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Chances are you eat or drink while driving. Everybody does.
But is what you’re consuming on the list of the “10 most dangerous foods to eat while driving“? Chances are it is.
Here’s the list courtesy of insure.com*:
- Coffee
- Hot soup
- Tacos
- Chili Dogs
- Hamburgers
- Barbecued food
- Fried chicken
- Jelly donuts
- Soft drinks
- Chocolate
(I’m definitely guilty of #1, #5, #9, lots of #10, and a very occasional #8.)
In some cases, it’s not just the act of eating or drinking that’s the issue. It’s the resulting sticky fingers and the drips and spills on the steering wheel or your clothes post pig-out that cause the problem!
Of course food and drink are just some of the distractions (how about talking to others in the car, using a cell phone, changing the radio station or CD, programming the GPS, etc.) that when combined with the sudden need to swerve, slow down, or negotiate a curve in the road, can cause accidents.
I commute 75 km to work each day on a busy highway. I’ve seen drivers do many dumb things while at the wheel: eat cereal (with a spoon…from a bowl!), apply make-up, shave, read a paperback, text, write in a notebook…..
I should confess I’m not completely innocent when it comes to multi-tasking while driving. I have mixed a salad, wrapped a gift, and made notes for a presentation while behind the wheel. Not at the same time, mind you. And while stopped at lights, not while driving. Still, rather foolish things to be doing while I should be concentrating on driving, for the sake of myself and everyone else on the road!
(*Here’s the complete article including some safety tips while driving.)
Sabering a bottle of champagne is a party trick that would be impressive to pull off, but is probably one I won’t be attempting any time soon. I’d likely do serious damage to myself or someone standing nearby instead of cutting off the top of the bottle in dramatic fashion!
Dave Arnold explains how to saber a bottle of champagne or any type of sparkling wine in the French Culinary Institute‘s Tech ‘N Stuff blog, Cooking Issues. His video below shows the process in slo-mo (very cool!), and tips on sabering successfully are included in his blog post.
Happy Canada Day!
Thanks to my friend, Carol, for passing along the video for Canadian, Please. The song and video were produced by Julia Bentley and Andrew Gunadie. Want the lyrics? You’ll find them on YouTube.
Now go eat something red and white!
Strawberries and ice cream, anyone?
Maintaining the validity of online recipe comments
July 3, 2009 in Culinary Education, Recipes | Tags: All We Can Eat blog, ingredient changes, Jane Touzalin, recipe comments, recipe substitutions, Washington Post | Leave a comment
Allowing comments on recipes is the norm on many websites and most blogs. These testimonials can provide useful feedback to others who are considering the recipe, possibly filling in some missing steps, providing helpful suggestions about techniques within the recipe, offering flavour variations, and of course rating the likeability of the recipe.
Here’s where the “but” comes in. If an assessment of a recipe is given but the recipe has been made with significant changes and ingredient substitutions which have altered the nature of the dish (whether its taste, texture, appearance, size, etc.), then I wholeheartedly agree with what Jane Touzalin had to say in her Cooks Who Make Me Crazy post on the Washington Post‘s All We Can Eat blog. She suggests an 11th commandment – “Thou shalt not post reviews of recipes on Web sites if thou hast not actually followed the recipe — at least for the most part.” Amen!
Really now! Doesn’t it only seem fair to comment on a recipe as its written? For your comments to be valid, you really need to stay true to the recipe. And for recipe success, you need to remember that although the ingredients in many recipes are flexible, you can’t just go changing things willy nilly. It isn’t fair to complain about a recipe or comment negatively after you’ve switched up ingredients.
If you must make changes or ingredient substitutions to a recipe, keep it to a minimum and at the very least divulge how you altered the recipe, then comment on your own changes.