The Internet is full of great freebies, but I personally have a hard time downloading something new for the first time. If it's not from a company I immediately recognize and know to be reputable, I can't help but cross my fingers that my precious computer won't get a virus.
This listing is awesome-- it gives 101 great freebie downloads on the Internet. Some of them, I absolutely vouch for (obviously, I like Blogger, but I use Gmail, Picasa, and iTunes a lot too). Others, I think I may have to try. This list provides me with comfort that the programs are going to do more good than harm, but it also tells what the very best are-- and they're all absolutely free. What more could you ask for?
Monday, April 23, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
food fighters
After writing that last [boring] entry, I thought of something else to blog about.
Today the elementary school I visit twice a week was serving "Texas Straw Hat" as lunch. A few of the college students in my class apparently knew the term well, but most of us were confused and had never heard of "Texas Straw Hat." At least not as food.
I have heard a couple of strange food names, though, so I decided to try to look up some more. Here are some examples, with definitions taken from the source linked on the name of the food.
Texas Strawhat: The site includes some recipes, but from what I saw today, "Texas Straw Hat" is essentially nachos with meat, cheese, lettuce, and similar toppings piled on top.
Baked Alaska: "a dessert made of ice cream (ideally straight from the freezer) placed in a pie dish lined with slices of sponge cake or Christmas pudding and topped with meringue. The entire dessert is then placed in an extremely hot oven just long enough to firm the meringue." (I've had it once, and it's absolutely delicious.)
Pigs In A Blanket: "In the United States, the term "pigs in a blanket" refers to hot dogs, Vienna sausages, or link sausages wrapped in biscuit dough or crescent-roll dough, and baked." (I recommend checking out the Wiki article on this one- apparently Pigs in a Blanket is actually the name for quite a few different foods. The name's not uncommon to me, but when I think about it... it really is kind of funny.)
Ants on a Log: Celery stalks with peanut butter spread on top, and then sprinkled with a couple of raisins. (...I wonder if the name's supposed to inspire people to eat it? Maybe kids. Celery is really good for you!)
Taco-in-a-Bag/ Walking Taco/Frito Pie: (Apparently some places call these different things, but I prefer Taco-in-a-Bag. Not only is it straightforward and what I'm used to, but it also doesn't inspire an image of a taco with legs.)
Cheese Zombies: Honestly, the name alone makes me want to try these. Sounds mainly like bread with cheese inside. Maybe like the cheese breadstick thing that I ate at the elementary school last week. If so, they're really good.
Elephant Ear: A large roundish flat piece of fried dough, usually with cinnamon-sugar or powdered sugar on top. It's greasy, it's fatty, and, especially when served hot, it's one of the best-tasting things ever. I get one- from Red Barn- every time I go to a fair. I thought everyone knew what these were, at least in the midwest, but my own boyfriend has yet to ever eat one. And, in fact, didn't know what one was until recently. Don't worry... I'm hoping to introduce him to them at some point, because these things are awesome.
A Few From The UK:
WELSH RAREBIT - "Cheese on toast"
SPOTTED DICK - "A sponge cake pudding thingy with currants" (I'm curious for a bit more information on this one, but I'm really not sure what kinds of things a Google search would give me...)
BUBBLE AND SQUEAK - "Fried potatoes and cabbage"
COCK-A-LEEKIE SOUP -"Scottish soup of chicken and leeks"
BANGERS AND MASH - "Sausages and mashed potato" (Reminds me of Tobias in Arrested Development, haha.)
CURLY-WURLY- A loosely braided caramel plank is covered in milk chocolate. (It's Cadbury- can't be too bad, I wouldn't think.)
Mayonegg: a hard-boiled egg covered in mayonnaise. (Oh, wait, that one's Arrested Development again. Maybe you should just watch the show.)
Well, that was fun. I'm surprised there's not a better list of funny food names (though this site is a good collection of regional foods and Wikipedia doesn't hurt), but I guess a lot of them are regional things and don't necessarily seem strange to the people who live there. Oh well. It was a fun search-- punching someone in the gob
has an all-new meaning to me now!
Feel free to comment with other weird food names you know, have heard of, or find! :)
Today the elementary school I visit twice a week was serving "Texas Straw Hat" as lunch. A few of the college students in my class apparently knew the term well, but most of us were confused and had never heard of "Texas Straw Hat." At least not as food.
I have heard a couple of strange food names, though, so I decided to try to look up some more. Here are some examples, with definitions taken from the source linked on the name of the food.
Texas Strawhat: The site includes some recipes, but from what I saw today, "Texas Straw Hat" is essentially nachos with meat, cheese, lettuce, and similar toppings piled on top.
Baked Alaska: "a dessert made of ice cream (ideally straight from the freezer) placed in a pie dish lined with slices of sponge cake or Christmas pudding and topped with meringue. The entire dessert is then placed in an extremely hot oven just long enough to firm the meringue." (I've had it once, and it's absolutely delicious.)
Pigs In A Blanket: "In the United States, the term "pigs in a blanket" refers to hot dogs, Vienna sausages, or link sausages wrapped in biscuit dough or crescent-roll dough, and baked." (I recommend checking out the Wiki article on this one- apparently Pigs in a Blanket is actually the name for quite a few different foods. The name's not uncommon to me, but when I think about it... it really is kind of funny.)
Ants on a Log: Celery stalks with peanut butter spread on top, and then sprinkled with a couple of raisins. (...I wonder if the name's supposed to inspire people to eat it? Maybe kids. Celery is really good for you!)
Taco-in-a-Bag/ Walking Taco/Frito Pie: (Apparently some places call these different things, but I prefer Taco-in-a-Bag. Not only is it straightforward and what I'm used to, but it also doesn't inspire an image of a taco with legs.)
Cheese Zombies: Honestly, the name alone makes me want to try these. Sounds mainly like bread with cheese inside. Maybe like the cheese breadstick thing that I ate at the elementary school last week. If so, they're really good.
Elephant Ear: A large roundish flat piece of fried dough, usually with cinnamon-sugar or powdered sugar on top. It's greasy, it's fatty, and, especially when served hot, it's one of the best-tasting things ever. I get one- from Red Barn- every time I go to a fair. I thought everyone knew what these were, at least in the midwest, but my own boyfriend has yet to ever eat one. And, in fact, didn't know what one was until recently. Don't worry... I'm hoping to introduce him to them at some point, because these things are awesome.
A Few From The UK:
WELSH RAREBIT - "Cheese on toast"
SPOTTED DICK - "A sponge cake pudding thingy with currants" (I'm curious for a bit more information on this one, but I'm really not sure what kinds of things a Google search would give me...)
BUBBLE AND SQUEAK - "Fried potatoes and cabbage"
COCK-A-LEEKIE SOUP -"Scottish soup of chicken and leeks"
BANGERS AND MASH - "Sausages and mashed potato" (Reminds me of Tobias in Arrested Development, haha.)
CURLY-WURLY- A loosely braided caramel plank is covered in milk chocolate. (It's Cadbury- can't be too bad, I wouldn't think.)
Mayonegg: a hard-boiled egg covered in mayonnaise. (Oh, wait, that one's Arrested Development again. Maybe you should just watch the show.)
Well, that was fun. I'm surprised there's not a better list of funny food names (though this site is a good collection of regional foods and Wikipedia doesn't hurt), but I guess a lot of them are regional things and don't necessarily seem strange to the people who live there. Oh well. It was a fun search-- punching someone in the gob
has an all-new meaning to me now!
Feel free to comment with other weird food names you know, have heard of, or find! :)
turkey club
When it comes to lunchmeat, I've never been much of a turkey fan. I'll eat it, but for the most part I prefer ham. (Yeah, I know, this is shaping up to be an incredibly interesting entry so far. Give me a break.)
A turkey club, though, is a fairly basic sandwich, and somehow... I don't think I had one until last summer, when I was at a friend's house and one was offered.
As I chowed down, I realized that I had been seriously missing out on something.
I don't like tomato much, so for me the turkey club consists of white bread, turkey, lettuce, bacon, and mayonnaise. It seems simple, and I know it's common, but I have since become a big fan. I get a turkey club at least once every couple of weeks from the grill in my dorm, because they're delicious and not too unhealthy (especially compared to some of the things I could eat instead).
So, this is me encouraging you to try something you never have. Not necessarily something crazy, though you're free to do what you want. Just try something you've never gotten around to eating before. I dare ya!
(P.S.-- This is me feeling like I should update and looking around for inspiration. In case you didn't notice, my eyes caught the turkey club sandwich in front of me.)
A turkey club, though, is a fairly basic sandwich, and somehow... I don't think I had one until last summer, when I was at a friend's house and one was offered.
As I chowed down, I realized that I had been seriously missing out on something.
I don't like tomato much, so for me the turkey club consists of white bread, turkey, lettuce, bacon, and mayonnaise. It seems simple, and I know it's common, but I have since become a big fan. I get a turkey club at least once every couple of weeks from the grill in my dorm, because they're delicious and not too unhealthy (especially compared to some of the things I could eat instead).
So, this is me encouraging you to try something you never have. Not necessarily something crazy, though you're free to do what you want. Just try something you've never gotten around to eating before. I dare ya!
(P.S.-- This is me feeling like I should update and looking around for inspiration. In case you didn't notice, my eyes caught the turkey club sandwich in front of me.)
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
panda sex.
Apparently Jimmy Kimmel was discussing that zoos are having a hard time getting pandas to mate, and have tried all kinds of things to get them to. Jimmy Kimmel then implied that if anything could get the pandas to sex it up, it would be hearing a romantic ballad by the "sensual" Josh Groban. (He did actually call him sensual, and I can't say I disagree.)
Yay Josh Groban and yay humor!
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