Tuesday Megalinks: The Ides of April Edition

Chocolate & Zucchini: On Greens, and How to Keep Them Fresh
One genius’ strategy for preserving leafy thingies. Hint: paper towels are involved, so go grab some Brawny. (Thanks to Slashfood for the link.)

Chow: “By the Way, I’m Vegan”
Really interesting piece on how upscale restaurants deal with dietary restrictions. Turns out, folks with severe (life-threatening) food allergies are using something called The Card, which can be passed around the kitchen so nobody’s accidentally killed by a stray nut. (Speaking of – I knew a guy once with a severe peanut allergy. You couldn’t eat and shake his hand without washing in between, or it would seriously put his life in danger. That's, um, nuts. [Sorry.])

Culinate: Butter me up
How could something so deleterious to our arteries ameliorate our moods to such a degree? (Translation: How could something so dang bad taste so dang good?) Debra Gwartney explores her personal relationship with churned milk.

Festival of Frugality #121: Rather Be Shopping
Ah, the Tax Day edition. Happy April 15th, everybody! (And thanks to Kyle for making The Hour: How 60 Minutes a Week Can Save Hundreds of Dollars on Food an editor's pick! Yay!)

Frugal Upstate: Making Maple Syrup
Delicious, natural french toast topping, straight from Jenn’s driveway. This looks so neat, I guarantee you’re gonna wanna lick a tree afterward.

The Kitchn: How to Sear Meat
I originally, mistakenly read this as “How to Sear Men,” and wondered briefly if The Kitchn was dabbling in cannibalism. It didn't help that the very next post was about having an old friend for dinner. (Muahahahahahaha.)

The Kitchn: What Should I Do With These Lemons?
Because there’s only so much lemonade and lemon bars one can tolerate. (Hm. On second thought, that’s patently false. I think, if given the choice, I could survive on lemonade and lemon bars for about 400 years. There’s no downside here.)

Make it From Scratch Festival: This Wasn’t in the Plan
Alison takes over festival duties this week, and the very first post is about Cindy's super-sweet looking messenger bag made from spare plastic sacks. It's the ultimate in recycling, people!

MSNBC: Smallest salad wins in friendly food battle
Boy, this makes me crazy. Ladies (and gents), EATING IS NOT A COMPETITION. (Er, unless you’re a pro competitive eater, a la Kobayashi.) Please, go out there and have a burrito.

New York Times: Latest College Reading Lists – Menus with Pho and Lobster
Wow. This beats the everloving crap out of what we ate at school. More Broccoli Cheesebake and Turkey Tetrazzini, freshmen? (If you’re good, there’s a side of tots in it for you.)

Serious Eats: A Change of Heart Concerning Sandra Lee
Hm. It looks like Lee’s Chefography special might have softened some attitudes toward her. She DID pull her family through some pretty tough times, so maybe she’s not all bad?

Serious Eats: The Boundless Value of Disposable Chopsticks
Chopsticks: they’re not just for hunks of raw fish anymore. S.E. has eight creative uses for free sticks, plus a few other suggestions for random bits and pieces located around the kitchen.

Serious Eats: Tips for Enjoyable Drinking Without Going Broke
A few nice tricks for the teetotalers in your life. Best idea: don’t use good liquor for mixed drinks. High-quality booze should be sipped on its own anyway, and milk/mix will dilute the fabulousness.

Simple Dollar: Eight Questions About the Current State of the Economy and How it Affects You
This has very little to do with food, but it’s a MONSTER post nonetheless. Trent explains in layman’s terms the ins and outs of the subprime mortgage crisis, and what it will mean to Joe Sixpack. A must-read.

Slashfood: Breast milk cheese, anyone?
Is it a delicacy? The ultimate in frugality? Or a terrible, terrible hoax? (Please don’t try this at home to see.)

Wired: How to Shop and Eat Locally
Brief, informative article on CSAs and 100-mile grocery plans. This is a great magazine, by the way, whether you're a World of Warcraft player or just a secret mad scientist. (Thanks to Lifehacker for the link.)

Wise Bread: Eight Natural Ways to Make Water More Flavorful
Does hydrogen dioxide bore you? Could your daily hydration use a little more je ne sais quoi? Should throwing back some aqua bring on such endless bouts of ennui? Never fear – Wise Bread is here, with a few boss tricks to jazz up your Evian.

(Photo courtesy of Flickr members cookthinker, foodmuse, and smokeyrockford.)