I know people swallow it (note that I will not reveal my own preference - this is not one of those sites), however the concept of cooking it up into a gourmet meal is totally new to me. I'm speaking, of course, of semen and the new book, "Natural Harvest: A collection of semen-based recipes" by Paul Photenhauer.
In the book, Paul tell us that, "Semen is not only nutritious, but has a palatable texture and wonderful cooking properties." It's a widely available ingredient and the flavor is complex like a fine wine. Depending on the male's diet, the flavor will vary.
The book contains recipes for the almost white Russian, man made oysters, tuna sashimi with dipping sauce (you know what that is), and (if I may insert editorial opinion here), the grossest of them all, creamy cum crepes.
Paul does give the all-important warning, "Please do not add semen to your guest's food without informing them beforehand," and I thank him for that. While I'm typically OK risking it with a mystery meat on my plate and have even gone so far as to eat fried bugs, I would definitely need a warning and perhaps a doctor's seal of approval on the producing male before digging in to any dish from Natural Harvest.
Are you totally disgusted or would you try it?
Natural Harvest is available for $24.99 at Lulu.com. You can also find pictures there of some of the other recipes.
Last night, I had the luck of experiencing a six course tasting meal at Monarch (a top St. Louis restaurant). Everything was mouth-watering, but the item that got me the most excited was the black garlic. It was sugary sweet and garlicky at the same time with a balsamic-like flavor.
Our table went back and forth debating what made it black. Was it soaked in balsamic? Did it just grow that way? As stated on none other than blackgarlic.com, "There's only one ingredient-garlic. It's aged for a month in a special fermentation process under high heat, where it develops its darker color, softer texture, and sweeter taste. Amazing what a month can do."
I'll be seeking out black garlic in the future and I suggest that you do the same.
I've never met a pumpkin pie that I didn't like. It's hard to really screw up this Fall staple. However, getting it just right is also a challenge. One of the more bizarre incarnations of pumpkin pie that I've experienced was when I dated an extremely health-conscious pumpkin pie lover who would make pumpkin pies using soft tortilla shells as a crust. I am not endorsing that variety of "pie," although I had no problem eating it!
My least favorite pumpkin pies are the ones that have so much sugar that you can't taste the pumpkin. I experienced one such pie the other night from Sam's Club. Hopefully, the people who served me that pie are not Slashfood readers.
If you are in the mood for an easy pumpkin pie that has a real crust and actually tastes like pumpkin, I would highly recommend the frozen pumpkin pie from Wholly Wholesome. Check out the ingredient list: pumpkin, water, organic cane sugar, organic wheat flour, vegetable oil (palm oil, soybean oil), milk, eggs, organic whole wheat flour, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves. I didn't feel too bad about putting those things into my body. Well, I did feel a little bad after I ate a quarter of the pie in one sitting.
Cupcakes are single-serving personal desserts that you don't have to share with anyone else - at least that used to be the case. Wilton has created a cake pan designed to look like a cupcake. The way it works is that there are two cake molds: one for the top of the cupcake and one for the base cake. James made two of these giant cupcakes on Halloween and they fed 30 people!
The "cupcakes" sure do look adorable, but I like my personal, little cupcake just for me - thank you very much. If we are going to call these cupcakes at all, we should definitely be clear that they are double D cups.
The National Confectioners Association lives in a world of candy all year long. What do they do at the office to celebrate the day devoted to candy? I would expect much revelry and perhaps even the day off of work. There would be lots and lots of free candy for all employees - maybe even candy flying out of windows onto the streets!
According to the Candy Dish Blog (the official blog of the National Confectioners Association), they have a pot luck lunch. I'm a bit disappointed with this news. However, at least someone brought in a cake laden with candy. As you can see in the photo, there is lots of candy all around the cake. Thanks goodness!
Does your workplace have them beaten? What are you doing today?
Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories came up with a genius idea for making baked goods a bit more 3-D. They created edible googly eyes by using empty gelatin pill capsules with big, round sprinkles inside. Could they be any more adorable?
I decided to give this technique a go to create some Halloween cupcakes. The hardest part about it was finding the empty gel caps, and that wasn't even very hard. I at first thought that they would sell them at a drug store. Wrong. They are sold at natural foods stores where people use them to make their own herbal pills.
Sure, a few of my friends mocked me for walking out of a store with a tons of empty gel caps. Was I becoming a druggie? The end result was worth any mocking, though.
I'd love to see what creative uses Slashfood readers can come up with for this idea. If you try it out, let me know!
I did a double-take today at Whole Foods when I saw a "pumpkin tree" mixed in with the flowers. Since I had an extra $5 to spend, I decided to indulge. Sure, the pumpkin tree was about $12 and the $5 could have been used as a savings on what was already in my bag, but there is no need to focus on that.
When I got home, I did a quick Google search to find out more about the pumpkin tree. My main question was, "Are the pumpkins edible?" I found the answer from Stevens & Son Wholesale Florist. It turns out that the "pumpkins" are really ornamental eggplants. In Asia, they are used in stir-frys.
I'll probably stick to using mine as decoration, but it would be fun to grow some to eat and decorate with in future years. The Gardener's Network describes in detail how you can grow your own.
Lollyphile lollipops are some of the best lollipops I've ever had. I even devoted a cupcake to their maple bacon lollipops. I had the opportunity to interview Jason Lewis, Lollyphile's founder, on Food Interviews and learned that his company actually started because he had extra absinthe sitting around that he had been selling to a speakeasy. The speakeasy got shot down and there was nothing left to do with all the extra absinthe - except, of course, make lollipops!
Lollyphile's latest flavor, wasabi-ginger, is now on the market. I can't wait to try it! Jason says, "Wasabi-Ginger lollypops are made with no artificial flavoring, and contain real wasabi, adding a little kick to the natural spiciness of the ginger. They are guaranteed to not actually make your sinuses explode."
I wouldn't want to give these out to kids for Halloween (mainly because four lollipops cost ten dollars) but, they would be a perfect, special candy treat for yourself.
As if I didn't already love our St. Louis local brewery, Schlafly, the election versions of their beers have won me over completely. Baracktoberfest is not your only choice. You can also choose from McCain's Maverick APA Ale, Palin Ale, and Hefebiden Unfiltered Wheat Ale. You can view photos of all four bottle labels on STL Hops.
The beer selection, however, does bring up all kinds of difficult decisions. If I prefer the taste of Maverick APA Ale, but I'm an Obama supporter (hypothetically, of course), do I buy the Baracktoberfest just to show my support, or do I get the beer I like?
I was recently told about study at Washington University where a group made both elephant and donkey cookies to see which ones the students would buy more of. It turns out that students bought more elephants simply because they were bigger - smart students. I suppose that, given the choice, I would take a lesson from the college kids and drink the beer I liked. I could always remove and crumple (tear to shreds) the label.
Would you buy based on your beer of choice or your politician of choice?
I spent yesterday at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Over 25 countries were represented at the festival. You "travel around the world" buying small food samples at each country's booth. I had expected typical theme park food. However, the food and wines were above average by any standards - not just theme park standards.
The festival runs though November 9. I have a few strategic tips for those of you who have the opportunity to go:
Picture this: You're starving. You head into your office break room, open the refridgerator door to grab the lunch that you woke up extra early to pack. It's gone! Who took it? Was it that guy who sits two cubes down from you? You always thought he was sort of shady. Or, maybe it's that innocent looking office admin. For a moment, you consider stealing someone else's food - those leftovers that the new consultant brought in look great! But, you decide you'll just have to go out to lunch again.
Apparently New York-based Sherwood Forlee had one too many lunches stolen. Sherwood designed plastic lunch bags with built-in spots designed to look like mold. Who would steal that sandwich? My concern, however, is that people who buy the bag may face a differnt problem - kind co-workers throwing the bag in the trash.
What measures have you taken to protect your office lunch?
The image of a friend offering a popsicle with high fructose corn syrup and being treated like a drug pusher could have been taken straight out of my life. Although, at this point, our friends know better than to even offer.
What are your thoughts on high fructose corn syrup? Did the commercial and the associated web site, Sweet Surprise, change your behavior towards the sweetener?
My husband spotted crème brûlée stout by Southern Tier Brewing Company on a beer menu at at new local restaurant. Ordering it was a no brainer. We had to give it a try! The first thing we noticed as it arrived at our table was the smell. It smelled just like crème brûlée - a very unexpected scent when you stick your nose into a beer bottle.
The crème brûlée stout tasted like someone poured a ton of vanilla syrup into their beer. It was really sweet and very crème brûlée - like, but also definitely tasted like beer. Oddly enough, the combination was great! After we tried it, several other people at the table ordered their own. We drank ours with the meal, but you could just as easily have it for dessert on its own or as a beer float with some cinnamon ice cream.
I would definitely try it again. But maybe, I'll just pour some vanilla syrup into a regular stout instead. It would be cheaper.
These cream cheese penguins are clearly taking a death march to someone's mouth. They are so cute that there is no way that that they wouldn't be the hit of any party. They were made by blogger Sweet & Sticky who proudly says that they were the only dish that everyone completely finished off at her family get-together.
To further raise the level of cuteness of these little guys, commenter Karly said that she made these penguins with a cheeseball igloo!
These would be a perfect way to cool down on one of the remaining hot days of summer or to complete a winter scene during the holidays.
For complete instructions on how to make the penguins, visit Sweet & Sticky.
The Cook Hook is a little gadget that lets you hang your towel anywhere you could put a portable hook. The hook works with magnets - simply stick the towel between the two magnets and then pull it out when you need it.
I keep my towel draped over the stove bar. The hook in this picture is really cute, but I do have to wonder why they don't just throw the towel right over the bar directly.
On the Fusion Brands site (where they sell the Cook Hook), there is also a picture of a guy with the hook in his belt loop. It might be convenient to have a towel right on me while cooking.
I've never met a pumpkin pie that I didn't like. It's hard to really screw up this Fall staple. However, getting it just right is also a challenge. One of the more bizarre incarnations of pumpkin pie that I've experienced was when I dated an extremely health-conscious pumpkin pie lover who would make pumpkin pies using soft tortilla shells as a crust. I am not endorsing that variety of "pie," although I had no problem eating it! 
I did a double-take today at Whole Foods when I saw a "pumpkin tree" mixed in with the flowers. Since I had an 
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