P i s t a c h i o

Thanks Adhocracy. Mozel Tov.

 ”Forget the cheddar. Velveeta’s better,” says Kraft.

No. It’s not.

… unless you’re a family of four that needs to put supper on the table for under $10, “with second helpings for the following day,” and in that case, this vintage cheese food could be a big help. So might VelveetaCasseroleChallenge.com.

Five bloggers take a run at this task, a demographic cross-section of middle-America, from a young pro-Obama mother of two, who favours whole-grain taco chips for her casserole’s crust, to the Christian military wife in a frisky, kitschy apron, and her “Ay Carumba! Chicken Spaghetti,” named for a liberal use of taco spice mix.

Let’s hear it for the casserole, the mealmaker-helper that nourished a couple of generations of  penny-pinching families living within their modest means.

There’s honour in economy, and cheese food follows this function, but does it have soul?

It certainly begs the question: What kind of cheddar are we talking here?

Thanks Mathew Ingram.

His twitter this morning pointed to a Bread and Honey post with some close-up pics of the photo on a bag of Green Giant broccoli florets.

From a macro shot, there they were, like a scene from Ants. Instead of legions of insects, the photo reveals miniature heads, all with smiling faces, in a forest of the tiny spears that create a floret of broccoli.

Anyone old enough to remember when consumer advocates started noticing seductive and satanic messages in a close-up of a glass of whiskey?

This is only a little bit like that.

I’m ripping off this moniker from my ex-pat brother who uses it to describe himself, and rightly so. He’s a mean cook and knows his way around both a kitchen and great ingredients.

His early missives from London were loaded with what he’d found in the market and how he cooked it for friends, described so lovingly that I could taste it right off the page.

Lamenting on Twitter this morning, he wrote: How is it I have a “favourite” colander and can justify packing two of ‘em to Australia? Am I a sad kitchenista and where do I draw the line?

Search deep within your soul, Joe, and then pat yourself on the back. Two is always better than one.

Listening to Seth Godin talk about his 14 Trends That Will Change Business Forever, I stumble onto an interesting reference to his friend, Joanne.

It comes from a web-radio interview to promote the IABC conference in New York in a couple of weeks. I’m recently hooked on Godin’s every word and curious to hear him mention someone close to home.

“Top Toronto restaurants all have her picture in their kitchens,” he says, “so that when she comes in to review, they can make sure to give her extra special attention.”

A mild exaggeration, and therefore not far from the truth.

“You’re going to have to have a picture of everybody back there,” says Godin, “because if you give anybody bad service, tens and maybe hundreds of thousands of people are going to know about it.” Word of net is the new word of mouth, and there are more than enough review sites and forums to allow everyone to be a restaurant critic.

How reassuring, then, to read about all the pissing and moaning Kates has been getting about her glowing review of Colborne Lane last year. Hordes of readers have been going to the restaurant on her recommendation and having a lousy time. That she would consider revisiting the restaurant, one of her favourties, and write another review that bears out her public’s outrage is a redemptive move in my eyes. I love it when a snob gives the masses their due.