Food of the year, 2009

The calendar's turn from December to January brings about reflection of the past year, fond memories, painful regrets, hopeful aspirations, and of course, Eric's announcement for Food of the Year.

This is the 4th annual award. You can read about past posts, but allow me to summarize the previous four recipients:
2006 = pita and hummus
2007 = guacamole
2008 = homemade smoothies

Many people speculate and try to predict which edible delight will win. None will do so correctly. I say that because this year's winner is a dark horse. So dark, in fact, that you may have never tried these two items together. But this new combination of salty and sweat is so tempting that it unseated a previous year's winner for my favorite after school snack! (sorry 2006, but 2009 is tastin' fine!)

My Food of the Year, 2009 is........
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PRETZELS WITH PINEAPPLE COTTAGE CHEESE!

Hold on--I know what you're thinking: that sounds kinda gross. When Sarah first introduced me to pretzels and cottage cheese, I thought the same thing. Weird, right? And I've always disliked cottage cheese my whole life! Well, one week, Sarah bought the pineapple cottage cheese flavor. I tried it with pretzels, and I loved it. The salt dances with the sugar in the pretzels to form a delicious duo. What's even more wondrous is that it's a healthy snack: each serving has 2% of my daily fat with 24% of the daily protein. So crazy!

Here are a few pictures of how I like my Food of the Year. Make it your New Year's resolution to try one in 2010:

Asian Carp crisis

This weekend, I learned about a crisis happening in the center of the Midwest: the Asian Carp migration.  Apparently, some folks in Arkansas brought in some scavenger fish from Asia to help clean.  The fish escaped into the main water source and have been traveling north along the Mississippi River ever since.

The problem with the carp is that they reproduce quickly, move fast, and destroy the natural food chain.  In addition, they get agitated when boats go by and jump out of the water.  This can cause injury and scares for boaters.

See this video for a rather vivid demonstration:


Right now, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio are battling Illinois in the Supreme Court to block the passage from the Chicago River into Lake Michigan.  The states argue that their ecosystems are in danger of being ruined by this invasive species.  Illinois doesn't want to block its locks because it has an economic interest in keeping trade open with other Great Lakes states!  And so the battle continues.

New Chicago Bears fight song

This pretty much sums up the last few years in Chicago Bears football:

(for reference, here is the official theme song, which makes it funnier)