Pusheen, that adorably tubby gray tabby Internet sensation of a cat, has been recreated by Becky and Frank of TinyKittenTeeth.com. I love it.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply
First:
I want to apologize for my extremely long overdue update. I've finished my Masters degree, moved from Canada back to the States, and have started a new job.
すみません、近頃とても忙しかったのです!
SO! New favorite store: Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply in Saint Paul, Minnesota!
I want to apologize for my extremely long overdue update. I've finished my Masters degree, moved from Canada back to the States, and have started a new job.
すみません、近頃とても忙しかったのです!
SO! New favorite store: Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply in Saint Paul, Minnesota!
Why is this store so great?
- Garden supplies. including raised bed kits, heirloom veggies, organic, etc. etc. etc.
- URBAN CHICKENS. Yes. In store, they sometimes (depends on season) have several different breeds of egg-laying chicken chicks for sale! Check out their scheduled expected breeds for 2013.
- They also have a ton of great bulk feed bins, starter "kits" for your own chicken coop (or you can buy one pre-made).
- Canning/pickling/preserving goods. Large pots, those tong things, cookbooks, all sorts of fun stuff for your canning/pickling/preserving needs.
- Classes. Total beginner? No worries! Egg|Plant offers a plethora of classes, from worm composting to shiitake mushroom cultivation to cheese making to maple tapping to URBAN CHICKEN KEEPING. They've got all of your urban farmer needs.
Self-sustainable living. Take pride in what you eat, 'cuz you did it!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Even the Smithsonian Loves Eggs
.../appreciates them. Perhaps the people of the Smithsonian aren't as...."obsessed" as I am, but that's all just semantics. Right? Right.
ANYWAY.
For those that somehow don't know what it is (or perhaps just haven't been to the States), the Smithsonian Institute was created by a British scientist named James Smithsonian. In his will, Mr. Smithsonian asked that his entire estate go to Washington DC in the United States to create a scientific institution (if his nephew died...who obviously did). No idea why, especially since Mr. Smithsonian had never even been to the US, but I digress...
Today, the Smithsonian Institute consists of 18 museums, 9 research centres, 120 affiliates worldwide. Pretty impressive. If you ever have a chance to go to a Smithsonian museum, I highly recommend it. Little no fact as well, the Smithsonian released some AMAZING music compilations a decade or so ago (unfortunately discontinued). If you ever happen upon one, buy it...totally worth it.
So, here are two articles from one of my all-time favourite establishments:
1. How the Chicken Conquered the World. An anthropological/historical account of how chickens/eggs literally saved Western civilization from starvation, and in some cases, Damnation. Did you know that the ancient Egyptians were the first to develop artificial incubation? YOU DO NOW! And knowledge is power.
2. How Do You Cook the Perfect Egg? A mix of science and culinary arts. As famous chef, Jacques Pepin says: the true test of a chef is how they cook their eggs. Honestly though, it all comes down to personal preference. Some people like runny yolk, some like well-done. Some love sunny-side up eggs (yours truly), others really love scrambled (me too!). Still, a fascinating and very short article worth a quick read.
Ok. bed.
ANYWAY.
For those that somehow don't know what it is (or perhaps just haven't been to the States), the Smithsonian Institute was created by a British scientist named James Smithsonian. In his will, Mr. Smithsonian asked that his entire estate go to Washington DC in the United States to create a scientific institution (if his nephew died...who obviously did). No idea why, especially since Mr. Smithsonian had never even been to the US, but I digress...
Today, the Smithsonian Institute consists of 18 museums, 9 research centres, 120 affiliates worldwide. Pretty impressive. If you ever have a chance to go to a Smithsonian museum, I highly recommend it. Little no fact as well, the Smithsonian released some AMAZING music compilations a decade or so ago (unfortunately discontinued). If you ever happen upon one, buy it...totally worth it.
So, here are two articles from one of my all-time favourite establishments:
 |
| from the Smithsonian article How the Chicken Conquered the World |
1. How the Chicken Conquered the World. An anthropological/historical account of how chickens/eggs literally saved Western civilization from starvation, and in some cases, Damnation. Did you know that the ancient Egyptians were the first to develop artificial incubation? YOU DO NOW! And knowledge is power.
 |
| I want this picture mounted on my wall. |
Ok. bed.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Shaped Eggs
Do you ever get tired of the same old egg-shaped hardboiled egg? Do you ever find yourself eating a hardboiled egg, thinking, "This is so dull! I need more excitement in my eggs" ? Well now, you can have that excitement!
EGG SHAPES.
There are basically two ways off approaching this: cheating or effort.
Cheating is quite simple - you get an egg mold online or from an asian food store. You boil an egg. While it's still warm, you peel and rinse the egg, then place it into the egg mold. Press the egg mold closed. Open the egg mold. Tear off the excess egg bits that make the shape look sad, and voilà! Egg mold.
EGG SHAPES.
There are basically two ways off approaching this: cheating or effort.
Cheating is quite simple - you get an egg mold online or from an asian food store. You boil an egg. While it's still warm, you peel and rinse the egg, then place it into the egg mold. Press the egg mold closed. Open the egg mold. Tear off the excess egg bits that make the shape look sad, and voilà! Egg mold.
Pictures from CoffeeandVanilla.com
Effort requires a bit more...effort. Here is a step-by-step guide from bento guru Anna the Red. It doesn't appear too difficult, but it does require a bit more work than opening an old and squishing it shut. Add two more pencils, and you can make flower/star eggs using the same procedure.
Also from Anna the Red is how to make cube, sphere, and pyramid shaped-eggs.
Nifty! You'll never again have to settle for dull egg-shaped eggs ever again.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
The Scariest Egg Dish Ever! (My Ignorant Westerner Post)
As you probably know...I love eggs. Love them. Everything about them.
What you might not know is that I also pride myself as being a huge foodie, food tourist, and adventurous eater. I live by the motto: try everything at least once.
I also looooooove ducks - not only are they very cute with their little quacks and spastic flapping when flying, but super ridiculously tasty.
NOW. With that being said, there are a few dishes that make my stomach turn at just the thought of them. Perhaps one day, I'll suck it up (HA!) and try them, but in the meantime...I try to avoid.
One such dish from the Philippines is balut. Seriously, I don't know how they do it.
Starts off innocent enough - take some duck (sometimes chicken) eggs and cook them. Tasty, right?
NO! It's a 17-21 days old, partially developed bird fetus! It's not even a vague sense of development and shape - IT LOOKS LIKE A DUCK.
Essentially, balut is street food. Here's how it's *enjoyed*:
1. Crack tip of egg enough to make a small hole so you can suck out the juices.
2. Open up the egg some more, add a pinch of salt, and CHOMP!
Yes, it is very intense if you're not used to it (which I am definitely not). But, it's part of another country's culture and cuisine, just as hamburgers are part of ours. Perhaps one day I'll try belut, then I'd get this shirt:
What you might not know is that I also pride myself as being a huge foodie, food tourist, and adventurous eater. I live by the motto: try everything at least once.
I also looooooove ducks - not only are they very cute with their little quacks and spastic flapping when flying, but super ridiculously tasty.
NOW. With that being said, there are a few dishes that make my stomach turn at just the thought of them. Perhaps one day, I'll suck it up (HA!) and try them, but in the meantime...I try to avoid.
One such dish from the Philippines is balut. Seriously, I don't know how they do it.
Starts off innocent enough - take some duck (sometimes chicken) eggs and cook them. Tasty, right?
 |
| from Philippines Food Recipes blog |
Essentially, balut is street food. Here's how it's *enjoyed*:
1. Crack tip of egg enough to make a small hole so you can suck out the juices.
 |
| from EdiblyAsian.com |
2. Open up the egg some more, add a pinch of salt, and CHOMP!
 |
| from gpwa.com |
Yes, it is very intense if you're not used to it (which I am definitely not). But, it's part of another country's culture and cuisine, just as hamburgers are part of ours. Perhaps one day I'll try belut, then I'd get this shirt:
Monday, April 9, 2012
My (late) Easter Egg Post
Soooo yes, I'm a little late. Only one hour EST. Not too bad...
Anyway! Etsy. Yes, Etsy. I love Etsy (even though I've never bought anything from it); MANY people love Etsy (and they probably have bought things from it). For those who do not know what exactly it is, Etsy is essentially the more creative cousin of Ebay (if you don't know what that is, sans auctioning. If you don't know what Ebay is, Google it. Etsy is a global market for people to sell goods that they have created, collected, etc. It's fair to say that it's a bit more slanted to the Wes Anderson movie subculture...but that isn't necessarily a bad thing (sometimes...)!
Etsy, in their cute, crafty, Royal Tenenbaums-esque glory have posted two blogs that showed different ways of decorating Easter eggs. And since I LOVE decorated eggs, I had to share pretty much them all. Even if Easter is officially over. Whatever. Save these ideas for next year. Or tomorrow.
From the website Orange Kitty Crafts:
Pointillism (never even HEARD of that!) and Origami Decoupage Easter eggs (and how to do them!)
.jpg)
So many great ideas, why wait for Easter?
Anyway! Etsy. Yes, Etsy. I love Etsy (even though I've never bought anything from it); MANY people love Etsy (and they probably have bought things from it). For those who do not know what exactly it is, Etsy is essentially the more creative cousin of Ebay (if you don't know what that is, sans auctioning. If you don't know what Ebay is, Google it. Etsy is a global market for people to sell goods that they have created, collected, etc. It's fair to say that it's a bit more slanted to the Wes Anderson movie subculture...but that isn't necessarily a bad thing (sometimes...)!
Etsy, in their cute, crafty, Royal Tenenbaums-esque glory have posted two blogs that showed different ways of decorating Easter eggs. And since I LOVE decorated eggs, I had to share pretty much them all. Even if Easter is officially over. Whatever. Save these ideas for next year. Or tomorrow.
From the website Orange Kitty Crafts:
Pointillism (never even HEARD of that!) and Origami Decoupage Easter eggs (and how to do them!)
.jpg)
LOVE the simplicity of them!
Next, we have even more Easter egg suggestions from the blog, Papersnitch:
 |
| Decoupage eggs |
 |
| Neon dip eggs |
 |
| Leaf print eggs |
 |
| Polka dot Easter eggs |
So many great ideas, why wait for Easter?
Sunday, April 1, 2012
The (Other) Easter Egg
Easter is right around the corner, and a post about Easter eggs would be most fitting....but this isn't about those types of Easter eggs. I'm talking about those awesome intentional hidden messages or images found in everything from movies, games, software, music, websites, books, art, and crosswords. It easily parallels the idea of the Easter egg hunt, as well as the hidden surprises found in the famous Faberge eggs.
Here are some examples of well known Easter eggs:
1. Open a new document
Here are some examples of well known Easter eggs:
 |
| Microsoft Word 97 |
2. Type "Blue"
3. Select word
4. Go to Format -> Font
5. Choose Font Style Bold, Color Blue
6. Type " " (space) after word "Blue"
7. Go to Help -> About
8. Ctrl-Shift-Left click the Word icon/banner
9. Use Z for left flipper, M for right flipper, and ESC to exit
10. Discover what Microsoft means by "Productivity Application"
 |
| That awful fourth Indiana Jones movie poster...look carefully at the space between the skull's eyes |
 |
| An alien?! Was it perhaps the poster artists trying to warn us away from seeing an Indiana Jones movie with ALIENS?? I think maybe... |
 |
| One of the coolest Easter eggs of them all...from the iconic Silence of the Lambs movie, look closely at that moth... |
 |
| Just some pretty markings on its back, right? WRONG!! |
 |
| Phillippe Halsman's photograph of Salvador Dali and some naked ladies. MIND BLOWN. |
 |
| Leonardo Da Vinci's secret music score in The Last Supper |
 |
| Notes! Don't believe me?  |
 |
| Alfred Hitchcock's cameo appearances in all of his movies |
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Spring = Robins = Robin Eggs
Today truly felt like the first day of Spring, and one of my co-workers mentioned seeing a robin earlier that morning. Robin eggs are one of the prettiest out there, so here's a little video with a hatching egg!
Monday, February 6, 2012
The Science of Cooking Eggs
EQUATION
Take two huge passions of mine: food and eggs.
Add one of my favorite video series: TEDx
Add a well known chef with a twist and love of eggs: Wylie DuFresne of molecular gastronomy fame
What do you get?
Pure foodie, egg-lover genius.
Enjoy!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Bad Eggs pt. II
Nulaid Eggs, a South African egg company, had a moderately clever anti-bad egg campaign in 2007 done by The Juniper Drawing Room (also from South Africa - by executive creative directors Graham Warsop and Michael Blore, creative director Thomas Cullinan, art director Shane Forbes, copywriter Aviv Weil and illustrator Shane Forbes.). Enjoy!
Bad Eggs. Literally.
Taken from CBS.com
(CBS/AP) Michael Foods, a Minnesota-based food company, is recalling more than one million hard-cooked eggs from 34 states, after tests revealed some may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.
PICTURES: Listeria: 7 key questions answered
Some 15,000 pails of eggs in brine, sold for institutional use, are being recalled, Michael Foods spokeswoman Diane Sparish said in a U.S. Food and Drug Administration written statement.
TheFDA said the eggs were produced at the company's plant in Wakefield, Neb., and were bought by food distributors and manufacturers and not sold directly to retailers. There have been no reports of illness connected to the eggs, the agency said.
The states included in the recall are: Alabama; Arkansas; Arizona; California; Colorado; Florida; Georgia; Iowa; Illinois; Indiana; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; Mississippi; Montana; North Carolina; North Dakota; Nebraska; New Jersey; Nevada; Ohio; Oklahoma; Oregon; Pennsylvania; South Carolina; Tennessee; Texas; Utah; Washington; Wisconsin; and West Virginia.
Lab testing by a third party revealed that some eggs may have been contaminated and the company determined that a repair project in a packaging room was the likely source of contamination, Sparish said in an email to The Associated Press. She said more than a million eggs were being recalled.
Michael Foods has taken a number of corrective steps to address the issue and prevent recurrence, she said.
Listeria infection, also known as listeriosis, can cause symptoms including fever, diarrhea, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions. The disease primarily strikes older adults, pregnant women, or people with weakened immune systems. Symptoms can take up to two months to appear.
Listeria from cantaloupes caused an outbreak last year that sickened 146 people across 28 states, HealthPop reported. The CDC declared that outbreak over in December.
The eggs are sold under six brand names: Columbia Valley Farms; GFS; Glenview Farms; Papetti's; Silverbrook; and Wholesome Farms. Here are pictures of these company's egg labels.
Only lot codes immediately preceded by a "1" AND ending in a "W" are affected.
The FDA says a recall of three lot dates was announced on Thursday, January 26, but the recall was expanded today to include additional lot dates as a precautionary measure.
Got questions about the recall? Call Michael Foods at 877-367-3447, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET.
(CBS/AP) Michael Foods, a Minnesota-based food company, is recalling more than one million hard-cooked eggs from 34 states, after tests revealed some may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.
PICTURES: Listeria: 7 key questions answered
Some 15,000 pails of eggs in brine, sold for institutional use, are being recalled, Michael Foods spokeswoman Diane Sparish said in a U.S. Food and Drug Administration written statement.
TheFDA said the eggs were produced at the company's plant in Wakefield, Neb., and were bought by food distributors and manufacturers and not sold directly to retailers. There have been no reports of illness connected to the eggs, the agency said.
The states included in the recall are: Alabama; Arkansas; Arizona; California; Colorado; Florida; Georgia; Iowa; Illinois; Indiana; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; Mississippi; Montana; North Carolina; North Dakota; Nebraska; New Jersey; Nevada; Ohio; Oklahoma; Oregon; Pennsylvania; South Carolina; Tennessee; Texas; Utah; Washington; Wisconsin; and West Virginia.
Lab testing by a third party revealed that some eggs may have been contaminated and the company determined that a repair project in a packaging room was the likely source of contamination, Sparish said in an email to The Associated Press. She said more than a million eggs were being recalled.
Michael Foods has taken a number of corrective steps to address the issue and prevent recurrence, she said.
Listeria infection, also known as listeriosis, can cause symptoms including fever, diarrhea, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions. The disease primarily strikes older adults, pregnant women, or people with weakened immune systems. Symptoms can take up to two months to appear.
Listeria from cantaloupes caused an outbreak last year that sickened 146 people across 28 states, HealthPop reported. The CDC declared that outbreak over in December.
The eggs are sold under six brand names: Columbia Valley Farms; GFS; Glenview Farms; Papetti's; Silverbrook; and Wholesome Farms. Here are pictures of these company's egg labels.
Only lot codes immediately preceded by a "1" AND ending in a "W" are affected.
The FDA says a recall of three lot dates was announced on Thursday, January 26, but the recall was expanded today to include additional lot dates as a precautionary measure.
Got questions about the recall? Call Michael Foods at 877-367-3447, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET.
Monday, January 23, 2012
update?
Unfortunately, my wonderfully "free" internet is no more, which means I have not been able to make an update in forever and then some. Also....I've been ridiculously busy. BUT! I promise promise promise I will update this in the very near future - my love of eggs is strong, my need to share this love is stronger(ish).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)