CHG Favorites of the Week

Awesome Standup of the Week
Jim Gaffigan on bacon
This awesome routine’s been making rounds all over the web lately, but it’s an awesome reminder of the awesomeness that is Jim Gaffigan. Also, awesome. And? Awesome. Thanks to Serious Eats for the awesome link. (Awesome awesome.)

Blog of the Week
FatFree Vegan Kitchen
One glance at November 27th’s Sichuan Tofu with Garlic Sauce, and you, too, will become obsessed with Susan V’s “health-conscious vegan” blog. The photos and prose are solid, and the recipes look tempting enough even for ardent carnivores. (P.S. Ardent Carnivores would be my band name. If I had a band. Or could play an instrument besides the flute.)

Development of the Week
NYC requires fast food joints to stick nutrition info on their menus
If the cholesterol content of Wendy’s Big Bacon Cheeseburger wasn’t enough to give New Yorkers coronaries, seeing it listed on a giant board next to their orders will. I love, LOVE this legislation, and wouldn’t mind if it was enacted on all menus, everywhere. (But that might be the Weight Watchers talking.)

Organization of the Week
CARE
Bestowed with a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, CARE's mission is helping the poorest of the poor A) survive, and B) eventually learn to sustain themselves. Food-wise, they focus on nutrition, agriculture, water, sanitation, and emergency relief in places like Afghanistan, Angola and El Salvador. Their website is extensive, and details donation and volunteer information for projects around the world.

Quote of the Week
“I was 32 when I started cooking. Up until then, I just ate.” – Julia Child

Tip of the Week
Buy a canvas shopping bag already, man. Epicurious listed the environmentally friendly tote as one of the best trends of 2007, and this piece at CharityGuide expounds on its benefits over both paper and plastic sacks. I scored one last year and cut my grocery bag consumption down to about one per week. Plus, it’s been much easier on my back.

Untried Cheap, Healthy Recipe of the Week
Apple Flax Muffins at Coconut & Lime
I confess to never using flax. Actually, up until a few minutes ago, I thought it meant “blonde.” (Wrong. That’s “flaxen.” Duh on me.) This simple muffin recipe uses it to great effect, however, and would probably make for a good breakfast.

Video of the Week
“Blueberry Hill” performed by Louis Armstrong
Satchmo’s rendition of the mellow standard isn’t about fruit, per se, but it’s just as sweet. Obligatory/unnecessary personal anecdote: ol’ Louis is buried in the same Queens cemetery as most of my (dead) relatives. (The live ones are buried elsewhere.)

(Photos courtesy of Flickr member missjdub and the Blogging LA website.)