Sara Lee All-butter Brownies

Posted on July 17, 2013 by The Old Wolf

Some time ago I posted about vintage candies and treats that have gone to their reward. In that article, I mentioned my love for Sara Lee All-Butter Brownies, which came in a little tin about the size of a piece of printer paper, and which were sold frozen. As I said elsewhere, they came in a tin; you took the cardboard lid off, and there was a little paper cutting guide, which I routinely ignored, cutting myself massive slabs straight from the freezer. I would kill to have these in the stores again.

The image above, from the late 50’s or early 60’s from the looks of it, features a billboard in the background advertising these little bits of heaven. I can’t stop thinking about them. Just recently I stumbled across this recipe, which my wife made for me the other day:

Ingredients

1 stick butter
1 cup water
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup oil
2 lg eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda

Brownies:

Combine first four ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over combined flour, sugar, and salt.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Pour into 13 x 9 inch pan.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes (or 350 for 30 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Frosting:

1 stick butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 lb box powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Combine first three ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Pour over warm brownies and chill well.

The flavor was almost exactly as I remembered them, but the consistency was different – these brownies are more like cake, and the frosting was pretty runny. But they were wonderful just the same.

Today I encountered this recipe for Pinot Noir brownies, and the picture at the website looks pretty much the way Sara Lee’s did:

Ingredients

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1tsp vanilla

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 Tbsp Handcraft Pinot Noir

3/4 cup Ghirardelli sweet ground cocoa

2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

For the Pinot Noir Icing:

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 oz unsweetened chocolate

4 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar

3 Tbsp HandCraft Pinot Noir

Preparation

To Make the Brownies:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine eggs with sugar and vanilla; add butter and wine. Stir cocoa with flour, baking powder and salt. Combine with egg mixture; add nuts. Spread into greased 8 x 8-inch pan.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes.

To Make the Chocolate Glaze:

Melt butter over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and add chocolate, sugar and wine. Continue heating over low heat stirring often, until mixture is smooth – don’t let it boil.

Spoon hot icing over fresh brownies and let stand for a minimum of an hour; 12 hours is best.

Notes

I tested my brownies at 25 minutes and that was it for me. I like mine ‘just’ done and not dry so while the toothpick did not have any dough clinging to it, it was just slightly damp with chocolate…and perfectly moist. This is a very rich and dense dough…over-baking would not be good!

A Canadian box cover recently spotted by my wife. Yup, that’s them.

Edit: this website claims to offer Sara Lee frozen brownies in bulk, but per a comment below, they are sadly not the real thing but rather an oil-based knockoff.

At this point I need to compare both recipes and see if the best of both possible worlds can be combined. I feel as though we’re getting close. But if Sara Lee would get their act together and reintroduce these, I wouldn’t have to go through all this back-bending.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants (2013)

Posted on July 17, 2013 by The Old Wolf

In 2010 I posted this over at Livejournal, but the The San Pellegrino list of the top 50 restaurants for 2013 is now available, so I thought it was worth posting here as well, with the appropriate update.

And hqiz, I still haven’t eaten at a single one of them. And probably couldn’t afford to.

The List

On the other hand, I have my own list of favorites. Decidedly less highbrow (with perhaps the exception of No. 12), but good, good eating. Note that with the exception of No. 1, there is no rank or hierarchy.

1. Piccolo Angolo, 621 Jane Street, New York City, NY

The best Italian food in New York, bar none.

2. Tommy’s Joynt, San Francisco, CA

Great buffalo barbecue, and beers from all over the world (not that I would know anything about that.)

3. Sabella & La Torre, San Francisco, CA

Wonderful seafood. I try to stop in every time I’m on the waterfront.

4. Phil’s BBQ, San Diego, CA

Barbecue to die for.

5. Settebello, Salt Lake City, UT

One of the few “Verace Pizza Napoletana” restaurants in Utah.

6. Eleven 11 Grille, Fishkill, NY

Run by some members of the family, great food in a nice atmosphere. Worth a visit any time.

7. The No Name Restaurant, Boston, MA

Good vittles at a reasonable price. I got scrod there.^[1]

8. The Dish Cafe, Parkes, NSW, Australia

When I had their beef and burgundy meat pie, I died and went to heaven. You can see pictures here.

9. Antojito’s, Westley, CA

A nondescript hole in the wall off a nondescript freeway exit. Awesome mexican cuisine.

10. The refectory of Assumption Abbey, Richardton, ND

Dined here via the good graces of a friend. A few more details and a recipe here.

11. Cha Non Thai Cafe, Salt Lake City, UT

Really good Thai food.

12. The Joshua Wilton House, Harrisonburg, VA

Very upscale. Until I cross-post here, you can read about my experience over at Livejournal.

In Memoriam

Restaurants that are no longer with us, but worthy of profound reverence for one reason or another:

1. Xochitl, New York City, NY

This restaurant had authentic Mexican food and 7-alarm hot sauce before the bhut jolokia pepper had ever been bred.

2. La Fonda Del Sol, New York City, NY

Tapas. That means a little food for a lot of money, but it was great fun, with flamboyant decoration.

La Fonda del Sol, 1960, Getty Images, Yale Joel

Interior of La Fonda Del Sol, Getty Images, Yale Joel

Interior of La Fonda Del Sol, New York City, 1960

3. Mama Leone’s, New York City, NY

Famous for 7-course meals of relatively average food, but in absolutely brobdingnagian quantities, the best analogy I’ve found today is Buca di Beppo – but even they don’t place these gargantuan wedges of cheese on your table and let you take them home. The restaurant was taken over by a large gastronomic conglomerate and promptly destroyed by the bean counters. Tragic.

4. The Proof of the Pudding, New York City, NY

This was Frank Valenza’s first 7-table restaurant of this name. I remember their duck à l’orange and the wall of bricks that you could sponsor.

5. Dër Ratskeller Pizza Shoppe, Salt Lake City, UT

You can read a full-blown post on this place. The best American style pizza I’ve ever had.

Edit: Done. You can read it here.

6. Ristorante Della Fontana, Salt Lake City, UT

Great Italian food, one of the more upscale Italian places in the city. Now a Japanese sushi joint.

7. Snelgrove’s Ice Cream Parlor, Salt Lake City, UT

Short of buying Håæœøgen Daðþz, or however they spell it nowadays, you couldn’t find better ice cream. Nothing beat a banana split with caramel cashew ice cream. The building is now just offices of some sort, but the sign is still there, tormenting those who remember it with great fondness.

8. The Tip Toe Inn, New York City, NY

Amazing potato pancakes (or latkes). I loved these with applesauce. 75¢, according to the menu:

9. Horn and Hardart Automats, New York City, NY

I’ve mentioned these here. Also, in the same article, Prexy’s.

10. The Waverly Inn, Cheshire, CT

This was a restaurant de grand luxe in Cheshire – my mother used to take me here to eat during her annual visits to campus. There was also a burger joint and soda place called the Farm Shoppe – while it was not extraordinarily memorable, I recall it fondly because it was one of the few places off campus that we could go as seniors.

11. Schrafft’s, New York, NY

An upscale chain restaurant, mentioned in James Thurber’s “The Catbird Seat.” I remember eating there any number of times.

Eateries, some still here and some fondly remembered.

The Old Wolf is now hungry.

[1] That’s not the third-person pluperfect subjunctive, but rather the fish – which can refer to a specific type of fish, or whatever happened to be on special yesterday.

Piccadilly: You can’t go home again

Posted on July 17, 2013 by The Old Wolf

Back when I was working at Dër Ratskeller Pizza in Sugarhouse (a southern suburb of Salt Lake) in 1974 – more about this enterprise later – just down the street from us at 780 East 2100 South was a little brown shack called Piccadilly Fish and Chips. Periodically we’d call them up and swap food – their employees invariably got tired of fish, and ours (rarely) were in the mood for something other than pizza.

This little restaurant, one of several in Utah at the time, had the best fish and chips I have ever found in America, hands down. I remember that when they were open, there was a neon sign that said ‘Now Frying.” In the 60’s, there were 10 locations; as of 2008, they were all gone. An article in the Salt Lake Tribune, dated March 19, 2008, had this to say:

Salt Lake City’s Piccadilly Fish and Chips, the last surviving restaurant of the 39-year-old chain, will close in April, owner Allan Jones said Tuesday. “The food cost has gone up, and so have taxes and wages,” said Jones. Jones purchased the restaurant at 1446 S. State St. about 19 years ago when most of the other Piccadilly locations were closing.

Piccadilly, a Utah chain, had 10 locations in the 1960s, but they started closing in the 1980s, said Jones. The most recent Piccadilly closure was the Ogden restaurant, which closed in 1991, leaving Jones with the sole Piccadilly restaurant. The restaurant closed in May 2004 after the landlords at the former location at 780 E. 2100 South planned a renovation of the property that didn’t include Piccadilly. But, Jones reopened the restaurant at its current location in December 2004.

Jones said he has had a lot of feedback from longtime customers, who say they will miss the restaurant’s homemade clam chowder, jumbo shrimp and halibut. “Every week we have people come in who say they used to go to the other locations,” said Jones.

Jones has sold the building, but did not disclose the details of the transaction.

– Brianna Lange

I was heartbroken to find out that the restaurant was gone for good; very shortly after the restaurant had closed, I got to thinking about it and wondered if it still existed anywhere. I did a search, and Street View actually showed the restaurant on State Street.

I hastened down to the address, but sadly found only this:

It was the end of an era, and I had missed it by only a few short months.

One review by “spumoni” at CitySearch read like this:

What a cozy shack. Staring at the counties of England on your way in is always fun. The fish is a little soft for my taste but the batter is good and stiff. Great chips and chowder and iced tea, and always a great deal. A little heavy, but every now and then who doesn’t want their entire lunch deep-fried? … They also have halibut and shrimp if you’re not into cod; chicken and egg rolls and stuff for people not into seafood at all. Equipped with Malt Vinegar and Lemon Juice at every table, you can almost feel the sea-wind hit the dark wooden walls outside.

Seriously, their fish and chips were divine, and their clam chowder was hard to equal. Sigh… I guess if I want good fish and chips I’ll have to spring for a ticket to London.

If anyone reading this has a picture of the old shack on 2100 South or an image of their menu, please let me know – I’d love to add them here.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

[Edit: it’s really a tragedy when stores like this close down forever and their recipes are lost. People ought to post their secret formulas online, especially if they know they won’t ever be getting back into business. Just sayin’.]

David Letterman’s Top Ten: Golden Corral Excuses.

Posted on July 12, 2013 by The Old Wolf

In light of the Golden Corral scandal,^[1] David Letterman comes up with another unbeatable Top Ten list, this time dealing with company excuses for leaving meat out by the dumpster during a health inspection. In descending order:

10. “You say dumpster, we say dining al fresco.”
9. “Cows are out in the sun all day, what’s the difference?”
8. “This is why we’re not the Platinum Corral”
7. “We’d store food in the kitchen, but that’s where we keep the trash”
6. “Relax — the rats are keeping an eye on it”
5. “Tired of being known as the ‘sanitary’ buffet place”
4. “The flies looked hungry”
3. “Judgment impaired after eating tainted meat”
2. “The deal was: we serve $4 steaks, you don’t ask any questions”
1. “Have you seen a corral?”

Every time I see a “Golden Corral,” I can’t help but think of another restaurant prominently featured in Mark Stanley’s science fiction webcomic, “Freefall.”

Back to Letterman, I love these Top Ten lists… they’re not all home runs, but every now and then he comes up with an eternal classic. I think my favorite of all time is

Top Ten Stores That Won’t Do Much Business This Holiday Season
November 29, 1993

10. Price Gougers
9. Burt and Loni’s Cozy Couple Shop
8. Toys “R” Defective
7. Every Item $7500
6. Crap Mart
5. The Really, Really, Really Limited
4. Hefty Lefties: The Store for Left-Handed Fat Guys
3. Gap for Bastards
2. Joey Buttafuoco’s Auto Body Shop
1. Roseanne’s Secret

Largely thanks to Mark Stanley, I was never tempted to eat at the Golden Corral in the first place; after this latest misadventure, they’re off my dining list forever.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

[1] For those interested, the fallout:

“Golden Corral franchisee Eric Holm has said that the manager who made a “bad decision” when he placed the food outside has been fired. Additionally, the video sparked a state investigation by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants. The latter sent an inspector to the Golden Corral on Monday and the restaurant passed the inspection. There were a handful of violations found that must be corrected however, the inspection report shows.” (Daytona Beach News-Journal)

Note: The article referenced links to the original video, which has since been tagged “private”. Here is a news report on the even that contains some of the most critical footage:

Play with your Food – How to make Sconic Sections

Posted on July 2, 2013 by The Old Wolf

I love this so much I had to share it.

You can find the entire article, complete with recipe, over at The Evil Mad Scientist.

The Old Wolf is drooling.

Sushi Yasuda in NYC does away with tipping

Posted on June 10, 2013 by The Old Wolf

I’ve blogged about tipping before. Now, a few bold restaurants are beginning to buck the trend.

(Reblogged from The Consumerist)

Note: Sushi Yasuda is the restaurant’s correct name – it appeared in the original article as “Yasada”.

NYC Restaurant Tells Customers That Tipping Is Not Allowed

By Chris Morran June 7, 2013

(From ThePriceHike.com)

As we’ve discussed here many, many times, restaurant wait staff often rely on tips because their base pay is generally far below the minimum wage level. Since tipping is an anomaly overseas, waiters in most other countries are paid a living wage. Thus, one sushi restaurant in Manhattan, which claims it has always paid its employees well, has recently started telling customers that tips will not be accepted.

On his Price Hike blog, Bloomberg food critic Ryan Sutton writes about the note that was recently added to the bottom of all receipts at Sushi Yasuda in NYC. It reads:

“Following the custom in Japan, Sushi Yasuda’s service staff are fully compensated by their salary. Therefore gratuities are not accepted. Thank you.”

Sutton talked to the restaurant’s owner who says he decided to not go the route of some restaurants who simply add 18-20% service charges on to bills rather than have customer tip. That’s really just the same as the old system; it just saves the diner the hassle of doing basic math.

Instead, Yasuda’s owner raised the menu prices a bit and simply tells customers: Do Not Tip Your Waiter.

“We just take tipping out of the equation,” he explains to Sutton.

The reason more restaurants don’t follow this model is that they are afraid higher menu prices will drive away customers, but this owner maintains that “if you have faith in what you’re serving, and how you’re serving it, you know that when your customers have a good meal and look at their final tally it’s going to be around the same.”

He claims that paying your staff a solid wage that doesn’t fluctuate from day-to-day based on tips is a good way to build stability among your workers.

In spite of this being the standard for most of the world, there are only a very small number of restaurants in the U.S. that don’t accept tips and also don’t tack on service fees.

According to the poll at the bottom of the Consumerist’s page, the question “Should more restaurants do away with tipping?” provided (to me) unsurprising results:

Whereas in my previous posts I’ve stressed that tipping is not optional and that servers depend upon tips for their daily wage, I would be entirely in favor of eliminating tipping at restaurants and paying servers a dependable, living wage. Naturally, if restaurateurs try to take advantage of this trend to their own benefit and to the detriment of their employees, that doesn’t work… but I’d be willing to bet a lot of servers would line up for a regular job where busting their ass for a party of cheapskate douchebags never enters the equation.

Hats off to Sushi Yasuda!

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Nutella is dead.

Posted on June 4, 2013 by The Old Wolf

What follows is a translation of a post at antigone XXI, “the blog of frugal abundance”. I share it because I love Nutella, and because these home-made substitutes, organic and raw, look absolutely divine.

————-

Love Nutella?

Great. Enjoy it. I don’t.

Well, yeah. I used to love it. Before, when I discovered it, I loved it, I even adored it. To the extent that I’d eat it strait from the jar, without a teaspoon, just with my fingers, like that. I know, it’s not terribly sanitary. But it’s not all that bad… because after all, I don’t share my Nutella. A jar is for me. Just me. And it got empty really, really fast. Terribly addicting, isn’t it?

Terribly addicting indeed… but not surprising, because because the truth is that Nutella contains monosodium glutamate , aka E621 ^[1] deeply hidden in the famous word ‘flavorings’. ^[2] You know, glutamate, the flavor enhancer that stimulates appetite and maliciously destroys neurons … To this is added – wait for it – a small dose of … plastic ! And yes, our famous spread contains DEHP , one of the most dangerous phthalates, which are usually used to produce packaging and has the nasty tendency to migrate into the product. Be aware that this unwelcome guest is banned in toys and cosmetics because it is considered a carcinogen and induces, uh … testicular atrophy. Nice, huh?

Fine, fine, I’m not telling you anything new when I mention that Nutella is 70% palm oil and refined sugar, remember that skim milk powder and whey? Ferrero refuses to say whether or not they come from animals fed with GMOs.

Oh, but wait, there’s hazelnuts and cocoa at any rate! Oh yeah, well, 20% of the finished product … not bad for a spread that should be composed of 2/3…

Fine, end of discussion. As for me, I say Nutella is dying.

Make way for the Chocoville Triplets!

See, when I do things, I don’t do them halfway or only 1/3 of the way. When I say that Nutella is dead, there are already three little girls waiting to take its place in your pantry. First, there’s the eldest: she’s more royal than the King, and an absolute purist. I call her Choconette. She always quarrels with the middle child, the original of the company, who wants to revolutionize the world a little and answers to the gentle name of Camarande. Lastly, there’s youngest: very shy, a little dreamy, named … well, she’ll tell you her name later, when she feels like it.

I forgot to mention: the three little sisters are all raw and and adapted to simple living as well – only 4 ingredients each, an it please you.

——-

Choconette – Better than the Original

——-

Makes a 330 ml. or 11 oz. jar

Ingredients :

15 dates (around 90 g. or 3 oz.)*
125 g. or 1/2 cup hazelnut paste
60 ml. or 4 Tbsp agave syrup
30 g. or 1/3 cup cocoa powder (raw if possible)
15 ml. [1 Tbsp] water

* For those who don’t want to use dates, you can substitute 1/2 dried apricots and 1/2 dried bananas (but not banana chips!)

Preparation:

Rehydrate the dates in hot water for about 10 minutes (or 2 hours in cold water)
Put all your ingredients in a blender and… blend!

Don’t hesitate to stop the blender as needed to scrape the sides and place the spread on the blades. If all seems a bit too dry, add a little water or hazelnut oil (or other neutral oil). You can then enjoy, with or without a spoon!

Uh oh, I get the feeling that the youngest sister is jealous!

——-

Camarande – Even Better

——-

Makes a 330 ml. or 11 oz. jar

Ingredients :

15 dates (around 90 g. or 3 oz.)*
125 g. or 1/2 cup almond paste
60 ml. or 4 Tbsp agave syrup
30 g. or 1/3 cup carob powder
15 ml. [1 Tbsp] water

* Same note as for Choconette if you don’t like dates or if dates don’t like you.

Preparation :

Rehydrate the dates in hot water for about 10 minutes (or 2 hours in cold water)
Combine all your ingredients in a blender. Scrape the sides as needed to make sure the spread is smooth. Add only water or oil… never milk!

So, who’s your favorite “Miss Nut Spread” of the year?

I’ve got to confess, it’s tough to choose between them.

These spreads keep well in the refrigerator for about a month. Remove them from the refrigerator a little in advance, so they’re softer.

But I can hear the question: “What about the youngest?”

Well, the baby is is very shy, and I think she’d rather play the prima donna and have a page all to herself. After all, these rising stars can be terribly capricious! But I’ll give you a hint while you wait for tomorrow:

And how about you? Have you already given up Nutella? Have you switched to Chokénut or Chocolinette? Or just begun making your own at home?

Translator’s note: whereas the blog post followed up with a separate entry on the following day, I’ve added the last little sister here.

Naughty Chococo

I admit my last post was not very nice.

I talked about three little sisters, and then, bam! I left you hanging without introducing the youngest, and then I said “tomorrow,” and then I made you wait a little longer than you thought I would. I was a bit more generous with the clue I left you, however; if that didn’t pique your curiosity, it must simply be that Nutella has already fried your neurons!

Rest assured, however, your wait has not been in vain – I saved the best for last. As I explained, the youngest is a bit naughty and she was doing her shy bit. I will make amends by introducing you to Chococo:

Like her big sisters , Chococo is a raw spread, consisting of only four ingredients, very simple to make and extremely tasty. Note that this is the second time I’ve mentioned coconut butter on this blog, and I hope to convince you to get started as quickly as possible – once tasted, you won’t be able to live without it!

——-

Chococo

——-

Makes a 330 ml. or 11 oz. jar

Ingredients:

15 dates (about 90 g. or 3 oz.) *
150 g. [2 cups] of grated coconut
60 ml. [4 Tbsp] agave syrup
30 g. [1/3 cup] cocoa powder (preferably raw)
50 ml. [1/4 cup] water
(Optional) 1-2 tbsp coconut oil

* Even if dates are perfect here, you can substitute other dried fruit of your choice:

Classic: banana / apricot / fig’
Exotic Version: papaya / mango.

As with Choconette and Camarande, do not forget to rehydrate your dates in water 1 to 2 hours in advance, then drain well.

Preparation:

1. Prepare your coconut butter: Place your shredded coconut in the bowl of a food processor and blend until you get a creamy texture. You can add 1-2 tbsp coconut oil to help the butter to ‘take’. Don’t hesitate to stop the machine to scrape the sides and put the future butter back onto the blades.

2. Don’t stop until you have obtained a really creamy texture (depending on the size of your blender, double the proportion of coconut to be sure that the butter is formed: it will then store well in the refrigerator and can be used in many other recipes – if you don’t devour it immediately with a spoon.

Once your butter is ready, add all the other ingredients in the blender and vroom!, blend!

It’s not difficult at all, and in the end you get a little beauty.

A beauty who is a little less shy now … and who is the pride of her mother!

I would add that this spread, as with her two older sisters, will keep for about one month in the refrigerator. Don’t forget to remove it to soften before serving because, even more than the others, it will tend to stiffen when cool because of the coconut butter. I will let you taste it and then banish the word ‘Nutella’ from your vocabulary.

Ah, yes, one last mention of the word terrible … After posting my previous article, two questions were asked of me, and I’d like to share the answers here:

– The first question: “Can I make several jars at once?”

Yes, if you are very hungry creatures and you are ready to devour everything in less than a month. In this case, don’t worry! It may even be more convenient to double the proportion of the triplets if you have a large mixing bowl and want to get a really creamy texture. However, if you use a less powerful blender or a small stand mixer, then opt for smaller amounts (and I’m not even sure that a small device will allow you to make coconut butter. I haven’t tried it, and I put it to my readers!)

– Second question: “Is it much more expensive than Nutella?

I admit that I am very bad with these matters, because when I cook, I do not calculate costs. On top of that, I haven’t eaten Nutella in ages, so I’m not the best person to compare prices, especially since prices vary between organic stores and countries. However, I went to fishing my receipts out of the wastebasket and looked up information on the internet. Here are my rough calculations:

agave 7 € / kg -> € 0.48 per spread
cocoa powder (not raw): 4 € / 250 g. -> € 0.48
carob powder (not raw): 3.5 € / 250 g. -> € 0.42 [ but on sale for 2 € at the moment at Jean Hervé!]
hazelnut paste: 14 € / 700 g. -> € 2.50
almond paste: 9 € / 700 g. -> € 1.60
grated coconut € 5/500 g. -> € 1.5
Dates: 8 € / kg -> € 0.72

So here’s what it cost to get 330 g. of spread:

Choconette : € 4.12
Camarande : 3.16 €
Chococo : € 3.12

For comparison, a pot of 220 g. of Nutella costs € 2.02 at Monoprix or € 3.03 for 330 g. So yes, our house versions are slightly more expensive, but do not forget that we are dealing with an organic product! As for the raw version, sorry: I was lazy and had no way of finding any receipts. I invite you to do the math yourself by checking in raw food stores. Let’s compare organic spreads, calculating for jars of similar size (330 g.)

Chocolinette (Noiseraie Productions): 5.99 €
Chokénut (Noiseraie Productions): 5.28 €
Chocolade (Jean Hervé): € 5.19
Karouba (Jean Hervé): € 4.85
Hazelnut paste (PERLAMANDE): 5.45 €

So we come to the following conclusion: for identical quality, the triplets are cheaper than commercial spreads. In the end, you are at choice and can stay with Nutella, but I tell you freely that even if my spreads were two to three times more expensive than Nutella, I’d stick with the homemade version! I had fun doing these little calculations, but for me, the health of my body and that of the planet has no price.

What are your priorities when you purchase a product?

[1] E numbers designate chemicals that can be used as food additives within the European Union.

[2] In the USA, the ingredients for Nutella are Sugar, Palm Oil, Hazelnuts, Cocoa, Skim Milk, Reduced Minerals Whey (Milk), Lecithin As Emulsifier (Soy), Vanillin: An Artificial Flavor. Whey and Skim Milk always have milk solids with MSG, and the artificial flavor vanillin also contains unlabeled MSG. For a full list of ingredients containing MSG, visit Truth in Labeling.

Breakfast around the world

Posted on May 8, 2013 by The Old Wolf

Reblogged from a post at Imgur.

Note: Comments over at Reddit have been a lot of “No, that’s not it you moron” and such like. I’ve experienced a lot of these, and can vouch for a number of them, including the USA, Australia, Germany, Turkey, Full English, Italy, France, Portugal, Canada, and Egypt. Of course, what you may be having in your pensione may be entirely different from what the folks upstairs are having in their apartment, but I can tell you these are pretty representative.

Full English

Sausages, bacon, eggs, grilled tomato, mushrooms, bread, black pudding and baked beans. Knocked back with a cup of tea.

Cuba

Usually consists of sweetened coffee with milk with a pinch of salt thrown in. The unique Cuban bread is toasted and buttered and cut into lengths to dunk in the coffee.

Poland

Known locally as Jajecznica, consists of scrambled eggs covered with slices of kielbasa and joined by two potato pancakes.

Morocco

Usually consists of different breads with some chutney, jam, cheese or butter. They have a really delicious crumpet-style bread which they make in huge slabs for you to tear a bit off, and a semolina pancake bread called Baghir.

Portugal

Delicious and simple, stuffed croissants and plenty of coffee served in the sun.

Australia

Only one crucial ingredient here, Vegemite. Traveling Aussies are often found with a sneaky pot of the sticky, salty brown stuff in their backpack. Just don’t get in the Vegemite vs Marmite war – everybody knows Marmite is better, but let them have their fun.

Note: The original author is obviously touched in the head. Marmite, and Parwill, but Vegemite is the king of the yeast spreads.

Brazil

A selection of meats, cheeses and bread is the normal breakfast fare.

Italy

‘Cappuccino e cornetto’ aka a cappuccino and croissant.

Germany

Wursts, local cheeses and freshly baked bread, all washed back with a strong coffee.

America

Home made thick pancakes with bacon, syrup and blueberries.

France

Le croissant, plain or with crushed almonds, butter, chocolate or cream., and coffee of course.

Argentina

Usually consists of “mate” (an infusion drink made with leaves of “yerba”) or dulce de leche with “facturas,”a croissant-like typical pastry.

Canada

Perogies are boiled, baked or fried dumplings made from unleavened dough and traditionally stuffed with potato filling, sauerkraut, ground meat, cheese, or fruit. Then you’ve got some sausages and toast to mop it all up.

Note: That, or they go to Tim Hortons

Mexico

The delightful plate above consists of beef tips, chilequiles and other assorted goodies eaten in Manzanillo. Nachos, cheese and beans always feature heavily and a delicious, spicy breakfast is the norm.

Thailand

Usually consists of some meaty treat dropped in a semolina/porridge mixture. What you see above is pork porridge. It features Chinese doughnuts, beansprouts, pork intestine stuffed with peppery pork mince, sliced pork heart, stomach slivers and blood pudding. A bit more interesting than toast and jam anyway.

Bolivia

Saltenas are a bit like empanadas crossed with Cornish pasties. They’re the traditional option for a Bolivian breakfast and usually filled with meat and vegetables, and slightly sweetened with sugar.

Egypt

The breakfast of choice here is Foul Muddamas. It’s made from fava beans, chickpeas, garlic and lemon. Above you’ll see the dish topped with olive oil, cayenne, tahini sauce, a hard boiled egg, and some diced green veggies.

Note: it’s pronounced “fool”

Japan

What do you mean you’ve never had tofu for breakfast? It’s a popular choice in Japan, along with fish and rice. Soak it in soya sauce and you’ve got yourself one delicious, and semi-healthy breakfast.

China

A lot like lunch and dinner in China. Expect noodles, rice, sticky coated chicken and fried veggies.

Mongolia

Generally consists of boiled mutton with lots of fat and flour and maybe some dairy products or rice. In western Mongolia they add variety to their diets with horsemeat.

Pakistan

In Pakistan you’ll get Aloo Paratha for your breakfast. It’ s an Indian unleavened flatbread made by pan frying, wholewheat dough on a tava. The dough contains ghee and the bread is usually stuffed with vegetables. It’s best eaten with butter, chutney or some other spicy sauce. It’s not uncommon to roll it up and dip it in your tea.

Estonia

Curd cheese on a wheat bloomer – known locally as ‘cheese on toast’. The creamy topping can be supplemented with ricotta or fromage fraiche instead, if you prefer.

Venezuela

Empenadas are the order of the day. Fill the little pastries with fresh cheese, minced meat or any combination of veggies and beans.

Ghana

The most popular breakfast item in this African country is waakye. It’s basically rice cooked in beans and is found at all the street stalls in Ghana.

Turkey

The full Turkish treatment usually consists of a few varieties of cheese, butter, olives, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, jam, honey, and spicy meat.

The Old Wolf is now hungry.

Roasted Marrow Bones

Posted on March 24, 2013 by The Old Wolf

As a child, I learned to love the succulence of a marrow bone. They were a rare treat, usually only one at a time with whatever piece of meat was being served, but easy to obtain at the local butcher’s. I don’t think I’ve seen a decent one for 50 years or so.

Later, at college, I learned wisdom at the hand of Rabelais who admonished his readers, “Il faut rompre l’os et sucer la substantifique moelle” (one must break the bone and suck the substantial marrow.) From this I took that wisdom is never found on the surface; particularly true today with so much disinformation and misinformation hurtling around the internet. Anything worth knowing is worth researching to its core, if one wishes to judge its relative merits in the endless ocean of encyclopedic knowledge.

It’s a good lesson. But I still miss a succulent, greasy marrow bone, always saved until last.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

The Grub Box, Magna, Utah (2003)

Posted on March 22, 2013 by The Old Wolf

“I am the grub-man. Such gentlemen as have friends here, hire me to provide them with something good to eat.”
Melville, Herman – “Bartleby the Scrivener”

Killer pastrami sandwiches.

Playing in the World Game

As One

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Nutella is dead.

Breakfast around the world

Full English

Cuba

Poland

Morocco

Portugal

Australia

Brazil

Italy

Germany

America

France

Argentina

Canada

Mexico

Thailand

Bolivia

Egypt

Japan

China

Mongolia

Pakistan

Estonia

Venezuela

Ghana

Turkey

Roasted Marrow Bones

The Grub Box, Magna, Utah (2003)