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Foodie Flashback: Space Food Sticks

YumSugar — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 07:28:11 -0700

For some reason I assumed energy bars were an invention of the 90s. However, I just discovered that back in the late 60s, Pillsbury developed "many special foods" for the space race. The first one was called Space Food Sticks and it was a "compact, nutritious, high energy food." And it was apparently good for everyone from astronauts - who strangely have a hole in their helmets for their space food stick to go through - to baseball playing tykes. And hey, it's only 44 calories.

They disappeared for a while, but now they're back in a slightly different format. You can get an entire case for about $30. Now you can blast off into outer space!

To check out the fantastic commercial for this fantastic flashback product, read more

If you're looking for more bizarre flashbacks, be sure to check out GiggleSugar.

Now Open: World's First Certified Organic Bar

YumSugar — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:30:56 -0800

This weekend, GustOrganics, an all-organic restaurant in Manhattan, became the world's first 100 percent USDA certified organic bar. The sleek, eco-conscious bar and restaurant is located in Greenwich Village. The bar is stocked with certified organic wine, beer, fresh fruit, and spirits such as rum, vodka, whiskey, and tequila. According to owner Alberto Gonzalez, all of the drinks are free of chemicals, artificial substances, hormones, and pesticides. GustOrganics serves standards cocktails like martinis and mojitos, and fruit concoctions such as Fresquitos, made with mangoes, orange juice, and vodka.

Other aspects of the bar are eco-friendly: there's a wind turbine on the roof that generates renewable energy and the menus are printed with soy ink on 100-percent recycled paper. I'd love to stop by this bar to try the fresh-made drinks and test out the theory that organic drinks prevent hangovers. What about you? Does the organic drink movement interest you, and do you think GustOrganics will (pardon the pun) set the bar for other nightspots?

Source

Come Party With Me: Campfire Fiesta - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:15:51 -0700

After a long day of pitching tents, cooking food, and preparing dessert, the gang at your campfire fiesta definitely deserves a drink. No camping trip is complete without beer, so fill a cooler with plenty of ice and ask guests to bring their own brews. I'll also pick up a few bottles of red and white wine.

As the host of this fireside fete, you can also offer a fun addition to the bar menu. Since you probably won't have the time or energy to whip up something like a guavarita, opt for spiking a watermelon with rum. It's summery and refreshing, it will go great with the Mexican-inspired main courses, and it's easy to eat around the campfire. Just consume with caution, since it will undoubtedly be strong! To find out how to make it, read more.

Rum-Spiked Watermelon
Original Recipe

Ingredients

1 large watermelon
1 750-ml bottle of white rum, chilled
2-3 large Ziploc bags

Directions

At least 4 hours before serving, cut up the watermelon. Discarding the rind, cut the flesh into single-serving triangular slices.
Divide the slices between 2-3 Ziploc bags (however many you need) and pour an equal amount of rum into each bag.
Place bags in a cooler and let sit for at least 4 hours.
Remove watermelon from bag and discard excess liquid. Serve slices in a bowl or on a plate.

Print recipe with images | without images

Off To Market Recap: Commuter's Breakfast

partysugar — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:58:32 -0800

A few weeks back, I told you about my poor hard working friend Kathleen. She is amazingly fabulous, but has a super long work day so we don't get to hang out much. She commutes and catches the bus at the way-too-early time of 6:52 am and she doesn't make it home until 7pm! Thats a twelve hour day folks and lots of times Kathleen skips breakfast because she is in a hurry and afraid of missing the bus. She asked me and I asked you(!) to find good ideas for a healthy, rapid commuter's breakfast. Ones that would give her the energy she needs to make it through her hectic days. The breakfast had to be fast and must be transportable. You saved your discoveries in the Yum Market and recipe database with the tag, Commuter's Breakfast. Listen up Kathleen, here's my advice (based on your awesome suggestions) on how to get your day started off right:

Lindakins recommends purchasing a plastic Cereal-on-the-Go container. This is an ingenious idea: a small tupperware that includes a 12-oz cereal bowl, 5.7 oz spill proof milk bowl, complete with a detachable spoon. Kathleen can fill it with the cereal of her choice and lowfat milk and it's so small she is sure to have room in one of her gigantic oversized handbags.

Two more, including a healthy muffin recipe so read more

Baltimoregal reminded me of a FitSugar approved healthy breakfast option: luna bars! She was even nice enough to list all of the flavors in the order that she favors them. Baltimoregal's fav is the Chocolate Pecan Pie and I bet Kathleen will go loca for the Dulce de Leche bars.

To help Kathleen jump start her new eating-breakfast-everyday lifestyle, I'll whip up a batch of crispet1's scrumptious looking, Hearty Whole-Wheat Muffins. I'll give them to Kathleen in a basket with a little handwritten note. She'll have a week's worth of easy breakfasts without even doing anything. Thanks for sharing your recipe crispet1!

To learn more about bookmarking and saving to the recipe database, please refer to geeksugar's easy-to-understand guide.

Come Party With Me: Mardi Gras Bash - The Look

partysugar — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 06:59:12 -0800

Now that Valentine's Day is officially over I can turn 100% of my attention towards making my Mardi Gras blowout bash a memorable, fun, fantastic, and talked about party. I've already put time and energy into the planning stages of the event: on Monday I made and sent invitations in the shape of a Mardi Gras mask, on Tuesday I created a snack-able menu, and yesterday I decided to serve Hurricanes and beer (I'm getting a keg!). Whenever I am hosting a party, I take it one day at a time and organize a different aspect of the fiesta each day. This process allows me to get everything done without getting super overwhelmed or overly stressed out. Today I'm focusing on the Look of my party. The official colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green, and gold and they represent the symbols of justice, faith, and power, respectively. These three colors will be the foundation of my look, for the details, read more

Start by taking a quick walk around your house to decide where you will set up the party. You will want a large open space for dancing, clusters of chairs for chatting, food stations for snacking, and a bar station for the keg and cocktails.
Set up the keg in the kitchen along with the crab dip and chips. Place the mixed drinks at the bar with a plate of bacon wrapped shrimp. The rest of the food can be positioned around the room either on one big buffet table (dressed with a beautiful gold sparkle-y tablecloth) or on several smaller tables.

Remove any personal belongings that have high sentimental value, are expensive, or antique collectors items. You do not want these important pieces of your life getting broken, destroyed, or stolen at your party. Put them in a safe place - as far away from the event space as possible - where you know they will be free from harm.
Rearrange furniture or tables to create more room for your guests and the happenings of the bash. At a big party where guests might bring friends who you do not know, the emptier and cleaner the house the better.
If you have access to Mardi Gras masks (I know I have a few in my Halloween costume bins in the garage) take these out and use as decoration. Place on the tables next to the food or wear one to greet your guests when they arrive at the door.

Lighting should be dim but be careful when you light all of your candles. No candle should be in a precarious position where a drunk guest could knock it over. Never leave lit candles in a room unattended.
Surround the dance floor with a soft glow using a few strands of colored Christmas lights in either all white, green, or purple.
Check out your local party supply store to see if they have any fun metallic hanging decorations especially for Mardi Gras.
Line your curtains with purple and green strips by running paper streamers, metallic ribbons, or satin ribbon down the length of the curtain. Hang with push pins to the top of your curtains, alternating between purple and green.
Wrap streamers or ribbons around your banisters for a jester effect.

Place a whole bunch of Mardi Gras beaded necklaces in a big silver bowl near the front door. As a guest arrives, encircle a necklace or two around his or her neck.
Sprinkle Mardi Gras confetti and purple, green, and gold glitter on all of the tables and in your hair.
Fill vases with purple flowers and green stems.
If you have indoor plants hang Mardi Gras beads on the branches.

Did I forget something when describing the look of the party? Tell me your Mardi Gras decorating ideas below. Now that the look is done, all I have to do is figure out what music will be playing at the party. Check back tomorrow to find out.