Quirky Cookery

Top 7 Geeky Cookie Cutters by WarpZone Prints on Etsy (Guest post)

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:55:00 +0000

(Today’s guest post is brought you by my geeky sister, Kayla.)

Who could resist these geeky cookie cutters? WarpZone Prints has many more but these are merely my favorite.

7. 1-Up Mushroom from Super Mario Bros

6. Dalek from Doctor Who

5.Wizard Hat

4. Tardis from Doctor Who

3.Classic 8-bit Heart

2. Goomba from Super Mario Bros

Look at the detail!

1. Block and Coins form Super Mario Bros

You can even create a 3D version!

The evolution of candy bar wrappers

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:05:00 +0000

Facts about Food Friday

Hershey’s bar wrappers have remained pretty consistent over the last century really, but some of the other candy bars in this Candy Bar Wrapper Archive have changed a bit more over time.

If you go take a look at Snickers, for example, they had a complete makeover somewhere between the 1959s and the 1980s….and then beyond that, they’ve changed colors some, but the main name font and styling has been pretty much the same. That’s most likely because candy bars are often bought at the checkout and we reach for what we know….it’d be marketing suicide to re-brand a well-known candy bar wrapper.

Some of the candy bars in the archive I didn’t recognize either. Like “Chicken Dinner” from the mid 1900s that was apparently really popular with the kids and was a reference to Hoover’s promise of “a chicken in every pot” during the Great Depression. Who knew that kids would get excited by the idea of it. It had nothing to do with chicken, though, and was simply a chocolate covered nut roll.

Oklahoma’s State Fruit is…the Watermelon? (Facts about Food Friday)

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:44:00 +0000

Facts about Food Friday

If this were a tomato we were talking about, I would understand. A tomato fits some characteristics of both a vegetable and a fruit, and we tend to use it for either general purpose, so there’s some confusion.

But the watermelon? Yes, I did my research. Yes, I know that there are some claims like how it’s part of the cucumber family, and therefore, could be considered a vegetable… But come on.

Even if it were 100% vegetable, I would say the vast majority of people think of it as a fruit. Maybe the vast majority of people are completely wrong even, but when you name your state vegetable as being the watermelon, you’re the one who looks stupid… Ah well. We probably didn’t have that high hopes for you anyway, Oklahoma. ;)

Remember all the Coke and Mentos videos? (Wordless Wednesday)

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:33:00 +0000

(This makes me wish I actually participated in April Fool’s jokes.)

Finger food - Man eats his own finger

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 12:55:00 +0000

Shockingly enough, the above picture is actually the least disgusting or uncomfortable picture I could find for a “dead” finger….

Anyway, David Playpenz recently hit the odd news world because he cooked and ate his own finger.
In his defense, it’s worth noting that the finger was already “dead".” he lost it during a motorcycle accident and instead of letting the doctors throw it away, he asked to keep it. Apparently, this is something you’re allowed to do and so he took it home with him. He had been curious about cannibalism and what human meat might taste like, so this was his chance.

As bizarre as it is, I think it’s kind of awesome that he went for it. I don’t think I could eat my own finger, even if I were interested in the taste, but I suppose it’s no creepier than wanting to try someone else’s flesh, right?

I’m kind of impressed that one of his vegan friends was actually one to approve of his taste-test. S/he was okay with it because David had his own permission (whereas animals don’t). He’s also keeping the bones so that he didn’t truly ‘lose a part of himself’. To each his own!

Homemade crescent rolls stuffed with broccoli, cheese, ham

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 10:06:00 +0000

Broccoli and ham cheese stuffed crescent rolls are one of the earliest recipes I remember learning how to make.

We would’ve used canned crescent rolls, so as a kid, it was pretty easy for me to cut the packaged ham into tiny squares, shred the cheese, and mix the broccoli in with my hands.

Unfortunately, it’s also another one that I don’t have a real recipe for either. (Kinda funny how this one involves broccoli, too.)

The basic breakdown?

A head of broccoli with florets chopped and boiled or steamed to be tender
A couple packages of cheap ham - In terms of ham bought from the deli, I’d call it about an inch stack, diced, give or take several bites
A half a block of cheese (about 4 oz?), shredded
A very large squirt of mustard….plus a couple small squirts after you taste-test and realize you still want it a little tangier

Mix it all together and pile onto 8 croissant rolls, canned or homemade. If the broccoli is still a bit warm, all the better because it’ll melt the cheese some and help it stick together.

Bake at 375F for whatever the standard package says. If you want to make your own, I used a recipe similar to this one, I’m sure.

Tip - My choice of using a pizza stone that you see in the first picture is not by chance. When working with pastries, it’s often key to keep the fat cold while working with it in order to create a flaky texture. That’s why it’s always best to chill pie crust before you use it.

With these croissants, I put the pizza stone in the fridge while I prepared the rest of the ingredients and then worked directly on the cold surface as much as possible before putting everything in the oven.

7 Up wasn’t always so easy to remember (Fun Facts about Food)

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Fri, 31 May 2013 11:39:00 +0000

Facts about Food Friday

Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda

That’s about what the original developer thought would be an appropriate name for people to have to say every time they wanted his lemon-lime drink.

Until 1950, like a lot of other sodas that weren’t purely sweet drinks, it also had a mood stabilizing drug (lithium citrate) in it. Given the obesity epidemic, maybe we should go back to the time where sodas were considered medications instead of constant kid drinks. ;)

Don’t do drugs - Eat spaghetti instead (Wordless Wednesday)

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Wed, 29 May 2013 11:20:00 +0000

(See Mom? That spaghetti addiction I had was apparently a good thing….)

Blue pork sushi - When toothpicks go bad

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Tue, 28 May 2013 23:17:00 +0000

I first posted about these delicious little pork rolls more than 2 years ago and since then, I’ve made them several times. They’re quick, taste good, and are great for using in lunches the next day.

It’s not uncommon for me to use colored toothpicks and you can see that all of them here even have multicolored sticks:

It wasn’t until the last time I made them, though, with a different brand of toothpicks, that I ran into issues. Check out these:

Oops!

So if you’re the type that’s worried about the chemicals and dyes in our food, beware that some of those toothpicks will bleed colors. I doubt the tiny amount is harmful, but it’s still worth noting, especially if the kids have any sensitivities.

The tablecloth that only gets better with spills

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Fri, 24 May 2013 11:46:00 +0000

Unfortunately, Underfull is only a prototype and isn’t actually in production, so I can’t tell you where to buy this. I’m not sure it’s even practical to suggest buying it in the first place, to be honest, because all you’ll want to do is pour stuff all over it, I’m sure. :P

It’s a cool idea, though…..to turn something that’s usually seen as an accident and ruins a beautiful white tablecloth, into something even more beautiful. I particularly like that it’s butterflies instead of flowers or some generic pattern.

Canadians like their….full two scoops! (Facts about Food Friday)

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Facts about Food Friday

While most people probably recognize “two scoops” of raisins as part of the slogan for Raisin Bran, it’s not something I have heard much of in recent years.

I assumed they still made the cereal, but it’s not exactly a cereal you see on TV much any more, is it? I would say it was way more popular in the 80s and isn’t necessarily a cereal that current elementary school kids are begging their mothers for. I could be wrong, though! It’s not like I’m a subject matter expert on TV considering I rarely watch it.

Regardless, I know the box; I know the cereal; I know the jingle; I know the smiling sunshine. I even vaguely remember a TV show back in the 80s where they counted the raisins and wanted to sue because there weren’t enough raisins or something like that. I want to say it was Mama’s Family, but again, not a TV expert. ;)

The first time I saw it in Canada, though, I was supposed to see that Two Scoops is what they know it as! You can see that “raisin bran” is listed in the middle still, but that’s as a description of the cereal….not as the name.

Upon further looking, I discovered that back in the 40s in the US, it was determined that you can’t trademark “raisin bran” because it’s merely the ingredients or characteristics of the ingredients, so if anyone else wanted to describe their cereal with the same words, they would be allowed to.

This is why you’ll find that Kellogg’s (the owner of all of the ‘two scoops’ branding), General Mills, and Post all three have cereals named “Raisin Bran.” In Canada, however, only Kellogg’s is going to be seen as “Two Scoops” instead, helping it stand out against the competition. :D

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, yes, there ARE two scoops in every box, but the size of the scoop is what’s going to vary. ;) They actually put in the raisins based on weight and it increases proportionally with the size of the box. For an average size box on the supermarket shelf, it’s roughly 1/2 cup per scoop, for a total of one cup of raisins in the whole box.

Maybe broccoli doesn’t like you either (Wordless Wednesday)

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:17:00 +0000

Did you ever think about that? :P

How do you open a coconut?

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:22:00 +0000

I would generally say that you should grab a hammer and go at it, but this guy has a different method. O.o

Apparently Old Mr. T up there uses just his teeth, though, and can shuck 500 coconuts in 6 hours (his record is 8 seconds for a single coconut). Why on earth he would want to do that, I don’t know, but it is pretty impressive that the 64 year old’s teeth are still holding up to the torture.

He’s peeled over 100,000 coconuts this way. Either he REALLY loves coconuts….or he really, really hates them and this is his way of taking his anger out on them.

How to kill and cook lizards and iguanas

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:37:00 +0000

I really wanted to show you a picture of the cooked iguana legs from Serious Eats, but I know some of you are a little squeamish. And if food bloggers every where preach to not even post bones, I’m pretty sure it’d be frowned upon if I post dissected iguanas, too.

But they look so cool!

There is a video at that link, too, so you can see how they hunt them and cook them. Pretty interesting. I imagine they’re going to taste much like frog legs, too, although probably a bit chewier since they are smaller.

In other news, while I was trying to hunt down a cute picture of some reptile for you, I stumbled across an item from a couple years ago. Apparently they discovered a new species of lizard….at a Vietnamese buffet!

A reptile scientist was intrigued by the fact that all of the lizards seemed to be females. I suppose only a reptile scientist would be taking note of the gender of their food, ha. Turns out, it’s some rare species that can reproduce by cloning itself. Maybe I should pay more attention to what I’m eating?

McDonald’s in a mansion

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:39:00 +0000

While I don’t immediately think “mansion” when I see this building, considering it’s from the 1800s and in New York (Hyde Park, specifically, for you locals), then this clearly wasn’t your average sized house either.

And now, it’s a McDonald’s! This isn’t anything new and it’s been this way since the early 90s, but I had never seen it before.

My favorite part is that they full restored the glass veranda, too, and allow it to be used as a dining area:

So maybe the view isn’t that great, but it’s still far superior, both inside and out, than your standard Mickey D’s:

Which came first? The chicken or the egg?

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:51:00 +0000

That’s sort of a mandatory title for a picture like this, right?
I used to use A LOT of eggs. When I was living at home and cooking for 6 (7 if you count the dog…12+ if you start adding in the rotating friends/family), Mom would give me “those looks” when she’d see me pile up the cart with 10 dozen eggs.

“Do you really need that many?”
“Uh, yes….”
~ the look ~
“Well it takes a full dozen for a set of omelet muffins or breakfast burritos. If I’m doing those for the freezer, I need at least a few (dozen) and then I put a dozen in the dog’s food, and if I’m doing any baking…”
“Okay, okay. What next?”
“Cheese.”

~ Sigh ~

I can’t really think of any times where by the end of the month, I had any eggs left either (or cheese, for that matter) and occasionally I would have to stop to get more. Eggs are a super cheap source of nutrition and when you’re trying to cook healthy for a small army on a budget, that’s kind of key.
It also means ending up with a whole lot of “wasted” egg shells, though. The only thing I ever used them for was in the dog food (great way to add the necessary calcium). Had I known I could make my own chickens out of recycled egg shells, I surely would’ve! (Although, there’s no way it would’ve looked as good as this guy’s.)

Ketchup packets are complicated

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:20:00 +0000

I’m all for inventing new things and making life easier….or even if not easier, quirkier at times.

But at the same time, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” right?

Do people really struggle with getting the last of the ketchup out of those little packets? And is it really that big of a deal if some of it soaks through the paper on the tray?

I should hope not! But it’s cool that they found a problem and tried to fix it in a creative way anyway. I can’t imagine it ever being put into production, because well, like said, it’s really not a huge deal and it’d cost a lot more to create an entirely new design for something as silly as fry cups. It does make you think, though, huh?

Rainbow of peppers (Wordless Wednesday)

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:45:00 +0000

(I suppose there’s not that much “quirky” about this image, but it was creative to arrange them like this and I thought it was a really artsy/pretty shot. <3)

Disney World Food Air Fresheners

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

I love me a turkey leg any day of the week, but I really can’t say that I necessarily want my car to reek of poultry on a hot summer day either.

I’m gonna have to say the same for waffles, if I’m really being honest. Sure, a waffle might be nice in the middle of summer in an air conditioned restaurant, but the sickenly sweet smell of maple syrup is going to make me….well….sick at the thought of it even. I’ll pass.

It’s definitely quirky, though, right? If you want your own, they’re available at the Disney Resorts, but I’m sure you can probably find them online by now, too.

Top 10 Manatee Cakes

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Sun, 12 May 2013 21:51:00 +0000

Here Mom…have some cake for Mother’s Day! ;)

(Technically this is just a cake topper, but isn’t it adorable?)

Sources:

http://myrcury-art.deviantart.com/art/Manatee-Cake-139206519
http://www.weddingbee.com/2010/09/29/wedding-cake-hearts/
http://etsylove.ning.com/photo/manatee-cake-007?xg_source=activity
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=247566&start=441
http://www.cakechooser.com/314/manatee-pictures-for-kids/QzA4REQ0NUM2NTkwM0RGRjgyMjBENzUwQTkxOTZCQkRBQzZERjQ5RQ/
http://occasionalmanatee.tumblr.com/post/27652875004/a-cute-manatee-cake-until-the-manatee-gets-sliced
http://www.candiddiversions.com/2009_09_01_archive.html
http://www.myspace.com/xallicatx/photos/57074642
http://www.etsy.com/listing/85528505/special-order-for-matthew-bride-groom
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73001415@N05/7348748572/

Wyngz - The cool way to say “not wings” (Fun facts about food Friday)

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Sat, 11 May 2013 11:45:00 +0000

Facts about Food Friday

I really hate when people spell things with a ‘z’ instead of ‘s’ anyway, but apparently this is a real thing now - A government issued mandate that requires food manufacturers to label certain types of food this way.

So basically, “wyngz” are any chicken products that are sort of shaped like chicken wings, but aren’t actually wings at all. In fact, this is the ONLY misspelling that’s allowed and it has to be exactly this way with both the ‘y’ and the ‘z’ in order to be legal.

Not only that, but there is an entire list of very specific details that must be followed:

The chicken used in said “chicken product” has to be white meat
“Wyngz” has to be in the same color font and not hidden inconspicuously
Here’s where we start getting specific - The smallest letter in the name can be no smaller than one-third the size of the largest letter used in ‘wyngz’. Get out your rulers, folks!
It also has to state that it’s not wing meat (or isn’t ‘just’ wing meat), such as “contains breast meat and wing meat,” and has to be linked by an asterisk next to “wyngz,” pointing people to a more specific description of what they may or may not want to eat now.

Digiorno is doing it right on their boxes there.

And actually, they’re going one step farther by trying to make this sound like a great thing. If you go to their website, they explain that the reason for the “fancy spelling” is “Because they’re not wings. They’re even better!”

/facepalm

Really, I think this one sums up the new “spelling” quite nicely:

(Gah! My spell check was really angry at me for this post of “wyngz,” ha!)

Cheerios + Circus Peanuts = Lucky Charms? (Fun Facts about Food Friday)

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:43:00 +0000

Yep, that’s right.

Lucky Charms are actually the result of a challenge given to product developers back in 1962 to come up with a creative twist on one of their main cereals (either Cheerios or Wheaties). John Holahan came up with the idea of mixing circus peanuts with Cheerios. General Mills’ advertising company suggested marketing it around the idea of charm bracelets and voila, Lucky Charms were born!

Another fun fact is that the “cheerio” portion was not originally sugar coated, but it didn’t sell very well, so they tossed in more sugar and people suddenly loved it. It stayed the exact same way until 2005 when they released chocolate flavored ones and then later on, marshmallow treats.

How to make meringue mushrooms

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:13:00 +0000

How to make meringue mushrooms

Simple items like this make me drift off into thoughts of elaborate scenes of Alice in Wonderland or Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory birthday parties.

Or maybe something more poetic like Robert Frost’s less traveled road, with tall trees, layers of fallen leaves, and wild mushrooms growing about.

I supposed the shape could even be altered to make Mario mushrooms, but I like how realistic these are instead.

We all have this internal turmoil from time to time, right?

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Wed, 08 May 2013 11:38:00 +0000

(Although sometimes “cake” is replaced with “pizza” or “chocolate” or “oh my god, everything in the pantry, fridge, and that can be ordered.”)

Sushi caterpillar roll

noreply@blogger.com (Quirky Jessi) — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:05:00 +0000

While the finished sushi caterpillar is pretty impressive, I think the most impressive part for me is actually the first 30 seconds of the video. It’s incredible that he’s able to slice the avocado, not only that thin, but also consistently that thin. I imagine it takes an avocado that’s at the perfect ripeness/firmness and an incredible sharp knife to prevent it from squishing too much.