gansie


 by

Attack of the Meme: The Best of Parks and Recreation Food Banter

There’s not much in this life that can cure my end of summer blues. Brussels sprout season comes close. So does the chance to wear leggings and my gold-studded flats. But, really, it’s watching Leslie Knope promoting parks, recreation, feminism and pot brownies.

With Parks and Recs starting tonight, here’s the best of its food banter.

10. A Simple Man

(Photo: CraftyCake)

9. Tissues Are Out, Scones are In

(Photo: Nine Weasleys)

8. Biology 101

(Photo: Forehead)

7. The New Aphrodisiacs

(Photo: Broriarty)

6. Life Lessons

Next: Top 5 Moments in Food Banter on Parks and Rec

in Featured / Lists / TV 3 comments
 by

Two Broke Girls With One Contradiction

I live in DC, where the people are nerdy and we still form lines at cupcake shops. We’re dorky. Okay. I admit it. But I also live among the smug and deceptively pretentious. I’ve been to Brooklyn, too. I’m familiar with stereotypes. Therefore, let me judge.

In the new CBS laugh-tracked comedy, 2 Broke Girls, a sarcastic bitchy brunette, “Max,” played by Kat Dennings, is poor and full of sass, living in the birthplace of hipsterville, Williamsburg, yet dreams of opening a cupcake store.

Max isn’t a hipster herself, as she easily mocks two wool-hat wearing scrawny boys, but she sure isn’t subscribing to Real Simple either. Heeding information solely from the inaugural episode, I concur that the too-cool Max should be too-cool for the tired cupcake hysteria, making 2 Broke Girls a new sitcom with an already faulty old-trend.

Fuck cupcakes.

 

(Photo: All Things Cupcake)

 

in Desserts / TV 4 comments
 by

How Rogue Ales Temporarily Cured Me of Swearing

“Can I try the Hazelnut Brown Nectar?” I asked the hairy, inked man behind the bar at Rogue Ales Public House in Porland.

At least that’s what I thought I said. Maybe I threw him some accidental attitude after ramming through a citrusy lemongrass beer at Bridgeport Brewing Company just before.  Fine, I also lapped up an amber brew.

Rogue casts an intimidating presence in DC booze stores. I most often spy the 22-oz. bottles; those bottles bully drinkers to down much beer in one sitting, so I was pretty pumped to be able to try a few pints at one of its many Oregon pubs. I specifically asked the bartender for beers that I can’t find across the country.

Right before the man behind the bar turned to pour me a sample of the hazelnut brew, he sent me a quick stare. “I think they call it Nutella where you live.”

“Fuck you,” I shouted back. “We’re not fucking Europe.”

He smiled back, in what I like to think was an appreciation for my East Coast paradigm. Along with the hazelnut taste, he poured me a Double Chocolate Stout.

With the confidence of an assertion, not a suggestion, he told me to order a “Snickers” – the combination of the  Double Chocolate Stout and the Hazelnut Brown Nectar.

The end result was a creamy, thick beer, offering hints of bitter coffee, smooth nuts and a chance to stop cursing and sip an excellent drink.

in Drinks / Food Travel 3 comments
 by

Artsy Photo of the Day

Best seat in the house.  (Paris, France)

in Photos 1 comments
 by

Friday Fuck Up: Savory Yogurt Dinner

I often make my fiance buy a large tub of Greek yogurt when he makes his weekly milk and cereal run to the grocery store. I know not what I will do with said yogurt, but I know I will put the thick substance to use, be it mixed with fruit for lunch or turned into a sauce over a grain and vegetable salad.

But I’ve never thought about substituting chunks of eggplant, cucumbers and oven-dried tomatoes instead of peaches, blackberries and blueberries. And I should have stuck with that.

Instead, I shredded cucumbers into the yogurt, tossed in diced eggplant and roughly chopped oven-dried tomatoes. I sprinkled in salt and pepper and lemon thyme. During this incorporating period, I thought I was genius.

Then I took a few bites. It wasn’t terrible to start, but it just didn’t work. Especially the tomatoes. The tang of tomatoes and the extra oil that still clung to them made for a uncomplimentary creamy versus acid nightmare.

Both the Indians (raita) and Greeks (tzatziki) somehow make yogurt work at dinner, but this part German girl just couldn’t swing it. Any ideas how to turn yogurt savory?

 

in Veggie 3 comments
 by

Enjoy It Raw While It Lasts

Soon the days of easy prep meals will be over, when you could walk into a kitchen, slice a tomato, wash some greens and be eating in 5 minutes.

Instead, we’ll be forced to wait an hour as thick winter squash bakes to tenderness in a hot oven. In winter it’s easier to wait for dinner, as the cold air doesn’t tempt for evening walks and late-night drinks on a rooftop.

But while it’s still lovely outside, and the season’s produce remains quick to prepare, remember that a raw salad is pretty rad.

Raw Summer Salad with Smoked Whitefish

This salad is ripe for flexibility, so throw in what you’ve got in the fridge. The taste of raw vegetables are much different than their cooked counterpart, so it’s fun to remember the snap of a bell pepper and the nose-tingle of a raw onion. With produce so fresh I didn’t even need a dressing, especially as the fatty whitefish salad complemented the clean vegetables.

I sliced up a yellow roma tomato, half a cucumber (peeled), half of a mutli-colored bell pepper and one tiny, tiny onion. I heavily seasoned all of the cut pieces with kosher salt and pepper and then quickly charred a corn tortilla on the burner. I lumped a few spoonfuls of smoked whitefish on top and called it finito.

 

in Recipe / Veggie 2 comments
« Previous
Next »