This is a pie that should have been part of our nut themed day yesterday. It is also a pie that should be a hit with math-lovers, food hackers and anyone who really likes pie. This is a fractal pecan pie.
A fractal is a recursive, self-similar geometric object that continuously reproduces into proportionally smaller shapes. This particular one is based on the Koch snowflake, which is made up of triangles. To put this all into layman's terms, these guys made a giant pecan pie that used the same amount of filling that would ordinarily be found in 21 normal-sized pecan pies. The ratio of crust to filling was the same as a standard pie, so the baking time was only a bit longer than average, despite the fact that it had to be done in a custom-built, propane-powered oven. Just make sure that you have enough volunteers to help you eat all the pie (and construct the tin and oven) before baking!
When Alanna sent me a note to let me know about a Lifehacker post on making low-fat cupcakes, I knew I would have to give it a try out of sheer curiosity. After all, Lifehacker is not exactly a food oriented site and to take a break from their regularly scheduled content to mention cooking seemed to be a sign that their technique was worth trying. Notice that I said technique and not recipe.
These light cupcakes are sort of a food hack (or a diet hack) using two ingredients: cake mix and diet soda. If you're not curious, or are so put off by the ingredients that you don't want to hear how the cupcakes turned out, you may as well stop now. Otherwise, read on...
It started with a relatively simple question: how do you improve a breadbox? The answer is that you add a UV lighting system that suppresses the growth of mold, extending the shelf-life of a loaf of bread. This is a particularly neat feature if you by preservative-free loaves of sandwich bread that seem to go bad in only two days.
Installing the light into a reflective, brushed-steel breadbox was a relatively simple matter once you have all the necessary equipment (and if you like building things). But the moment of truth came when the modified breadbox was tested against an unmodified box. The breads in the non-UV box molded in 2 weeks; the UV breads did not mold (though they did eventually dry up after several weeks, by which point you should have eaten the bread). Success!
Total cost of the project: $65. Never having to throw away another half-uneaten loaf that turned moldy: priceless.
You can buy a pair of chopsticks to help your kids master the fine art of eating without a fork, but why buy when you can make use of the wooden chopsticks you get for free when you order take-out? By using only the paper sleeve that they come in and a small rubberband, you can secure the chopsticks so that they are easy for a child to use - even if they are young enough that their motor stills are less than perfect. One benefit to teaching your kids to use chopsticks early is that they'll think they are a lot of fun and, since they'll be looking for chances to practice their newly honed skills, you can get them to eat a lot more veggies with your Chinese take-out food (since they're easy to pick up) than they ordinarily would!
To watch a video of the construction process, click here.
Over at Engadget, there was a post on how to convert your air
popcorn popper into a coffee roaster. An interesting bit of tech work, but they definitely made it more sound more
difficult than it really is. And the commenters seemed certain that trying to use an air popper to roast coffee
beans was a move likely to burn down the house. Clearly, they haven't roasted coffee before. I have used an air popper
to roast beans successfully, without any serious modifications to the machinery - and without burning my house
down, as I cleverly thought to do my roasting outside. In retrospect, this was an excellent move, as the process
produces a fair amount of smoke.
Here are some tips and instructions for roasting your own coffee.
Here are 25 ways
we humans show we can't ever be satisfied with the "usual" ways of preparing, cooking and even
eating our food. Make it yourself. Do it yourself. Hack it yourself. There's something for everyone here.
It started with a relatively simple question: 
Here are 25 ways
we humans show we can't ever be satisfied with the "usual" ways of preparing, cooking and even
eating our food. Make it yourself. Do it yourself. Hack it yourself. There's something for everyone here.
Creating the ultimate Mother's Day gift for the carnivorous mom
Create less clutter with your Mother's Day gifts
Gifts for the vegetarian (or vegetable-loving) mom
