Undercooked

Thanks for reading! Watch for my new blog, Window Shopping, to replace this one very soon.

• Eating a bowl of cereal after a workout seems to help replenish energy and rebuild muscle. The milk seems to be key.
• A study says 21 percent of meals consumed are snacks. One of the newest, served in upscale restaurants and bars, is artisanal pork rinds. (Bleh!)
• Read the basics of what the money you spend on food goes toward and what makes prices fluctuate.
• See a TV (Food Network?) food critic fail in this Fail Blog video clip.

Adam and I just tried KFC's new grilled chicken, and it was quite an adventure...

(Sorry for the lagging video... it's our computer's fault, not yours.)

Given my unbiased outlook, I'd say I enjoyed the new grilled chicken more. I get the greasy, comfort-food appeal of the original recipe chicken, but I enjoyed the seasoning mix that's more prominent on the grilled version. Its still as greasy as its fried counterpart, though, and I'm not entirely convinced it even touched a grill...

• Corporations' interpretations of "local" food vary, which is inciting a debate.
• A panel reviews all sorts of strawberry and vanilla yogurts.
• Cook-off "takedowns" are taking over NYC.
• Measuring ingredients when you're cooking will keep portion sizes in check. (P.S. I really want some of those rubber, expandable measuring cups!)

Here's what my lettuce looked like as of yesterday:

And my lettuce and herbs! Coming along nicely, if I do say so myself...

• An overhaul of the British food system has chain restaurants pledging to reduce calories, fat and sugar in popular dishes and to sneak vegetables into others.
• Some aspects of our food supply make food more likely to carry illness, but it's still safer than it was a decade ago, officials say.
• Senate leaders are considering enacting an excise tax on soda to pay for health care expenses.
• Name-brand food producers are making a mad dash to attract your money.
• If you're so inclined: how to identify and make Star Trek food.
• A claim on the Cheerios box is in question.

The Dish is back! I should tell you, though, that Undercooked will soon be gone for good. I'm switching blogging responsibilities to instead keep tabs on Columbus retailers in a blog that will be called Window Shopping. The switch will occur in the next week or so, and if you're interested in local shopping, I hope you'll follow me there!
Either way, I want to thank you for reading Undercooked! I enjoyed my year-and-a-half-long cooking adventure very much, and I hope to list some of my favorite recipes here again for you soon. For those of you who love my Taste Test Tuesday video on Adam's Cube, you'll still be able to find it on Adam's blog (http://columbusalive.com/AdamsCube)!

Now, on with the food news:

• Watch out for these claims and additives in groceries.
  
• All about freezing ingredients and entire meals to prolong their life or just use them later -- I love this!
  
• Food stamp enrollment was up again in February, the third month in a row.
  
• A burger of the month club in New York takes itself very seriously.
  
• Find easy vegan meals for those who don't know how to cook here.

I wanted to share some photos of the lettuce and herbs I'm growing in pots on my patio. These are a few weeks old, and I'll put up some more recent ones next week (they're getting big!)

Lettuce:

Parsley and basil:

No "Dish" tomorrow, so fill up with an extra helping today!

• This story about profit margins on fast-food chain deals is really interesting.
  
• And did you hear KFC ran out of grilled chicken?! I'm going to attempt to get my hands on some to try for "Taste test Tuesday."
  
• A UK study shows some baby foods are nutritionally worse than hamburgers or chocolate. Although the brands over there are different, this seems like an interesting issue.
  
• See a map of the concentration of organic farms across the country here.
  
• A food writer thinks there should be a "Top Chef: Home Cooks" edition, and she's got some ideas for episodes.
  
• Find some thoughts on Cook Yourself Thin, a new weight-loss/cooking show, from one of the hosts here.
  

I wrote a list of the "Top 10 foods that serve primarily as a vehicle for toppings." Haha! Check it out here.