Category Archives: Food

My Top 10 Top 10s of 2007

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Posted by Lloyd Morgan on January 5, 2008 – 3:30 pm
Filed under Everything Else, Food, Media (Films & Music), Photography, Politics, Sci/Tech

I’m afraid I’m lying to you all… this is not a list of my top 10 top 10s of 2007: one of these lists has 19 items on them and one even has 7. I’m sorry. Oh, and some of them don’t even have ‘2007′ in the title. I’m a bad person - I know I am - and for that I apologise.

Regardless, below are my top 10 lists of 2007. You know the ones - they proclaim to contain the best 10-or-so of something from the 12 months that have just passed? Come, soak up the nostalgia:

As a bonus, have the following too:

In Praise of Good Design

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Posted by Lloyd Morgan on April 19, 2007 – 12:29 pm
Filed under Food, Sci/Tech

Commonly made of wood or plastic, these everyday items also come in stone or glass varieties. You undoubtedly own one, as do the majority of households in the developed world. They’re simple and easy to use, but how can we improve them? I’m talking about the simple, seldom elegant, chopping board. And as for improving upon them, who would even think about it? What more can you do to a chopping board?

Chop2PotThat’s what I thought before I visited Dublin’s Urban Outfitters store and came across the Chop2Pot designed by Joseph Joseph and invented by Mark Sanders of MAS Design. This ingenious reinvention of a household staple was simple but effective - allow a rigid board to bend into a tapering shape to direct chopped food into a pan.

While it’s very easy to use (you just squeeze the handle), there are things you need to take into consideration. A small quibble of mine is that plastic just isn’t as hygienic as wood, but I suppose that’s the compromise you have to make, as you can’t make one of these out of wood, can you? But how about the longevity of the board? The continual bending of the plastic hinge will eventually cause it to break, meaning you’ll have to go out and buy another one, even if the board was still ‘usable’ in its ‘complete’ state. Regarding bacteria and discolouration? I currently replace my plastic chopping boards every year or so as with the variety of foods I use it for it gets discoloured quickly, becomes ‘messy’ due to the countless grooves cut into it, and builds up a cavalry of bacteria - the Chop2Pot will almost certainly be no exception.

But then again, it comes with a three year guarantee and costs only £10 ($20.10 haha!), so if it breaks you get your money back, and when it becomes too unhygienic or grooved to use (or too smelly if you’re a student) you can afford to throw it away and get another.

I won’t be getting one though, as a good quality butcher’s block - for three times the price - will, with proper care, last a lifetime. Plus, let’s face it: it’ll look a lot better in your kitchen.

Just like all the items on Don Norman’s ‘In Praise of Good Design’ page, the Chop2Pot is a mundane, commonplace commodity that’s been improved. “Hurrah for those who look at old things in a new light.” Indeed.

Why I Love Niche Blogs/Websites

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Posted by Lloyd Morgan on February 26, 2007 – 4:13 pm
Filed under Food, Sci/Tech

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day - that it kick-starts your body’s metabolism, stabilising your blood-sugar levels to regulate appetite and energy for many hours. I eat breakfast because I just like it!

My favourite breakfasts have, for a long time, been a combination of fresh fruit, frozen berries, yoghurt and something like natural peanut butter or honey which adds a bit of sweetness. Stick all of this in a blender and you’ve got yourself a ‘smoothie’ that’s healthy, fast and above all else, really tasty - a godsend of a combination when you’ve only got a few minutes in the mornings for breakfast. It’s easy to see why smoothies have become a multi-million pound industry in the last couple of years.

However I’ve been without a blender for about 6 months now and as a consequence my breakfasts have been quite boring (and my soups thin). At one point I did experiment with a homemade muesli/porridge creation but, whilst tasty, it just took too long to make - it was soon confined to the recipe book in my head. Tonight I am determined to fall asleep as the proud owner of a new blender.

What’s this got to do with niche blogs and websites? Well you see, I’m one of those people who will do their research on all prospective purchases - no matter how mundane the product - and these little recesses of the Internet are invaluable when it comes to this. Here, people who know what they’re talking about discuss and compare products on the features that actually matter and make choosing a reliable product that you have no idea about a breeze.

Much to my dismay I cannot find a blender-dedicated website, and I am very upset. Is there a make of blender that is far superior? Are there any features I should avoid or demand for my blender? What’s the minimum price I should spend on a blender to guarantee a fair degree of quality? Maybe buying it today is a bit ambitious after all.

This is my call to all blender-enthusiasts and all others who have a niche website inside of them: find an outlet for your knowledge online… we’re waiting for you.