Fresh Approach Cooking

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The hang over. A sure sign that liver of yours might not be in tip top shape. It's not like when you (or, I should say, I) were 22 and a night out could (and on occasion did) include two shots of jaggermeister, a shot of goldschlagger, an Alabama slammer (only 22 year olds drink those, right?) a mudslide (yikes!) and then a few gin and tonics or rum and cokes before you got up first thing in the morning and went for a run or wrote a term paper. That may be considered binge drinking and we do not advocate such irresponsible behaviour. No my friends, those days (thank GOODNESS) are well behind us (me) and now, it's all about moderation, a pre dinner martini or a heart healthy glass of red wine perhaps, but overloading on assorted mixed drinks? Well, we are just not that into it, since the effects leave us with less then a good feeling (or taste in our mouths.)

Yet somehow, last night, I found myself taking in some really bad, kinda preachy, theater that a friend was involved in, and afterwards being offered a few rounds of gin and tonics and sake cocktails. All of which led to my current pounding headache and a distinct feeling I left something...oh dear...I left my camera at the sushi bar! OH NO! Wait, be right back...

Phew, they have it. Yikers. I was trying to take pictures for dine and dish, but got thwarted. See what alcohol does to you? (Insert head shaking) Sheesh.

Any which way. Thankfully, unlike other times, we didn't end up at some late night junk food diner after our merriment, but instead I came home (finally, some levelheadedness!) and binged on salty snacks. Totally tasty snacks I had picked up at an Israeli market earlier in the week. You all have local kosher markets too, right? They are the best places. The produce is always incredibly inexpensive, the atmosphere a little bit "old world" (or, third world, it all depends) and the food they sell is just familiar enough to be comforting, and yet just distinct enough to be exotic. A worthwhile journey indeed.

And for my unhealthy snack choices, I had opted for the extra child-like Bamba Snacks and a big bag of Onion rings. While not a recommended combination, they are each delightfully gross and bad for your in their own special ways.

The lip-smacking Bambas are puffed, extruded (mmm. extruded) corn with a coating of peanut butter and a hint of rosemary. They are sort of sticky and leave an excellent coating of oily peanut butter in your mouth after each crunchy bite. And the onion rings, well, they are just puffed, fried, circular rings of starch with really strong salty, powdery onion flavor that can linger for hours. They are airy and crisp, and hard to impossible to put down. Part of me is wondering why I am even posting about this, but I just think they are hilarious things to eat. Cheap, fattening and all together bad for you, I cannot recommend them more. Delicious.

Buy them, and enjoy.

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Calorie count of some of your favorite mixed drinks: Long Island Iced Tea - 780, Margarita - 740 (AHHCK! Bad news!), Pina Colada - 644, White Russian - 420, Mai Tai - 350, Champagne Cocktail - 250, Fog Cutter (Rum, Gin, Brandy, Sherry, Illness) - 225, Gin/Vodka Tonic - 200, Mojito - 160, Cosmo - 150

Bamba is the best-selling snack in Israel. Bamba was first produced with a cheesy flavor in 1963, but in 1964 it was changed to the peanut flavor. The Bamba Baby was first presented to the public in 1992. - Osem.co.il

The Blommer Chocolate Co. factory in Chicago is being accused of releasing too much choco-pollution. The EPA sent an inspector to check out the factory, after a neighbor complained about the aroma of chocolate in the air and cited them for violating limits on opacity, or the amount of light blocked by the factory's grinder dust. The family-owned company has been making chocolate since 1939. Machines run around the clock, and depending on the weather, the smell of ground beans spreads through much of the Chicago Loop area. Blommer acknowledged problems with the factory's chocolate-laden exhaust. The company says it is installing new filtering equipment designed to prevent the opacity violations from recurring.