Camel cheese – coming soon to a grocery near you

by Jeremy Kressmann on

As any proper Bedouin will tell you, camels are an essential part of a nomadic desert existence. They provide a convenient method of transportation, require little water and can stand up to great extremes of temperature. We now also know that they provide the perfect compliment to your next cheese and cracker platter. I’m talking more specifically about camel cheese, the latest delicacy to make its way to grocery stores here in the U.S.

The camel cheese trend started in the African nation of Mauritania, site of the world’s first and, to the best of my knowledge, only camel dairy farm. Mauritanians consume camel milk as part of their everyday diet, but it was a local expat named Nancy Abeiderrahmane who first got the idea to turn the milk into cheese to preserve its shelf life. The idea was a hit, and Nancy has been producing camel cheese ever since.

The cheese made its debut in the New York City area this past month. Connoisseurs compare it favorably to goat cheese, citing its subtle “barnyard flavors” and the ability to spread it easily on bread or crackers. When it comes to food, nothing wins me over quicker than when I hear phrases like “barnyard flavors.” Pick up some now for your Final Four party this weekend!

[Via Buzzfeed]

Should you bring your own food when visiting China?

by Jerry Guo on

There was a big New York Times story this weekend about the US Olympics delegation’s plan to ship in 25,000 pounds of their own food to Beijing this summer.

Here’s what one caterer for the delegation had to say about an innocent looking piece of chicken he found at an everyday supermarket. “We had it tested and it was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive.” And more:

In recent years, some foods in China have been found to be tainted with insecticides and illegal veterinary drugs, and the standards applied to meat there are lower than those in the United States, raising fears of food-borne illnesses.

If Chinese food isn’t good enough for US athletes, is it good enough for you? I think the surprising answer is no–if you have a sensitive stomach. My girlfriend got deathly sick for a week this past summer from eating a cantaloupe from a street vendor. I had similar problems a couple years back buying octopus from a street vendor. I think it goes to show: stick to actual restaurants.

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Living and working in Beijing

by Jerry Guo on

I spent a chunk last year living and working in Beijing, something that I’ve always wanted to do. I grew up in Tianjin, which is an hour’s train-ride outside the capital, and so I have fond memories of the place.

There’s been so much press–and no doubt it’ll consume us completely by this summer–on Beijjing’s rampant growth and construction, leading up to the Summer Olympics this August.

But what tourists this summer will be drastically different than what goes on the other 50 weeks of the year. Here’s a gallery of life for ordinary Beijing-ers, as well as shots from Beijing’s famous snack street (there are actually two near the Wangfujing subway stop) and general nightlife.

Hope I’ll see you in Beijing come August.

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Snack Healthy on Road Trips

by Adrienne Wilson on

Thanks to our sister site, That’s Fit for being health conscious enough to supply the blogosphere and us here with some tips on how to snack healthy on road trips. I’m especially grateful considering I’m on the road at present and always looking for a word of advice on the topic. I’ve watched trips turn to “hell” for some people who input all the wrong goods into their bodies, sit on their butts, lounge in beach chairs and it ain’t pretty. Snacking is one of the easiest ways to kill time on those long drives and also an easy way to gain weight, but if you plan well in advance and think outside the box, or your vehicle your chances of fighting weight gain or just that nasty fatty feeling can be reduced.

For starters if you’ve ever taken the oh-so-scenic Route 66 or any parts of America’s great Midwest you can kiss most healthy pit stops bye-bye. I remember craving some edamame, sushi and a green tea smoothie with boba (specific, I know) on one long drive through Missouri somewhere. There were stretches of nothing followed by more nothing and then the great golden arches (McDonald’s) appeared, but the semi-healthy Japanese fare my stomach desired was never to be found. Tired, hungry and defeated, I gave into chicken mcnuggets. Planning ahead and packing your car with granola, water, trail mix, dried fruit, and fresh fruit that can survive the trip are good starters. The About.com article which That’s Fit references, suggests eating only salads and grilled foods from fast food joints. Also, all those rest stops we all tend to speed past – utilize them. Take a moment to let the car cool, step out the vehicle and do some stretching or light exercise. It may slow you down in the short-run, but in the long-run your body will probably feel 10x better. Let me not babble about it, go see for yourself.

Do you have any secrets for snacking healthy? Maybe a recipe for the road?

Make Fortune Cookies

by Adrienne Wilson on

One night when I called one of my close friends she rushed me off the phone because she was in the middle of cooking. When I asked what was on the menu and whether or not see needed any taste-testers she quickly told me she was ruining the fortune cookies and had to go. Fortune cookies? Huh? Who on the planet makes fortune cookies? I thought a machine did that… How do you make fortune cookies? You can make them at home? After talking with her I wanted to look up a fortune cookie recipe to see what step she could have been at to be ruining the folded cookie like treats. After checking it out I’m not sure which it was and I’m sure glad she didn’t needed a taste-tester.

I won’t try this one, but FoodNetwork.com has one from their Sweet Dreams episode if anyone is interested. In summary the prep time is what gets you in making the cookies. They take an hour of prep, 24 minutes to cook and yield about 20 cookies. This could be a fun way to travel to Asia by way of food with friends or family on an evening stuck in the house.