CIA Redeems Itself With Krispy Kremes

This interesting story from Sunday's Washington Post describes how the CIA under director Leon Panetta has managed to rebuild relationships with key members of Congress. According to the Post:

After weathering a number of storms on Capitol Hill, including a face-off with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after the California Democrat accused the CIA of lying, Panetta has studiously cultivated his old colleagues, holding informal get-togethers with the Senate and House intelligence committees.

"It's Krispy Kremes and coffee," said Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairman of the Senate intelligence committee. "People are relaxed, the conversation is free-flow, and I think that is very useful."

And, as we all know, sugar and dough goes a long way toward smoothing over hurt feelings.

Savory, Versatile Ginger

I love the flavor of ginger in just about anything, from Thai food to gingerbread. So this article posted on the Washington Post's "All We Can Eat" blog caught my eye.

As Monica Bhide exlains in her blog post, ginger is one versatile food. And she offered this advice when you're shopping for fresh ginger:

When buying fresh ginger, look for pieces that have relatively smooth skin, without blemishes and wrinkles. Ginger keeps well in the fridge for up to a week. If I buy extra, I make a paste and freeze it. Many times I will grate it along with garlic and green chili peppers ...

Another thing that caught my eye is the recipe (at the end of the article) for double-ginger doughnuts. I recently combined olive oil, maple syrup and grated fresh ginger and tossed it with root vegetables (diced carrots, parnsips and brussels sprouts), roasting them for about 45 minutes. It was a marvelous side dish. And how's this for a beverage?

The NYC Doughnut War

The doughnut war has been launched in New York City. Canadian doughnut chain Tim Hortons has opened several outlets in the Big Apple, taking on Dunkin' Donuts.

According to an impromptu blind-taste test conducted by the N.Y. Daily News, Tim Hortons was the winner.

I love doughnuts that are created from scratch and cooked at the same place. But it's hard for me to get excited about a place like Tim Hortons. Whether it's better or worse than Dunkin' Donuts isn't the point. The real issue is why so many people are willing to settle for bland, mass-produced doughnuts whose dough was formed days or weeks earlier and then shipped many, many miles.

It's amazing that Tim Hortons has the nerve to use the tagline "Always Fresh." How the hell do they define fresh?

There are still a handful of places around the country that make homemade doughnuts whose taste absolutely puts Hortons or Dunkin' to shame. America, what happened to your taste buds?