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Would You Drink This Ham Daiquiri?

YumSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:00:02 -0800

Carnivores, if your stomach was turning over the idea of a vegan-friendly Tofurky & Gravy soda, perhaps you'd be more game to try a ham daiquiri. Georgia Hardstark and Alie Ward, the original creators of the famed McNuggetini, are back with a video demo of their newest blended concoction of pineapple, pineapple soda, honey, Myers's dark rum, liquid smoke, and - yes, that's right - honey ham. The final result? A beverage that Alie describes as "chewy . . . like someone came along and chewed your lunch for you."

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Library Book Returned With Bacon as a Bookmark

YumSugar — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:30:41 -0700

Over the past year, bacon has turned multifunctional as the trendiest ingredient around. We've seen it in vodka, as a flavoring for mayonnaise, and even as a savory take on dental floss. But bacon, as it turns out, is even more useful than one could've ever imagined. It also happens to makes for a very handy bookmark.

Dan Thompson, a librarian and collector from the UK's seaside town of Worthing, discovered a thin slice of bacon that was being used to bookmark a page in a returned book. Apparently, such an occurrence isn't as uncommon as it sounds; The Argus, which first reported the story, references a similar website that lists locales where other people have found rashers, or slices of bacon, in books.

I would jump on the bandwagon, if it weren't for the fact that I'm partial to my favorite bookmark, an asparagus spear. Have you ever heard of this phenomenon?

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Texas Woman Faces Frog in Frozen Beans

YumSugar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:30:26 -0700

What's the deal with frozen green beans? Last Fall, a New Zealander discovered a shrunken mouse's head in hers, and, proving we're just as prone to the situation stateside, a Texas woman reportedly opened a bag to find a frog's face staring back at her.

Chasity Erbaugh from Tyler, TX, went to stir butter into her green beans and encountered the whole front end of a frog, spinal cord attached, with its tongue hanging out. Horrified, she notified county health inspectors, who got in touch with the Wal-Mart where she purchased the beans to have the rest of the lot pulled from shelves. Although the county health department filed a complaint with the FDA, it also urged consumers to look closely at their food before eating it. But Erbaugh has lost her confidence with frozen foods. Moving forward, she vows to only buy fresh vegetables, even if the measure is at her expense. "Do you know how much my grocery bill is fixing to go up?" she said.

After hearing about a shopper who - almost literally - got a frog in her throat, are you less likely to buy frozen fruits and vegetables? Do you agree with the health department, which insinuated that the responsibility lies with each diner to ensure he is eating safe food? Have you ever found something that's less than kosher in your frozen produce?

Would You Eat This Caesar-Salad-Topped Potato Gratin?

partysugar — Sat, 09 May 2009 04:00:07 -0700

Recently I went to an event with a buffet. From classic shrimp cocktail to lamb skewers with tzatziki, all of the usual suspects were present. Then, there was this mysterious casserole dish. The bottom resembles potato gratin, while the top looks like Caesar salad. I love both of these dishes by themselves, but was unsure how they would taste together. Not hungry, I didn't end up trying it. If you were at the party, would you taste it?

Christian Salt Developed in Response to Kosher Salt

YumSugar — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:00:57 -0800

Tired of TV chefs recommending kosher salt in recipes, retired barber Joe Godlewski decided to develop a Christian variety of salt. Next week, the Cesaptown, MD, businessman will roll out Blessed Christians Salts, sea salt that's been blessed by an Episcopal priests and packaged in containers bearing bright red crosses.

For Godlewski, the trademarked salts, which are made by Ingredients Corporation of America, are meant to help the Christian faith: "I said, 'What the heck's the matter with Christian salt?' This is about keeping Christianity in front of the public so that it doesn't die. I want to keep Christianity on the table, in the household, however I can do it."

Godlewski plans to sell the salt in religious bookstores and as a fund-raising tool for religious groups, pointing out that a share of the proceeds will be donated to Christian charities. If the salt proves to be successful, the entrepreneur is planning an entire line of Christian-branded foods, including rye bread, bagels, and pickles.

When I first learned of this, I practically did a double take to make sure I wasn't reading the Onion. It's somewhat entertaining to follow, since I admittedly take the whole issue with a grain of salt. In fact, I'm rather surprised nobody has come up with this already. What do you think about the whole concept of Christian salt?

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Man Arrested for Attacking Girlfriend Over Macaroni

YumSugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:20:26 -0800

You may have heard of using your noodle, but what about losing your noodle? A man was arrested last Saturday after he assaulted his live-in girlfriend with a cooking pot because he was upset she made him macaroni for dinner.

According to the police report, Donald J. Jacobs Jr. of North Platt, NE, was angry when he discovered she made macaroni for him. In a fit of rage, Jacobs hit his girlfriend with a cooking pot, tossing the food across the house. The woman locked herself in a bathroom and called the police.

I can't imagine anyone getting upset about eating macaroni and cheese for dinner - it's one of my favorite foods. Do you find this piece of news bewildering?

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Woman Finds Mouse Head in Frozen Green Beans

YumSugar — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:00:13 -0700

How's this for a Halloween fright? A woman in Auckland, New Zealand, was opening a package of Heinz-Watties "choice cut" frozen green beans when she came across a strange-looking foreign object. The unidentified frozen object in question was a shrunken mouse's head.

"I thought it was a little husk or something so I took it out of the microwave and pulled it out. It had eyes looking back at me," said Jacquie Lewis, the surprised recipient. If she hadn't stopped to take a closer look at the one-centimeter-wide object, she could have eaten it. She described the experience as "incredibly nauseating. I thought, 'If this is your head, where exactly is the rest of you?'"

Heinz-Watties explained that wildlife can get into its food products from time to time, but the thought of this happening to someone still makes me shudder. Have you ever found something in your store-bought products that shouldn't have been there?

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Man Arrested For Sharing His Buffet Plate

YumSugar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:00:04 -0700

Lately, it seems like people are willing to do anything - including serve jail time - over food. Earlier this month, a Florida man was arrested for trying to pay for his McDonald's meal with pot. This week, two cooks were put behind bars for intentionally contaminating a police chief's food. Now, a man has been arrested for letting his girlfriend eat off his buffet plate while refusing to pay for two meals.
On Oct. 21, Dan Linscomb and his girlfriend dined at the Iron Skillet restaurant in Atlanta. While he admitted in a police report that his girlfriend "ate a couple bites from his plate," Linscomb defended his position, saying, "there were no signs in the restaurant that said someone could not have some food off your plate." The restaurant staff called local police, who arrested Linscomb on theft. Two days later, he was released after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.

In today's tough times, should restaurants charge both parties regardless of how much they eat, or do establishments need to go easy on customers like Linscomb, who may simply be trying to scrape by? Have you ever eaten "two-for-one" at a buffet before?

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Cooks Arrested For Tainting Food

YumSugar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:00:52 -0700

Two short order cooks were put behind bars yesterday for intentionally contaminating food.

Jaime Perez and James Ledesma of Andy's Landing restaurant in Burnet, TX, were arrested on felony counts of tampering with a consumer product. According to a former co-worker, Perez put bodily secretions into Burnet Police Chief Paul Nelson's food. Allegations include spit, nose blowing, and wiping of hamburger buns on the cook's backside.

Apparently, previous run-ins with the law left Perez with ill will toward the police chief. The second cook, Ledesma, was around to witness the food contamination but failed to stop it or report it. If both are convicted, each could face up to 20 years in prison.

The police chief's food isn't the only item to be tainted - the restaurant will likely be left with a tarnished reputation as well. I'm revolted by the details, and saddened for the restaurant. The story also leaves me wondering how often "special ingredients" are added to diners' food. Do you worry about the same thing?

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Is This the World's Oldest Chocolate?

YumSugar — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:00:21 -0700

Considering most people can barely leave chocolate untouched for a week, it's amazing that one set of chocolates has been around for over a century. This box of chocolates pictured above hails from St. Andrews, Scotland, and was made especially to commemorate the coronation day of King Edward VII on June 26, 1902. Although the king died just eight years later, the chocolates survived - 106 years, to be exact.

Martha Greig, the original recipient of the confections, passed down the chocolates to her daughter, who later gave it to her daughter, Freida McIntosh. McIntosh has turned the chocolate, along with its collectible box, in to the St. Andrews Preservation Trust. It is considered a contender for the title of world's oldest chocolate.

I'm amazed that someone had the willpower to preserve the chocolate's historical significance, rather than succumbing to immediate temptation. Do you consider this an amazing artifact, or do you think it ought to be headed for the wastebasket?

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