Man Made DIY

On a recent visit to Minneapolis/St. Paul, I finally got a chance to try the elusive and much touted SweeTango apple, a few blocks of where it was first, um, invented? at the University of Minnesota agricultural campus.

And? It was good; I liked it. Some parts I liked a whole lot. The texture was very unique, and it had a nice balance of sweet and tart. If they were sold in my local market, I'd probably… read more

Cause honestly, how can you NOT make one of these the next time you enjoy a… read more

When you work from home, you look forward to little things that help break the day up: the mailman coming, the tornado siren test on Wednesdays at noon, the kids skipping along the sidewalk walking home when school lets out, and, most importantly, snack time. Often, it's just a handful of nuts, a bit of leftovers, but usually, a simple piece of fruit.

Which, after I saw this video last week, I've been turning into puzzles. Every… read more

Do you remember when you were a kid, and your friend's houses always seemed to have snacks that your parents never bought? For me, it was Capri Sun, frozen pizza, and Fruit Roll-Ups. I mean, yeah, I guess I appreciate my parents watching out for our health growing up, but boy, what I wouldn't have given for just one of those sweet, spiraly chewies after a day playing in the sun. Especially those ones that had the tongue tattoos! Oh man, remember?

In my late twenties, I still have a soft spot for those indulgences, and I've been known to sneak a box of Bagel Bites into the grocery cart. And my favorite thing to eat while on a road trip? Fruit leather, which is basically the grown-up version of a Fruit… read more

In the late 1990s, there was the brief phenomenon of How Are You Peeling?, in which some guy realized that fruits and veggies sometimes look like faces when they unevenly spurt from the calyx of their flowers. Calendars and email forwards ensued. You remember. 

Then, Carl Kleiner, the mastermind behind those amazing photos of ingredients from the IKEA cookbook, decided to play with the above idea...but, you know, make it way… read more