When choosing between Star Wars and Star Trek, there is no doubt in my mind. I am a Trekkie through and through. The series left a lasting impression on me and in it has shaped in many ways my world view. However, everything is not perfect. I deeply disapprove of the replicators – however practical […]
Wild garlic pesto
Ever heard of Wild garlic pesto? Real Italian pesto or more precisely pesto Genovese is, as the name suggests, coming from the Italian city of Genoa. It is traditionally made from basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese (parmigiano) and pecorino (cheese made from sheep’s milk), all blended or crushed with olive oil and finally salted […]
Harry Potter’s pumpkin juice
It is hard to say no to a child. It is even harder to do so if the child in question is inside you. Every child (and adult) likes Harry Potter and is dreaming of living in a world of wizards and muggles. Therefore it is no wonder that beside asking to wave a wand […]
Lembas 2.0
Although my first attempt at Lembas was – in my opinion – a complete success, it had one major flaw: I made too little of it and there were constant complaints from the testers, that we should test more. So I decided to make another, improved version in greater quantities. Some other minor complaints in […]
Lichen bread
How did I come on the idea of lichen bread? During my research into bark bread I have found a reference which is now sadly buried in the depths of internet. I remember it was a Youtube video describing a side story to the bark bread. In the nineteenth century (or thereabout) an important botanyst […]
How much calories do we get from alcohol?
Alcohol (ethanol) is a regular companion in western cuisine. But how much calories do we get from it? Some say that although ethanol has calories – 7 kcal per gram (more than carbohydrates – e.g. sugar! – as already described) – they actually are not used (or entirely used) by your body. So, let’s try […]
Lembas
Lembas background Lembas is probably the most known fictional food. It is a special bread imagined by JRR Tolkien and mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion. Lembas is made by the Elves, shaped into thin cakes, very nutritious, and stays fresh for months when kept unbroken in its original leaf-wrappings. It is […]
Chocolate coffee beans
When searching for interesting things in a coffee shop, I stumbled upon a chocolate covered coffee beans, advertised as »providing a quick kick«. Naturally I got interested, but upon deeper contemplation, decided to first do some research and latter to prepare chocolate coffee beans myself! Background So, according to USDA, chocolate covered coffee beans can have […]
Bark Bread
When reading up on the life during World war II, I sometimes stumbled upon the mentioning of bark bread. This definitely sparked my imagination – ingenuity of people, who find a solution in a tough situation. I imagined people scraping the brown bark from the trees, kneading the bran-like brown substance into a perfect dough, […]
Caloric value of food
Everyone who thinks just a little bit about what he or she eats, thinks about the calories and caloric value of food – how much energy food or drink will provide – either to get the most out of it or to get a little as possible out of its food. But how are these […]