Wow, in the US (“the States” as some might say) we’ve been missing out on some great potato chip flaves. In addition to the delicious variety of Lay’s shown here, I also got to try out the grilled-steak-flavored Ruffles and longingly eyed a bag of bacon mac & cheese chips at Safeway. Dang…
But chip flavors have certainly come a long way in the US. There are more choice-fatiguing flavors than ever before, and among them are gems like Kettle Brand’s cheddar beer, which is great with pickles.
Maybe not the best but really good if the dipping soup(? broth?) is tasty and the noodles have a substantive chew. The downside: it’s really rough trying to drink the soup, or whatever it is, so, unless you like your soup really saline, if you want some deliciously gulpable or sippable liquid during your meal, you’ll have to order a side of miso soup.
The bowl on the left here contains white-sesame-flavored soup with sprouts, green onion and slices of pork.
I think you know which one I had to get.
When I saw this on the menu as one of two lunch options (the second being some pasta dish I can no longer recall the details of), I had to give it a try. I’m glad I did. Despite being a little salty, this dish was pleasantly unique with its palate-piquing combo of Japanese curry and squid-ink pasta sauce flavors. The calamari strips in it were tender with just enough chew. Just wish it had come with a little more rice to more fully tame the slightly high sodium content of this entree.
After a couple weeks with my Sense, I’m pretty impressed. With sensors in the glowing orb that track the conditions in my bedroom and a sensor in my pillowcase tracking my movement during the night, Sense consolidates information to provide insight on the quality of my sleep via the companion iPhone app. Continue reading
A creative person can’t refuse to grow old but they can refuse to grow up. They maintain the playful attitude of a child throughout their lives. They understand that some things are too serious to take seriously. They never lose the urge to throw a snowball at a businessman. All creativity is about mind over matter. That matter might be paint, ink, paper or almost anything. The matter doesn’t matter, because it’s all in the mind.
Rod Judkins’ The Art of Creative Thinking is a fantastic collection of thematic stories, perspectives, quotes and guidance. A great philosophical complement to Austin Kleon’s more pragmatically oriented Steal Like an Artist. That’s not to say that The Art of Creative Thinking is all theoretical, but it excels at conveying an attitude toward creativity, as opposed to getting into the mechanics of doing creative work. Continue reading
This foray into “savory” yogurt is not what I expected. Thinking that the flavor of butternut squash would be more prominent, I was surprised to find that this offering from Blue Hill Farm was more like plain yogurt, tart with a hint of butternut squash. It’s not as sour as I find skyr tends to be and has a smooth, flowy creaminess to it. The sweet potato version was similar, mostly tasting of plain yogurt with hints of sweet potato. I’m curious if the carrot and beet versions taste any sweeter, but given the two I’ve tried, I’m expecting the carrot and beet flavors to be anywhere from subtle to nuanced as plain yogurt flavors are predominant on my palate.
And that works for me, because these yogurts go well with berries because of their overwhelming similarity to plain yogurt; you don’t have to worry about whether blueberries will pair well with butternut squash to enjoy this yogurt, if you like yogurt that’s more toward the plain & tart end of the spectrum.
Wow. Just… wow.
Read this novel all in one sitting, so attached to several of the main characters, even the, well, I don’t want to give anything away. There are some nice surprises in this story.
Here are a few not-so-revealing passages that struck me…
I was heartbroken. I threatened almost every country at the conference with whatever military capabilities Algeria had. My other group members had to appease everyone afterward by offering to export…
Lisa manipulates mannequin arms into lewd positions whenever she has the chance.
I’m always going to think of Ms. Taylor as one of my first big crushes, albeit a teacher crush, but now she’s more like a friend. She does look superhot, thought.
Here’s a glimpse at my faves from The Muse and the Marketplace 2015, a high-energy weekend at the Park Plaza Hotel devoted to writing and publishing.
Sell Your Story in a Single Sentence with Lane Shefter Bishop: Craft a great log line to pitch your book. The log line must answer these three questions:
1. Who is the protagonist? (Who is the story about?)
2. What does the protagonist want?
3. What are the stakes? (What will happen if the protagonist does not get what she/he is after?)
And these three questions should be answered in a way that
– highlights the most unique aspect of your work (what sets it apart from everything else out there?),
– uses active, dynamic language Continue reading
A Contemplative Compilation 