Cooking for the Frugal: Chicken and Dumplings
Posted on 15. May, 2013 in Features
One of the things I hate most about college is spending all day in classes. When the weather is impeccable and all your friends are free, the last thing you want to do is sit in class all day.
But the worst part about having classes all day is, at the end of the day, having to ask yourself the question: What am I going to do about dinner?
The best purchase a college student can make is a crockpot. In a crockpot, your normal everyday college student can place several food items, go to class a… Read More
Pumped for Pain and Gain
Posted on 14. May, 2013 in Features
Forget the Mayans, the end of the world starts now. Why, you ask? Because, surely hell must be on the verge of freezing over or I wouldn’t be about to write a positive review of a Michael Bay film.
That’s right, you heard me right. The ahem-auteur behind such non-classic shoot-‘em-up/blow-it-up travesties as the Transformers franchise, the Bad Boys series, and Pearl Harbor finally got one right. It must be Armageddon, am I right?
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m under no… Read More
Summer cocktails that refresh and invigorate
Posted on 01. May, 2013 in Features
… Read More
As summer approaches, so will the need to be prepared for summer cocktail parties. To alleviate your summer cocktail woes, I’ve compiled a list of refreshing cocktails to beat the heat. Keep in mind that these measures can be tweaked to taste and are rarely replicated due to the imprecise nature of drink pouring.
Bellini
Ingredients:
Pureed Peaches
Sparkling wine, preferably Italian
In a champagne flute, combine 2 parts sparkling wine, and one part pureed peaches. This d
Birmingham’s peculiar personality
Posted on 30. Apr, 2013 in Features
I’ve lived up and down the East Coast as well as the West for much of my life. I’ve even spent a considerable amount of time overseas, and I’ve seen plenty of cities that are several orders of magnitude nicer than Birmingham.
Whether the city has a richer history, a more active economy, or a more colorful populace, the fact of the matter is that there are a slew of cities quantifiably better than Birmingham. However, there are a few elements of Birmingham that more than make u… Read More
Beat those no-bike blues
Posted on 30. Apr, 2013 in Features
A few weeks ago at the TEMPO bike festival, I ran across a new bike coop that had been founded quite recently by a burly mechanic who washes his hands with mineral oil. This hardcore bike enthusiast was Marcus Fetch, and he had a vision for the city. He envisioned a city in which bikes are used ubiquitously for transportation as well as for exercise and entertainment. In order to make this dream attainable for anyone, he decided to open a bicycle cooperative deep in the heart of Avon… Read More
Gosling steals hearts on screen
Posted on 26. Apr, 2013 in Features
The Place Beyond the Pines is a tricky movie to review because it’s actually a movie that’s better experienced than explained. It’s about a group of characters whose lives are hopelessly intertwined, yet to say precisely how would ruin certain aspects of the film at hand. It spans around 20 years, with certain characters dropping out and others becoming more or less prominent depending on where we are in the story. Probably the best thing to compare it to structurally i… Read More
Theta Chi Fundraiser
Posted on 24. Apr, 2013 in Features
On April 15, runners from across the world gathered in Boston to recreate Pheidippides’s famous flight from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to deliver a message which resulted in his death. Although this ancient soldier lost his life in doing so, the heroism seen that day is astounding. The events of April 15 were eerily reminiscent of the original Marathon. The race was punctuated by pain and death, this time on America’s soil, and the sadness of the event was only slight… Read More
Cooking for the Frugal
Posted on 24. Apr, 2013 in Features
The other day I was feeling a hankering for one of my favorite foods: chicken salad. I heard about a restaurant in Homewood that had a chicken salad to die for, so I popped over to try it. I was very disappointed in what was delivered to me. The salad was adorned with grapes, pecans and cranberries, and way too much mayonnaise. This chicken salad didn’t even taste like chicken due to the overpowering mayonnaise flavor.
I grew up with chicken salad being the simplest of recipes: ch… Read More
Best burgers in the 205
Posted on 24. Apr, 2013 in Features
For centuries, people have been eating steaks formed from ground beef with rolls on the side. These hamburger steaks were the precursor to the modern hamburger that is so iconic today. Part of the controversy behind the creation of the hamburger is the fact that the steaks have been eaten with bread for centuries, and that the combining of these two elements was never definitively documented.
Although the exact origins of the modern hamburger sandwich are unclear, there is n… Read More
The Meadows Minute; Birmingham’s Good People Brewery is carving out their niche in the beer world.
Posted on 23. Apr, 2013 in Features
For as long as man has known that fermentation can result in the most delectable of elixirs, there has been an art form in perfecting fermentation methods. Fermenting different fruits like grapes and persimmons; grains like barley, wheat, and rice; and even animal derived materials like honey can create delectable alcoholic beverages.
This practice has been around for ages and is older even than recorded history, which makes it no mystery that it has become such an integra… Read More