Stow your banana in a bunker!

Hate when your banana gets banged up in transit? Or even worse - you end up with banana glue?

I found the solution for all your bruised bananas - a Banana Bunker!

I'll admit, it looks pretty hilarious, but what can I say? I'm sure it does the job! You can buy yours from the very cool MoMA Store.

Lil' Pumpkin Baby Shower

I believe today is the day the world will welcome a new baby into Jake's family. We're so excited to see you, baby!

Just 2 weeks ago we had a baby shower for your mom with a cute little pumpkin theme.

Uncle Jake made the food and I baked lil' pumpkin cookies to give away as favors.

Everyone got to take home two yummy pumpkin cookies as well as a mini pumpkin.

Your daddy's Auntie S even made a cute Pumpkin Bear cake!

Ultra Violet Mt. Dew

I like the color purple just as much as I like a good sale, so when I spotted Mt. Dew's new Ultra Violet on sale I decided to try it. The pop is really pretty - a light lavender color in the bottle. But when I poured it into my glass all the fizz and bubbles turned a sky blue color. Disturbing.

The taste? Not so great - much too sweet and syrupy for my liking. I couldn't drink the whole bottle.

Dear Mt. Dew,

Please bring Mt. Dew Throwback back.

Love,

Me.

Smak-Tak!

5961 N Elston Ave

Chicago, IL 60646

773.763.1123

www.smaktak.com

A cute and cozy, cabin atmosphere creates a comfortable setting for some good polish food at Smak-Tak on North Elston in Chicago. Jake and I have had to drive by this small restaurant a few times now, but yesterday it worked for us to stop in and have a bite to eat.

Smak-tak translates to Taste-Yes!

Jake ordered the special platter and I ordered the stuffed cabbage rolls (a favorite of Jake's family, called golumpkis in Polish, pronounced go-WHOMB-keys). They were quite tasty - the tomato sauce was nice and thick and coated the golumpkis just right.

We each received two side salads of coleslaw and warm shredded beets with onions, too. The coleslaw was more pickled tasting than traditional mayo-laced American coleslaw. Very refreshing after a warm afternoon. In fact, I bought some at our neighborhood polish grocery store tonight because I enjoyed it so much.

I hadn't realized how much of a role dill plays in Polish food. I can't say that I eat dill all that much, other than in pickle form, and that doesn't really ring true to the taste of fresh dill sprinkled on a cabbage salad or freshly mashed potatoes.

Angus Burgers

McDonald's doesn't top my list for places to grab a good burger. Until now. On a late night cruise with a friend he recommended I try McDonald's new 1/3lb. Angus Burgers. Up for a challenge, I accepted.

Verdict? The Mushroom Swiss Burger is good. Really good. It has mushrooms, swiss, and mayo on it, but we swore the mayo was enhanced somehow. Like... some sort of cream cheese mayo maybe? Maybe it was late night delirium - regardless - Ronald, you got my vote.

[Image from McDonald's]

I'm nuts for these nuts!

Check your grocery aisles (or Walgreens) for True North's Pecan Peanut Almond Clusters. They're 100% Natural, 100% Delicious, and 100% Free after Rebate (make sure it has the red rebate sticker on it)!

[Image from Frito Lay]

No Monkeyin' Around: Bananas are Blue!

Blue bananas? Apparently so. I was reading an article here about how ripe bananas emit a blue glow when lit with UV light. So what does that mean?

“In contrast to humans, many of the animals that eat bananas can see light in the UV range. The blue luminescence of the banana fruit could give them a distinct signal that the fruit is ripe.” says Bernhard Kräutler.

So put away those crazy psychedelic posters, and party like a monkey -- Break out those black lights and throw an electric blue banana party.

In an Absolut world there are no labels

In an Absolut world there are no labels.

And come September Absolut Vodka bottle will be label-free for their global launch of a limited edition bottle.

"No matter what’s on the outside, it’s the inside that really matters. We do it in support of the people who spend their entire lives, stamped with a label by other people," says their Global PR Manager.

Instead of the the Absolut Vodka label and logo the bottle will feature a removable sticker with information on their campaign -- one intended to discard labels and prejudice about sexual minorities.

Good for you, Absolut.

To learn more, visit their blog.

Colonel Mustard greens

Colonel Mustard, in the kitchen, with ... the greens! Yesterday Jake and I tended to the garden and brought home a lot of mustard greens. To start using them up I made stir-fry tonight. I combined carrots, red peppers, broccoli, egg, chicken, and mustard greens and then made a hodge-podge orange sauce with fresh squeezed orange juice, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, a bit of flour and some oil. Not too shabby for a throw together meal! 

The greens have a very distinct flavor. I like them in small quantities, but there is definately a LARGE quantity of them remaining in the fridge. Maybe I'll try wilted mustard tomorrow. Copious amounts of bacon make anything wonderful, right? :)

Chocolate turtle

One thing I love about living here in the Chicago burbs is that I can run to Mitsuwa Marketplace and grab some sushi and dessert like it's no big deal. What a great feeling! So cultural. So... delicious! I had never tried anything from the bakery in Mitsuwa, and boy, I wish I had sooner. This cute little turtle was like a soft bread/donut and had a yummy chocolate pudding inside. Next time I think I'll try a loaf of bread. It was probably the softest bread I've ever come across. 

Sugar, sugar...

[Image from Pepsi-Cola North American Beverages]

Pepsi has provided some taste treats recently with their new Throwback sodas: Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback. Both are good, though the Mountain Dew is especially tasty - it actually goes down smoothly - without making me feel like I'm drinking crazy sugar syrup. (I remember drinking numerous Mt. Dews during slumber parties... ah.. to be young... and on a sugar high)

Prior to Throwback I found these glass bottles of Pepsi Natural. It has an interesting taste - kind of like Coke in that it is more "rooty" tasting. I liked it, but unfortunately I found that the kola nut left a bitter aftertaste. Not cool. I suppose if you like coffee it'd be ideal.

I'm wondering if this temporary Throwback line will become more permanant. Especially with fuss over high fructose corn syrup. Jones Soda and Boylan may just have new friends [enemies] in the soda aisle.

Square roots

Unfortunately I've been too busy this week and didn't have the chance to come up with a "square root" food for today. Root Veggies - you'll live to see another day!

Watch out, pie. Your day is coming...

[Image from Merriam Webster Visual Dictionary Online]

She put in her thumb and pulled out a plum-a-granate...

“I am putting real plums into an imaginary cake.”

- Mary McCarthy (American novelist and critic,1912-1989)

Unfortunately no cakes, imaginary, or real, are being made today.

Plum is on the menu though - in the form of Snapple's "Plum-a-granate Diet Tea." I had it at work the other day, and it's really good. It's got more plum than pomegranate, but in my opinion, that's the way it should be. Try it!

Under the Sea

Shrimp, walleye, clam strips, oh my! Don’s Dock has been a favorite of mine since I moved to the area a few years ago – but with my recent move, I’ve become much closer to the tasty seafood hangout. I’m already tempted to sneak down there and buy some of their delicious Hush Puppies…

Radish Me

They call me pomelo yellow...

Pomelos look like beefy grapefruit, but they taste sweeter - like a combination of grapefruit and strawberries. I found them to be "drier" too. They are the largest citrus fruit ranging from extra-large grapefruit size up to the diameter of a basketball (thanks Wikipedia)!

Pomelos are also known as Chinese grapefruit, pummelo, pommelo, Lusho Fruit, jabong, pompelmous, and shaddock.

[Photo by John Panzarella]