Slashfood

At some point in the last year, America's love affair with cupcakes started to cool off. We as a nation weren't thinking about cupcakes all the time. We didn't return the cupcake's calls as quickly as we used to. We just weren't that into cupcakes anymore.

It might have had something to do with cupcakes putting on airs. We could still recall a time when cupcakes were what your mom made for a kid's birthday party -- and not even her favorite kid. They were what you made when you couldn't be bothered to make a proper cake. How on earth could someone charge five dollars for one?

So we moved on. Sure, we still saw cupcakes sometimes, shared some jokes, maybe even a few nibbles. But when we went home and wiped that cream off our lips, we didn't feel that old frisson anymore.

Now we were making whoopie.

Guests will do a double take when they see this purple rice tart, which is sweetened with maple syrup, coconut milk and coconut flakes. This author's oat, cashew and lavender crust is the ideal foundation for the rice pudding filling, while frozen raspberries top the tart for an extra burst of color.

This vegan tart is satisfying and is sure to take the "guilt" out of "guilty pleasure."

Get the recipe here.

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by Catherine Donaldson-Evans

From the adorable, boy-next-door "Naked Chef" to the ruggedly handsome Bobby Flay and charming Aussie Curtis Stone, Slashfood rounds up the 10 most sizzling men in the food business. Warning: It's going to get hot in here.

Being fat will cost you if you work at Whole Foods.

In an effort to trim its health insurance costs and promote healthy living for its work force, Whole Foods is offering employees who have lower body mass indexes, cholesterol and blood pressure and who refrain from smoking greater discounts on its products, the New York Daily News reported.

"The program is designed to provide tools and incentives to encourage healthier lifestyles, and it is completely voluntary," Whole Foods spokeswoman Libba Letton told Slashfood.

"It directly supports two of our company's core value: supporting team member happiness and excellence and the second one is promoting the health of our stakeholders through healthy eating education," Letton said.

Photo: Matthew Wholderfield, Flickr.

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars across the country.

Here's one to file under "Why doesn't every beer bar in America do that."

Seal Beach, California's much heralded Beachwood BBQ offers a live HopCam, offering prospective patrons a chance to peek at their big draft beer board anytime via the bar's Web site.

In the past, What's On Tap has heaped praise upon bars that keep their beer list current online, but eventually most establishments fall victim to the number one reason why Web sites go out of date: laziness. It ain't easy typing those beers up and publishing them on the Internet for all to see, especially for less Web-savvy business owners. Plus, any good owner knows having a current list up on the wall in person is top priority. Otherwise, customers wouldn't know what's available to order.

In honor of the 2010 Olympic winter games, which kick off Feb. 12 in Vancouver, at least three hotel lounges in British Columbia, Canada, are mixing Olympics-themed cocktails for sports fans.

At Fairmont Chateau Whistler's Mallard Lounge, the Triple Lutz is practically all-Canadian. It contains Victoria gin, Ontario ice wine and Crystal Head vodka (from Newfoundland). The hotel also offers the Bobsleigh Slider smoothie for designated drivers, which mixes strawberries, bananas, yogurt and honey with wheatgrass and a dash of cinnamon. Doesn't that make you want to bundle up, head outdoors and zip down a snow-covered mountain in a bobsled?

Yew Restaurant + Bar – inside the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver – offers the Silver, a unique take on the Caesar (and inspired by the Calgary 1988 Winter Games). It's a spicy blend of buffalo jerky-infused vodka, house-made Clamato juice, chili peppers and horseradish.

It's not easy going green, but California might soon get its first eco-friendly McDonald's, the Press-Enterprise reported.

Tom and Candace Spiel, owners of McSpi Inc., which operates nine McDonald's franchises in southern California, are planning to tear down their Riverside, Calif., restaurant and rebuild with an eye on the environment.

"Someone needs to be early adoptees of the latest and best practices, and we're looking to see what we can do to make a positive impact on our community and our environment. This seems like one step forward in that direction," Candace Spiel told Slashfood.

A North Carolina town with no real claim to the Brunswick stew tradition is mounting its second annual Brunswick Stew Cook-Off this weekend, an event that's notable in the stew community for its apolitical stance on the popular dish's origins.

"There is a competition between Virginia and Georgia, so we're in the middle of a fight," Megan Masser, events director for the Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce, explains. "I'm staying neutral."

More than 2,000 people sampled stews at last year's festival in Shallotte, says Masser. For audience members and the 22 cook teams – each tasked with preparing at least eight gallons of the thick tomato-based stew – it's the stew's flavor that matters.

"That's the most important thing," Masser says.