My cooking slowed down for the second half of March, but I'm getting pretty good at following recipes for marvelously successful results. That said, I did manage to annihilate from-the-box brownies this month by accidentally doubling the oil content. Ew.

Don't forget, if you want the detailed recipe instructions simply leave a message or send a note, and I will be sure to get them to you. If the recipe is available online, I will link the image directly to it.

Reflective Shopping

It's time for my monthly Anthropologie plug! I received a beauiful email today featuring dinnerware set in artful patterns.

It actually reminded me of a Kraft ad that I was seeing all over the web last fall. This ad was animated and used veggies and food to create moving kaleidoscope images.

This leads me to wonder... is Kaleidoscope imagery a formulating trend? I'm officially on the lookout... perhaps in 6 months I'll be saying you heard it here first!

And sense I've already mentioned Anthropologie.... they are currently featuring decorated nooks. I love seeing small spaces used well!

Happy shopping! Happy cooking! Happy decorating of confined spaces!

Still Judging Books by Their Covers

There's a not-so-new Barnes & Noble at Woodland Mall, that I had yet to peruse so I stopped by tonight to give it a once-over. I was shocked to discover an entire section, including 6 quite large shelves titled "Teen Paranormal Romance" and "*New* Teen Paranormal Romance".

To give you some perspective, there was also 6 shelves for Art/Design/Architecture/Photography. Apparently these two categories are comparable.

It wasn't the presence of these novels that surprised me—I've read Twilight (multiple times) and Hunger Games—I'm not immune. It was the vast quantity as well as the title... "Paranormal Romance". Is that a thing???

Anyhow, I blogged before about how how they were redesigning the Classics covers, such as Wuthering Heights, to mimic the styling of the Twilight franchise. I had mixed feelings on this. But I decided tonight, that it's a fantastic ploy. Because suddenly, I desperately wanted to reread Pride & Prejudice. A simple cover redesign made these books seem current and relevant.

So is it time to trade in vampires for petticoats?

Vegetarian Swayed by Meat on Wheels

I spent the weekend with an 8-, 10- and 12-year-old. And it turns there's a form of indefinite entertainment that we didn't have when i was a Tween. YouTube.

I understand YouTube has a certain awesomeness, but I'm baffled by videos like "Smell Your Own Breath" that has 13.7 million views in just over a year.

I thought we were experiencing a inexplicably popular dud when they started watching a 2 and a half minute video titled "Weird Cars" that had over a million hits of its own. But 46 seconds in, I was able to justify it's popularity.

Burger-Tric anyone?!!

If Only They Could Squeeze Caffeine

into a Spring Roll....

It's been noted that Thai restaurants have usurped Starbucks, appearing on every corner, the way the coffee chain did a decade ago.

And since it was about a year ago that I returned from my voyage to Thailand, I thought it might be time to sample what the locals have to offer right here in Grand Rapids.

Left: My with my palette of food at Just Khao Soy in Chang Mai, Thailand. Right: Little Jerry at the almighty coffee chain during my first breakfast in Bangkok.

So choosing five restaurants, I spent the last 6 weeks filling up on delicious curries. To be consistent in my comparison, I choose a veggie spring roll and a mild veggie curry with a coconut milk base at all locations. While I was never dissatisfied, there was one stand-out contestant.

Best Spring Roll
Little Bangkok (!!!)
Erb Thai
Rak Thai
Angel's Thai Café
Bangkok Taste

Best Curry Dish
Little Bangkok
Bangkok Taste
Erb Thai
Rak Thai
Angel's Thai Café

Best Setting
Little Bangkok
Bangkok Taste
Rak Thai
Angel's Thai Café
Erb Thai (perfect for take-out!)

Best Presentation
Rak Thai
Bangkok Taste
Little Bangkok
Angel's Thai Café
Erb Thai

All these restaurant experiences were wonderful and delicious, so I decided to follow-up this experiment with an instant at-home Pad Thai from Thai Kitchen. ...And it was AWFUL. It tasted salty, and the peanuts were stale and made the whole dish smell like moth balls.

So lesson learned! With a Thai café popping up on every block, opt for take-out!

Remember Modge Podge?

Well no you probably don't. Since I just learned today, that it's actually Mod Podge. (and so many childhood memories were just wiped away with this realization.)

Now since I'm feeling annoyingly literate, and I'm quite familiar with the concept of mod, it leads me to wonder... what's Podge?

The most common definition Google gave me is a short, chubby person.

Which leads to whole new set of questions. What the hell is Mod Podge? Ground of bits of very hip and trendy, short podgy people? And what then, makes it so sticky?

...and what for that matter is hodge?

I know it's only March 7th but I've been busy in the kitchen already! So I figured I'd post these recipes now and then post more at the end of the month like usual.

I had a few rocky attempts in February, but I've been more diligent and careful, and it turns out that if you follow the recipe preciously, things have a tendency to turn out! Had some great makes so far, including a Butternut Squash Soup, Hot Mulled Wine and Raspberry Pinwheels! And also, fantastic results on my second attempt at the Martha Cookies! (turns out refrigerating the dough as instructed makes a world of difference!)

Happy Cooking!

Play. Just for Laughs.
For the next month UICA is hosting a 19 hole, artist designed miniature golf course. The indoor Putt-Putt game is part of Gilda's LaughFest. And it's confirmed, the course is a laugh riot.

Top left: GI Putter. (Note the GI's eyeball, not an eye, but rather Kristin's smartly placed wine glass.) Top right: The lazy putter. Bottom left: Kristin celebrates a clean putt at the Wolverine hole. Airborne balls may have been discouraged but getting air during a celebration was more than permitted. Bottom right: Mini mini-golf. Putting at the sunday soup hole with the severed soup ladle.

It was harder than most courses I've played, but it was still a load of fun, and wildly creative. Everything from an enclosed green played with rubber armed putters, to a plinko-style gamble. Cheating may have been involved with most holes, but truthfully, no one cared.

The two holes I enjoyed most were Sunday Soup and Wolverine World Wide's (narcism anyone?). But I can tell you why, Both used custom putters— a shoe putter for Wolverine and a severed soup ladle for Sunday Soup.

If you get a chance to head down to the UICA building over the next few weeks I highly recommend a game. I i personally intend to go back for a rematch. This time, it's me verse the course. Game on.

French Fry ReDesign

Big news in the world of potatoes, Wendy's has switched their fries to a new "natural-cut" fry.

I may not eat meat, but their was a day, and I'm sure there will be again in the future, when this vegetarian was ALL about the hamburger. And while I may have been a burger snob, I could still devour fast food with the best of them. There was no chain loyalty here—I give each chain credit for its own strengths.

Wendy: Wins for variety. Good side salads, chicken nuggets, baked potatoes, and the ever cherished jr. bacon cheeseburger. And all on the value menu.
McDonalds: Has always dominated the french fry war. I'm also a fan of the Big Mac, solely for the "secret sauce" and it's ability to satisfy a shredded lettuce craving. Was actually contemplating today that this sandwich may be just as good without the greasy "meat" patties.
Burger King: Gets points for tasting the most like real food. I attribute this to the charbroiling and the fresher, fatter slices of tomato and lettuce on their sandwiches.
Arby's: Totally different class of fast food.

Anyway, I digress, this post is about fries. As I left the Wendy's drive-thru, the smell wafting from the bag was much less greasy than usual, and it was all I could do to keep from breaking my food-free-new-car rule.

I'm not sure if they are marketing this as a healthier option (and this post here would refute any such claim) but the transparent, grease stained state of the fry bag would make me a health skeptic. But I'm going to confirm Wendys' claim that this is a fry upgrade, based on taste. These fries taste like potatoes (!) and not like a decade worth of deep-fryer oil build-up.

Wendy's as a corporation could probably save a lot of money by cutting back the amount of sea salt they use on their new fries by 30%. I'd heard other people say the salt was overkill, and that they were shaking it off. More evidence that this is not a healthy menu option.

Healthy or not, I approve of the new "natural-cut" fries (though I refuse to say that without the air quotes). Whether or not they are now beating McDonald's in the french fry category.... maybe.

(I so want to say 'Yes', but think it may call for a side-by-side comparison. To be continued.....)

Three Cheers for the Blurberati

Also back from Blurb this week is a project three-years in the making. A personal memoir for Ms. Kent MacKay.

The 12" x 12", 128 page book was printed with the image wrap cover option from Blurb. A lot of communication and cooperation with the Blurb customer support and color management team was involved. But it was a patient process and with their assistance we had a fantastic outcome.

I used the PDF to Book option from Blurb, which allowed me to design in InDesign and then upload a finished pdf for printing. If you plan to use this option let me know, as I now know some fantastic tips to make it a smooth process.