"marshmallow" news and stories

Green and red crab apples. Photo: Pink Sherbet Photography, Flickr.

• Chef Normand Laprise writes about the health perks, versatility and deliciousness of apples, and offers a recipe for Geneva Apple Puree.
  
• Canada's Le Mamirolle uses a French process to create a strong cheese with a sweet and salty taste for fromage fiends.
• Toronto's Pico serves "bipolar" cooking on the whole, but boasts an exceptional brunch.
  
• Sweet dining spots across Canada are experimenting with fancy versions of the classic marshmallow -- from pumpkin flavors to gelatin-free concoctions -- and offering up refined s'mores.
• As fall approaches, there are five things to add to your pantry: spelt, icewine jelly, matcha tea, spicy chocolate and barbecue sauce.
• Fish continue to suffer as we delight in all things from the sea. Now a new study says our obsession with omega-3 fatty acids could bring on "a forage fish wipeout."
• If done right, corn dogs can be a perfect party treat.

Not all candy-making is a science involving a delicate dance of temperature and time. One Easter candy, in fact, can be quite fun -- fun to make, fun to eat, and fun to play with. You know what I'm talking about -- the cute, adorable, and delicious Peeps.

While many candies have devoted fans, nothing seems to inspire the fun and frivolity of the Peep. These little marshmallow suckers inspire an insane following. The blog Unlikely Words found just about every Peeps-themed site of note on the Internet -- pickled Peeps, Presidential Peeps and even anti-Peeps. Even better is the annual contest held by The Washington Post in which people diorama the heck out of their Peeps. We're talking everything from excellent movie recreations like The Wizard of Oz and Ghostbusters to an awesome plumber Peep.

They're almost too good to recreate yourself ... almost! You can still go out and buy your beloved chicks and bunnies, but why not whip up some pals for them as well?

The mallow family contains several plants we see growing wild. Common mallow is the one most easily found, and was growing all over my friends Adirondack farm. It seems to love disturbed soil and likes to grow along fences, barn walls, curbs, and other obstructions. Relatives include cotton, okra, hibiscus, and durian. The original marshmallows were made from a plant actually called marsh mallow by boiling pieces of the root of the plant in water, adding sugar and whipping. Then, the thick, white confection was dropped in spoon fulls onto waxed paper to dry into candy.

You know what I love most about America? The way that we have a holiday for everything. And even when we run out of holidays, we just make up more holidays and continue using them as excuses to glut. And when it's a food holiday, we are officially permissed to double-gorge! So here's a heads-up for my favorite August food holidays -- y'know, so you can get your shopping done early and beat the mad holiday rush.

• August 1 - Raspberry Cream Pie Day: This shortcut Chilled Raspberry Cream Pie recipe from Rachael Ray can be whipped up in a jif. It'll be just like one of those No-Bake commercials when your friends and family are fawning over you for spending the day slaving over the stove while you're secretly sniggering to yourself, "Heh heh, it was no bake, you fools!"
• August 2 - Ice Cream Sandwich Day: Sure, you could wade through the freezer case, or you could man up and make your own. Consider these decadent peanut-butter-'n'-honey-flavored "Bee-Nut Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches" from Domestic Goddess.

When you're making S'mores, all you think about is getting your chocolate-marshmallow fix, right?

But does anyone ever think of the marshmallows? What about how they feel, getting jabbed onto the end of a dirty branch and thrust into a hot flame?

Well, let me tell you: they hate it. And they'd take any opportunity to get revenge. Gee, if only there were a t-shirt to illustrate this point...

But wait! There is! Check out the "Let's Go Camping" tee on Barry's Farm, a fantastic new crafty site that also features laptop covers that look like furry monsters and cute lil' change purses. The best part? Barry's shirts come in tons of sizes.