I’ve been traveling quite a bit lately, both for fun and for work. When I get home from a week or more on the road, one of my first impulses is to cook something delicious with (preferably) lots of fresh vegetables. I know you’re probably thinking “what does this have to do with Tropophilia?” Well, it so happens that this particular culinary adventure was only possible thanks to the internet.
While I love to cook, I don’t actually own a cookbook. I can’t remember a time in my “cooking life” (roughly since I went to college, unless you count several attempts at gingerbread cookies as a young ‘un) when I haven’t been able to quickly search the web for a recipe. Recently, my access to awesome recipes and expertise broadened beyond the web and the Food Network.* I’m talking about video podcasts; specifically, the Cooks Illustrated free weekly (5 minute) podcasts on iTunes.
A recent podcast demonstrated technique for a “quick” beef and vegetable soup. They promised flavor akin to a soup that simmers for hours, all in 60 minutes. These are my kind of cooks–obsessive compulsive about ingredients, flavors, and technique…and looking for shortcuts. I was intrigued by watching the podcast, and soup sounded delicious. The recipe is posted on the Cook’s Illustrated’s podcast site (the normal site is paid-registration only; the podcast recipes are free). One quick grocery store trip later, I was cookin’.
I’m happy to report that the soup turned out very well. Now I’ve laid down the gauntlet for Jarred to try Cook’s Illustrated’s apple galette recipe. I think his sweet tooth will drive him to action.
Pictures of my experiment after the break…
Continue reading ‘Sunday Cooking…With the Internet’
Those who know me are aware that few things scare me as much as snakes. I hate those squirmy little death-vermin, and I refuse to acknowledge (rational) arguments of their merits…or the complete inability of some species to kill me. The point is, they freak me out.
So imagine my inadvertent bowel movement surprise when I stumbled upon this story in my Google Reader. Let me save you the suspense of clicking through by highlighting the basics (emphasis mine):
The US Geological Survey has published maps predicting that burmese pythons currently breeding in the wild in the USA could spread across all of the lower USA.
[...] The snakes, which can grow to 20 feet and 250 pounds, [...] are another example of the dangers of trade in exotic species. Originally sold as pets, many owners release the snakes into the wild when they tire of caring [for] them. Amazingly, this is occurring often enough that the snakes have established breeding colonies, the first step towards spreading out into their new environment.
Oh my God.
Continue reading ‘Get These Mother-Effing Snakes Out of This Mother-Effing Habitat’
We’re not sure what this means (though if the editors of SMITH magazine are reading this, we’d still love those Planet Earth DVDs…), but Jarred’s entry in TreeHugger/SMITH Magazine’s six-word essay contest on “The Green Life” is currently featured prominently on the contest’s site. In case you missed these in the comments of my previous post:
Jarred: Kermit’s Right, Being Green Ain’t Easy.
Taylor: Don’t act in isolation; isolate inaction.
While it’s too late to enter the contest, I wanted to highlight this topic again because apparently six-word writing is all the rage. Rachel enlightened us in the comments of my previous post:
“Someone once bet that Hemingway that he couldn’t tell a story using only six words. And he came up with the following: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Is it a story? No. Is it compelling as hell? Yeeeeeah.”
Just today I saw that the Freakonomics blog is hosting its own “six-word motto for the U.S.” contest. My favorites so far are:
Our Worst Critics Prefer to Stay
AND
Just Like Canada, With Better Bacon
Is a new art form emerging, or are our attention spans so limited that we can’t handle longer prose…..
TreeHugger and SMITH magazine (I’d never heard of it either…) are hosting a contest called “Six Word Memoirs: The Green Life.” Basically, the challenge is to summarize your philosophy on environmental issues in 6 words or less:
“Got a swell philosophy? Traveled a strange path? Fall off the eco-wagon often? Lay your tiny tale on us [...] Everyone on this big blue marble has a green story. So, what’s yours?”
Let me warn you, it’s a challenge. Maybe you, dear reader, are less verbose than I am, but six words is a limited canvass for anyone. The contest hosts are offering great prizes (my fingers are crossed for the Planet Earth DVDs), so you should give it a shot. And be sure to add your submission to the comments here as well. In a few days, I’ll share my submission–though if you’re clever you can probably find it on the contest site. Good luck!
Straight from the Mental Floss Blog (which, if you’re not reading, you should add to your list): The BBC News list of “100 things we didn’t know last year.” Basically, 100 discoveries (both scientific and editorial…such as the BBC editors’ astonishing revelation that British chain TK Maxx goes by TJ Maxx in the states [#28]) from the past year, including news stories related to those changes in what we know. I can’t express how much I like this approach, as it captures the growth of our combined understanding of the banal and extraordinary parts of our lives and our history, year by year. You can browse past years’ lists on the BBC site; here are a few things we didn’t know at this time last year:
3. Adding milk to tea negates the health-giving effects of a hot brew. [on a personal note...this news sucks]
6. Dishcloths are purged of 99% of their bacteria during two minutes in a microwave.
31. There is mobile phone reception from the summit of Mount Everest.
42. Nearly seven out of 10 (69%) of adults are still in touch with at least one childhood friend.
46. Peanuts can be made into diamonds.
48. You can be arrested for using someone’s wi-fi network without permission.
58. The Romans had roadmaps.
70. IP addresses will run out in 2010.
75. CO2 emissions from shipping are twice the level of aviation.
80. Adults use maths skills 14 times daily on average and literacy skills 23 times a day.
