Ingenious Inkling

Omnivore's Hundred

In addition to crafting and design blogs, I enjoy reading food blogs.  I love trying new and different things, so I was intrigued by this Omnivore's Hundred list I found on Chocolate & Zucchini, which she found at Very Good Taste.  There were several foods I had never heard of, including cheeses and a chocolate that I found particularly intriguing.  I was surprised at how many that I have tried & I think I'll be trying a few more in the near future (my husband would love the currywurst).

The list is proposed as a game where you:

• He offered this list as the starting point for a game, along the following rules:
• Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
• Bold all the items you’ve eaten (I used an asterisk)
• Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
• Optional extra: post a comment on Very Good Taste, linking to your results.

* 1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
* 3. Huevos rancheros
* 4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (never tried this, but I have had Czarnina)
* 7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
* 9. Borscht
* 10. Baba ghanoush
* 11. Calamari
* 12. Pho
* 13. PB&J sandwich
* 14. Aloo gobi
* 15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
* 18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
* 19. Steamed pork buns
* 20. Pistachio ice cream
* 21. Heirloom tomatoes
* 22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
* 24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (not sure I could handle the heat)
* 27. Dulce de leche
* 28. Oysters
* 29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
* 31. Wasabi peas
* 32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi (I did have a Mango Lassi last weekend though)
* 34. Sauerkraut
* 35. Root beer float (A&W many times as a child)
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
* 39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
* 41. Curried goat (tried this for the first time just last weekend)
* 42. Whole insects (chocolate covered ants)
43. Phaal (sounds like this might be a bit too spicy for my gut)
* 44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (seems a bit risky to me)
* 47. Chicken tikka masala
* 48. Eel (every week if I can ... my favorite sushi)
* 49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (so much better when warm)
* 50. Sea urchin
* 51. Prickly pear
* 52. Umeboshi
* 53. Abalone
* 54. Paneer
* 55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
* 56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV (I have very limited alcohol tolerance)
* 59. Poutine
* 60. Carob chips
* 61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
* 66. Frogs’ legs
* 67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (all of the above ... can you go wrong with fried dough?)
68. Haggis
* 69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
* 71. Gazpacho
* 72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
* 77. Hostess Fruit Pie
* 78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
* 80. Bellini
* 81. Tom yum
* 82. Eggs Benedict
* 83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
* 86. Hare
* 87. Goulash
* 88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
* 91. Spam
* 92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
* 94. Catfish
* 95. Mole poblano
* 96. Bagel and lox
* 97. Lobster Thermidor
* 98. Polenta
* 99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (while in Jamaica)
100. Snake

Weekend Sketch, Flourishes & Peanut Butter No Bakes

Not much time in my studio today.  It's my husband's weekend off, so we enjoyed spending the day together just hanging out.  I did bake him some new cookies - Peanut Butter No Bakes from Coconut & Lime - and they were delicious.  I also had a lot of fun seeing all of the great cards for the SCS Inspiration Challenge & the Caardvarks Love Fest Friends Challenge.

I did take some time to make a card using Beate's Weekend Sketch and Sharon's Flourishes Challenge.  It's been a while since I added a holiday card to my 2008 stash, so I used some scraps of MME holiday papers and my new Lots of Thoughts set from Stampin' Up.  My flourished background is by Fancy Pants and a Snowflake Flurry from Stampendous.

All-Bran Banana Bread

No stamping this morning because my dear, sweet husband has offered to drive me to Des Moines, so I can spend my Archivers gift card birthday present that has been burning a hole in my pocket.

Instead, here's a recipe I tried last night that we declared a "keeper".  It combines the best of bran muffins and banana bread and has a nice, dense texture without being too heavy (72 points in the entire loaf for any WW person who is counting).

All-Bran Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS

3 large bananas (1½ cups)
2 eggs
2 cups All-Bran cereal
2 cups flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup butter or shortening (softened)

1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350F (180C).  Peel and mash the bananas and combine with the two cups of All-Bran.  Let the mixture stand for about 5 minutes.

Cream the butter and sugar together, fold in the eggs and then the banana/cereal mixture.  Beat well.

Stir in the sifted flour and other dry ingredients and mix until the flour is evenly distributed through the mixture.

Spray a 9X5X3 loaf pan with non-stick spray and spoon in the mixture (it will be thick). Place in the preheated oven and bake the banana bread for 60 minutes. It is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove the banana bread from the oven and allow it to cool slightly in the loaf tin. Turn out onto a rack to complete cooling.

Recipe from Afri Chef African Recipes Cookbook

Enjoy the day.