Pages, Pucks and Pantry

Small Plates - July 17, 2008

COOL COOLER - How cool is this? Your own Nascar beverage cooler. This cooler is made out of an authentic Goodyear racing slick from the Nascar Racing Series races. Not only that but the inside liners are made of recycled plastic so this company is great at keeping junk out of our landfills and makes this a great eco-friendly product. If you are a Nascar fan, what a cool memento to have at your next BBQ! (not to mention at your next frat party). And to make this company even cooler, they partner with Goodwill Industries to employ Disabled Veterans of the US Armed Forces. They also sell a Kegger made from the tires thats on casters which will make it easy to move around. To find out more about the Racecooler or Kegger go here.

CHOCOLATE BANANA - So I had a Starbucks Chocolate Banana Vivanna on Tuesday when they were  released and I really wasn't impressed. Couldn't really put my finger on it but it just didn't grab me. I prefer Jamba Juice drinks (though I admit, I wouldn't order a chocolate Jamba Juice, I usually go for the fruity kind). Thinking maybe I needed another try, I had some of Mr. L's this morning (he had a shot of espresso added to his). My second impression? Tasted like a Slim Fast. Seriously, anyone else get that impression? I mean the flavor really wasn't that bad but...I may try the Orange Mango at some point just to see if I like that better.

FREE STARBUCKS - This coupon has been going around the past couple of days. I hear that some Starbucks are accepting it and some are "not participating" so beware.

NOTE: Aha, see...post and they will come. I had checked several "reputable" sites before I put up the Starbucks coupon because I wasn't sure about it's authenticity. I got this from Starbucks today:

"Unfortunately the coupon is not real. It is a counterfeit reproduction, someone has altered the original coupon by reproducing it online and removing some of the legal language. This offer and other Starbucks promotional offers are only valid in their original format. This was not distributed electronically. Please remove the offer so others are not disappointed if they are not able to redeem the coupon. My sincere apologies, Sanja at Starbucks"

JAMBA JUICE COUPON - When I think "Jamba Juice" I actually think of a meal...like if I have one it's my lunch and I don't eat anything else. It's not like the new Vivanno's which to me are more like something you would have along 'with' lunch. Looks like Jamba Juice might be trying to keep their customers from heading on over to Starbucks for a smoothie as they have a Buy One Jamba Juice Get One Free coupon out now.  And yes, I think My Dog Loving Assistant and I will be heading to Jamba for lunch next week. To get the coupon go here.

Small Plates - July 15, 2008

FREE DOGS - It's another free day in the food world. Today from 5 - 8 PM you can get a free Original Chili Dog or Kids Cone at participating Wienerschnitzels (what happened to the 'Der"???). Of course if you don't live in California, you may not know what we are talking about (check out the locations here) as they seem to be mostly in my state.

WIENER CLUB - If you can't get to the nearest Der Wiener you can still get a free dog by joining the Wiener Lovers' Club. By joining you get a free chili dog, a free corn dog on your birthday, a free corn dog on the anniversary of signing up, and information about specials at Wienerschnitzel throughout the year.  For more info go here. Just so you know you can bring Wienershnitzel to your next party. Yes, you can rent the Weiner Wagon for 150-250 people. For more info go here.

STARBUCKS VIVANNO - This past weekend when Mr. L and I went into Starbucks for a coffee, we noticed a sign that said "Vivanno in Three Days". We asked the guy behind the counter what this was and he mentioned "Banana". I got all excited remembering those wonderful Banana Fraps of a few years ago. Alas, that is not to be. It seems today Starbucks is rolling out their new healthy "Smoothies" which come in Orange Mango Banana flavor and Chocolate Banana. Though these are not coffee drinks you can get a shot of espresso with the chocolate version (the mango one can come with a shot of matcha). A grande Chocolate Vivianno will run you 260 calories, grande Mango 250. When we went last night our local Starbucks looked like it was deserted...everything was off the shelves and out of the display case. They are doing their "change" to reflect the second half of the summer. The barista said that they will be changing the "brown" logo soon but he wasn't sure when. He also said that as of September, yep, bye bye on the sandwiches so get your fill until then.

Small Plates - July 11, 2008

FREE SLURPEES - Yes, as mentioned earlier this week, today is July 11th, or 7/11 which means 7-11 Stores are giving away free slurpees. To mark 7-11's 81st birthday, you can stop by your local store and get a 7.11 ounce birthday cup of your favorite slurpee. My favorite flavor has always been the cola flavor but back in the day I used to order "suicides" which was a combo of all the flavors available (I used to do this at a local Round Table too where the guys would put every flavor of soda in the glass).

CHEAP HOT DOGS - To celebrate National Hot Dog Month which is July, 7/11 stores are also offering a Big Bite Hot Dog and a Big Glup drink for only $1.99.

MONSTER ENERGY - New this month at your local 7/11 store is the Monster Energy Slurpee drink loaded with the Monster drinks (think the can version) potent energy blend.

SLURPEE NATION - And while partaking in your free slurpee, why not stop by the new and improved slurpee website at Slurpee.com. You can find out all about the history of the slurpees, their different flavors, play some games and buy some slurpee t-shirts.

COW TIPPING - Okay maybe slurpees aren't your thing and you really want to WORK for your food today?  Willing to dress up as a cow? Yep, today for Cow Appreciation Day if you dress up as a cow, Chick-fil-A will give you a free meal! Dress as a cow from head to toe and receive a free Chick-fil-A Combo Meal (if you're only partially dressed as a cow you only get a free entree). Their website gives you some cute ways to dress up as a cow. Seriously, the guy wearing a white shirt that put black spots on some post it notes and stuck them all over? He gets a free entree! To check it all out go here (and if you do dress up for your free meal, please send me a photo!). No, Mr. L and I will not be dressing up this year, we are headed to our local sushi joint to celebrate the day.

Small Plates - July 8, 2008

THE END OF QUARKS - Alas, Star Trek: The Experience at the Hilton in Vegas is closing September 1st. I guess after all this time, Star Trek just isn't popular any more. Sigh. No more Klingon Blood Draft or Dominion Lager. Mr. L and I were able to go visit The Experience several years ago where we had lunch at Quarks. I did get warped (see photo below) but I can't remember if that was from the Borg Sphere or a Warp Core. Before we were married Mr. L always joked that we should just elope and get married on the bridge of the Enterprise at The Experience. I told him we could always renew our vows there. I guess we'll have to find some other way to profess our love :) For more information go here.

FREE SLURPEE'S - Be ready for this Friday which will be 7/11 and you can get a free Slurpee at 7-11.

WEEKEND COOKBOOK CHALLENGE - I participated in the 29th Weekend Cookbook Challenge which dealt with making a "salad" from one of my cookbooks. Mel's Diner has an update on his blog here. You'll find salads ranging from Cornbread Salad to a Strawberry and Kiwi salad. Next months cookbook challenge is all about Farmers Markets. I'll participate in that one too.

Small Plates - July 1, 2008

HAPPY CANADA DAY - I do not officially celebrate Canada Day, but since Canada gave me hockey, I do feel the need to smile and thank them on this day. As I mentioned last year, I have some wonderful memories of Canada Day. My mom and I went on a Sharks cruise which of course consisted of some Canadian hockey players. And a hockey coach. And a former hockey coach who became a radio color announcer who went on to be on CBC and then came back to the Sharks and current is a TV color announcer. So of course they celebrated Canada Day while we were all on the cruise. Heartily I might add. In the Red Dog Saloon in Alaska. Where the group of us got thrown out about three times. Where the coach was drinking beer out of peoples shoes. Where I took photos of the naked backside of a hockey player which shall never see the light of day. But the most memorable part of that day was the group of Canadian hockey players, coach and broadcaster singing many (many) renditions of Don McLean's American Pie. Nothing like being in Alaska with Canadians on Canada Day singing an iconic American song.

CANADIAN FOOD - There was a food blog event called MMMM-Canada where you were to blog or make foods that made you think about Canada. I asked my friend MATT who owns a place in Vancouver what came to mind and one of his responses was Poutine. I admit all the times I've been to Canada, I've never had the guts to try the stuff. Maybe next time. My first stop would be for Tim Bits of course. I had one of the best meals ever at a Vietnamese restaurant in Montreal and way to many awesome meals visiting MATT in Vancouver. I still remember searching for beer and not knowing I had to go to a "cold beer store" to get one on my first visit to Canada. And the fact that they call powdered sugar "icing" threw me the first time I ordered french toast and couldn't understand why they wanted to put cake frosting on my bread! I'm looking forward to the MMMM-Canada round up and getting back to Canada soon to experience more regional foods from that country.

CELEBRATE CANADA POSTER - The poster above was one of the finalists in this years Celebrate Canada poster contest. 14 year old Chrissy Wang said of her poster "Canada is a beautiful country filled with many different and interesting cultures. It's .... like a giant pizza! It’s all mixed together on the large base, while each slice still keeps its own specialty". Smart girl and even though she didn't win, her poster was my favorite. To see the winning poster and all the other finalists go here.

Small Plates - June 29, 2008

POMEGRANATE AND 7-UP - This is my newest fad...adding POM Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice to diet 7-up. Just a few splashes of the POM makes the drink this beautiful color AND you are getting some nice antioxidants. I tried drinking the POM juice by itself but I didn't like the taste. Yes, 7-up actually makes a (limited edition) Pomegranate 7-up drink. But look at the ingredient label: Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, natural flavors, potassium citrate, potassium benzoate, red 40, blue 1. Where is the pomegranate juice? So I make my own. Great, light, refreshing. And it looks good.

GARBAGE BOWL - I will admit I'm not a big fan of Rachel Ray. When I do rarely watch her show I see her using her "garbage bowl" which she leaves on the counter and puts in all the crap (like onion peels, plastic wrappers from meat) and waste and then just throws whats in the bowl in the garbage. I've been doing this for much longer than Rachel has been on TV. I can't remember what chef or what show I watched that trained me to do it this way but it was many years ago. I have plenty of bowls in the kitchen that can be used for this purpose. I had to laugh when the Food Network came out with a "special garbage bowl" that you can buy from them for this purpose. Yes, for only $18 ($20 MSRP) plus shipping you too can have a nice official Rachael Ray bowl to put your garbage in. Am I nuts? Anyone else see that this is just totally wrong? I can sell you some nicer bowls at a much cheaper price. Just call. Telephone operators are standing by.

CUZ IT HAS BACON - Bushes Best Grillin' Beans is having a contest to decide what recipe best pairs with one of their beans. There are twelve semi-finalists (with videos) all giving their recipes and which beans they think go best with their choice. You can log in and vote for your favorite. Mine? Some guy named John Y. who embarrased the hell out of his dog Gabby by putting said dog in the video with a chefs hat. But I picked his recipe, Kentucky Flank Steak, because he takes strips of flank steak and wraps each with a slice of bacon.  Of course the dang things gonna taste wonderful, it has bacon and you're pairing it with beans! You can check out all the entries and their recipes here.

Small Plates - June 26, 2008

FREE TACOS! - Today should be a holiday. No seriously, Jack in the Box is giving away free tacos. I've passed up a lot of free food that has been given away this month, but I will not pass up free Jack in The Box tacos! Greasy, yes, but I love them. So does Mr. L.  So count on us to be taking Jack up on his offer today. I fell in love with Mr. L over Jack in the Box tacos (and a $50 bottle of wine) so I have a soft spot for Jack and those tacos!

WITH GAS - Show up at any participating Jack in the Box today with a recent gas receipt and they will give you two free tacos. These are not those boring super duper tacos, these are the regular tacos that usually sell at two for a buck (or technically 99 cents). Receipt has to be an original. We just filled up one car two days ago and we will take the other car to be filled up before we stop by The Box. For more information go here. Seriously, free Jack in the Box Tacos. Today is a good day.

JACK POSTCARDS -If you are like me and want to let all your friends know about free taco day, you can go to the Jack In the Box website and send out free postcards. Go to the Jack website, click on "Jacks Office" and you'll find the link for the postcards. You'll also find Jack screen savers and desktop photos.

Small Plates - June 11, 2008

FRESH EGGS, FRESH EGGS - I kept drooling over food blog posts that talked about finding fresh eggs at local farmers markets. I remember when we lived with my Grandparents in a tiny town in Oregon...we had chickens and fresh eggs and they were wonderful. Eggs to me these days are kind of like standard grocery store tomatoes...they don't have much taste. If my local markets have ever sold them before, they are usually gone by the time I get there. So when I saw fresh eggs at one of the stands this past weekend, I stopped dead in my tracks. I placed myself in the egg line and said silent prayers that there would at least be one carton of the five left on the stand for me to buy.  These were so cute...the little light blue/green eggs are supposedly from South American hens. I made Mr. L cook us up some eggs as soon as I got home (yes, they were very tasty...I'll be back looking for more the next time I'm at the farmers market).

YOU SAY TOMATOES - Sigh. First there was the fresh spinach scare. Now it's tomatoes. How come we can't have a rutabaga scare or an okra scare!? Why is it the vegetables that I like the most? And I kid you not, I had two tomato based recipes to try this week. One was a tomato gazpacho and the other was a grilled chicken dish with olives and fresh tomato salsa. Sigh. Back to the drawing board.

NOT A SOCCER MOM - No offense to soccer moms everywhere, but me and my friend are just not soccer moms. Heck with soccer, I'm just not a mom. And I don't think anyone would ever confuse me for one. So when I left the hairdresser today and looked in the mirror, the first thing I thought was "you look like a soccer mom". Seriously, my hair hasn't been this short since I was in 4th grade and that was a long, long, LOOOONG, time ago. It's not Sharon Stone, pixie cut short...it's a little longer than chin length, but still. Short for me. So I'm in "after the haircut" freak out mode. I did some retail therapy on the way home...because, get real, this haircut doesn't work with any of the clothes in my closet. Plus I bought some new sunglasses, because my old ones are now just all wrong. I then stopped at Starbucks to get a Frapp because I was hoping that my "mommy hair" would turn into "sassy hair". When that didn't work I came home to eat. The question now is, what food goes with a "I'm having a freak out about my hair I'm going to go crawl into bed before Mr. L gets home so he doesn't look at me and go 'where did you put my wife' what was I thinking I no longer have long hair" mode? Chocolate? Pasta? Potatoes? All three? Discuss.

Small Plates - June 5, 2008

MORE FREE DONUTS - How many times a year do these guys give out free donuts? Or does it just seem like a lot? In any event, Friday June 6th, is Free Krispy Kreme donut day. Participating stores will give out one free donut of your choice. They are doing this because June 6th is National Donut Day. Celebrated on the first Friday of June, National Donut Day was started in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army to raise funds to honor WW I Salvation Army volunteers. To find out more go here.

EXPENSIVE BURGER - So what do you do with that money that you save by not having to buy your morning donut? Well the internets have been abuzz recently about the $175 burger you can get in NY. Topped with foie gras, exotic mushrooms and golden truffle mayonnaise it sounds pretty good. But $175??? Usually when I'm in a restaurant that charges $20 for a burger, I'm going for the $45 rib-eye...if I'm gonna splurge I'm gonna go big! The place that sells the expensive burger, just sells burgers so I guess the $175 is going big there. To find out more about this burger go here.

EXPENSIVE BURGER KING BURGER - I can see some nice burger joint charging a fortune for a burger, but Burger King? A fast food burger that costs $165? Are they nuts? Well, in England, the Burger Food chain is coming up with a burger that costs 85 pounds which I believe is around $165 bucks. This burger will contain Kobe beef, foie gras and rare blue cheese. It was to launch in selected English branches last month. For more info go here.

I guess this begs the question as to who thought up the expensive burger first? The date on the release for the English burger is April 23rd. The American version? May 21st. But still...Specialty burger joint verse Burger King fast food?

I think I'll just stick with the free donut.

Small Plates - June 02, 2008

PICKLE CHIPS - I had mentioned before finding Lays Pickle flavored chips at some point, but I can't seem to find them again. Imagine my surprise when I found these Pringle chips at a gas station somewhere near Tracy. They don't taste as good as I remember the Lays Pickle Chips tasting...not quite "picklely" enough, though my fingers were finger licking good after polishing off half the package. I'm going to assume that most people wouldn't find these chips appealing unless you really have a taste for pickles.

SPEAKING OF THE PACKAGE - Alas, the gentleman that invented the custom container that Pringles comes in has passed away. Fredric J. Baur came up with the tubular container back in 1966. In an interesting twist, Mr. Baur was so proud of this invention that he asked that a portion of his cremated remains be buried in one of his cans. Alas I don't think it was a Screamin' dill pickle can! I have to admit, Pringles in a can are my favorite snack to take when traveling...they don't get squished in my carry on luggage. For more info go here.

PORK AND BEANS - I can't get this Weezer song out of my head. I also think the video is a hoot since it incorporates so many different "you tube" hit personalities . How many can you spot that are familiar to you? Yes, several are food related. To see the video go here. To read more about it go here. And along with the Pork and Beans song I'm now singing Numa Numa (which, I have on my ipod in both the original and English version!).

BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA - Not food related at all, but I can't get this dang song out of my head either! Yes, I've got to see the movie! Go here, but don't blame me if you keep singing the dang song all day.