frankenweenie cake

Now THAT is a good use of Photoshop! Click the image to get to the step by step decoration instructions. To take all the colour out of your world, simply turn emo.

Cheers, Sandy!

Another in our ongoing series of really, really practical wine measurements.

Matcha bubble tea

Bubble tea is one of those culinary miracles like unicorn foam that you’d swear required the technology of NASA to create and couldn’t be made at home, but astonishingly this is false (provided you can find tapioca pearls, and if you’re the kind of person who drinks bubble tea without pearls I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW YOU). It is permissible to make it with booze, and if I can prevail upon a chef pal we shall have a recipe forthcoming. There’s a recipe for matcha bubble tea here.

And we’ve also locally-sourced a quiz which tells you which kind of bubble tea you are. I prefer mango, myself, but if almond I must be, so be it.

You Are Almond Bubble Tea

You are an ideas person, and you are always thinking of new ways to change the world. Your taste is somewhat unconventional, although you don’t like anything too far out.You have a reputation for being quirky, and at times, you make sure to fuel it. You’re definitely adverse to following the crowd. You want to do things your way!

What Flavor Bubble Tea Are You?

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

If you are, as yet, unaware of what bubble tea is, it’s basically a fruit-flavoured, ultra-fine milkshake with tapioca pearls added after blending (jujube-like bubbles you need a pinkie-thick straw to slurp up) and it’s a cup full of fun. How many Dr Who references can you get out of a quotidian beverage, after all?

Serve in a tall, clear novelty glass so people can see, and play with, the pearls. Here are some suggestions, also good for any tall, iced drink, particularly those like the tequila sunrise (no hate!) that have interesting colour/ingredient gradients. You can also use these for plain old highballs, but you will risk accusations of frivolity. Then again, vodka soda drinkers deserve all the scorn they get if you axe me.

Le Cadeaux Break Resistant Drinkware Highball or Ice Tea Glass

Fun and retro. The colour WILL get in the way of certain fruit bubble teas, but for others it’ll be an enhancement.

IMPULSE! Abstract Highball Glasses, Green, Set of 4

My favorite. Just crazy enough.

Nachtmann Aspen Crystal Tall Highball/Beer Tumblers, Set of 6

Fun optical games to be played here with this many faceted surfaces.

RCR Crystal Melodia Collection High Ball Glass Set

Very old-school. Maximum irony points for serving bubble tea, or boozy bubble tea, therein.

Nachtmann Vivendi Set of 6 Highball Glasses, 14-Ounce

Clean, clear, lets the beauty of the drink shine through.

Starfrit Gourmet 14-Ounce Double Wall Highball Soda Glass

Thermal double-walled glass is maybe better for drinks made with crushed ice, but still shows off a good-looking beverage without letting it get tepid.

Godinger Set of 4 Crystal Palm Highballs

More retro, tiki fun.

Impulse Crackle Highball, Clear, Set of 6

We luv us some texture in a good quality glass, and this has all that plus a pleasingly hedonistic shape.

Nambe Tilt Highball/Beverage Glasses, Set of 4

Because who wants to go through the day totally straight? I ask yez.

This awesome photoset comes to you via Tumblr (so if it goes bye-bye blame them) and it features the work of Alan Sailer, a California photog who has the radical specialization of “exploding food.”

Therapy wines

I spent several months in the wine country recently, and as per standard procedure I visited my Therapist. That is: Therapy Wines. They’ve got a stunning line in smart, punning titles: Freudian Sip, Pink Freud, Freud’s Ego, SuperEgo, you get the picture. And the taste… well, listen to this thing a very wise man (Steve Latchford, the winemaker at Therapy, in fact) told me.

When you’re drinking a new wine, rate it thusly: would you buy

1. a glass of it?
2. a bottle of it?
3. a case of it?

Simple. Nuanced. Easy to remember. This is my new favourite rating system for anything that is good enough that it makes it past the “oh, no, I’m on antibiotics” little white lie.

Surrealism and cuisine go back a long way, with greater or lesser results in terms of success. This is one of the all-time highs.

Another high point was the publication of The Surreal Gourmet: Real Food for Pretend Chefs, which introduced the world to the concept of dishwasher salmon. Keeping it surreal, yo.

Shrimp and Avocado Sushi

Shrimp and avocados are two perfect foods, FACT, and one of my favorite parties this year was the Spot Prawn fest at my friend Ben‘s. But the secret with Spot Prawns fresh from the ocean is that they are best eaten raw and straight. I think 50% made it to the cooking pot, the rest having been consumed amaebi sashimi-style, and if you’re sure of the provenance and freshness of the shrimp, there is no better way to eat them. I mean, if you really must tempurize something, use a yam for god’s sake and leave these sweet babies aloooooone!

sammich

You’re welcome.