Category: General Interest

Fun Food will not go to waste!

The Super Bowl is a giant Fun Food Fest! Both inside the State Farm Stadium and outside at the giant 2023 “Players Tailgate” event being hosted by Bobby Flay at the Food Network.

Recovering untouched Fun Food post Game will avoid it going to waste PLUS help some food insecure people. This detailed CNN article outlines what is planned once the Big Game is finished.

NFL Green is partnering with Waste Not who is coordinating with 85 local Arizona Nonprofits to ensure that Fun Food will go to the Phoenix Valley. The celebrations are not over yet – whether you are a Kansas City fan or not!

Feb 1st = 2 Weeks of Poutine!!

Poutine Week has expanded to 2 weeks – February 1 – 14th. This is the 11th year for La Poutine Week which is celebrated at 983 restaurants across Canada – outlined in this detailed Dished article! La Poutine Week has it’s own website and instagram account! I’m not sure where the idea originally came from but I am in full support of Poutine, a Canadian Fun Food AND the celebration of Poutine for 1 OR 2 weeks!

Now there seems to be some debate about Poutine’s origin but I believe it was compiled in Quebec – and I believe the correct verb is compiled as there is a base of french fries, then a layer of curds/cheese and finally a drizzle/douse of gravy.

And there also seems to be a debate around the correct second layer – chewy squeaky curds NOT grated cheese… While I prefer cheese curds, I once did have killer poutine at the Templeton in Vancouver where they used a layer of grated old aged cheddar that was VERY memorable. Their current menu indicates that they are now using curds for their poutine!

AND there are some that find the various additional toppings that have been added to traditional Poutine an outrage BUT I say they have just never tried Breakfast Poutine or Butter Chicken Poutine. The RecRoom (now gone) was where I first tried Breakfast Poutine and now I try it whenever I find it on a menu! And when I am craving Butter Chicken Poutine I go to The Spud Shack Fry Co. – they have great traditional Poutine as well as 10 variations.

I think I may add Poutine to my Horizontal Fun Food Tasting Chart!

Fun Food for Peace & Prosperity

Happy New Year: 新年快乐 xīn nián kuài lè – Chinese New Year starts tomorrow January 22nd and this is The Year of the Rabbit. The Rabbit is associated with peace & prosperity and is the luckiest animal of the Chinese Zodiac.

Wishing Good Fortune for the coming year is key to this celebration of the Lunar New Year and you can do it with Red Envelopes of cash OR Fun Food! Food is said to bring Good Fortune and especially if you eat it whole. Culinary Backstreets has shared a list of 12 foods (some Fun!) and the Good Fortune they bring.

  • Whole Fish — Increased Prosperity
  • Chinese dumplings — Wealth
  • Whole chicken — Luck and wholeness
  • Chinese New Year cake — Increased income or position
  • Spring rolls — Wealth
  • Sweet rice balls — Family togetherness
  • Longevity noodles — Happiness and longevity
  • Lion’s head meatballs — Family unity
  • Steamed pork belly with taro — Prosperity
  • Shrimp — Happiness
  • Vegetables — Spring, wealth, and more
  • Fruit — Fullness and wealth

Today is CNY Eve! It can be VERY peaceful to eat your own WHOLE orders of Chinese dumplings & spring rolls to bring on the prosperity!!

2022 Fun Food before it is too late!

Are you seeing left over Eggnog OR Oat Nog on sale still? I’m happy that I can still find my fave Oat Nog but know it will soon be gone…

Here are some fun ideas for Eggnog if you love it too and don’t want to see it go to waste or can’t resist a bargain! Eggnog ice cream is one suggestion from Thrillist with the recipe for making it. Perhaps you can still find The World’s Best Egg Nog ice cream by President Choice in your grocer’s freezer and see if you agree with the name. OR perhaps make Happy Hour Eggnog drinks using these 17 eggnog cocktail ideas from Purewow – some may work better as dessert!

PS – Don’t forget about Fruit Cake! Drastically reduced right now too and a kinda Fun Food with cake in the name… Perhaps it’s not appealing to everyone as it is #32 on PureWow’s list of 32 Classic Christmas Foods – may be not Top 5 or even Top 10 but dead last…

2023 Good Luck + Fun Food!

Each New Year is an opportunity to look back and forward – and make plans for the coming year. Add eating these good luck foods to your New Year’s Eve plans – thank you Thrillist for these Lucky Food traditions. I think round cakes are Fun Food and perhaps eating them daily will continue the luck all year!

I also like the idea of eating 12 lucky grapes right at midnight! However this Gastro Obscura article outlining the background on the grape eating has got me nervous about not finishing on time and bringing on bad luck…

Eating a good luck orange has always been a New Year tradition – good to know it is an EXTRA lucky fruit!

Fat Bear Fun Food

It is that time of year again – Fat Bear Week 2022!! And Fat Bear Fun Food is FISH! Lots and lots of fish – fatty salmon makes for a VERY Rubenesque bear.

This NPR article gives a great outline of the week which started Wednesday October 5th and ends Tuesday the 11th. Otis the 2021 winner is back and my 2021 post shares more bear week details and history!

My fingers are crossed for Holly, Bear 435, who has a daughter in the 2022 competition, Bear 335. Holly was the 2019 winner and below is her 2019 “before & after” photo – she has fishing skills and my vote!! And now I am craving Miku’s Salmon Aburi Oshi Sushi!!

All things onions!

Onions are Fun Food – either real onions or Funyuns!

This VERY comprehensive article by Forks Over Knives goes into helpful detail for 6 types of onions and includes interesting recipes! And they confirm that red onions make the best pickled onions that can go on just about anything – Fun Food or not. The quick pickle process is so easy that even I have managed to do it successfully! Here is a recipe that worked for me by one of my fave “recipeists” Beth at Budget Bytes.

Now, onion rings are an unofficial Horizontal Eating category for me. A&W make killer ones with a great coating and I want to try the ones at Sonic once I can make a road trip to the US. This Mash article gives a VERY comprehensive history on onion rings. And this Mash article ranks 15 Fast (Fun!) Food onion rings – I believe my beloved A&W Rings are undersold when placed at #12 BUT I have to agree that the ones at Culver’s were pretty good but #1… I’ll just have to go re-try them on a US Road Trip along with quite a few others on the list.

I may expand my unofficial category to Fried Veggies (not potatoes!) as I now also want to try these Sonic Deep Fried pickles.

July 6th & Fried Chicken!

July 6th is National Fried Chicken Day! Sorry chickens but fried chicken is Fun Food. And so is Fried Chik’n or Chick’n if you can find it!

I learned way more about Fried Chicken from Eater as they dedicated their entire day’s Newsletter (June 29th) to the background, history and best places to eat it! Fried chicken is eaten around the World.

Personally, I’m a fan of fried chicken in nugget format – my friend’s mom makes the best Chicken Karaage and the next time you have indian food, try Chicken Pakora – tamarind sauce or mint chutney is a fun change from sweet & sour sauce or one of these other sauce suggestions. My current fave fried chicken experience happened in Vienna (VFC!) at Figlmuller Lugeck a wunderbar Schnitzel restaurant! And in a pinch, I’d even defend Chicken McNuggets deserving a spot on the fried chicken spectrum…! As Eater says – Fried Chicken is EVERYWHERE.

Whether it is for breakfast with waffles or at any other time of the day, in a bun or biscuit OR all on it’s own, not only is fried chicken Fun Food but all (!) accompanying foods ( e.g. potato salad!) are ALSO Fun Foods.

It’s Cinco de Mayo and…

AND that means Fun Food as well as history and celebration!! This informative CNN article outlines some background and Dos & Don’ts for the day.

While I decide where to go – Vancouver has great mexican restaurants – here are 14 mexican-inspired and VERY fun looking recipes from Brit & Co to try. I actually may just stay home and make their version of mexican pizza! And something with AVOCADO!

The convenience factor of a restaurant is magnified by the possibility of tequila and mezcal drink options. Mezcal is becoming more popular and this Thrillist article shares it’s long history and growing production & brands. But do read the CNN article as this day is not a day of drinking as St. Patrick’s Day has become…