Another Thursday and another beautiful sunset.  Skies like these almost make me forget that I live in the middle of a desert wasteland.  It looks deceptively paradise-y, doesn’t it?  Pretty sure paradise-y is a word…

In food news, scientists are growing hamburgers from stem cells, while Brooklyn is making them with ramen.  Both are a bit too weird for me (clearly one more than the other).  Not sure that I could ever imagine myself eating meat that was grown in a laboratory… Just sayin.

Also, Bon Appetit uses their powers to bust tomato myths so we can use them at their full potential.

Apparently Germany has parmesan pencils with pencil-sharpener cheese graters.  Possibly the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.  Again, another thing that I can’t get in the U.S.

Americans are fat, why can’t we have these things!?

While driving home from mom’s last week, I caught part of an interview with America’s Test Kitchen on NPR.  I downloaded the podcast once I got home, and it’s worth a listen.  There’s some great tips, along with an exceptionally embarrassing pronunciation of the word”chipotle.”

That, of course, made me remember that podcasts are a thing and I frantically started DOWNLOADING ALL THE THINGS. Particularly those from America’s Test Kitchen, which apparently has a podcast, and today on my way to work instead of listening to the same stupid song over and over again on my way to work I learned about the history of Betty Crocker, how to make a better fettucini alfredo, and how to adjust recipes that include malt powder. All without having to pay a bajillion dollars for one of their newsstand magazines!  I can feel my brain getting bigger already.

Thanks, America’s Test Kitchen!

I was super excited (possibly an unacceptable amount of excited) to have my s’mores icebox cake featured on one of Huffington Post’s recipe roundups yesterday.

I can’ thelp but laugh when I got the e-mail asking permission to use my recipe.  Who says “NO WAY, HUFFPO! TAKE A HIKE!”  I’m sure someone probably does… but not me!  I was all like

I’m dying over this recipe from Steamy Kitchen.  If you think you’re not a brussels sprouts person, think again.  These look life-changingly good.

The BF introduced me to comedians in cars getting coffee, featuring the amazing Alec Baldwin.

In other amazing video news, the amazing Daft Punk actually punked out on Stephen Colbert which resulted in what was probably a much more amazing performance than they would have provided.  Talk about making lemonade from lemons!

And now, for no reason, this red panda

Okay, there’s a reason.  He’s so frickin’ adorable.