Tuesday Megalinks: The Barack Cookies/I Want Jill Biden's Boots Edition

Three things to love today:

1. New President! I loved the message of his inaugural speech: “Yeah, we’re a pretty cool country, but we gotta work at it, folks.”
2. My absolute favorite food blog, Words to Eat By, is back to regular entries after two years on the d.l. If you’ve never been, go now. Debbie’s chocolate chip cookies changed my life.
3. This week’s links are totally sweet. Tons of good stuff from Jezebel and the Kitchn, plus indie blogs a-plenty.

P.S. Google just acquired Feedburner, and not all of my feeds have been transferred yet. Let me know if you’re having difficulties.

Chow: 10 Tips for a Healthy Diet
I liked “Create a Salad Bar in Your Fridge,” “Investigate Funky Grains,” and “Eat Breakfast in Bed” very much. The other suggestions aren’t half bad, either. (“If It Has a Label, Don’t Eat It”? Ooo … provocative.)

Get Fit Slowly: Food Propaganda is Everywhere
When I first read this headline, I pictured Joseph Stalin standing angrily over canned tomatoes. But he has nothing to do with it. Girl Scout Cookies, on the other hand…

Get Fit Slowly: Portion Control – One Battle at a Time
MacDaddy struggles with one of my main downfalls: chowing down on too much of a good thing. He says, “I’m not good at eating just one serving of cookies, or chips, or ice cream. Nor am I good at eating one serving of chicken, or spinach, or blueberries.” He says more, too, but you’ll have to read.

Gourmet: Alice Waters’ Letter to Barack Obama
Chez Panisse’s main maestro offers her assistance as part of Obama’s “Kitchen Cabinet.” Ballsy and smart ideas from Slow Food's biggest American champion.

Jezebel: Is it Ever Okay to Tell Partners They Need to Lose Weight?
Question of the Century, folks, followed by an extensive comment thread arguing every possible scenario. Personally speaking, I would have been devastated. I knew I was bigger than I should have been, and didn’t need reminding. But I would have acquiesced his point, too. It was affecting the way I felt about myself, and in turn, it affected how I related to him. Tricky subject.

Jezebel: Are Women to Blame for the Loss of “Kitchen Economics”?
Man, another loaded question. Overall, I agree with the author’s main point: as a nation, our culinary skills have taken a dive since everybody started working five days a week. However, I’m not crazy about the way he pins it entirely on female full-timers. Guys can pick up a pan, too, you know.

Jezebel: Study Finds Women Have Harder Times Combating Food Cravings
Crap! I knew something was up.

The Kitchn: Easy and Portable Breakfast Recipes
Ten suggestions with plenty of follow-up ideas in the thread. And – homemade English Muffins? To put it simply, WANT.

The Kitchn: How Can I Make Healthier Instant Ramen?
The very first commenter seems to know of what she/he speaks: “If you don't want to actually go to the trouble of making your own: boil the ramen for about 2 minutes, instead of the recommended 3, then drain the water, and rinse, this gets rid of a lot of the oil used to preserve the noodles. Measure out ONE cup of water, instead of two, and only use half the package of seasoning. Add veggies, and bring to a boil. While stirring briskly, add an egg white (you're making egg drop soup, here), then add the noodles back in and boil until done.” Bravo!

The Kitchn: Meat Substitutes – Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em?
Vegetarians? This one’s for you. MorningStar seems to be a universal favorite among commenters, but having had their Chix Patties, this was to be expected.

Lazy Man and Money: How to Stock a Bar
This is much better than my bar (two liters of Curucao, half a pint of Irish Crème, and rum from the beginning of time).

Money Saving Mom: Making Your Own Baby Food
I would like to try this. Just need a baby. Anyone want to lend?

MoneyNing: Festival of Frugality #161
CHG’s “65 Cheap, Healthy, One-Dish Meals with Good Leftover Potential” post is included, along with some impressive entries in the Editor’s Picks.

Like Mother Like Daughter: Did You Have Fun Making Menus?
On the pleasures of eating at home AND the virtue of not ordering restaurant food you can just as easily make in your own kitchen. With pictures. (Thanks to Like Merchant Ships for the link.)

Scordo: Everyone Needs to Feel Wealthy or How to Live a Good Life Via Food
“Feeling good about buying stuff or a particular type of high-end lifestyle is not inherently a bad thing,” and for Scordo, that means good food. Different, welcome perspective on the occasionally high costs of decent living.

Serious Eats: Eating Well and Cheaply – Any More Ideas Out There?
Killer thread with suggestions for the farmer, suburbanite, and apartment dweller alike.

Wall Street Journal: How to Read a Wine Label
Did you know that a phone number is usually an indication of a good wine? And that alcohol content shouldn’t go much above 14%? Or that specificity rules? I didn’t. Now I do. (Thanks to Chow for the link.)

(Photos courtesy of BarackObama.com, and Flickr members mischiefmari and Dolands.)

Posted in: Links