You're going to think that I have toasters on the brain, since it was just a few weeks ago that I posted about the toaster concept that would enable you to leave messages on your toast. But I was just glancing at the New York Times and noticed in the lower right hand corner of the screen, where they often advertise a branded product from the NYT, that they are now selling toasters that have the ability to mark you toast with the 'T' from the Times. It's certainly a fun literary way to decorate your morning meal.

Pumpkin season is coming up and without getting in to GMO pumpkins and the nutritional value of ice cream, let's get imaginative and make some pumpkin ice cream, served in a creative way.

• You'll need an ice cream maker (there are even ball shaped models that can be kicked around at partie, though I have never tried one) and a good pumpkin grown for its meat, rather than just its appearance.

• This can be a family endeavor-- messy. In this typical ice cream recipe I would add two cups of good and mashed pumpkin meat. Not too stringy. Make the ice cream and then serve it the carved out pumpkin, lid and all.

I'm always glad to see new ways for people to integrate bacon into their daily routine. You might recall bacon band-aids, for instance. Here's a faux-leather wallet made to look like bacon. They sell for $8.99 at Perpetual Kid and, amazingly enough, their sales pitch doesn't include any "bring home the bacon" jokes. What could be better than pulling your American Express Gold card from wallet of streaky goodness? It just screams "responsible spender."

[Via Boing Boing]

I am disturbed that the slogan for The Fizz Cup is "Buy it. Try it. Die for it."

The cup makes root beer floats and no matter how good a root beer float is, it is hardly worth dying for.

The Fizz Cup screws onto the top of soda bottles and, using a straw that extends from the bottom of the bottle, though the cup and into your mouth, you can suck the soda up and create an instant root beer float. The advantage of using the cup is that it is highly portable, unlike a traditional homemade float in an open cup. Another selling point, according to the company, "It lets you have fun watching the soda and ice cream mix inside the dome lid, just like a volcano. Experience the science of fizz making with this special treat!"

Is a soda volcano worth dying for? No, and a mentos fountain is probably more exciting. Worth $10 + $6 S&H for a pack of 6? Maybe if you really need to take your floats to go.

If you have visited a few theme parks in the past, say, 10 years, chances are good that you have come across a product called Dippin' Dots. Dippin' Dots are small beads of ice cream (sorbet and yogurt are available, as well) that are frozen with liquid nitrogen. Described by the company as the "ice cream of the future," they come in a variety of flavors and are certainly novel to eat. The beads seem fairly "dry" in the serving cup, but melt once they're in your mouth.

Up until recently, the Dots were only available in theme parks and at fairs. The company then expanded to special vending machines and to retail outlets at many shopping malls. Keeping the supply limited was a good way to protect the novelty of their product, but now a new product called Dots n' Cream, which is a combination of Dippin' Dots and ice cream, will be carried at supermarkets.

Ice cream with bits of super-frozen ice cream? Sounds like a strange concept to me. I think one of the malls nearby just opened a Dippin' Dots store. I'll probably just head over there if I get the urge for some novelty frozen treats, but I can see how this would be a hit with kids since it's like bringing a bit of the theme park home.

 

It is safe to say that  when the word "drumstick" is uttered, several things might come to mind. For a musician, that first thing could be the sort of drumstick that is used to, well, play the drums. The more common thought is that of a piece of poultry, also known as the drumstick. This drumstick is the lower part of the leg the fowl. Composed of dark meat, the drumstick is easy to eat with your fingers because of a protruding bone and is quite popular for snacking, as it has a high skin-to-meat ratio.

Another type of drumstick is an Asian plant. These drumsticks are long, thin pods that grow on Moringa trees and get their name from their hard outer casing. Inside that casing, however, is a soft interior which tastes slightly of asparagus. The pods are often prepared in a similar way to green beans, getting chopped into small lengths and tossed into stews, curries and noodle dishes. The seeds inside the drumsticks are edible and are about 40% oil, which can be extracted and used for cooking.

The final type of drumstick is my favorite and has been since I first had one as a kid.

Most American diners don't associate Asian foods with dessert. They think about sushi and spring rolls, maybe even pad thai. Sweets are limited to a fortune cookie and a milky Thai iced tea, though there are many sweet offerings in the countries that have inspired these foods. One treat, as an article in the SF Guardian pointed out, did achieve success: boba (bubble) tea, though its heyday seems to have passed and there are no longer a dozen joints a day springing up in college towns.

Two companies think that they can continue the trend and bring their Asian treats to mainstream America. One is Beard Papa, a chain that sells only cream puffs and has become very popular not only for its high quality puffs, but for its novelty. They have done very well so far, and more locations are opening all the time.

Yesterday's San Diego Union Tribune featured an article about several new offerings from French winemakers who are taking aim at the low-end wine market in the U.S. XL Wines' Jet Lag comes in 8.8 ounce screw-top bottles that look like shampoo or cologne and are meant to fit in a carry-on bag. Sounds pretty close to a hip flask. According to the article, other XL offerings include bottles with no names, only clock faces and times of day on the labels. Then there's Los 3 Bandidos, a Pancho Villa-inspired French wine with advertising mired in bullet holes and tales of Mexican revolutionaries. Most are expected to sell for $8-$10.

I recently found these chocolate thongs (his and hers) on Cool Hunting. Much like the person that posted about them over there, I'm not really sure there's anything I can say about these things that's any funnier than what can be thought by just looking at them.

They're available for sale on BoysStuff.co.uk for £4.95. Looking at the site now, however, it appears that both models are out of stock. It looks like you can pre-order though. "Share a sweet treat with the thong you can eat," say the poets over at BoysStuff. They also claim that these are made from good quality Belgian milk chocolate. I think the caliber of the chocolate kind of goes out the window once it's been attached to ass-floss, however.