"video" news and stories

If the old saying, "you are what you eat" holds true, plenty of us are walking-talking chicken nuggets, a side-order of fries and an icy-cold soft drink. Yoxi.tv founder Sharon Chang is trying to change that through an internet-based competition in which teams of problem solvers tackle the most egregious issues surrounding fast food.

The challenge? To devise real solutions to our nation's fast and cheap food habits, and to spread those ideas through online videos on the Yoxi.tv (pronounced YO-see) website. Whether those solutions come by way of products, technology, ad campaigns or community programs is up to the teams themselves.

The idea is a riff off of American Idol. Instead of bestowing a singer with super-stardom, the ultimate goal of the Yoxi competition is to find and fund solutions. Just don't look for Simon Cowell's scowl or snarkiness here. Judges include Food Politics author Marion Nestle; notable chef and Wholesome Wave founder Michel Nischan, and Whole Foods Market Northeast Region president Christina Minardi.

"What I love about this is the social change bent," Nischan told Slashfood. "It's not just the most talented person wins. Whoever wins this has the opportunity to get the type of support to pursue a dream that makes life better for many people, not just one."

Straight from the bogs of New England, the magical, medicinal powers of the cranberry are getting a new boost from science. NPR reports that food chemists are finding compounds within the little red berries that were unknown even 20 years ago. Jim Harnly, research leader of the USDA's Food Composition and Methods Development Lab, told NPR that the lab is using new high-tech methods to decipher the exact composition of cranberries, which are loaded with polyphenols, and known to have an antioxidant, or "anti-aging" effect. In Allison Aubrey's latest entry in her NPR video series, Tiny Desk Kitchen, she explores it all in "Are Berries All That Or Just Hype?".

After getting inspired by the video, you may be inspired to cook up some special cranberry sauces (or a Cranberry-Pecan or Gingered Cranberry-Raspberry relish) in this gallery of Kitchen daily recipes. Or get right to dessert with a Cranberry Cheesecake.

Paula Deen had a bit of a freak out last week on the set of the "Today Show" after an NBC staffer accidentally walked into the shot and hid behind a kitchen island.

"Oh my goodness, can you all see? What is he doing in here? Does he work here?" Deen asked Al Roker as she prepared her Nutty Orange Coffee Cake to promote the New York City Wine & Food Festival. "He doesn't have a gun does he? Should we pull out our knives?"

Roker laughed along with Deen, although it became a bit awkward after he asked her what she was making.

"Nervous. That's what we're making -- nerves, nervous," she said. "Is he from this country?"

But all became hunky-dory once more when Deen learned the man did indeed work for NBC.

"Oh so you do work here, well here," Deen said as she handed him a slice of cake.



[Via Huffington Post]

"Top Chef" may be in full swing, but its cohost, Padma Lakshmi, continues to diversify.

The model-actress-cook stars in a new video for the Eels' "That Look You Give That Guy." Band member Mark Oliver Everett told Slashfood's sister site, Spinner, that "I always dreamt of dating someone as beautiful as Padma Lakshmi. I should probably just go back to dreaming."

The video shows a date between the two with the sometimes burger eater feeding Everett's dog, Bobby Jr., and hawking her cookbook. Product placement brought to you by the Glad family of Padma.

[Via Spinner]

A cafecito (with a Hemingway Special chaser). Photo: Erin Meister

Erin Meister trains baristas for North Carolina-based Counter Culture Coffee and sporadically maintains the blog Meet the Press Pot from her home in New York City. This is part of a series of tips for the caffeine-addicted.

Doesn't the heat make you daydream about being someplace else?

Someplace tropical and friendly, where the heat is part of the romance -- bellying up to a Havana lunch counter, enjoying the languid spinning of a lazy ceiling fan, the cool droplets crawling down the side of a sweating glass, the tinny tenor of cantador Beny Moré. And, naturally, a coffee.

You're thinking, "Coffee?! Who daydreams about coffee while sweat is making tracks down your spine?"

Me, that's who.

Brutal summer days are made for cafecito -- the thick, strong Cuban-style espresso brewed with sugar that's best when belted first thing in the morning. It may look like a regular ol' espresso, but the extra sweet kick might just jump-start your day a little quicker.

A muy tropical cafecito video, after the jump.