Blinged Out Water?

Would you spend $55 for a bottle of glorified tap water? Me neither. Apparently, though, some people would. Priced at $55 per reusable (we’d hope so) frosted-glass Swarovski Crystal-encrusted bottle, Bling H2O is the latest in “designer water” (I know, I know, I thought it was a joke, too) – a small segment of the bottled water industry that saw enormous growth a year or two ago when credit was plentiful. I remembered hearing about it in 2006, back when it was mostly relegated to the celebrity set. Paris Hilton’s dog, for example, was said to sip exclusively on Bling H2O water (probably while munching on dry, grain-filled kibble, no doubt).

Posted By: Mark Sisson

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It’s Not So Offal

MDA’s Quick Guide to Purchasing, Preparing and Eating Organ Meats

Everything but the Squeal, Thrift Cuts, Hunting Ethics… it would seem that in recent months we’ve spent a good deal of time talking about the benefits of feasting on the entire animal, but we’ve kind of side-stepped the fact that eating the whole animal also means eating the organs.

To some, organ meats are ho-hum foods of childhood, but to others, offal is an undiscovered – and somewhat stomach turning – culinary territory. Now, we’re not suggesting that everyone needs to eat organ meat in order to be perfectly Primal. Instead we’re endorsing offal as Primal food that has both fiscal and health benefits. Take a gander and let everyone know what you think in the comment boards!

Posted By: Worker Bee

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This is Why I Train

Sunday morning my friends Eric and Brandon joined me for a standup paddle workout off the Malibu coastline. It was an unusually warm day for mid-winter and we set out for a short jaunt to the pier at Paradise Cove, a little over a mile up the beach. We were cruising along at a good clip, and almost there, when a pod of 12 dolphins surprised us by surfacing near us heading in the opposite direction. And when I say near, I mean some of them were within a few feet – maybe inches – of our boards. Eric suggested we turn around and try to catch them. I was skeptical that we could go fast enough, seeing how quickly they had passed us, but after watching for a minute or so and seeing that they had slowed, we gave chase. Within a few more minutes we had caught up with them, almost as if they had been waiting for us, and we proceeded to paddle slowly with them for the next mile or so. It was incredible to see 12 of these magnificent creatures surface and dive – and expel their loud breaths – within just a few feet of us for so long. I’m sure they were having as much fun as we were. The water was fairly clear, so we could see them down to about 12 feet below us as they looked for food. A few were quite young, but several must have weighed 500-600 pounds. The three of us were in awe of how lucky we were to have hit upon just the right conditions. As we cruised south along the coastline in this motley little parade, many of the beach residents started gathering on their porches to check out the action. We drew quite a crowd.

Posted By: Mark Sisson

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A Visual Guide to Peppers

First I got this email from reader Rodney:

Dear Mark,

As I read yet another awesome recipe on your blog today I realized that you frequently include different varieties of pepper.  As someone coming from a lifetime of bland Midwest eating I wanted to suggest a future post on all things pepper.  I have no idea of the degree of hotness, best or most common uses, or even where to get them.  Chipotle, serrano, pasilla, jalapeno, …the list goes on.  If I was more educated I could then substitute the appropriate pepper if your recipe included a variety that was too hot, too hard to find locally, or whatever.  No need to reply, I just wanted to make a suggestion.  Thanks again for the ongoing education!

Rodney

And then this comment from reader Stacey:

Posted By: Mark Sisson

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Soft-Serve McNuggets and Hot Doctopus: Together at Last

In the early days of Mark’s Daily Apple we used to have a little fun every now and again by covering ludicrous processed food monstrosities. There was the pizza cone, the deep fried potato on a stick, the deep fried macaroni and cheese ball, the Oreo pizza, and the chocolate chip pancakes and sausage on a stick to name just a few. To call these things “food” is almost an insult to all the natural, whole, real foods that nature has given us. “Junk food” is the go-to term for this garbage, but can’t we do better? How about “synthesnacks”? “Fake-o-food”? “Machine-o-meal”? “Foodraceuticals?” Meh. It needs some work. (Coin your own fake food term in the comment boards.)

Well, we were looking through the archives, feeling nostalgic, and this got us wondering what sort of new crackpot culinary creations are making the rounds on the net.

Here are some of the latest worth a good laugh (or a few tears…):

Posted By: Worker Bee

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