Daily Loaf

(Check out these other pumpkin recipes: Cassava Pone from Sayroo West Indian Market, Pumpkin Cheese Pie, Baked Pumpkin Pudding.)

Maybe you don’t want to the fuss of cutting into a pumpkin for homemade pie — those cans are so damn easy — but chances are you’ll be carving a jack-o-lantern for the front porch. Instead of scooping the slimy innards directly into the trash, save the seeds for a roasted treat that almost makes handling the slippery stuff worthwhile.

Here’s a basic technique to get you started, with a list of seasoning options to jazz up the seeds: Read the rest of this entry »

It’s true that the real festival season around these parts is in the spring, with the Gasparilla Film Festival and Sarasota’s huge festie leading the pack. Still, film-fest patronage has become a year-round affair in the Bay area, and there are some worthwhile options for the movie freaks this fall. First up, The Tampa International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival …

Details after the jump …

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Sex offenders sell: After two months on the App Store, ThinAir Wireless’ “Offender Locator” has worked it’s way into the top ten best selling paid iphone applications. The company offers a $.99 and free version of the sex offender application, which lets users view registered sex offenders in their neighborhood. On Sunday, August 2, 2009, the application was number three on the top paid apps list.

+1 for Offender Locator: On Wednesday, a 50 year old South Carolina man was charged with having sex with a horse. Rodell Vereen was caught by the horse’s owner Barbara Kenley at shotgun point, after Kenley observed Vereen having his way with her 21 year old horse, Sugar. Last year, Vereen pleaded guilty to having sex with Sugar. He was sentenced to three years probation and placed on the state sex offenders list. This time around, Vereen was slapped with trespassing and buggery charges, and faces up to five years in prison if convicted. Read the rest of this entry »

I got thrown for a loop the other night.  I was sought out; someone wanted to turn in his fuck-buddy application.  I was reluctant at first. He’s not my normal type of applicant.  He’s not my normal type of anything.  That’s what makes him so unique and alluring.

I went to meet him with the idea of swapping ideas, not body fluids.  We’re colleagues and thought we could stimulate some creative juices–and stimulating juices is exactly what happened. Read the rest of this entry »

Perhaps you’ve seen the recent televised propaganda commercials from the high fructose corn syrup lobby (aka the Corn Refiners Association). It turns out they might have reason to be nervous. In addition to the bad rap they’ve gotten in works like Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma — as well as a study showing mercury levels in their products — they now have to face the possibility of a pro-sugar marketing blitz.

From Serious Eats -

“Starting April 20, Pepsi will sell cans of Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback, which will be made with real sugar instead of HFCS.”

After the jump is a YouTube parody of the HFCS ad.
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I will never be the same person again. Sundance marked a transition in my life, and there is no turning back. I cannot escape the vortex into which I have fallen. I have always liked movies (I rarely ever saw one I did not like) but never realized that they would be my life’s ambition. And that is how Sundance changed my life: It opened my eyes.

I did not try to go star gazing. I did not try to make it into any fashionable parties. I threw away all the bull that goes along with Sundance and got to its essence. I completely immersed myself into each film I saw. So much so that I do not know if I could remember all the films I saw. Some stuck in my mind: a gay zombie movie [Otto, or up with Dead People], a great baseball flick [Sugar], and a documentary outlining the country’s economic collapse [IOUSA] (”hate to say I told you so” comes to mind), but the entire experience changed me. I thought, “wow, not only is this the greatest thing that has come into my life, but I can do it too.” And so it began, my rocky but enthused trip into trying to make films. How will it all turn out? We will see.

Algenis Perez Soto plays a Dominican pitcher in Iowa in "Sugar"

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Sooooo, I thought I’d get in the Christmas spirit and make Fancy Decorated Sugar Cookies.

With all of my baking adventures, I have never made decorated or worked with cut out cookies. Hmm, wonder why?I saw this post and this post over at Our Best Bites, and I was inspired. She gives a wonderful tutorial on both the cookie making and the glazing. And her cookies are adorable. Check them out.

Enough being nice, as I am still a little bitter. Making the dough was a cinch. Threw everything in my KitchenAid mixer and in 2 minutes it was done and chilling in the fridge. Easy peasy. Holiday cheer and joy flowing!

Then the pain in the assness began. The dough was too hard to roll, so I let it sit out for a bit to warm up. Ditzo me left it out for too long and it got too soft to roll. Back in the fridge. The my daughter proceeds to blow across the floured counter top, making it snow flour in my kitchen. Oh, happy day! Read the rest of this entry »