snackdown! - 4.2.10

after a few weeks off, this week the snackdown! returns & since it's CHOCOLATE WEEK here on eat!drink!snack!, that means that it's time for a very special treat--an ALL-CHOCOLATE SNACKDOWN! you might be thinking "is there really that much chocolate news out there?" yes, my friend. yes there is...especially since we're smack-dab in the middle of easter week, one of the happiest times of the year for the multi-billion dollar a year chocolate industry. let's get to it...the ALL-CHOCOLATE SNACKDOWN!

• scientific fact: chocolate is totally sexy. because of the pleasure derived from eating it, people often think of it as an aphrodisiac. personally, i've never included chocolate as part of sex, but that doesn't mean i haven't considered it. now babeland, a female-friendly sex shop with locations in nyc & seattle, has come up with the perfect way to derive sexual pleasure from chocolate--the vibrating chocolate bunny, a vibrator that also doubles as a chocolate treat. while it may sound slightly unsanitary, the chocolate's wrapped in gold foil, so you basically do your business, unwrap the foil & have yourself a tasty treat. once you've used it though, i'm not sure you'll give a shit about the chocolate inside. (ny press)


• in south africa last saturday, celebrities & underprivileged kids got together for the unveiling of the world's largest chocolate bunny. for a week leading up to the event, four sculptors took three tons of chocolate & carved it into a 12.5 foot tall bunny that was eventually verified as the new record holder for "world's largest chocolate structure." once it was verified, the kids got to go to town on it but unfortunately, for some of those kids, that chocolate bunny might be the only thing they got to eat all day long. at least they got to eat chocolate. (cnn)


• this weekend in queensland, australia they're celebrating this weekend's bunny & jesus-themed holiday with an easter fashion show. for the event, designer richard de chazal has created the tastiest dress ever--one made entirely of chocolate, with a skirt "adorned with ferrero rocher chocolates." de chazal, who made the dress out of 44 pounds of chocolate, called it "one of his most challenging projects." luckily, based on many models' nonexistent eating habits, it's in no danger of being eaten before it hits the runway. (herald sun)


• if we learned anything from last year's breakout comedy hit the hangover, it's that out in vegas, pretty much anything goes. it's a place where the impossible becomes possible & in that spirit, caesar's palace has installed a three-acre swimming pool entirely filled with chocolate. the pool, which is fed by a 30-foot tall waterfall, is apparently "the first swimming pool comprised entirely of chocolate." it sounds like a neat idea, but i'm not sure how practical it is. it's one thing to be swimming & get water in your eyes, but it's a whole other thing when you get chocolate in your eyes. that can't be fun. (lasvegasvegas.com)


• for those who practice judaism, passover began on wednesday with the passover seder, a traditional ritual feast that marks the beginning of the holiday. not all seders are traditional though. these days, hundreds of synagogues across the country hold chocolate seders, rituals that don't replace the actual seder but do make it more fun for the young folk. how? instead of bitter herbs & an egg, the chocolate seder offers foodstuffs such as "chocolate-enrobed green apples" & cadbury mini eggs. i'd take those over bitter herbs & an egg any day of the week. (san jose mercury news)

snackdown! - 2.12.10

after sunday's super bowl, you'd think that folks (other than the doritos samurai) wouldn't want to think about snacks for a little bit, but that's not the case. after all, this sunday is valentine's day, or as i like to refer to it..."V-D" & while much of the holiday is based on making money for the flower & greeting card companies, it's also an opportunity to surprise your sweetie with some sweets. many men will bore their significant other with the standard box of chocolates, but carnivores will opt for a more adventurous route with the beef jerky bouquet. either way, those planning on celebrating V-D this weekend should plan on doing some snacking...& on that note, let's get to the snackdown!

• do you live in l.a.? despite that, do you have a positive outlook on life? are you japanese? are you a snack ninja? if so, the JAO (japanese american optimist club) has the event for you. on feb 20th, as part of their bingo night, they're holding a "snack-off," where competitors will "compete for the title of JAO snack queen (or king) of the year." the snack-off, which will feature "sweet treats," will also lead to a snack cookbook filled with recipes from the event. in addition, the event will feature the "2nd annual pie the commissioner booth" & a snack bar with "chili rice, ramen, hot dogs & other items." to this i say...BINGO! (rafu shimpo)


• food trucks have been all the rage for a while, but until now, nyc has been lacking one particular type of food truck: an organic vegan one. starting this sunday, the "cinnamon snail" food truck will set up shop in hoboken & offer customers "a menu of unprocessed, organic, and local foods, with gluten-free, macrobiotic, and raw options." we're talking breakfast, lunch & snack options including vegan donuts & "hempseed-encrusted tofu with spicy french mustard dressing over white truffle mashed potatoes and greens." from a truck! adam sobel, owner of the cinnamon snail, hopes to soon bring the truck to brooklyn, a development that can't come soon enough because really, who the f wants to go to hoboken? (village voice)


• ...so this sunday is valentine's day. regardless of whether you're celebrating with someone or doing the single thing this V-D, you can't deny the awesomeness of candy hearts. they're perfect for that moment when you see a hottie across the bar & want to get them to make out with you. instead of dealing with all that "you should make out with me" awkwardness, you can just walk up to them & hand them a "kiss me" candy heart. it's a move that's so cute & sweet that you're 92% guaranteed to get some action. this year, candy hearts are celebrating their 145th anniversary by coming out with new sayings & new flavors (strawberry, green apple, lemon, grape, orange & blue raspberry), so not only will your move be sweet & cute, but it will also be totally updated for the twenty-ten. (the beacon)


• i've never been a military guy myself, but i do respect the fact that those in the military do a lot of things that i would never in my life be able to do. take the marines who attended the "cobra gold 2010 war games" in thailand. the event aimed to "promote regional peace and security," but the best part of it was when marines devoured such culinary delights as scorpions & cobra blood (which they also smeared themselves with). frogs & lizards are also on the menu. that's some hardcore semper fi shizz, folks. i mean, once you've drank the blood of a cobra, killing iraqis & afghanis should be no problem. (the daily mail)


• wisconsin is totally cheesy. the badger state is ranked "number one in cheese production," with "1200 cheesemakers" that produce "25% of all the cheese made in the united states." with that in mind, wisconsin state senator jim sullivan is sponsoring a bill (which has been in the works for four years now) that will make cheese wisconsin's official state snack. official state snacks are nothing new to u.s. politics, as illinois has popcorn, south carolina has boiled peanuts, texas has tortilla chips & salsa and utah has jell-o. jell-o!...but this is the first time that journalists writing about the official state snack have been able to use phrases like "'nacho' average legislation," "a 'gouda' idea" & "if the legislation passes 'munster'" whilst doing so. (wisconsin radio network)

nosh nook #205 - monday, december 28, 2009

thinking of bringing leftover cookies to the office? don't. (link)
12.28.09 - globe and mail - by wency leung

for coming up on two weeks now, i've been lucky enough to have a nice vacation away from work but come next year, i'm going to have to eventually go back to reality & back to work. it's cool with me though. it's been a fairly eventful & relaxing holiday season & all but this cold weather & time off makes me go a bit semi-salinger after a while & i don't need that. a lot of people are already back at work this week anyhow & in my case, i work in the music industry, so it's not like it's a completely painful job to have to go back to. plus, when i return, there's a good chance that at least one of my remaining co-workers will bring in some sort of holiday treat for me to munch on & ease the pain.

according to the globe and mail's wency leung, if you've been thinking of bringing your leftover holiday snacks back to work with you upon your return, you probably shouldn't or you should at least read her article for tips or think about it first or something. what the article boils down to is that this time of year is a time when a lot of people are looking back on the past year, thinking about their ballooning ass/belly size & making plans for an totally healthy 2010 diet. when you start bringing in your "unwanted boxes of chocolates, unfinished tins of fudge and containers of excess butter tarts" for co-workers, you're "sabotag(ing) their nutrition plans." they hate it when you do that crap. also, please stop changing their computer desktop to a photo of fabio. it's just not topical any more.

wendy leung spoke with "karen brar, who works at a non-profit organization in surrey, b.c." ms brar used to get excited about all the holiday snackery. now she can't stand it & mentioned that "after a little while, you're eating the chocolate for the sake of eating it...and it loses its lustre. by the end of it, it's just like, 'ugh.'" still, if you want to avoid getting fat on your holiday sweets & choose to ignore the guilt of making people fat, leung also spoke with "jacqueline mackinnon, an addiction counsellor in kamloops, b.c.," who provided a few tips on how to unload your sweets. to guarantee that they move, you should put them out in the morning & make sure you do so with the lid off in a high-profile locale. people are suckers for that crap & as long as you can lay off the sweets they're bringing in, you'll actually keep your annual plan for a hot bod intact this year. good luck with that.

nosh nook #189 - thursday, december 3, 2009

one of america's most POPular snacks is a corny holiday treat (link)
12.2.09 - nj.com - by carly romalino

hey, have you guys/dolls ever heard of this snack called POPcorn? it's CAH-RAY-ZEE! what it is is corn kernels that have been removed from the cob, dried out & heated up until they've POPped! apparently you just take a bunch of corn kernels, toss them in a microwave or a pot or something & heat them on up. after a while, because of science the kernels POP & puff on up & the next thing you know, BAM! you've got yourself a bowl full of snack, slugger! you can even toss some flavoring on it if that's the way you swing. i know! it's absolutely mind-blowing that i'm just learning about the stuff.

when i first read about POPcorn yesterday in an article on nj.com, i was like "how have i never heard of this POP-corn? i need to start living more." then i got on the internet to blog about it. the article, by carly romalino of the gloucester city times, is TOTALLY informative, thanks to the fact that she was able to get a bunch of facts from "wendy rappel, of the non-profit popcorn board funded by u.s. popcorn processors." it's no national corn grower's association, but it's something. since rappel's with the popcorn board, you have to assume that she knows what she's talking about & everything she says is 100% true.

for instance, i learned that POPcorn is "america's favorite movie snack." until i read this article, i thought that it was quail. i also discovered that even though it's a snack, it's "surprisingly nutritious." that's the kind of surprise i like & my rock-hard abs do too! until i read this article, i thought that a tub of buttered movie POPcorn was "the nutritional equivalent of three quarter pounders topped with 12 pats of butter." education! i also learned that corn is called "maize." the indians native americans called it that. fact! the article's not just here to teach us about POPcorn though. it's also here to teach us about what we can do with it this holiday season, despite the fact that "it might seem really tough to expand upon the way that popcorn is prepared." luckily, wendy rappel & the POPcorn board are experts on POPcorn & they're full of good ideas.

since X-mas is right around the corner, it's all about finding ways to fuse your POPcorn into something festive, like a snowman or a wreath. all's you have to do is choose & prepare "what rappel called the 'liquid portion' of the recipe--or the marshmallow, chocolate, or corn syrup" & when you're done doing that, you mix it with the POPcorn & you've got yourself a bunch of sweet-ass sweetened POPcorn. from there, shape it into whatever you want. the POPcorn board suggests making their "holiday popcorn snowman," but POPcorn is "very flexible," so you don't even have to worry about being creative. you can just mold it into balls. it's up to you. it's your POPcorn. do with it what you wish...& enjoy. i know i'm going to enjoy mine. i mean, now that i know about it, i am SO going to buy some POPcorn this holiday season. thanks nj.com!

nosh nook #184 - thursday, november 26, 2009

butterballs or cheese balls, an online barometer (link)
11.25.09 - the ny times - by kim severson

happy thanksgiving, loyal eat!drink!snack! readers! if you're like me, you spent your thanksgiving moping around the house in your skivvies, drunk on wild turkey & watching the brady bunch thanksgiving episode over & over again on youtube. that bobby is one hell of a thespian! jk! that's not what really happened. in reality, this year i skipped the usual trip home to my parents' house for the holiday & instead spent it here in brooklyn with my younger brother, where we cooked a "proper" dinner like real adults. since it was just us two, we were beholden to no one & therefore able to cook whatever we damn well pleased. that meant no turkey, no gravy, no pumpkin pie. instead, we whipped up apple stuffed chicken breasts, roasted vegetables & potatoes, butternut squash & some stuffing, with a sinful chocolate trifle for dessert. the first two were recipes we decided on after perusing the internet & the butternut squash came into being with the help of internet consultation.

it turns out that we weren't the only ones consulting the internet this thanksgiving. according to the ny times, pretty much everyone & their mother turned to the web for thanksgiving recipes & how tos this year. since we're such a divided diverse country with varied regional cuisines, all this internet consultation makes it easy for marketers to track & analyze the nation's various thanksgiving trends. "if you are in oregon this thanksgiving, you stand a better than average chance of encountering tofurkey. more people in new york are looking for caterers to prepare the holiday meal than anywhere else in the country. live in the southeast? brace yourself for a big scoop of broccoli casserole." this info is marketing gold. kevin kells (head of consumer packaged goods for google) notes that "when you marketed in the past, you had to guess at the consumer’s motivation. now you have the answers to that right in front of you." i don't know about you, but i love when marketers can track my every move.

for what it's worth, marketers are also able to figure out when we do what we do around the holiday. as an example, since we're a nation of procrastinators & many of us waited until yesterday to start planning thanksgiving, allrecipes.com "built server capacity for the day before thanksgiving, then use only 50 percent of it the rest of the year." they also note that "pie searches got the most action on wednesday morning. but by 10 am, people began earnest hunts for sweet potato casserole and stuffing recipes. by noon, 100,000 people had searched for mashed potato recipes." gravy searches don't spike until around 3pm. i can only assume that come tomorrow, thanksgiving will already be forgotten, as the most popular search term will likely be some bullshit about black friday. oh wait...according to google trends, "black friday internet sales" is already #1. let the gluttonous pre-christmas consumption begin!