? Do you ever eat cereal for dinner?
Every time a friend of mine hosts a sushi party, I somehow end up behind the sushi-rolling station, churning out roll after roll. I don't mind because I get the chance to talk with everyone at the party. Recently a friend suggested hosting one soon. I think it'll be fun, as sushi is a great treat for a warm, Spring evening.
All this sushi talk got me thinking about how nice sushi boards are, so I scoped out Shopstyle Living to see what I could find. From nigiri molds to soy sauce dispensers, I found everything one needs to host a fabulous sushi party! To see the collection, scroll through below.
Gordon Ramsay's Empire Is Expanding
Gordon Ramsay appeared on CityLine in Toronto to promote his Fast Food book yesterday, amidst rumors he's opening a restaurant in the Canadian city. Back in England, while his restaurant Plane Food at Heathrow's Terminal 5 gets good reviews, word on the street is that Gordon plans to open another restaurant.
