Editorial Staff
Cat Eldridge
Cat Rambo
Denise Dutton
Gary Whitehouse
Jennifer Stevenson
Robert TilendisSearch
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Recent Posts
- A Kinrowan Estate story: A Hungarian Hamper
- What’s New for the 17th of February: A Bevy of Nordic Recordings, Live Music from Skerryvore, Gaiman’s Books of Magic and Other Wonderful Things
- A Kinrowan Estate story: The Wood Between The Worlds
- What’s New for the 10th of February: Really Small Libraries, Joni Mitchell does William Butler Yeats, The Dubliners in Concert and Other Fine Matters
- A Kinrowan Estate story: A Library Story, Or Why Indexes Have Nervous Breakdowns
- What’s New for the 3rd of February: Pulitzer Prize winning poets, Rhetorics of Fantasy, Sipping Chocolate, Live Music by Philip Glass, Sonic Screwdrivers, Jelly Babies, Gruagachs and other matters
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Danse Macabre
- What’s New for the 27th of January: music from Fairport Convention and Johnny Clegg, a couple of scholarly endeavors, Volsungasaga, Coconut Porter? and other unusual things
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Our Library Card Catalogue
- What’s New for the 20th of January: Riverside, Spain, and other interesting things
- A Kinrowan Estate Story: The Living Library, Part II
- What’s New for the 13th of January: Americana flavoured Jazz, The Three Musketeers, a ‘dorable Thirteenth Doctor, Black-eyed peas and ham hocks, The World’s Most Famous Dinosaur, live music from Altan and other Winter treats
- A Kinrowan Estate Story: The Living Library, Part I
- What’s New for the 6th of January: Much Ado About Doctor Who
- A Kinrowan Estate Story: Katrina’s Requests (A Letter to Anna)
- What’s New for the 30th of December: Horslips’ ‘Drive The Cold Winter Away’ and Other Matters for the New Year
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Blizzard
- What’s New for the 23rd of December: Ursula LeGuin’s The Books of Earthsea, Unicorns, The Feast of Seven Fishes, a Fairy-Tale Opera, Jennifer Stevenson’s ‘Solstice’ and other Winter matters
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Something Awful
- What’s New for the 16th of December: A Charles de Lint edition
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Restless (A Letter to Ekentrina)
- What’s New for the 9th of December: Lots of Tull, Haydn’s “The Seasons”, Questions About Angels, a country house mystery, and other matters for you to consider
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Estate Canines
- What’s New for the 2nd of December: Live music from Iron Horse, Peter Pan, Swamp Thing, The Beatles, and other comforting things as well
- A Kinrowan Estate Story: Herne
- What’s New for the 25th of November: Doctor Who goes Victorian, cornbread, music from Nightnoise, concert hall staples, color photography, and there’s a bite on the air
- A Kinrowan Estate Story: Guest Lecturer
- What’s New for the 18th of November: A Tull concert, limited edition Ritter chocolate bars, Novels from Ursula le Guin and Patricia McKilillip, German style sausages, ‘Take This Waltz’ by Leonard Cohen and other later Autumn matters
- A Kinrowan Estate Story: The Calamity Janes
- What’s New for the 11th of November: TCHO dark chocolate, music from smallpiper Kathryn Tickell, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Korean manhwa, Peter Beagle on J.R.R Tolkien and other matters
Tag Archives: food and drink
Anthony Bourdain’s “The Nasty Bits”
(To keep things on the up-n-up, I must confess this is a re-print of the piece I wrote back in ’06. I could change tenses, and/or mention Bourdain’s passing, but I’m still in denial. So here ’tis, unsullied by the … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged Anthony Bourdain, Books, food and drink
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Heavy Seas Brewery’s Blackbeard’s Breakfast Salted Caramel Porter
I’m not one of the cool kids. I typically can’t handle bourbon-barrel aged brews. Too much like actual liquor; if I wanted a shot of booze, I’d grab tequila or vodka. When I want a beer, I want a beer, … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged beer, beer and wine, food and drink, Porter
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Oskar Blues Brewery’s Death By Coconut Irish Style Porter
Oskar Blues is a brewery that can’t do wrong in my eyes, ever since I stumbled upon their Old Chub Scotch Ale. So I’d been dying to try their seasonal coconut extravaganza for quite some time. And Death is right … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged beer, beer and wine, food and drink
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C.R. Maguire‘s A Whovian Feast: A Doctor Who Inspired Cookbook for Discriminating Fans and Chris-Rachael Oseland’s Dining with The Doctor
This review is really an acknowledgement that there’s a nearly inifinite number of writings about Doctor Who done by the fans of the show over the past fifty years. Yes there’s fanfic where they’ve created their own stories, some using … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged food and drink
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Carletti’s Jakobsen Coffee Time chocolate collection
Danish chocolates? Don’t mind if I do! Especially when the package itself gives me a great excuse to indulge. Coffee time? Yes please! And while these chocolates would go great with coffee, I had mine with a stout, and then … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged Chocolate, food and drink, imported foods
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DeLallo Flat Fillets of Anchovies
I don’t like pineapple on pizza. I think it’s an abomination, and a waste of perfectly good pineapple. But what do I know, I like anchovies. So for part of my Feast of the Seven Fishes, here comes some ‘chovie … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged Feast of the Seven Fishes, Fish, food and drink, recipes
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Specially Selected Cold Smoked Salmon Deli Sliced
Smoked salmon seems to be a mainstay around here, especially during the holiday season. But while it’s a great treat, it often becomes cost prohibitive to really get your salmon on. Cue Aldi! Farm raised in Chile, their smoked salmon … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged Feast of the Seven Fishes, food and drink, Salmon
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Specially Selected’s Cajun Flavored Hot Smoked Salmon
Hot smoked salmon? I’ve never heard of this. Or maybe it’s just that I tend to focus on the better known cold smoked salmon that typically graces bagels and brunch plates. But hot smoked is just that; a piece of … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged Feast of the Seven Fishes, food and drink, Salmon
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Smashmallow’s Cinnamon Churro marshmallows
‘Tis the season for warm festive beverages! And for all the things to top ’em. Nutmeg for nog, a cinnamon stick for mulled goodness, and for folk who partake of animal products (ex: gelatin), marshmallows for coffee and chocolate-centric libations. … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged candy, food and drink, marshmallows
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Bar Harbor All Natural Smoked Wild Kippers
Tis the season to be fishy! While Christmas is almost a month away, I love planning a Fest of the Seven Fishes. Yes, at this house that includes Goldfish crackers and Swedish Fish, but I won’t judge you if you … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged Feast of the Seven Fishes, Fish, food and drink
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Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkin – Snack Size
Milk chocolate and peanut butter. What a great combination. Even I, a dark chocolate fan, can appreciate it. Especially the tangy salty bite of a Reese’s cup’s peanut butter. Reese’s makes their usual cups, but sometimes they shape them for … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged candy, Chocolate, food and drink, Halloween
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Treat Street’s Zombie Hand Gummy Lollipop
Gummy candy feels like cheating. All the fun of candy, but without the fat and cholesterol of chocolate. That means I can eat more, right? For Treat Street’s gummy lollie, I think I’ll stick to one. Not because they’re not … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged candy, food and drink, Halloween
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Jelly Belly’s The Original Gourmet Candy Corn
JB started as Goelitz candy back in the mid-1800s, but Jelly Bellys wouldn’t come around ’til 1976. And thank goodness; I don’t know how I’d get along without their Buttered Popcorn, Margarita (from their Cocktail Classics® line), Toasted Marshmallow and…well, … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged candy, food and drink, Halloween
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Wonka’s Halloween Fright-Tins: Vampire, Mummy and Ghost
I love Wonka candies. Everlasting Gobstoppers, Fun Dip, Spree, Bottle Caps…they’re all the stuff my childhood summers were made of. And of course Nerds and SweeTarts, which tended to bleed over into Halloween, thank goodness. (I realize we can all … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged candy, food and drink, Halloween
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Sour Patch Kids’ Sour Patch Kids’ Zombie candy
Sour Patch Kids are a candy I tend to like, but only sometimes. And by “sometimes”, I mean “I only eat the red, blue and pink flavors.” Because let’s face it, these candies aren’t fruit flavored more than they’re flavored … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged candy, food and drink, Halloween
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Flying Cauldron’s Butterscotch Beer
For the past twenty years, with Halloween comes Harry Potter. And Hermione, Ron, Tonks, Sirius, and the crew. I’ll admit to donning my own version of a Slytherin costume (well, as a Hufflepuff why not go as my polar opposite?) … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged food and drink, Harry Potter, soda
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Cheetos’ Bag of Bones*
Like Eric Cartman, I love cheesy poofs. The crunchy ones are good too, but there’s something special about letting a savory, cheesy bit of air and corn melt onto your tongue. Weird, yes. But damn it’s good. During this, the … Continue reading
Halva Licorice Bars – Sweet and Salty
Everyone around here knows I love black licorice. Wasn’t always so; I absolutely hated the stuff when I was a kid. But my dad would grab it gleefully, so after a while I decided to give a mini-box of Good … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged candy, food and drink, licorice
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Stork’s Toffifay
I remember being a kid and seeing Toffifay. It looked so elegant, so grown-up. Now this was a classy candy, obviously made for ADULTS, thought Little Me. Naturally, I had to try it. And I loved it. But I seldom … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged candy, caramel, Chocolate, food and drink
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Taza Chocolate’s Guajillo Chili Discs
There are lots of tastes that taste great together. Peanut butter and jelly. Buttered popcorn and champagne. (Seriously, try it.) And, of course, chocolate and licorice. But there’s one that doesn’t get enough love here in the States, and that’s … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged artisanal chocolate, Chocolate, food and drink, spice love
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Greenbriar’s Halloween Candy Bracelets
These strange, Fruit-Loops looking candies strung on a bit of elastic string, with or without a “pendant” or “charm” made of the same kind of candy were a must when I was a kid. They were fun, they were cheap … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged candy, food and drink, Halloween
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Golden Island’s Sriracha Pork Jerky
Pork jerky! I’ve had beef and bison, but never pork. So I dug into this bag, curious…and hungry. The first piece out of the bag, and I got something that was stringy and thinly sliced. This is a jerky you’re … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged food and drink, jerky
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Chef’s Cut Real Jerky Co.’s Smoked Beef Chipotle Cracked Pepper Jerky
I get a carnivorous hankering every now and then. And when I’m too lazy to throw a hunk of animal muscle on the barbie, I grab some jerky. I love dried meat; it’s got a lot of flavor, a lot … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged food and drink, jerky
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Trader Joe’s Boneless Skinless Mackerel in Sunflower Oil
Omega-3 is good for you. That’s what “everybody” says. And by everybody, I mean doctors and other health professionals. But if you’re like me, you enjoy fish but are too damn lazy to cook it most days of the week. … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged Fish, food and drink, trader joe's
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RJ’s Licorice Choc Twists
On a recent vacation (or “holiday”) trip in New Zealand’s South Island, we were doing some grocery shopping before hitting the road for our next destination. We’d already picked up a couple of bags of Cadbury Jaffas to take home … Continue reading
Russell Stover’s Fine Assorted 2 ounce pack
Little boxes of chocolates. They look so lovely. And with only four pieces per pack, hiding the evidence of a binge is easy-peasy. So when I received a wee box of Russell Stover, I couldn’t wait to dig in. Sadly, … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged Chocolate, food and drink
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Butterfinger Dark
I love dark chocolate. It’s something everyone knows, because I don’t mind saying so. But I think I’ve found something that has me thinking that perhaps dark chocolate has its limits. Because with Butterfinger Dark, these two great tastes don’t … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged candy, Dark Chocolate Is Best Chocolate, food and drink
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Righteous Felon Jerky Cartel, Victorious B.I.G. Beef Jerky
Westchester PA based company, Righteous Felon crafts a whole lot of jerky. But I sunk my teeth into their Victorious B.I.G. because I needed to know what beer infused jerky tasted like. This one’s a collaboration with PA’s Victory Brewing … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged beef, food and drink, jerky
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Justin’s Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
I’m not really into milk chocolate. And by “not really into”, I mean I avoid it like the plague. Too many bad memories of dusty tasting mass-produced stuff stuck into my Halloween sack back in the day. Give me good … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged Chocolate, food and drink, Organic
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Oliver Brewing Company’s Cherry Blossom Cherry Wheat Ale
As a DC gal born and bred, I love cherry blossoms. I think it’s the law of the local land. So when I moved up and away, I longed for those delicate blooms around the Tidal Basin. (Still do.) So … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged beer and wine, food and drink
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Mast Sea Salt Chocolate
Lately, sea salt is in everything I adore. Caramels, brittle, toffee, peanut butter cups. And, of course, chocolate bars. When I was given a bar of Mast, I figured it’d be the same ol’ same ol; a chocolate bar that … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Is Best Chocolate, food and drink
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Godiva’s Dark Chocolate Almond bar
Ah, Godiva. I remember when I found out about you. I was in high school, and your golden boxes called out to me. Mmm, those “Dark Lion of Belgium” pieces, with the carmel so soft it oozed out of the … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged Chocolate, food and drink, Godiva
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Lindt Excellence Roasted Hazelnut Dark
Dark chocolate! How lovely. Breakfast of champions, some may say. Well, I say that all the time, so I think that counts. Toss in some “heart-healthy” hazelnuts, and I’ll live forever, right? Don’t answer that. But in my quest to … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Is Best Chocolate, food and drink
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Trader Joe’s Organic Hot Cocoa Mix
I love books. I love music. I absolutely adore beer. And when the cool breezes start to blow, I need hot chocolate. It’s a requirement around here. So when I got some “TJ’s” cocoa in the mail, I rushed to … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged food and drink, hot cocoa, trader joe's, Winter warmers
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Alter Eco Dark Blackout 85% Cocoa Chocolate Bar
“I’m sending you some chocolate.” – has there ever been a more wonderful message? “It’s 85% cocoa.” – maybe not so much? I don’t like dark chocolate over 75%. That’s what I’d tell people. All of the chocolate I’d had over … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Is Best Chocolate, food and drink, Organic
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Happy Farms Preferred Transylvanian-Romanian Cave Cheese
I love cheese. I love Halloween. Transylvania is on my travel bucket list. So when my local Aldi unveiled Transylvanian cheese this season, I was all over it. And I’ll be sad when this seasonal treat leaves shelves, because it’s … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged cheese, food and drink, Ghoulish treats, Halloween, Transylvania
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Dunkin’ Donuts’ “Spider Donut”
‘Tis the season. When October comes ’round, lots of places get their theme on and go full ghoul. Dunkin’ Donuts is no exception … but their execution of the Halloween spirit looks like actual murder. I bring you: Spider Donut. … Continue reading
Posted in Food and Drink
Tagged food and drink, Ghoulish treats, Halloween
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Amy Stewart’s The Drunken Botanist
No, it’s not a murder mystery or a light romantic comedy. The Drunken Botanist is a botanical exploration of “The plants that create the world’s great drinks,” as its subtitle says. Now, I’m not particularly interested in plants, per se. … Continue reading
Tom Parker Bowles, et al., Lonely Planet’s The World’s Best Spicy Food
Regarding the growing popularity of spicy and hot food, I feel rather the way I do when one of my favorite musicians suddenly gets very popular. I’ve been eating hot chiles since the 1960s, long before you could get any … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Food and Drink
Tagged food and drink, travel guides
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Diana Abu-Jaber’s The Language of Baklava
There are memoirs, and there are cookbooks. A few authors have combined the two, but none that I’ve read have been so successful at it as Diana Abu-Jaber with her delightful The Language of Baklava. Abu-Jaber has previously written two … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged food and drink, nonfiction
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