2 August 2006

Episode 9: NYC, Gorillaz & Cheesecake

nyc12:01 | 13.5mb | QuickTime 7

We 35unger kids have—like usual—been doing some traveling over the past few months. I headed north to places like Pittsburgh and Montréal, and Jimmy mostly headed south, going places such as la Ciudad de México and Santiago de Chile. As I always say, eating is a vital part of any trip, so for the next few episodes, I will be talking about what and where I ate whilst on holiday.

A couple months ago, I went up to New York City to see Gorillaz perform Demon Days in its entirety at the Apollo.

nyc

Not only was the concert amazing, but I had some yummy treats during my stay in NYC as well. So watch our much anticipated 9th episode to learn more, and see below for the contact information for each of the places mentioned in this episode.

nycTaro milk tea

Quickly
237B Grand Street
New York, NY 10002
+1 212.431.0998

Read more »

posted by Becky at 22:58 | 1 comment

9 July 2006

Too Cute Cupcakes

Probably inspired by the current popularity of the cupcake and constant popularity of ice cream, Williams-Sonoma has come out with a super cute pan that makes cupcakes shaped like ice cream cones. The nonstick, cast-aluminium pan bakes 6 cupcakes at a time. And once piled high with frosting, the cupcakes look adorable. In the email I received about this pan, Williams-Sonoma recommended their Mechanical Pastry Bag for giving the frosting a perfect straight-from-the-soft-serve-machine look.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcake Pan: $29.95
Mechanical Pastry Bag: $24.00

posted by Becky at 2:09 | no comments

5 July 2006

Red, White, and Yummy

For our 4th of July cookout, I wanted to make a dessert that was pretty and not too heavy. I decided to combine a couple different recipes that I have mentioned on 35unger before: a delicious lemon pound cake and my beloved homemade whipped cream. Combine with some fruit, and you have some quick and tasty parfaits.

To get the full effect of how pretty the parfaits look, make sure to use clear glasses.

Sparkly Parfaits
makes 4 parfaits | prep time: 15 min.

lemon pound cake, sans glaze
1 pint blueberries
1 dozen large strawberries, chopped small
2 c. whipped cream
sparklers

1. Bake lemon pound cake. Let cool completely.

2. If you made a Bundt cake, cut about a quarter of the cake into half-inch cubes. [Use half a loaf if you made the pound cake in loaf pans.] Cover and store the rest of the cake to enjoy tomorrow.

3. Wash all berries. Chop strawberries. Set aside.

4. Make whipped cream.

5. Start layering ingredients into glasses. First place several cubes of cake, then a good helping of strawberries and blueberries. Next add about 3 heaping tablespoons of whipped cream. Follow with another cake layer, another berry layer, and finish off with a big dollop of whipped cream.

6. Garnish with a blueberry, strawberry piece, and sparkler. Light and enjoy!

posted by Becky at 23:37 | no comments

3 May 2006

Energy in a Bright Pink Can

A few weeks ago, Jimmy & I were killing some time before we went out. We ended up at the Corner Grocery, a small, semi-rundown convenience store that neither of us had been to before. Inside there was a random assortment of goods, but something pink caught my eye. That pink item was Tab Energy Drink. I didn’t know that they even still made Tab, let alone were expanding the brand to include an energy drink. I was intrigued, and even though I tend to shy away from energy drinks, I decided to give this one a try.

As I bought my Tab Energy Drink and Sixlets [which taste much better in my memories of them from middle school], the cashier told me how much he likes Tab Energy Drink. In his broken English, he said he just loves the flavour, and he used to drink Tab Energy Drink everyday until he found out that the drink was designed specifically for women.

Once we were back in the car, I cracked open my bright pink can, which, by the way, matched my shirt wonderfully. I took a sniff, and the drink smelled like a mixture of cherry Jolly Ranchers and Play-Doh. The 1st sip tasted a lot like a Jolly Rancher, but it tasted less and less like a Jolly Rancher with each subsequent sip. I didn’t really enjoy the flavour, but I didn’t dislike it either.

One thing I will say about Tab Energy Drink is that it certainly does give you energy. I drank it around 18:30 that night, and I was relatively awake until 3 in the morning.

I have consumed Tab Energy Drink one other time. It was on sale at Target for $1/can [normally $1.99], so I picked up another can. I drank it one morning at work—a morning when one of my co-workers brought in doughnuts. Needless to say, between the pink drink and doughnut, I was more than ready for our company roller skating party that day. [I work for a toy company; what can I say, we have crazy company events.]

The only thing I really do dislike about Tab Energy Drink is the way the Coca-Cola Company is marketing it. The tagline is “Fuel to be Fabulous” and all the marketing is so trendy, it’s nauseating. Any food product should be sold for its qualities, whether it’s healthy or just tasty, but not because it’s in vogue.

posted by Becky at 20:56 | no comments

25 April 2006

Free Cone Day!

Each year Ben & Jerry’s celebrates another year of business by giving out free ice cream cones from 12–8pm for a day. And today is that lucky day, as Ben & Jerry’s celebrates 28 years of ice cream, frozen yoghurt and sorbet.

So get out there and have a cone of Cherry Garcia [my favourite], Everything But The…, or one of new flavours, such as Turtle Soup or Peanut Butter Swirl.

Visit benjerry.com to find a participating shop near you!

posted by Becky at 8:40 | no comments

17 April 2006

Episode 8: Sundaes

sundaes14:43 | 17.4mb | QuickTime 7

Sorry for the unexpected hiatus! Jimmy & I both went out of town [me to NYC, him to la Ciudad de México], then we had some trouble lining up our schedules. Hopefully now we’ll be back to our regular weekly-ish schedule :)

Anyhoo, with the help of my lovely assistant Baron, I made sundae toppings for this episode. These toppings are incredibly easy to make and much tastier than anything you will buy at the store, plus they are all multi-functional. I always make homemade whipped cream to go with pumpkin pie, I’ve drizzled the caramel sauce over an apple cake, and I’m sure the hot fudge sauce would be good with strawberries.

The bowls I mention in this episode were designed by green & associates; more info about the bowls can be found on reddot’s website since they won a reddot design award in 2004.

Thanks again to Baron for his assistance and willingness to be thrown in front of the camera. And thanks to Jimmy for trying out his new Sony R1 for this episode’s photographs.

Hot Fudge Sauce
prep time: 5 min. | cook time: 5–10 min.

2/3 c. evaporated milk [1 small can]
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 oz. semi-sweet Baker’s chocolate
pinch salt
dash vanilla

1. Mix all ingredients together in a microwavable bowl.

2. Microwave on high for 5–10 minutes, checking and stirring every couple minutes. Stop microwaving when sauce is the consistency you desire.

Caramel Sauce
prep time: 5 min. | cook time: 6–8 min.

1 1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
4 Tbsp. flour
1 c. boiling water
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. cream
dash salt
vanilla, to taste

1. Mix sugar with flour in saucepan. Add water and salt.

2. Stir while cooking on high heat, 6–8 minutes. If sauce becomes too thick, add a little more water.

3. Remove from heat; stir in butter, cream, and vanilla.

sundaes

Whipped Cream
makes 2 cups | prep time: 15 min. | total time: 20 min.

2 Tbsp. sugar
1 c. heavy whipping cream

1. Chill mixing bowl and whisk in freezer for 15 minutes or more.

2. Beat sugar and cream together on high until soft peaks form. This will only take a couple minutes. Do not over-beat; whipped cream that has been beaten too much will look curdled.

sundaes

posted by Becky at 14:07 | 2 comments

16 April 2006

Peep “Research”

Easter just isn’t complete without some Marshmallow Peeps. Not that they’re all that tasty, but Peeps are just tradition. Well, someone who really loves Peeps or has too much time on his hands [or maybe both] made a site about the “research” he did regarding Peeps’ reaction to cold, low-pressure environments, smoking, alcohol, fear and more.

posted by Becky at 23:06 | no comments

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