food


Who ever knew! I’ve been doing it wrong my entire life!

If your the majority of people I know that peel open a banana from the stem, then check out this video and be a bit baffled how simple it really is to open he correct way!

I’m finding monkeys surprisingly smarter than myself after watching this! Also watch this video on how to split a banana into 3 wedges.

Waterproof bags have always been popular in protecting your goodies from getting soaked. Taking it a step further is Timbuk2 and their new Dolore Chiller bag ($110) that not only prevents water from coming in but also keeps it from going out, hence making a pretty nifty bag that also acts as a summer Cooler holding some 20 drinks with ice and a bottle opener on the side.

Sometimes doing the opposite makes something better.  I recall a story about kayak shoes, where previous shoes prevented water from getting in, but the problem was that once some water got in it was really hard to get out. So Puma took a flip side and said, hey, let’s make a shoes that lets water in really easily which will let it out easily, hence the puma k1 shoes!

via coolhunting


I went to some open studios last week in Boston and met Susan Jane Belton who some years ago was bored, and started painting what happened to be in her studio space, which just so happen to be a pile of to go coffee cups sitting in a corner. Ever since she’s been collecting, bagging, and painting her daily cups of coffee… not all, but the ones the intrigue her. I wish I took a picture of her wall of plastic bags full of coffee cups. Nice simple collection!

Check out Susans work!

Gloji Juice

I’ve been a fan new juices for some time and usually post about them after trying them out. I came across this new juice called Gloji packaged in a light bulb like container mixed with apple juice or pomogranite, and I’m sure many other buzzy fruits like Acai soon. If anyone can find them, let me know how it tastes.

I’m one of those crafty types that fold the paper sleeve you get with chopsticks in a restaurant to make a neat little stand to rest the sticks on, though usually I’ll get lazy and just fold the sleeve a few times. We’ll, if your one that likes disposable chopsticks, but want something a bit more clever, simple, and fun, check out these Bambu SnapStix which add an extra cut on the back end of the chopsticks which snap off to become a stand. sweet!

You can get them for about $2 each.

Thought of the week: Exploring new environments pushes for progression, but don’t always go in with the knowledge you carry from your past. Go in with experience, not necessarily your knowledge.

Compact Kitchen : an immersible kitchen table set.
Economy Vending Machine: It dispenses when the economy stumbles.
Objectified Documentary: it’s playing in Boston next week.
Diesel Side Watch: Putting time on the edge, not face.
Potato Portraits: face prints on potatoes…neat.


I was introduced to VerTerra’s intriguing dinnerware products during this years GEL conference. At first sight these unique plates seemed like raw sheets of veneer pressed into structural shapes, but then the founder gave a quick overview of the project. Simply put:

Our environmentally-friendly plates, bowls and serving dishes are made only from two products: fallen leaves and water. They’re non-toxic, biodegradable, compostable, durable, lightweight, convenient and downright stylish.

I love it! Collect fallen leaves, steam press them to shape,  then deliver it. The plates will run you about a dollar for a pair, but once they get into Wholefoods later this month, I’m hoping Verterra will be affordable enough to be a abundant in everyday gatherings.

I wished I grabbed a few samples when I had the chance, but I’ll just have to wait for the next gathering to get some…unles someone from Verterra can send me some for my next party 😉
If your seeking an alternative, check out Wasura paper plates, which will cost you a bit more, but just as cool looking.

Some pictures from VerTerra’s website after the jump.

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“At the Taste3 conference, chef Dan Barber(Blue Hill Farm) tells the story of a small farm in Spain that has found a humane way to produce foie gras. Raising his geese in a natural environment, farmer Eduardo Sousa embodies the kind of food production Barber believes in.”

Pretty awesome story. Makes me think about sustainability, agriculture, quality, and just doing things naturally, how things are meant to be.


Oh my! I don’ think I’ll be buying packaged orange juice ever again! A must read! Shakes me up just as Supersize Me or FastFoodNation did.

Buy her book “Squeezed: What You Don’t Know About Orange Juice” here.

“IDEAS: What isn’t straightforward about orange juice?

HAMILTON: It’s a heavily processed product. It’s heavily engineered as well. In the process of pasteurizing, juice is heated and stripped of oxygen, a process called deaeration, so it doesn’t oxidize. Then it’s put in huge storage tanks where it can be kept for upwards of a year. It gets stripped of flavor-providing chemicals, which are volatile. When it’s ready for packaging, companies such as Tropicana hire flavor companies such as Firmenich to engineer flavor packs to make it taste fresh. People think not-from-concentrate is a fresher product, but it also sits in storage for quite a long time.”

Read the rest of the article at Boston.com or after the jump!
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I wish you would use all means at your disposal — films! expeditions! the web! more! — to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas, hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet.”
– Sylvia Earle

This is the TEDwish that made me promise to cut back on seafood (and sushi consumption) this year, though I’ve learned it’s better to eat smaller fish that reproduce faster from a previous lecture on ocean life as well. Also helping out will be the free release in the astonishing documentary OCEANS (youtube) by Jacques Perrin (Winged Migration) to help educate people about the ocean sometime this year.
via TEDprize


Snow is melting, birds are chirping, and warmth is near. Hello spring, bye bye winter.

Gaming: Real air pilots race simulated pilots.
Art: Matthew Chambers sculptures. Pretty neat.
Art: The drawings of James Jean.
Tech: Storytlr.com, recompiling your feeds to make sense.
Object: A pretty cool scale with large text!
Tech: Spreednews.com, reading text fast without page turns via your pda.
Tech: DingItUp.com, be informed when a  webpage is up or down!
Science: Visualizing Invisible Magnetic Waves. Very cool!
Art: Toilet roll cutout art work by Yuken Teruya.

A MUST watch from best selling author Elizabeth Gilbert of “Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia.”

Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses — and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person “being” a genius, all of us “have” a genius. It’s a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.”