"olympics" news and stories

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

• Hard-boiled, farm-fresh eggs are harder to peel.
• Moving past a prestigious academic career, Goldschlager is a gold-medal winner in the Cocktail Olympics.
• Daikon radishes are fresh and eager to take the field.
• Continue celebrating the Year of the Tiger by making chicken with broccoli.
• Do you have what it takes to win a medal in the Olympic Food Fact event?
• The fudgy Nanaimo Bar shouldn't be kept a Canadian secret.
• Like some folks collect snow globes or baseball cards, do you collect recipes?

As it gets ready to host the 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, Rio de Janeiro is cleaning up its beaches by forbidding the sale of coconuts.

The city decreed that coconut husks, tossed aside on beaches by locals and tourists alike, are a nasty eyesore and as of Dec. 1, sale of the fruit is banned on the sand, AFP reports.

"Go on Ipanema beach at the end of the day and you'll see a mountain of coconuts that people have left on the sand. What attracts rats most to the beach are coconut husks," Jovanildo Savastano, the official in charge of the beaches, told AFP.

He said up to 30 tons of empty coconut shells are found each day.

Michael Phelps' 12,000 calories a day notwithstanding, I'm dubious that the US Olympic teams are marching en masse to the Beijing Mickey D's for their pre-event chowdown. Still, that shouldn't stop you from pole vaulting on over to Facetheglory.com to download a coupon for a free Southern Style Biscuit or Sandwich today. Come armed with a hearty appetite and a color cartridge, 'cause the coupon is valid from August 15th through September 1st, and only if it's printed in color.

Yeah, I know that the analagous Chick-Fil-A sandwich tends to be the crowd favorite 'round these parts, but really, are you gonna look a gift chicken in the mouth?

*A reader just brought to my attention that a medium or large drink must be purchased to receive the freebie. I highly recommend the Sweet Tea.

Facetheglory.com

Southern Style Biscuit Review

One of my favorite early Saturday Night Live skits was featured John Belushi as an Olympic athlete. The scene opens with clips of Belushi doing a high jump and running around a track, then cuts to a shot of him at the breakfast table. Clutching a cigarette, Belushi looks into the camera with complete gravitas and tells about his secret to staying fit: "I downed a lot of donuts. Little chocolate donuts. They taste good and they've got the sugar I need to get me going in the morning."

The commercial played off the classic "Wheaties" ads, which featured Bruce Jenner. The prevailing wisdom in those days stated that top-class athletes had to eat extremely healthy foods, like whole grain cereal and skinless, boneless chicken. However, as I recently read about Michael Phelps' daily eating regimen, I was surprised to see that his diet is much closer to John Belushi's than to Richard Simmons. To begin with, the Olympian consumes approximately 12,000 calories a day, roughly six times the RDA for a man his age. Second, it is heavily skewed towards carbohydrates and fats, which most diets eschew. Given Phelps' amazing energy expenditure (in the average week, the guy swims five hours a day, six days a week!

At any rate, Phelps' average daily menu is after the jump...

• Recipe: Pesto for New Potatoes.
• A restaurant review full of great food, sharing with friendly neighbors, and wacky outside entertainment at Two Chefs and a Table.
• Some Jersey cow, cheesy goodness with L'Hercule de Charlevoix.
• Anthony Bourdain they're not! Canadian Olympians have their own chefs and caterers along for the ride, rather than diving into Chinese cuisine at the next Olympics.
• It's mighty convenient, but there are some things to think about when ordering wine by the glass.
• Restaurant Review: The Bread Bar -- not bread, but "very nearly the best Indian food I've encountered in Canada" according to reviewer Chris Nuttall-Smith.
• A chat with Raymond Blanc.
• Recipe: Watermelon panzanella.
• The woes of finding a good burger.