The Sweet Life

I was talking to my haiardresser about food at my last appointment and we ended up talking about creme fraiche, which is a heavy cream slightly soured with bacterial culture, not as thick or tangy as sour cream. I had never used it before, nor had I heard of it before my culinary education, at least, not that I can recall. We make and use it in the kitchen in our cheesecake and serve crème fraîche whipped cream with our strawberry shortcake. Anyway, she had asked me where she could find it, and my mother had asked this same question months before. It's easy to make, and very easy to incorporate into everyday cooking. It's refreshing, tart, and delicious. Though I did find some at my local Treasure Island store, I will share our recipe, and one I found in the Chicago Tribune (this is the general website. You may need to sign up to view the food section). Crème Fraîche 1 quart heavy whipping cream 1 quart buttermilk 2 lemons Mix cream, buttermilk, and lemon juice. Co...

Oh please. These days, it's so hot and humid in our kitchen I wonder why the hell I would want to build a career in one. I spend my days trying to get into the freezer as often as I can. If I could take out each french fry at a time for an order (and I don't even work on that side of the line), I would gladly do that. I go into the freezer to count items for inventory and take my sweet time, when once, long ago (was it really that long ago?) I would run in, grab what I needed and run out. And if I didn't find it in the 2 seconds I was in there, then I probably didn't really need it anyway. Who would have thought that months ago, some of us stood in the kitchen in scarves, hoodies, and hats, volunteering to work the grill just so we wouldn't freeze? It's so hot, that one of the lights near the gas range goes out periodically. It's so hot, I repent my sins so that I won't have to continue suffering in the afterlife. Do you get the point, or must I...

I read this on the boingboing site and it's so incredible, I thought I would post it here. Soy sauce made from human hair Tracy says: "This article is about cheap soya sauce that is being manufactured in the East as an alternative to the original. The 'secret ingrediant' is amino acid syryp, a concoction consisting of 'human hair ... gathered from salon, barbershop and hospitals around the country' which is then filtered to remove unhygenic matarials such as '... condom, used hospital cottons, used menstrual cycle pad, used syringe ...' The Chinese government has banned the production of this kind of soy sauce, although not the production of amino acid syryp." Article

You Are a Caramel Crunch Donut You're a complex creature, and you're guilty of complicating things for fun. You've been known to sit around pondering the meaning of life... Or at times, pondering the meaning of your doughnut. To frost or not to frost? To fill or not to fill? These are your eternal questions. What Donut Are You? Thanks to Jasmine's blog, I now know my true identity. Now my day is complete! Speaking of donuts, where's the nearest Krispy Kreme? . . .

After more research, here's what I could find. This place so far south, it seems to be in the middle of nowhere. I did tell my friend that I would pay for her gas if she would take me even it only once every other month! Ok,Chicago's Very Own: The Original Rainbow Cone Jane Boal Reporter/Producer August 12, 2005 If you're looking for a delicious way to cool off during this unusually hot summer, Jane Boal takes us to the south side to experience The Original Rainbow Cone. "Every summer we have to come for Rainbow," says one customer. Licking Rainbow cones on hot summer days has been a Chicago tradition for nearly 80 years. "It tastes, uh," says Malaura, age 7. "Like the color of the rainbow!" says Eric, age 5. Since 1926 the 'The Original Rainbow Cone' on Chicago's south side has been piling up and serving layers and layers of this unique treat to ice cream lovers. Dolores Lulinski works nearby and has been coming to The Original R...

Bear with me. I took photos when I went yesterday, but since those photos include my friend's daughter, I won't post them here. Instead, I'll feature the biggest reason I returned to the Taste this year: the Original Rainbow Cone. I introduced myself to this addicting delight last year. The only day I had off to go to the Taste was on the last Saturday of the event (I believe) and it was the worst day to go. Everyone and their aunt-uncle-cousin-grandma-greatgrandpa-was there. I had to fight to get to the food, fight my way out to Buckingham Fountain to enjoy the view of the lake and to eat my food without an elbow in my face, then fight my way back into the crowd to start all over again. I don't know how I ended up in the monster of a line for the ORC, but I did know that it had to be worth it, seeing as how I practically had to fight to keep my place in line. When I finally got to the counter, I took my cone back out to free space and began to enjoy the best ...