Mark Twain’s 70th birthday dinner menu

From their historical collection of menus (among the largest in the world), the New York Public Library, in honor of this beloved American author’s recent birthday, posted the dinner menu for Mark Twain’s 70th birthday celebration which was held in 1835 at Delmonico’s in NYC. Mark Twain is enjoying a resurgence as his recently published [...]

Thanksgiving dinner menu from 1899

Here’s a menu for a Thanksgiving prix fixe dinner in 1899 at Sturtevant House, which apparently was a popular hotel located on Broadway and 29th Street. It closed its doors around 1903. Look at all that food people could get in olden times for just 75 cents. Relatedly, New York Magazine has a round up [...]

Green tech finds (11/11/10)

Weird green tech (not!), vertical farming for real, and a new entry into the electric vehicles race… your green tech finds for the week.

• Rural electrification = solar in the Philippines: The country’s Department of Energy is taking bids to provide solar systems to four regions of the country not connected to the electrical grid.
  
  
• Weird tech?: Newsweek has a slide show up titled “Eco Oddities“… but are wave power, algae-based biofuels, and “poop to power” (among others) really that unusual anymore?
  
  

Chinese urban professionals going back to the land

A young couple decides that the urban corporate rat race is no longer their scene, and chooses to buy a piece of land in the country to start their own organic farm.

Heard this story before? Probably… with the young couple in question coming from LA, Chicago, or New York. Turns out this lifestyle choice is no longer uniquely American, though: Chongming Island, China is turning into a destination for disaffected Chinese yuppies looking to get back to the land.

Halloween treats for conscious trick-or-treaters

Kids all over are looking forward to trick-or-treating or Halloween parties this coming Sunday: dress up in a cool costume, get lots of candy… what could be better? If you’re a parent raising your child on a organic, vegan, kosher, or otherwise specialized diet, Halloween can be hell, though… not only do you need to check candy for tampering, but also for meeting the dietary guidelines you’ve established for your children.

Habitat houses now come with organic gardens

From reselling used building materials through its Restores to contributing to the development of Biotown USA, Habitat for Humanity has a definite green streak… if you have doubts, just check out the international organization’s efforts on sustainable building and energy efficiency. The Inland Valley chapter in Southern California has taken this green focus to heart: not only has it incorporated solar power into many of its projects through a partnership with GRID Alternatives (like many California chapters), but it also now includes an organic garden with every “new” home.

Military meals from around the world

There are currently 48 different countries with troops in Afghanistan and each country adds their own unique flavor to the combat meals that are served to their troops. Some include branded comfort foods — Australians get a dark-brown spreadable yeast-paste treat called Vegemite, for example — while others get national staples like liverwurst (Germany), or [...]

National school lunch program comes to the big screen

LUNCH: THE FILM may sound like a spoof of some kind, but filmmaker Avis Gold Richards, and her team at Birds Nest Productions couldn’t be more serious about their exploration of the National School Lunch Program, and its potential connections to childhood obesity, and the illnesses related to it.

Kids protest farmed frog legs in Virginia

You probably associate frog legs with French cuisine and its offshoots (they’re pretty popular in Southern Louisiana where I grew up)… but the United States is challenging France as the world’s leader in frog eating. That’s happening, in large part, because some restaurant chains now carry frog legs… which they generally import from farms in China.

Look a farm animal in the eye?

Spent much time at farms or ranches? For most of us, the answer is “no”… which may explain why films like Food Inc. have proven so shocking. Most of us could go a lifetime without actually seeing an animal that will end up on our plate.

British photographer and political activist Neil Young (no, not that Neil Young) wants to change this… and his upcoming photography exhibit You, like me: intimate portraits of farmed animals is designed to get viewers looking directly into the eyes of farmed animals.

Sarah Keogh talks eggs

Last week I spotlighted the new zine Put A Egg On It. This week I caught up with one of the creators, Sarah Keough, to talk about the project.

Why did you start Put A Egg On It?

We wanted to make a magazine together and figured there were already plenty featuring photographs of scantily clad gentlemen so we chose our other favorite topic: food. We were also interested in having fun and creating something with the same kind of feeling as the dinner parties we have with our friends.

Oops… Wrong Cookie.

Here’s something to bring a little levity in your day: Jennifer 8 Lee (a must-follow on Twitter and author of “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles,” a book exploring the history and Americaness of Chinese food in the US) posted on her blog the above funny fortune that she received in a fortune cookie during a taped [...]

Want to fight global warming? Start eating insects

Animal agriculture has been on the climate change radar since (at least) 2006, when a report by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization claimed that “the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation.” The common response to this news: eat lower on the food chain.

You probably understand “lower on the food chain” as “plants,” but Belgian entomologist Arnold van Huis has a different take on this phrase: he thinks more people should eat insects.

“I’ve done something with my life. I’ve made kids happy around the world.”

On the heels of the sad news about the death on July 27th of Morrie Yohai, 90, and inventor of Cheez Doodle, is this New York Times round up of the geniuses, some accidental, behind some of our favorite junk foods today. The next time you are enjoying a refreshing popsicle this summer, thank Frank [...]

Houston: oil, sprawl… and container gardens

Having grown up a couple of hours from Houston, Texas, I have pretty set associations of the city… and they mostly involve the oil and petrochemical industries (and the smell that comes with them), and ugly traffic resulting from massive suburban sprawl. Still, the city has its bright points — Hermann Park, for instance, is a gorgeous hub of green space and cultural institutions — and, now, a partnership between the city government and local non-profits has added another: container gardens around the 25-story Bob Lanier Public Works Building in the city’s downtown.

How to raise backyard chickens

It’s been almost two years since Newsweek took note of the “the craze for urban poultry farming,” and the trend doesn’t seem to be abating… more localities are amending livestock laws to allow for raising backyard chickens, and more people are discovering that eggs from chickens living only feet away are far superior to just about anything that comes out of the grocery store.

Thinking about bringing some chicks home to raise? A ton of educational resources have sprung up as this practice becomes more mainstream.

Saving the family dairy with grass-fed meat

You likely haven’t seen much news about the impact the economic decline has had on family owned and operated dairies, but Farm Aid notes that the recession has hit these small businesses particularly hard: the prices of milk paid by processors has dropped 50% since July, 2008. Add this to decades of decline in the small farm and ranch, and you’ve got a recipe for bankruptcy… or creativity.

37 or so ingredients: what’s in a Twinkie?

Professional photographer Dwight Eschliman did an interesting side photo project where he focused his lens on the 37 or so ingredients used to make that all-American snack, Twinkies. Soy lecithin and cornstarch are particularly photogenic, doncha think? [Via]

Extreme makeover: fancy fast food edition

Fancy Food is a website where users submit before and after photos and recipes of their classy culinary creations and dishes using only their limitless imagination and ingredients from fast food chains. Devon Knight and Jason Isch of Cornerstore Restaurateur submitted this delicious looking “Seared Pollock Cake with Southwest Ramalan Sauce” made with just the following items from the McDonald’s menu: Filet-O-Fish, Southwest Salad, 1 soft drink, and packets of salt and pepper.

Epicure Office Snacks : Turn junk food into gourmet meals

Emilie Baltz gets creative with junk food found in offices or vending machines. She combines them to make decidedly gross gourmet creations such as Truffled Berry Praline Purses (Reese’s peanut butter cups, fruit roll-up, potato chips), Tom Khaa Ramen (Instant shrimp cup-of-ramen, Mounds bar, ketchup), Mocha Nougat Fondant (Mounds bar, instant coffee, Snickers bar, hot [...]

National Hamburger Day – Today, May 28

Today is National Hamburger Day (thanks Lynda for the head’s up!) and in honor of the carnivore’s delight and one of my favorite things to consume, here are a few fun related links. Artist Yuken Teruya made this neat tiny tree from a Burger King bag. The world’s biggest burger was unveiled last September at [...]

The corporate garden: good CSR, or cheap employee benefit?

It turns out colleges aren’t the only ones jumping into the community garden craze: according to yesterday’s New York Times, companies from PepsiCo to Best Buy to Kohl’s are putting in gardening spaces for employees to use.

So, what’s driving this movement towards corporate gardens? A push from employees? Sometimes. A desire for fresh food for the company cafeteria? Occasionally. But the big motivator? “As companies have less to spend on raises, health benefits and passes to the water park, a fashionable new perk is emerging: all the carrots and zucchini employees can grow.”

Cupcake cannon

If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like to see an ecstatic group of people getting smacked in slow motion (700 fps to be exact) with cupcakes of all colors, sprinkles, and flavors shot out of a steam-punk pneumatic cannon, then watch this fun video from Johnny Cupcakes. Who knew getting hit in the [...]

Unexpected inventions from unexpected people

Neatorama has a fascinating round up titled “unexpected inventions from unexpected people,” like did you know Henry David Thoreau invented raisin bread and that you can thank Margaret Thatcher for soft serve ice cream? Henry David Thoreau, of all people, invented raisin bread when he tossed a handful into the dough he was baking while [...]

An Americorps for healthy school lunches

You may be old enough to remember when pizza day was kind of a big deal in the school cafeteria. Now, it seems to be the norm. While kids definitely need more active time outside, many worry that school lunches may be the main culprit in the current childhood obesity epidemic.