Tag: food

  • Mackerelly

    Weight Watchers Recipe Cards from 1974. That’s seriously the funniest thing I’ve seen on the Web in a while. I’m going to be saying “Mackerelly” for days. (Link courtesy of Kim.)

  • Mac & Cheese

    For the most part, the Snook and I are so similar that I just kinda forget that we grew up in different countries. Every now and then, though, I make a startling discovery, like the fact that he’s never eaten Kraft Macaroni and Cheese before. How weird is that? Luckily the box my Aunt Deb sent me for Christmas made it through quarantine, so I was able to initiate him into the realm of crap budget pasta dishes tonight. It was just inconceivable to me that he’d never experienced the joys of elbow macaroni and day-glo orange cheese powder before. I’m happy to report that – though he initially thought it had a “strange aftertaste” – he quickly wolfed down his portion. Another bridge crossed…

  • Pancakes

    Ooh! I almost forgot it’s Shrove Tuesday. We’re not religious, but hey, any excuse for pancakes, right? I’m torn between making my good ol’ American thick-and-big-as-a-dinner-plate recipe and this crepe-style one from Delia Smith. Hmmm, maybe we’ll have both. It’s supposed to be a bit of a feast, right? Then it’s straight back to the low-carb, I promise.

  • Low-carb muffins

    I’ve been experimenting with this low-carb muffin recipe. It’s pretty good. Yesterday I added a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter to the batter, which turned out really well. Today I tried putting in some frozen blueberries (thawed, of course) and some cinnamon. They tasted great, but I couldn’t get them out of the muffin pan in one piece. The bottoms stuck and the tops pulled off. What am I doing wrong? I sprayed the tin with “Butta” (that’s seriously what it’s called), which is basically a “Pam”-like cooking spray. Should I use something else? Am I baking too long/not long enough? Let me know if you have any guesses. Meanwhile I’m going to have to (regrettably) eat all the leftover yummy muffin bits stuck to the pan. Pity me.

  • Vanilla Coke

    I just came from the grocery store where I happily discovered that Vanilla Coke is finally available in Australia. I’m tasting it for the first time right now. It’s… surprisingly good! I read that some people thought it was overpowering or chemical-ish, but I think it’s just right. Of course, as sugar is a no-no on Atkins, it might just be the shock of having my first “real” Coke in three months. Do they have a Diet Vanilla Coke? They didn’t have it at my store. If they do, I’m all over that stuff.

    Update: ACK! I just realized that the 600 mL bottle (of which I drank the whole thing) has 66 grams of carbs, 99% of which come from sugar! That’s three times the recommended Induction limit! No more Vanilla Coke for me til I locate Diet.

  • Friday Five

    I don’t like these questions so much. I’m too indecisive.

    1. If you could only choose 1 cd to ever listen to again, what would it be?
    Ugh. There’s no way I could pick just one. It would have to be a mix CD that I burned myself of all my favorite songs.

    2. If you could only choose 2 movies to watch ever again, what would they be?
    Pride and Prejudice and the Star Wars Trilogy. (I can count Episodes 4-6 as one movie, right?)

    3. If you could only choose 3 books to read ever again, what would they be?
    Jeez. No clue. Seeing a pattern here? If I absolutely had to pick… To Kill a Mockingbird, The Stand, and a book of Greek mythology. That covers a lot of ground.

    4. If you could only choose 4 things to eat or drink ever again, what would they be?
    This one I like. 1) Mountain Dew. 2) My aunt Berb’s chicken and dumplings. 3) The Snook’s chicken risotto. 4) McDonald’s french fries. *dries drool off keyboard*

    5. If you could only choose 5 people to ever be/talk/associate/whatever with ever again, who would they be?
    What, you expect me to answer honestly? My family reads this site! Actually, if you’re talking face-to-face association, I don’t think I even have five people here that I see on a regular basis. There’s the Snook… and that’s it. Yeah, I really need to make some Australian friends.

  • Snook’s Low-Carb Blueberry-Banana-Flaxseed Muffins

    The Snook has been cruising various low-carb websites in search of recipes to emulate the high-carb stuff we’ve been missing. Yesterday he picked up lots of almond meal and ground flax seeds in preparation for doing some baking. We spotted some blueberries at the greengrocer and I flashed back to Max’s blueberry-banana muffins. Armed with an idea, the Snook took to the kitchen for some invention. The resulting muffins don’t look so great, but they taste pretty good and it’s nice to eat something “bread-y” again. We estimate they’ve got about 12 grams of carbs each, so you’d best avoid them if you’re doing Induction.

    Ingredients:

    • 5 tablespoons melted butter
    • 3 large eggs
    • 1/4 cup cream
    • 1/3 cup artificial sweetener (we use “Splenda”)
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
    • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 cup flax seed meal
    • 1/4 cup soy flour
    • 1 small banana, mashed
    • 1/2 cup blueberries

    Preheat the oven to 375F.

    Beat the first three ingredients together, then add the sweetener and vanilla. In another bowl mix up all the dry ingredients. Then combine the wet and dry together and add the fruit. Now fill up your muffin cups and pop them in the oven. The Snook reckons they need to bake for 20-25 minutes, but test by poking them.

    He made six fairly big muffins out of this. They don’t rise a lot, so you can fill the cups up pretty full. The resulting muffins are dark brown and pretty dense, but the fruit makes them taste great. They’ve got lots of fiber too.

    Let us know if you make any yummy modifications!

  • LOL Heinz

    You gotta love English cuisine. The UK government has given Heinz the go-ahead to label their tins of baked beans as counting towards your recommended daily intake of five portions fruit and vegetables. Apparently spaghetti-o’s and soup will count as well. Health experts are, as expected, horrified.

  • General Tso’s chicken

    Who is General Tso and why are we eating his chicken? Now we know. My college roommates and I would always wonder this when we placed our weekly order to Bai-Ju’s Noodle House in South Bend. On a similar note, did you know that Paul Simon got the song title “Mother and Child Reunion” from a chicken-and-egg dish he spotted on a Chinese restaurant’s menu? You need never be puzzled by your take-away again. (Original link courtesy of Fredo.)

    Edited 18/04/2025: Original link is dead and not archived, so replaced with similar.

  • New Poll

    It’s another “favorite food” topic. When you’re at the big game, what’s your snack of choice?