It's All About...

Girl Scout Cookies

Oh, heavens. The Girl Scout cookies are here.

Mark Cornelison/Herald-Leader

This photo, shot last week at a warehouse on Nandino Way, tells you just how many peanut-butter-chocolate-striped-butter-cookie calories are floating around this area.

One word: yum.

Now, our local Girl Scout Council sells cookies from Virginia-based ABC Bakers, which  gives us Caramel deLites, Peanut Butter Patties and Thanks-A-Lot. Louisville-based Little Brownie Bakers -- the cookies I sold as a wee scout -- are the Samoas and Tagalongs.

Little Brownie also is the maker of my new favorite cookie: the All About! I like to think this cookie and I  have some kind of cosmic connection.

Plus, as Cheryl Truman says, banana pudding is half the reason to live in the South. They have a recipe here for All About banana pudding.

The regular ordering period is over. I was conveniently out of the country while it was going on, which kept me from being too much of a glutton. But the cookie booth phase of sales started last week, and if you know a Girl Scout, she can probably track down a box or eight for you. Check out GirlScoutCookies.org to search for local sales.

Cheer: Once!
Rich Copley is so right when he said in his Oscar blog that I was likely doing a happy dance for Once. The little movie that could won an Academy Award last night. I was almost brought to tears by the thank-yous from Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. (What? They were earnest.) You can watch the speeches here.

Real food in tv, blogs and books.

I like real food -- the items along the edges of the grocery store, the stuff my great-great grandma might've had in her pantry, the dishes with ingredients I recognize and pronounce with ease.

I like bad-for-me things, too -- say, just about anything in the cookie aisle.

But it's easier to enjoy the real, the local, the nature's candy kinda foods now that it's gaining a following.

Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma , will be on Kentucky Authors Forum on KET. The forum was taped at University of Louisville on Jan. 11, but you can watch it again at 10 a.m. and noon Feb. 17 on KETKY, the new Kentucky-focused digital station or 10 a.m. and noon March 23 on KETKY.

I like his take on things, the very simple and clear advice gracing the cover of his latest, In Defense of Food: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. (Also, I'd like to point out that I'm 40th in line to borrow the book from the Lexington Public Library. Apparently other people like it, too.)

Similarly, I'm smitten by the New York Times new Bitten blog, by cookbook author and Minimalist columnist Mark Bittman. In cooking and baking, I am daunted enough by long ingredient lists and many-step processes to give up and flip to another page. Happy to eat the complicated creations of others, but in my own kitchen, it needs to be simple, clear and preferably healthy.

The man posted a recipe for winter squash in coconut milk, for heaven's sake. ::groan::

It's 12:08 p.m. Lunch time for me. I swear, just making this post is like walking past a bakery on an empty stomach...

Super Fat Tuesday

It's Mardi Gras, Super Fat Tuesday and that means Paczki Day!

A brief intro: these doughnuts are a big, fat tradition in Polish communities like Hamtramck, near Detroit. Pronounced poonch-key, or something like it, they have somewhere from 400-1,000 calories and more bad-for-you stuff than I want to acknowledge.

I can't say that Central Kentucky is rich with the heavy, fat-sugar-deliciousness, but you can find boxes and boxes of them at Meijer. (Makes sense, right? Michigan-based chain serves of Hamtramck-based delicacy.) They're the Big Mac of pastries, and the fact that they're available only a few days of the year makes them all the more precious, like eating an entire box of Girl Scout Samoas.

The doughnut pictured above was shot at the Herald-Leader before the hungry masses of journalists descended upon them. My personal feeling is that paczki should be glazed and prune-filled, but powder was all I found, and I actually want people to eat them, so custard-filled they are.

If you find them anywhere else, do the public some good and say so in the comments. Of course, I found this recipe for paczki in a Michigan newspaper --  some sick part of me is  tempted to remake it will applesauce, whole wheat flour and organic fruit-filled centers.

But wait. It's Fat Tuesday. Nevermind.

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Listen: I'll be dishing on three songs on Spaceship of Fools tonight on WMMT 88.7 FM.
They're three songs I listened to on repeat while in Iraq, not including an Iraqi-styled remix of My Number One, which was blaring often from our office speakers most nights.
Not within easy listening distance of Whitesburg? Stream it here.

Pumpkin pie...milkshake...ice cream...latte...cookie.

So yesterday was 80 degrees. So what? Sweet, sweet fall, you are here, and you smell like cinnamon. And apple cider. And best of all, pumpkin.

(Mutts will begin appearing in the H-L on Oct. 22!)

If you're not really into carving and cooking this big orange gourd, there are other ways to get the sensation.

On the non-negotiable list of low-effort pumpkin-styled foods you must try:

• The pumpkin pie milkshake at Tolly Ho, 395 South Limestone. It is exactly what it sounds like: a piece of pumpkin pie dropped into a cup with ice cream and blended to pureed, pumpkin-cream deliciousness.

• The pumpkin latte at Third Street Stuff, off the corner of Third and North Limestone. You can find this type of drink at virtually any coffee shop, but at Third Street you can go sit on the picnic tables on a chilly night, sip your pumpkin drink and people-watch. The conversation will make you glow.

• Graeter's Pumpkin Ice Cream. It's a seasonal flavor, so they'll have it at least through October, possibly through November, they told me at the Romany Road store. Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and pumpkin in there somewhere. Yum.

• Pumpkin beer. We know how to celebrate the season.

On the list of deliciousness that requires work:

• The Pumpkintini!

• Baked pumpkin with mixed rice pilaf, which I made for dinner last week. Indeed, I will be eating dinner out of pumpkins as often as possible this season. By the way, that whole rumor of pumpkin shortages? It's only kind of true; local pumpkins are in short supply, but they're being trucked in from elsewhere to feed the Halloween demand.

• Behind the cut, you'll find my favorite cookie recipe of all time, low-fat, whole-wheat pumpkin spice cookies. The word cookie is used generously; it's like cake in a cookie portion.

Violet Beauregarde syndrome.

First, a scene, courtesy of the brilliant Roald Dahl:

“Blueberry pie and cream!” shouted Violet. “Here it comes! Oh my, it’s perfect! It’s beautiful! It’s…it’s exactly as though I’m swallowing it! It’s as though I’m chewing and swallowing great spoonfuls of the most marvelous blueberry pie in the world!”

“Good heavens, girl!” shrieked Mrs. Beauregarde suddenly, staring at Violet, “what’s happening to your nose!”

“Oh, be quiet, mother, and let me finish!” said Violet.

“It’s turning blue!” screamed Mrs. Beauregarde. “Your nose is turning blue as a blueberry!”

“Your mother is right!” shouted Mr. Beauregarde. “Your whole nose has gone purple!”

“What do you mean?” said Violet, still chewing away.

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This gluttonous pig of a girl, I'm afraid, is me. It's blueberry time. They're on sale at Good Foods Co-op. They're in stacks at the Farmers Market. They're at Cracker Barrel, at Starbucks, in the H-L's food section. I hear they're a precious commodity at the U-Pick places, which makes me want them more.

I eat them with all three meals. I find myself picking seeds and the shards of blue skin from my teeth at the least polite moments. It is so unspeakably hot outside that nothing else tastes good.

If I had a little more self-control and could manage to bake before the pint disappears, I'd probably make my favorite muffins of all time. Check behind the cut for more blueberry recipes rescued from the H-L archives, courtesy of the Wonder Woman of food, Sharon Thompson.

And if you've got better advice on how to use 'em, pass it along. Clearly, I need it.

Violet, you're turning violet, Violet! Yes, thanks, I think will.

Harry Potter preparation.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Like all the other crazies out there, I was at a midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Tuesday night, walking tall because obviously it was the only place to be.

A short review, although you'd be better off reading Rich Copley's: I liked it. Daniel Radcliffe's newfound physique and acting ability might've stole the show, if not for Imelda Staunton's frosted pink Umbridge smile was pure evil. And then there was little Evanna Lynch, who was mesmerizing as Luna Lovegood. (I still identify pretty closely with Hermione, but I knew a lot of Luna-types in high school. What can I say? Michigan's Renaissance Festival was based in my town. If you've ever been to one, you know exactly which kids I'm talking about.)

My great troubles with the film are mostly the snotty whining of a reader. They changed things! Wah! They cut too much! Wah! One serious criticism: At least one major plot point -- the prophecy provided by Prof. Trelawney -- was never clearly explained. If you hadn't read the books, you might be wondering if you'd accidentally dozed off during that midnight showing.

But what does this all mean for the big release, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which will have its big debut at midnight July 20? Check out Heather Chapman's Potter blog, The Muggle Tongue, for notes on what was and wasn't in the movie that might come back later. (Author J.K. Rowling consults on the movies because, you know, it's hard to make a series of movies when you don't really know how it's going to end.)

And the serious crazies, the ones who were dressed up on Tuesday night and plan to spend all next weekend reading, maybe you should enter our blogging contest. We're looking for a few good readers to update us on their progress throughout that first weekend.

My plans for the night-of? I'll be at some book store's Potter party -- not sure which yet -- sipping homemade Butterbeer with my pals. Tell me what your plans are. Maybe we'll see you there.

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Read: All about hairy backs.
I've been working on this story for far too long. Enjoy.

Peep abuse and obsessions.

I hesitate to post this under "food and drink" because there's nothing edible about Peeps two days after Easter. By now, those sugar-drenched chicks are stale in your bunny basket, clinging to your digestive tract or turning the local wildlife into super mutant ninja versions of itself.

Thanks Finiky!

The good news: those marshmallow nasties are in the bargain bin, we can have some fun with them. Based on how many of you clicked the Passover Peeps link yesterday, I suspect you're already bored with them. Here are a disturbingly wide variety of methods to keep your Peep abuse/obsessions creative.

• Passover Peeps: 10 plagues, rendered in marshmallow.
  • See also: Jesus of Peeps.
• Peep Dioramas: The Washington Post shows its dark, sugary underbelly.
• Peeppapalooza!: The Seattle Times has almost taken this too far.
• Peep deconstruction: A vintage Peeps story from the St. Pete Times.
• Peep Research: You saw this last year. Don't care! Still funny!
• Peep-O-Rama: A thorough Peep photography site.
• Peep protests: And you thought it was all sweetness with them. Please.
• Peepmobile: The most emasculated vehicle ever.
• Peep Video: Who knew the oeuvre of multimedia Peep fanfic was so extensive?
  • See also: Actual Peep fanfic, based on The X-Files, natch.
  • See also: Actual published Peep fiction:  "Part whodunit..."
  • See also: Actual Peep movies: Lord of the Peeps. (Thanks, Heather!)
• Official Peeps: Just Born trivia, history etc.
• Healthy Peeps:  Faux-Peeps. Mmm.
• Homemade Peeps: For crazy people, via Martha Stewart. Could this be veganized, I wonder?
• Homemade Peepmaker: Made by Wham-O! With six bids already!

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Visit: The Hometown Invasion Tour has hit Kentucky.
A fellow I knew only briefly in school graduated from Michigan State and took off on a tour of 50 states. He was expecting to make it to Kentucky this summer, but after detouring to the Spartan-dominated Frozen Four, he landed here yesterday. Visit the Web site, tell him what to see in Kentucky and give him an idea of why our state so much more than a mediocre Cameron Crowe movie.

Vote: Pick your favorite corsage for Paul & Amber's prom.
You can choose among a wrist corsage, a bouquet and a corsage that's worn on the upper arm. There's a matching boutonniere for each. Voting closes at noon Thursday. Next week: accessories!

fat tuesday, the paczki way

This Fat Tuesday, I will mourn the lack of paczkis, as I have every Fat Tuesday since moving to Kentucky.

For the uninitiated, paczkis are the ultimate pre-Lent decadence in the Polish community. (Say it "poonshkee," or something like that.) In Detroit and its suburbs, they are The Way to celebrate, even if you're not Polish, or religious for that matter. You can even buy 'em at Starbucks up there. Basically, it's an excuse to eat 450 sweet, sweet calories in six  bites, even if you don't give something up the next day. (And when I say 450, I'm talking about a light paczki. Here's a  video from Hamtramck, a Polish enclave neard Detroit, where they tout 1,000-calorie pastries.)

Paczki-makers take the best qualities and the worst qualities of regular jelly doughnuts and blow them way out of the food pyramid. A traditional paczki is packed with lard, sugar and fruit (prunes, if you're a Detroiter worth your salted road) then glazed or powdered into a friendly looking pastry that will probably kill you later. You think you can eat more than one, but you'll be surprised by how long that ball of dough 'n' "fruit" will sit in your gut.

I brought back a dozen from my trip to Michigan, and they were quickly devoured. If you know where to buy them in Lexington, you'd better let me know, and chew on one before they're all gone. (UPDATE: A few readers have pointed out that you can get them at Meijer. Of COURSE they would have them -- the chain is based in Michigan! It's not quite a Hamtramck bakery, but it'll do in desperate times.)

In a baking mood? Make your own. Bring me one.

Or you can celebrate the way the rest of the United States does, with cake babies and beads. Sadly, no Mardi Gras parade in Lexington this year. A bummer, yes, but at least we've got a couple tasty restaurants that'll be serving something yummy.

(UPDATE: Some folks ARE planning a pseudo-parade. They're asking people to decorate their bikes, wear beads and make noise tonight. Show up at Triangle Park at 8:15 p.m. so they can "do a victory lap around downtown" from Triangle Park to Thoroughbred Park before the UK basketball game.)

Happy, fat, fat, Fat Tuesday everyone!

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Mourn, for real this time: Norman Eli Grossman, co-owner of the Mad Hatter, died.
He grew up on South Upper and opened the downtown hat shop at 1979. How many happy Derby memories did he make?