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Grandma Maizie’s Peppermint Candy

(Originally posted on December 21, 2007 — it is an annual tradition at Smile Politely to repost this article. Enjoy!) Last year on Dec. 22, I relayed a basic recipe for peppermint bark that was created by my paternal grandmother Maizie. For years, I told myself that I would learn how to do make peppermint bark by going over to her place and having her show me how, step by step. I wanted to make sure that even if …

FOOD

Feel Free to Mess with Texas: Brandon T. Washington’s Customized Chili

A long time ago, I had a girlfriend who was from Texas. Along with a healthy dose of Texas history, she left me with a taste for good Mexican food, including chili. But, at the time, my idea of chili was a seasoning packet, water, some red kidney beans, and hamburger. Little did I know…. She bought a chili kit at the supermarket, we made it, and I was converted. Then we broke up, and I didn’t make chili …

FOOD

Angie Heaton — Local Punk Princess Turned Cowgirl Cutie

When I was a kid, my mom would make her famous chili on cold nights, nights of football games, or when one of us requested it! It is still my favorite home-cooked meal when I go to the parents’ house, although I discovered last year that she also makes a mean vegetable soup — more on that next time. Hold the lima beans, Mama! I’d like to report that nothing goes better with Mama’s Chili than a peanut butter …

FOOD

Jean Thompson: Novelist, Short Story Writer and Pie-Crust Artist Extraordinaire

The world would be a better place if more people made their own pie crust. Amaze your friends! No more nasty store-bought crusts! I will share with you my hard-won knowledge, which includes a lot of trial and error, also more than a few pie-crust tantrums, when the stuff just wouldn’t stick together (or come unstuck), and had to be hurled at kitchen walls, accompanied by bestial oaths.

FOOD

B. Joseph White – President, University of Illinois: Struffoli

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My grandparents were Italian immigrants. They loved food — pasta, prosciutto, roasted chicken and American favorites like apple pie. One of my grandmother’s specialties was struffoli, a snack or dessert that I loved as a child. I’d describe struffoli as doughnut pieces drizzled with honey and sprinkled with powdered sugar. My grandmother would make the dough, slice it into bite-sized pieces, fry them and then put them in a bowl with honey and sugar. I’d sometimes treat myself to …

Most Recent Food Comments

Seth Fein avatar

Um. Yeah — check out that “General Disclaimer” at the bottom of the article, folks.

{username}

I highly doubt a single dish is vegan at Bombay.  Most Indian dishes use Ghee(essentially clarrified butter) as the base fat. While I guess they could make some dishes with canola oil, I would for sure ask the exact ingredients before I consumed if you are following a vegan diet.

{username}

Bread Company can do some fantastic vegan dinner dishes!  Several of their pastas are vegan or could be made vegan and their pizzas can be ordered (and taste great) without the cheese.  I also recommend their roasted potatoes and their roasted garlic head appetizer.

{username}

Glad you asked Stuart. In the 1950s (well before they were approved for human use) poultry producers began using subtherapeutic doses of quinolone antibiotics, specifically fluroquinolone, to reduce the incidence of respiratory disease in overcrowded production conditions. In humans, quinolones are a last line of defense antibiotic…

{username}

Hah!  Good one, Joel.   But my question was a serious one.  I only buy eggs from a couple of local organic farmers, so I never thought about antibiotic-free eggs.  I’m assuming that Anna meant the hen was not fed antibiotics, but am not wholly sure. I’m…

Joel Gillespie avatar

That sounds like a setup to a joke at a CSA’s annual banquet. Q: “How can you tell an antibiotic-free egg?“ A: “It just can’t seem to get rid of that cough.“ /shows self out

{username}

I love eating Vietnamese food, and having growing up my entire life eating it, I was excited to go.  I really wanted to like this place because of all of the hype I had heard——unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed.  I got the pho (vietnamese soup) and thought…

{username}

Kaiyo was decent for a sushi buffet, but it definitely isn’t as good as KO fusion.  I thought it was better than any sushi I’ve ever had at a chinese buffet, but was not as good as my least favorite sushi item at KO fusion.  However, I…

{username}

What is an antibiotic-free egg?  And how can you tell?

{username}

Great article. I’ve always found that by making it in the blender, I can be my typical impatient self and pour tons of oil in at once. It’s very forgiving that way, though not fool proof. 

Most Recent Comments

{username}

Interesting about who owns land in the path of the Olympian Drive extension. My comment was in response to ‘Tony C’s remarks about the I-74 expansion. Just who owns land in the 150 [BloomingtonRd]-I-74 corridor?? Because the corridor is zoned for future use as Commercial/Industrial, I am…

{username}

(happy face)

Timbo avatar

Wow, great article.  I wish you the best in your endeavors and hope you have a nice trip.

Seth Fein avatar

Um. Yeah — check out that “General Disclaimer” at the bottom of the article, folks.

{username}

As an adoptee, I can empathize—although I’m not an international adoptee, and I apologize if I’m assuming too much on the nature of your adoption.  You can feel what you feel, but don’t be too hard on yourself.  When I started a search for my birth family,…

{username}

I highly doubt a single dish is vegan at Bombay.  Most Indian dishes use Ghee(essentially clarrified butter) as the base fat. While I guess they could make some dishes with canola oil, I would for sure ask the exact ingredients before I consumed if you are following a vegan diet.

{username}

You’re right!  Every runner, in my opinion, is a real runner.

Mica Swyers avatar

Congratulations on the AG place! In all of your accomplishments, don’t forget what it was like to think a mile was an impossible distance. Getting to the six-mile point takes a lot of training and preparation to acclimate the mind and musculature to so much pounding. Your…

{username}

Sounds like it!

emma reaux avatar

I heading out on my 9 miler before my 10 hour work day right now. Do I have what it takes?

{username}

Nice, killer work pretty man…the channeled, one sided collaborated rhyming poem.  An oft forgot genre.   The ruckus was felt even here in my living room, which is normally a safe haven from ruckus.    

{username}

wait, I was commenting on the wrong thing - sorry - he’s actually a gigantic sellout but who really knows what all this is about.

{username}

If the democrats didn’t have Kucinich, and the republicans didn’t have Ron Paul, where would both these parties really stand? These men actually mean what they say.

{username}

Joel, thank you for the opportunity to answer these questions and have them posted here. I really appreciate it! Yes, I was thrilled to see that Rep. Kucinich flipped today, so he will has committed to voting yes for health reform. I appreciated his comments which seem…

{username}

It appears to me that your reviewer did all that could be expected: she paid her money, saw the play and conveyed her impressions. The review (on the whole, laudatory) may have been rushed, in a generous attempt to publicize the production while it was still available…

{username}

Dan Schreiber’s chocolate is simply the best I’ve ever had.  It’s a whole different ball-game; closer to very high-end wine than anything out of Hershey PA. 

{username}

That settles it… Im going.

{username}

Vosges is pretty decent chocolate, but you should definitely try the locally-produced chocolate from Dan Schreiber, available (regularly?) at Amara, Caffe Paradiso, and Common Ground.  I believe it is or will be at other places soon.

{username}

I read Kucinich flipped today. He must have read this and been convinced.

{username}

Bread Company can do some fantastic vegan dinner dishes!  Several of their pastas are vegan or could be made vegan and their pizzas can be ordered (and taste great) without the cheese.  I also recommend their roasted potatoes and their roasted garlic head appetizer.

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