Nobody cares about food.

[Dakota Tebaldi]

A while ago I found these little single-serving cups of cottage cheese at the grocery store, and ever since then one of my common lazy weekday breakfasts has been one of those with toast and a handful of grapes or something like that.

But today for no reason I just decided to add some fresh chives to the cottage cheese, and I don't think I'm ever going to not do that again.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Paul Haine (@paulhaine.bsky.social)

We can post longer videos now so here's an American woman trying Colman's English Mustard for the first time

bsky.app

(The skeet, or whatever it's called, contains a video that had me shouting "No, no! Don't do it!)

 

[Essence Lumin]

I got the urge to make homemade mole sauce but holy mole! If this page is any indication it is way too complicated and beyond my abilities.

Authentic Mole Sauce - Tastes Better From Scratch

Making homemade mole sauce is not complicated (It’s just a bit time intensive) and the final product is WELL WORTH IT!

tastesbetterfromscratch.com

 

[Rose Karuna]

I got the urge to make homemade mole sauce but holy mole! If this page is any indication it is way too complicated and beyond my abilities.

Authentic Mole Sauce - Tastes Better From Scratch

Making homemade mole sauce is not complicated (It’s just a bit time intensive) and the final product is WELL WORTH IT!

tastesbetterfromscratch.com

Wow, I make mole about once every couple of months from scratch and this is the most complicated recipe I've ever seen. Animal crackers, bread, a tortilla, aniseed, sesame seeds and plantains are a nope for me.

I use peanuts and no almonds at all, I think you could use either actually, whichever was on hand.

Also, I soak the raisins and dry chilis first (for at least 1 to 2 hours), or just leave them in a pan of hot water overnight and they will be nice and fat when you fire them in the broiler instead of putting them dry into a frying pan. Firing them in the broiler gives them a nice smoky flavor. Also, you can just slap them into a sheet pan and stick them under the fire. So, pretty easy.

I sauté the rest of the fruit, veggies, nuts and seasonings in oil (peanut oil is fine) and then pour in [some] chicken broth, the chocolate and the rest of the mess with the broiler fired chilies (sans the water they soaked in) into the cuisinart and whirl until its a blended thick, sauce. I limit the broth at first and then add as needed so that the sauce stays somewhat thick.

I just use cloves, allspice, coriander and cumin powder and not cloves or seeds, but cloves and seeds are fine if you toast and then put them into a coffee grinder and grind them up before putting them in the sauce. Personally, I don't taste that much of a difference.

I don't boil the chicken, I quarter it and brown it in oil and then add the sauce into the sautéed pieces and cook it on at a low temperature with the sauce, for a couple of hours.

90% of the time I just use ancho chilies but sometimes if I have them, I add guajillo chilies for a depth of flavor.

I will probably have someone's Abuela cringing when she reads my omissions and short cuts, but it's still a pretty good mole.

 

[Casey Pelous]

Heck, even supermarket mole in a can is pretty good. I mean -- come on! Peppers, chocolate, spices! Anything else is just bonus goodness.

 

[Free]

Heck, even supermarket mole in a can is pretty good. I mean -- come on! Peppers, chocolate, spices! Anything else is just bonus goodness.

I think you can shelve it for a couple years and it'll still be good to go, as well.

 

[Dancien]

When you think about it, vanilla extract is just dessert MSG.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Okay guys, I'm starting to drink tea!

So far, my favorites are Twinings' English Breakfast, and Bigelow's Oolong. Before bed I also sometimes like Bigelow's Sweet Dreams, which is a chamomile and mint herbal, but I'm not really super interested in herbals and like the real teas much more. Mind you, these are the ones I've liked of less than a handful of tried; I haven't like exhaustively tried a bunch of blends and narrowed it down to these.

So I'm open to suggestions! What kinds of blends do you suggest? I expect non-Americans will have more to say on the topic just because tea really isn't a big thing here. But unfortunately I can't get loose-leaf teas locally, I have to stick with bags, so hopefully you're familiar enough with them.

I haven't tried any green teas yet - or well, I've had green ICED tea and I liked it, so I have no reason to think I wouldn't like it hot, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

I don't put anything in my tea btw.

 

[Rose Karuna]

Okay guys, I'm starting to drink tea!

So far, my favorites are Twinings' English Breakfast, and Bigelow's Oolong. Before bed I also sometimes like Bigelow's Sweet Dreams, which is a chamomile and mint herbal, but I'm not really super interested in herbals and like the real teas much more. Mind you, these are the ones I've liked of less than a handful of tried; I haven't like exhaustively tried a bunch of blends and narrowed it down to these.

So I'm open to suggestions! What kinds of blends do you suggest? I expect non-Americans will have more to say on the topic just because tea really isn't a big thing here. But unfortunately I can't get loose-leaf teas locally, I have to stick with bags, so hopefully you're familiar enough with them.

I haven't tried any green teas yet - or well, I've had green ICED tea and I liked it, so I have no reason to think I wouldn't like it hot, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

I don't put anything in my tea btw.

My absolute favorite is Stash Black Tea Chai Spice. For some reason for my taste buds, Stash makes the best Chai tea ever. I've been drinking it for years. I just noticed that they now make a "Double Spiced Chai Tea" too. I haven't tried it yet, but I will.

 

[Dancien]

Duke’s Mayo parent company acquired by Advent International

Sauer Brands, the parent company of Duke’s Mayonnaise, has been acquired by Advent International, a private equity investor.

upstatebusinessjournal.com

BRB STOCKPILING

 

[Rose Karuna]

Private equity companies buying up every business and private properties in the US. Almost seems like a huge scam to get around our monopoly laws. Nothing but evil, because people don't figure into bottom lines. One look at United Health care will tell anyone that.

 

[Dancien]

*2008 Bank Flashbacks Intensify*

 

[Free]

Returning to posting about food.

 

[Rose Karuna]

I know that loving Peeps is controversial, but damn, I love peeps. I like marshmallows too. Anyway, I was looking to see if there were new peeps this year and discovered that several museums have "peep shows". Some of the art is awesome.

RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition 2025 - Racine Art Museum

The 16th edition of a family-friendly community art exhibition showcasing work made from or inspired by PEEPS® Brand marshmallow candy.

www.ramart.org

A reminder to enter the annual Pioneer Press Peeps Diorama Contest

The deadline to email photos of the diorama entries is noon on Friday, April 11.

www.twincities.com

Some of them actually make sculptures with the peeps and some make dioramas. Since I like peeps and art, it's kind of cool.

 

[Dancien]

International Delight did a Peeps Coffee Creamer during Easter season that was very good.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

Marshmallow-flavored coffee sounds... Well, I'd try it at least once.

 

[Dancien]

I am a sucker for weird coffee creamers. I'm drinking the International Delight Wedding Cake one right now with my coffee. It wasn't too bad honestly. Like wasn't all "PEEEEEEEEEEEPS"

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

What does anyone know about this "Olipop" soda brand? It's new and has me curious, but it also festoons its cans with a bunch of taglines about "prebiotics" and "microbiomes" and "supporting digestive health", which gives me a very snake-oil vibe about the whole thing. Adding all the plant extracts you want to a sugary soda will not make it any healthier.

 

[Casey Pelous]

What does anyone know about this "Olipop" soda brand? It's new and has me curious, but it also festoons its cans with a bunch of taglines about "prebiotics" and "microbiomes" and "supporting digestive health", which gives me a very snake-oil vibe about the whole thing. Adding all the plant extracts you want to a sugary soda will not make it any healthier.

Prebiotics are supposedly the nutrients that probiotics need. Olipop says they promote the gut microbes that fend off depression and anxiety.

I guess that means you'll still get obese and diabetic but you'll feel great about it.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Okay, I tried one. I tried the "Classic Root Beer" flavor, because according to the wikipedia page about Olipop, one of the brand's cofounders has claimed that Olipop's root beer flavor recently surpassed A&W in sales. That sounds pretty significant if true, so I gave it a shot.

No. No. Absolutely not.

First of all, it doesn't taste like root beer at all, not even an approximation. It is technically sweet, and very "plant-y", but that is about it. There was birch, and some apple juice that I could definitely taste (I actually looked at the can to make sure I wasn't crazy and yep it's in there), but the rest of it was a weird clash of things that did not mesh at all, they just kind of all competed for attention and confused my mouth. After a few normal sips to try and give it a chance to convince me, I just chugged the rest of the can to get it over with. It's not for me.