Thursday, October 30, 2008

Super Super Mart


For some people, grocery shopping is a chore, but I love it. I love the brightly colored stacks of produce, the obscure condiments, the olive bar, and most of all, the inherent potential in all those choices. Yesterday, I found my Mecca -- a grocery store specializing in Asian and Latin ingredients, and not just a cramped little corner store, but a huge store full of stuff I had never even seen. Even better, full of stuff I *had* seen and hadn't been able to find in the U.S. The next time you're in little old Greensboro, NC, check out the Super Mart at Fanta City on West Market Street. Some of the treasures I found included: Kirin Afternoon Tea (Japan, something for which I've been searching for a decade), guarana (Brazil), S & B Golden Curry Sauce (Japan), fresh lychees (Southeast Asia), and G7 3 in 1 coffee (Vietnam, pictured left).

Favorite Products


Between the economy and the election, I think we could all use a little dose of frivolity. And make-up. Hence, the list of all time favorites -- the few things I have found myself purchasing more than once being the fickle cosmetics junkie that I am, always on the look out for the next great thing.

Speaking of the economy, the first item on the list is an absolute bargain. Wet N Wild lipliner #666 (I know!) at your local drugstore for 99 cents. That's right, less than a dollar and it looks good on virtually everyone. You can wear it with a variety of lipstick colors if you not only line but fill in your lips with it because the color is close to that of a natural lip tone, and filling in with a lip liner will make your lipstick last longer.

Monday, October 20, 2008

You Won't Find National Treasure 3 Here

I don't *technically* own a DVD player, so maybe I shouldn't be writing this, but several months ago I found a very cool site, GreenCine, Netflix for those who are too cool for Netflix. Sure, Netflix used to be cool -- before everyone had tried it. Now, there's an online movie rental company for those who have tired of Netflix and/or given up on mainstream cinema. Perks include obscure movies not available on Netflix, member lists and interesting articles if you're looking for a rental inspiration, and a wittily written FAQ page. Witness:

" Green Halo
Some members have green boxes around their icon in the message boards. The green "halo" denotes a GreenCine staff member, who has stepped out of lurking mode to respond to a message. Note: In real life, GreenCine employees don't actually have a green box around them. This would be very cumbersome and make getting around rather difficult. They do, however, faintly resemble their icon pictures."

www.greencine.com

Crema de la Crema


I know it's getting a little cold for this (okay, I started writing this post five months ago), but since the beginning of the summer, homemade ice cream has been my latest obsession (second only to the Blackberry, and now, Facebook). I've made two flavors -- caramelized banana-cardamom and orange dulce de leche. I've read a lot of recipes, articles about ice cream makers, and have fantasized about the various obscure concoctions I could create. Of course, I won't be making vanilla. The more unusual the flavor, the better. Avocado, check. Muhallabia, courtesy of the Moosewood Cookbook, check. The White Mountain electric ice cream maker I picked up at a yard sale two years ago has churned up amazingly creamy stuff. It's ridiculously loud and somewhat messy, but for five bucks, it was a pretty good deal. The dulce de leche, which I made last weekend, had my dad and brother planning a new career in artisanal ice cream for me.

If you, too, would like to join in the ice cream obsession, here's an interesting article to get you started: http://www.slate.com/id/2121378/

The Quest


I'm currently having a nail polish crisis. That is, if such a thing exists. Perhaps, considering the AIDS epidemic in Africa, flooding in Bangladesh, and the current state of the U.S. economy, it's a minor detail. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it.

As usual, I have concocted the ideal in my mind, and now find that it doesn't seem to exist. A deep but true red, with a red and gold metallic shimmer to it. Not cranberry, not burgundy, but somewhere in between. Super shiny. Sort of like the finish on a car.

That's what I want. What have I found? Black and eggplant. OPI's Midnight in Moscow and Royal Raja Ruby, respectively. Okay, on that last one, I might have been unduly influenced by the name. But in my defense, the description is "jeweled burgundy."

Next up, Bastille My Heart.
www.ulta.com, $

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Leave a Kiss but in the Cup


It looks like I'm on a food and wine kick, probably because I'm dog sitting, and the house where I'm staying has yielded my latest reading material -- back issues of Food and Wine.

There's something to be said for the random selection of a bottle at the grocery store. Although I don't recommend picking it because you like the bottle (it took the incident of the infamous fish bottle wine to bring that chapter of my life to a close) but on occasion, you luck out. And that's how I found this wine. At least, that's how I remember it. The truth is, it's been a long time since I discovered it, and I've been holding out on you so that I have an unusual and delicious option to bring to parties and impress everyone with my wine savvy. But now the secret's out. It's good enough to make a wine drinker out of you if you aren't one now.

Here's a link to an article about the wine:

www.boxwines.org
$6, at your local wine shop

An Apple by Any Other Name



After years of eating nothing but Granny Smiths because every other kind of apple seemed to have a mealy texture by the time it got to the grocery store, I've discovered a new favorite -- the Honeycrisp. If you haven't had one of these, try it the next time you find them at the store. They're sweet but very crisp. Hmmm...maybe that's why they're called Honeycrisp. According to the research I've done, they have a long shelf life as well, but as delicious as they are, they won't hang around in my fruitbowl long enough to find out.