CHG Favorites of the Week

Food Blog of the Week
Aapplemint
Sprinkled with beautiful pictures of exotic locales and colorful, tasty-looking dishes, Aaplemint, though infrequently updated, is worth a gander just the same. Kate’s food seems to specialize in out-of-the-ordinary ingredients, like jasmine and (for real) aloe. It’s a lot of baked goods, but there are other treasures here and there, as well.

Food Book of the Week
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
"The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take a tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die." Wow, what a phenomenal book. Essentially, a lost, sick mountaineer wanders into a tiny Pakistani town, is nursed back to health, and pledges to build a school there. One school becomes several dozen, and the Central Asia Institute is born. A must-read.

Food Comedy of the Week
Cookie Monster on Colbert Report
Have you ever realized how much a Peabody Award looks like a cookie? Cookie Monster has.

ETA: This was working this morning, and isn't now. However, it's still hilarious, and still available on Comedy Central's website. - Ed.

Organization of the Week
Central Asia Institute
“CAI’s mission: To promote and support community-based education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.” If that doesn't stir one to action, I don't know what will.

Food Quote of the Week
“You know the great irony is that people think you have to have money to enjoy fine food, which is a shame.” – Ted Allen

Untried Cheap, Healthy Recipe of the Week
Savory Mango Soup from Mark Bittman
If you changed the yogurt to low-fat and the coconut milk to no-fat, this would be oodles healthier. In the meantime – MANGO SOUP? Yes, please.

Food Video of the Week
“Orange Sky” by Alexi Murdoch
Such a beautiful song. In this case, it’s bizarrely set to an occasionally bloody fan vid for the CW series Supernatural. But hey – you take it however you can get it, right?



Totally Unrelated Extra Special Bonus of the Week
"Losing You" by Jan Terri
Ladies and gentlemen, the worst/best music video ever made.

(Photo courtesy of Rockford Schools.)