Thursday's Thinking of Food

This week I have seen and read about two very odd and disgusting foods that I had to share:

1) Has anyone seen the new IHOP commercial for the cheesecake pancake stackers? In their own words, "Cinnamon Apple, Blueberry, Strawberry...Pancake Stackers are sweet & silky cheesecake layered between two buttermilk pancakes. Crowned with a choice of cool strawberries, blueberry or cinnamon apple compote & creamy whipped topping."

See the ridiculous commercial below:


2) I read this article from NPR's Morning Edition: Kit Kat Kaleidoscope: Far-Out Flavors from Japan. Yes, the flavors are as weird as the title tells: Soy Sauce, Cantaloupe, Raspberry Passion Fruit, and Corn...to name a few. NPR staffers actually taste-tested all of the flavors and their comments are priceless--click on the article link to read for yourself. One of my favorite comments is from Steve Inskeep himself, after trying the corn-flavored Kit Kat: "Creepy."

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And in other news...

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My CSA is making it's first delivery next Monday! Round River Farms promises a delivery of lettuce, spinach, collards, some swiss chard, green onions and some herbs. Woohoo! And, the e-mail from them added: "The snap peas have blooms on them, the broccoli plants are getting pretty big, radishes have been planted, so things are coming along and there will be more to add to the shares in time." Can't wait to show you pictures and solicit some new recipes for all these wonderful veggies!

Yesterday, from 2-7 pm, the Farmers Market at the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden re-opened. The market will be held every Wednesday through October. Each week from 2:30- 3:30 PM, Earth Fare will be at the market to perform a cooking demonstration. Next week, May 19th's, demonstration is "Strawberry Fields Salad."

And, don't forget the Farmers in the Forest, Forest Acres Farmer's Market, is also every Wednesday through October from 3-7 pm. It is located on the roof of Richland Mall.

What do you think of these weird/gross foods? Any local food news to share?

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Thursday's Thinking of Food

Random Thursday Food-Related Tidbits:

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1. Food, Inc. got an Oscar nod last Sunday in the Best Documentary Feature category--it didn't win, but "it's an honor just to be nominated." If you haven't seen it, here's why you should.

2. Our local Earth Fare has a cool "Pantry Makeover" deal right now where they will take your un-healthy foods and give you healthy, organic options in return (for FREE!) "Trade in peanut butter with hydrogenated oil, soda with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), cereal with HFCS, salad dressing with HFCS or hydrogenated oils or jelly with HFCS and get a FREE Earth Fare Brand HEALTHY replacements. It doesn’t matter if your trade-in is completely full or has two tablespoons left in it, BOOT IT!" Click here to get the Pantry Makeover coupon.

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3. Apparently, America's leading beverage companies have delivered on a three-year commitment to remove full-calorie soft drinks from schools across the country and replace them with lower-calorie, smaller-portion beverages, a new report from the American Beverage Association finds. There has been an 88% decline in calories from beverages shipped to schools since 2004, and full-calorie soft drinks have been removed altogether. Now we just need to tackle why french fries are considered vegetables in school lunches...
Click here to read the full press release by the Clinton Foundation. (via The Philanthropy News Digest e-blast)

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4. I got my first e-mail from Round River Farms, the local, organic CSA that I joined this season! They were writing to inform us that "since it has been so cold lately, we will more than likely not start deliveries until the middle of May instead of the beginning of May. The soil in the boxes is still really cold and we want to make sure it warms up some before we start planting anything in it." What an exciting e-mail to receive--someone is looking out for my veggies. And they are still accepting Shareholders for the 2010 season, if you're interested.

5. Click above to sign Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Petition--there is also a permanent link on the left side toolbar of my blog, or click here to read more about it.

If you have any food-related culture or information to share, I'd love to hear it!

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New Feature: Thursday's Thinking of Food

This blog was always meant to include reviews of restaurants and local eateries, and since my newly-nourished, (no pun intended), interest in eating healthier, more humanely, locally, and organic, I have been posting a lot about food-related issues and topics. So, as I was planning my post for today, realizing it again discusses local farms, it came to me to establish Thursday blog posts as "Thursday's Thinking of Food" posts.
{Full disclosure...the name for this new feature came to me as I was listening to my local NPR station's "Speaking of Schools," hosted by Doug Keel. The titles have the same rhythm and structure...Speaking of Schools...Thinking of Food...yeah? Anyway.}

Here's the first Thursday's Thinking of Food post:
I am officially a member (half-share) of a local CSA!! For those of you wondering what a CSA is, (as my husband was when I broke the news to him last night), CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. The CSA I have joined is in Leesville, SC and is called Round River Farms. It's website says: "CSA's are healthy relationships between a community of people and a local farm and farmer. Realizing that in these times not everyone can be on the land growing their own food, a CSA farm entrusts the care and nurture of the land and crops to one skilled in organic farming."

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Staff of Round River Farms will bring shares of the harvest weekly to a designated spot in Columbia for shareholders to pick up. Deliveries will begin in early May and go through October, and the variety of produce and herbs that they grow is amazing! Click here to see a list of the Spring, Summer and Fall crops. I am so excited to have fresh, locally and organically grown vegetables all Spring, Summer and Fall! The CSA accepts full or half shares, full shares providing enough veggies weekly for a family of 4 or more, and a half share providing enough for 2-3 people. You can bet that once I start getting my weekly haul I will be posting about it here!

And in other organic food news, as I was perusing Earth Fare's website yesterday to find the coupon for the FREE pizza dough and mozzarella cheese with purchase of sauce coupon, I came across the video tour of Hickory Nut Gap Farm, below:

Hickory Nut Gap Farm - Local Farm for Earth Fare from Earth Fare on Vimeo.

If you're interested in why grass-fed beef is actually better for humans, cows, and the earth than corn-fed beef, click here for an interesting article on the subject.

And finally, here is a list of vendors that will be at the All-Local Farmer's Market this Saturday morning.

Go forth and make wise, healthy, and humane decisions about your food!

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