May 12, 2008
A fortune cookie paradigm shift..
A fortune cookie revolution is predicted if Obama wins the election. When Obama wins fortune cookies will really end with "in bed." and Unicorns will crap ice cream and pastries [from Kottke.org]
Posted by Cakehead at 03:30 AM | Comments (0)
When the Chickens give up their vegetarian tendencies...
It wasn't until seeing this trailer for Poultrygeist that we finally came to understand the shrill arguments the vegetarians were making.
Posted by Cakehead at 03:25 AM | Comments (0)
Custard Mother's Milk
It's boob custard pudding from Niigata, Japan. Apparently it's quite popular. The girl inside is saying "Please eat me gently." [from Yug Yug via Buzzfeed]
Posted by Cakehead at 01:49 AM | Comments (0)
May 05, 2008
T-Whipped Taste Test
The dual is on: Reddi-wip against Cool Whip
Now that real whipped cream and dairy-free Cool Whip topping both come in an aerosol can, it's time for a taste test. Decide for yourselves which whipped topping tastes better.
Over at Glam Dish they're giving away three gift packages which each include a year's supply of Reddi-wip. [thanks for the tip Amy Sherman]
Now all you need is to run out and purchase the Cool Whip spray.
Winners, check back here, to find out all you can do with a year's supply of Reddi-wip.
Posted by Cakehead at 08:57 PM | Comments (0)
Whippet Topping
Since scooping whipped topping seems to be more than Americans can handle, Kraft has created a dispenser that requires you simply push the release button and out squirts a puffy pile of dairy-less dessert covering.
Consumers didn't want to have to take that trying trip to the freezer every time they wanted a dollop, so they'd either skip the topping or went with a canned brand. Kraft's solution: a Cool Whip aerosol, so consumers can reach into the fridge and easily squeeze out a topper for their cookie, brownie or piece of fruit. [from Advertising Age]
We're not sure how the trip to the refrigerator is any less "trying" than a trip to the freezer. It's probably just those advertising dollars at work creating the perception that the colder the refrigeration the greater the exertion.
We've always preferred real whipped cream to Cool Whip. But thanks for trying, Kraft.
Posted by Cakehead at 05:04 PM | Comments (1)
May 02, 2008
Caffeinated Snack Puffs
You've heard about Water Joe -- the caffeinated water. It seemed weird when the product first hit the market. Why not buy a Coke or Jolt to get the caffeine kick.
Well, the next wave of weird caffeinated products has arrived. Caffeinated snacks. No, we're not talking about the caffeine that naturally occurs in chocolate. Engobi Energy bites are puffs of corn that come in flavors like Cinnamon Surge and Lemon Lift. In addition to the sugar and spice and fruit and juice is an ingredient that will give any eater the jittery shakes: caffeine. You can actually taste the caffeine -- overpowering the sugar with a flavor that is a cross between saccharine and chemical.
On the wrapper of the chips is the following unattributed quote: "Prepare to get wired. I mean really wired. The braniacs that invented Engobi jacked it up with some serious caffeine. I don't know how they did it, but they spiked this stuff with more caffeine than those little energy drinks. Oh, and it tastes good!" We're not sure who the "I" of the quote is, but after eating three of the chips with "more caffeine than those little energy drinks," we can't concentrate on the rest of the text on the package to determine who this caffeine snack expert is. We feel quivery and weird, not wired. If you want snacks that taste good steer clear of these crunchy monsters.
Posted by Cakehead at 06:22 AM | Comments (3)
May 01, 2008
Super Sized Salad
If you're looking for a big salad topped with ranch dressing for lunch, head over to Penn Station near 33rd Street and 7th Ave, Manhattan. You may need some rock climbing gear to reach the lettuce leaves -- but once you've scaled the billboard you will not be disappointed in the serving size. [thanks to Anna and her cellphone camera]
Posted by Cakehead at 01:45 AM | Comments (0)
April 29, 2008
Dear Cakehead: Pre Nuptial Cake Dispute
my blue heaven
Dear Cakehead,
My fiance and I are having trouble coming to a compromise. We can't agree on the color of the cake we'd like. Our wedding colors are Cornflower Blue and Champagne, and I'd like our cake to be Ivory, with Blue flowers. He'd like the cake to be Blue with Ivory flowers. Which cake would be best suited? Oh, my dress is Cornflower blue, so tradition went out the window a long time ago. Also, I'm not sure what flowers
would best work on the cake!!
Thanks,
Jen
Dear Jen,
This problem you pose is our most difficult quandary to date. The last thing we want is a bride and groom bickering over cake. Cakes were put on this earth strictly for tastebud pleasure, not to cause any kind of tension.
We want to turn the answer to your question into a metaphor for your marriage. I hope I'm not being presumptuous in assuming you fell in love with your man based on his insides and not the color of his hair, skin, or flower tattoo he made the mistake of inking into his skin.
With this in mind, why not make the inside of the cake the place where the celebration happens? Skip the blue exterior and save the food coloring for the cake's innards. Make the color burst in that private area tucked away under the frosting. (See the photo above for a sloppy example.)
Don't forget, while cake aesthetics deserve a conversation or two, be sure to quit the yapping long enough to put your teeth and tastebuds to work. You want your cake to taste good. The guests won't care about the color scheme if the "cake" tastes like cardboard and sweetened lard. You're the bride so travel far and wide to try all the free cake samples bakeries are eager to offer.
Let us know what decorating route you decide to take and send us a picture of the final results. No matter which exterior you decide on we hope that your tastebuds and marriage do cake dances for many years to come!
Cakehead
Posted by Cakehead at 09:33 PM | Comments (0)
April 25, 2008
Osman and my quest for a lunch date
photo from Filmsphilos
I'm not allowed to leave the office for lunch. That means if I want a date with my paycheck, I have to relinquish my dates at lunchtime. Lunch dates are "frowned upon," according to the person who signs my paycheck. And it would be "less disruptive" if I either bring my lunch or "order take out delivery service."
In my mind I have declared a secret mini-rebellion against this restriction and lunch time depravity.
Osman is my answer for what I declare to be an ongoing quest for my black market lunch date.
Grilled meat is what Osman does best. I met him when I went to pick up a couple of chicken skewers to take back to the office.
To venture out of the office to pick up food was rebellion enough. But on this beautiful spring day in New York I was not going to sit idly, waiting for a delivery service to bring me my lunch. I didn't have a date schedule, yet. Instead, I set out to pick up some food and make a fast friend who I could (in my rebel mind) call my lunch date.
Osman runs a street vending cart offering knishes, grilled chicken skewers and chicken shawarma on the western part of 42nd Street. A guy stinking like he bathed in beer was hanging out near Osman's stand asking for money.
"How much for a knish?" I asked, thinking perhaps if nothing else, he could stand in for my illicit lunch date.
"$2."
"I'll take one," I said, handing it to the drinker.
Osman noticed my rare act of generosity and asked, "when is your birthday?" (I suspect to do some sort of astrological calculation to try to come to terms with this strange mid-day act of kindness). Still feeling generous I told him not only my birthday, April 26 -- but also the year -- willing to offer my age if he was willing to do the math. Turns out there was no math necessary. He born on the same day and same year as me -- only in Cairo, Egypt, not rural Maine.
It was as though the lunch date was meant to be. I enjoyed a solid five minutes of conversation before the guilt set in and I told him I needed to return to the office.
He told me that I could back any day to talk and I didn't even need to buy anything. I'll be going back soon and I don't have any intention of bringing the food back to the office.
Posted by Cakehead at 04:45 AM | Comments (0)
April 24, 2008
Dear Cakehead: Help me get the pig into my cake
Dear Cakehead,
What cake would taste best garnished with bacon?
Love,
Mira
Dear Mira,
Pairing salty and sweet edibles is one of our favorite activities. To tackle this particular challenge was a special delight since we can think of little that we like to eat more than bacon and cake.
Salivating, we hit our test kitchen. We were pretty certain that chocolate cake would overpower the bacon, but afraid we might miss out on a surprising combination, we decided to give the flavor a chance. Sadly, we were correct. We want the salty fat rind of the bacon to cut through the sweetness. But instead the chocolate flavor was focus.
We whipped up a batch of old fashion yellow cake. Sprinkled with bacon, the cake didn't overpower, but was too sweet and left us very thirsty.
Carrot cake was too busy with the bacon. So finally, we tried a red velvet cake recipe (if you use this recipe replace the pecans with crumbled bacon). Not only was the combination absolute perfection, but we like how the red of the cake references the red of the bacon meat and the cream cheese frosting punctuates the crunchy fat of the bacon. We whipped up a big batch of itty-bitty cupcakes and called them bacon bitty cakes.
Give it a try and let us know what you think.
In case your tastes differ from ours, hereere are some links to others who discovered the magic of bacon cake:
Tender Lovemaking (okay, so the name of the blog makes us a little queasy, but they do like bacon cake)
Miss Ginsu likes the chocolate cake with bacon crumble combo.
Jews for Bacon's recipe for chocolate stout bacon cake turns a traif cake into something that's not even Kosher for the gentile gang.
Enjoy!
Cakehead
Posted by Cakehead at 01:14 PM | Comments (3)
