Avgolemono (heaven in a bowl)

I remember this soup from childhood, and my mother used to make it with rice instead of orzo. Quick, easy, simple comfort food.

You'll need...

7 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup orzo pasta
3 eggs
juice of one large lemon
salt and ground black pepper

Pour the stock into a large pan and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes.

Beat the eggs until frothy, then add the lemon juice and a tablespoon of cold water. Slowly stir in a ladleful of the hot chicken stock, then add one or two more. Return this mixture to the pan, off the heat, and stir well. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately. (Do not let the soup boil once the eggs have been added or it will curdle. Leftovers, if you have any, will keep for a few days). Slice of toast, or maybe garnish some fresh chopped herbs - this soup is as good in summer as it is in winter.

Sunday Morning Fabulousness

Good Morning
Originally uploaded by Allmightymo.

It's been over six months since Dominic left, and there are certain habits I have adopted. For example, I have not eaten off of a non-disposable plate in my own house in well over a month. I try to reduce my dish-doing even more by drinking straight from the milk carton (if it weren't asking for disaster, I would drink water straight from my Brita pitcher, too). And I am indecisive. This morning I went to Dunkin' Donuts and ordered a small cup of coffee, and then couldn't decide if I wanted a chocolate cake, sour cream, or jelly donut. So I ordered all three, came home, busted out the Leche and put my donuts on a paper plate (it would be plain lazy to eat them out of the bag). I the proceeded to take alternating bites out of the three donuts while drinking my milk and coffee. What is your sunday morning fabulousness?

You Can Play With Your Food

Commentary by Lore Sjöberg
02:00 AM Mar, 01, 2006 EST



Last week, we took a look at the wonderful ways in which technology has improved our food without making it healthier or better tasting. This week, we're doing more of the same, starting with a product that will delight people who wish their toaster waffles more closely resembled plastic toys.

Lego Eggos
It's an obvious idea in retrospect. Not a great idea, but an obvious one: Combine Eggo waffles with Lego-brand-building toys that will cause people to send you annoying mail if you call them Legos. Each waffle is scored into six pieces, each of which is shaped vaguely like a Lego brick. The box suggests you "toast, break and build!" But each waffle is a highly processed rectangle of pure disappointment. The top of each "brick" has eight studs that look, honestly, like meerkat nipples. The bottom has three holes. Just three. You can't build. You can just kind of stack. Heap, really. It's so depressing. I'm going back to bed.

Downside: Will make you sad for the rest of your life.

Hidden Key Lucky Charms
The "hidden key" here refers to certain specially endowed marshmallows. Before you pour milk on them, these marshmallows have vaguely key-shaped dents in them. After you pour milk on them, they have vaguely key-shaped holes in them. Astonishing! Technically speaking, though, it's not really a hidden key, it's a hidden inverse key. Presumably you use the marshmallow as a mold. Pour some molten steel in there, let it cool, and you have an actual tiny key. Which you then use to, I dunno, go through Lucky the Leprechaun's porn drawer or something.

Downside: Clearly, magic like this can only be the result of a pact with Satan.

Scooby-Doo Tattoos Fruit Roll-Rups
The "Rups" is because it's Scooby-Doo, and, you know, Scooby-Doo puts "r" at the beginning of his words. And they let him design the box. Or something. Anyhow, I have at this moment a vaguely rectangular blob of blue on my tongue. It was supposed to be a picture of a bone saying "Rooby Rocks," but it turns out that bumpy, slimy surfaces are not the best place to transfer sharp, intricate images. Maybe I did it wrong, but this blue crap doesn't come off easy and I only have so much tongue. I'd be disappointed, but you know, I didn't really want a cartoon dog bone slogan in my mouth today.

Downside: Pretty much all downside. Hard to find an upside, really.

Easy Writer Food Decorators
Everyone likes cupcakes and cakes with interesting decorations in the frosting! If you don't, then everyone but you likes them. The problem with traditional frosting decoration is that it requires you to clench a little tube, which everyone hates. OK, everyone but you. Well, clench no more! These are like little brush-pens full of food coloring. With a little patience, you can draw the design of your choice on the cupcake of your choice, provided said cupcake has white frosting. They actually work pretty nicely. They don't make the food taste bad, or different for that matter. Finally, a food product that doesn't disappoint. Good going, Ms. Crocker!

Downside: Do you really want to draw carefully on two dozen cupcakes?

Sunsweet Ones
Why is it that people don't eat more prunes? Is it that they taste kind of musty-sweet gross? Is it that they have the texture of a buttered slug? No, no, no. No! It's because you don't have to work hard enough to eat them. When you're able to reach into a sack of prunes and just pull one out, you don't appreciate the treasure lying flaccid in your palm. That's why these prunes are individually wrapped. Once you've experienced the labor involved in unwrapping every single prune you eat, you'll treasure every syrupy, mucilaginous bite.

Downside: Prunes.