Monthly Archive for December, 2007
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- Duda Farm Fresh Foods in Florida has engineered celery stalks with hollow centers.
- These “celery straws” can flavor Bloody Marys through sipping or hold a hidden cream cheese or peanut butter surprise.
- Watch for the edible swizzle sticks to start appearing at restaurants and hotels soon; marketing to the home chef might come further down the road.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS
- An element of surprise and novelty makes eating and drinking even more festive.
- Fringe consumers who are wary of any sort of nature tinkering might balk at tweaked celery, but most imbibers will relish the chance to rev up their Bloody Mary or snack-time experience.
by Wade Meredith on January 16th, 2007
I’m not condoning it as a lifestyle choice, but I know I certainly like to get a bit “unnatural” on occasion. But what I don’t like to get is bigger pants. Here’s a few quick tips on getting loaded, without getting fat from The University of Rochester.
- Try alternating alcoholic drinks with low calorie non-alcoholic drinks or water.
- Ask for low calorie / diet mixers where possible.
- Make your wine into a spritzer (a longer drink), or your lager into a shandy – both have fewer calories.
- Substitute your “alcopop” [Smirnoff Ice, etc. -Ed] for a shot of spirit and a low calorie mixer – about a quarter of the calories!
- Plan your alcohol into your daily calorie quota so you can enjoy a glass or two. If you know you will be drinking during the weekend, try to save some calories each day in advance, so you can eat normally before you go out.
- Don’t be tempted to skip meals to allow for drinks, as alcohol won’t satisfy your hunger. In fact, alcohol lowers blood sugar levels (it prevents sugar that is normally stored in the liver, as glycogen, from breaking down). A drop in blood sugar levels sends signals to the brain you are hungry. With alcohol in your system, willpower can go out of the window and the snack attacks kick in. Eating a proper meal before you go out will line your stomach and slow the rate at which alcohol absorbs into your bloodstream, keeping you in control of how much you eat and drink.
And here’s their list of every kind of alcohol I’ve ever heard of and it’s caloric content.
[via]
Here at the BBBC, we love The Dropkick Murphys, so I thought I would pass along a short article from Gibson’s website. Enjoy…
Jonah Bayer | 11.01.2007
If you don’t think you’ve ever heard the Dropkick Murphys‘ music, think again. “When people ask me what I do, I say ‘I’m in a band called the Dropkick Murphys’—and if they still haven’t heard of us, I say we had that song in The Departed and they instantly know what I’m talking about,’ explains the band’s guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Marc Orrell. “That movie helped us become a household name—and I think it also helped our album [The Meanest of Times] debut in the Billboard Top 20, which was unreal.”
That star-making song, “I’m Shipping Up To Boston,” features lyrics from legendary protest singer Woody Guthrie and was originally included on the Dropkick Murphys’ 2005 album The Warrior’s Code and passed on to the film’s director Martin Scorsese by the Band’s Robbie Robertson. “Amazingly, I guess Robbie is a fan of ours and knew Martin from The Last Waltz; he heard he was doing a film about Boston, so he passed our song along because it has a really Irish feel,” Orrell explains. “We were in Europe and we saw the trailer on our computer and we were like, “Oh my God, it’s even the trailer—this is going to be huge!’”
Continue reading ‘The Dropkick Murphys’ Marc Orrell on Lucky Breaks and One Tough Epiphone’
Keep your King Cobra cool to the last drop with this 40 oz Cozy ($12). Constructed of neoprene with a possible gang-related design, the super size cozy has a handle for making your favorite malt treat even easier to handle. There ain’t nothing like a gangsta party.
[via]
9 not so ordinary Uses for Beer (Besides the obvious!)
There are many useful uses for beer besides drinking it and having fun. Most of us just enjoy drinking beer, but the truth is, it can be used in a variety of different ways. Especially when you don’t want to pitch all that extra beer leftover from last weekends bash. Here are 9 examples of what you can do with them.
1. Marinate meat in it – Use beer instead of wine to marinate your meat. Not only does it taste better, but it also makes the meat softer and more tender.
2. Help grass grow easier – pour beer on those irritating brown spots on your lawns to help your grass grow. The grass absorbs the nutrients, sugar and energy it needs to be able to grow.
3. Kill slugs & snails – Fill containers or wide-mouthed bottles or something of the sort with beer about a quarter to half way up. Then bury these in your garden. The slugs or snails will be attracted to them and drown.
4. Kill mice – This may sound a little far-fetched but fill a bucket or pail up about a third of the way with cheap beer with a board or something leading to the rim at the top. The mice, smelling this, will jump in, and not be able to climb out.
5. Calm a stomach-ache – Just sit down and drink a beer. This carbonated drink will settle your stomach right down. The alcohol helps reduce the pain as well. Don’t use if you have an ulcer or gastritis.
6. Polish gold – Wet a piece of cloth with some beer and start rubbing your gold (no stones) to get the shine back. Use a second cloth to dry it.
7. Bathe in it – Add a few cans of beer into your bath. Believe it or not, it will do you good. The yeasts are good for softening and soothing the skin.
8. Polish wood furniture – Let some beer sit until it goes flat, then, dampen a washcloth with it, and rub your wooden furniture. This will polish it, and give it a more shiny and healthy look.
9. Cook with it – When boiling shrimp, try using beer for the cooking liquid. Season as you wish, but don’t overcook.
I know you visit the site for a lot of reasons—Up to the minute beer and bourbon news, profound insights into American culture, deep analysis of the Big Issues, and answers to the Big Questions. Sometimes, though, you come here because if you look at that spreadsheet for another second every synapse in your brain will explode, rendering you incapable of coherent speech or rational thought. For those times, might I suggest Beer Golf. I can almost feel productivity across the county slowing to a crawl.
Thanks to Larry for the link.
The BBBC is spearheading a new initiative designed to pressure the Dropkick Murphys into coming to Jackson to rock our St. Paddy’s Day celebration. Lar has set up a website where you can add your voice to our cause. The “Demand it!” link below will take you there. Go now.
For those of you who aren’t aware, the Dropkick Murphys are the toughest bunch of beer drinking, rabble rousing, punk rockin’, bourbon swilling bastards ever to come out of Boston. Jackson hosts the third largest St. Paddy’s Day celebration in the country. Yeah, that’s right. For once we’re number three in something good. Obviously it’s a match made in heaven.
So, let’s invite the Murphy’s down for some southern hospitality, BBBC style.
Several friends and I have decided to collaborate on a new blog dedicated to the enjoyment of fine libations. Meanwhile, here’s a recipe for Bourbon Slushies (one of the domains for this blog!):
Aunt Weasie’s Bourbon Slushies
2 cups boiling water
4 tea bags
2 cups sugarCombine and let steep a bit, then take out tea bags and add
12 oz. frozen OJ concentrate
6 oz. frozen lemonade
2 cups bourbon
7 cups waterPut in a large plastic container and freeze overnight. Remember that it will expand a little, make sure it has room to do so. Also remember that if you are using an insulated drink container, make sure to take the lid OFF before you put it in the freezer. otherwise you will be insulating your drink from the cold of the freezer (not that I have ever done this).
Hint: when I’m drinking them straight out of the freezer, I sometimes use one cup less water to make them stronger and slushier (otherwise you sometimes have to let them thaw a little). For taking them somewhere, though, I’d definitely do the full dilution, they’ll freeze better.
[recipe and drink commentary via]
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