Monthly Archives: May 2010

The Produce Department

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

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A close up shot of the finished product.

After making blueberry pancakes I still had a lot of blueberries left so I wanted to make something that would use as much as possible. I was browsing the internet for something I thought sounded good and I came across Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars on foodnetwork.com. I happen to really dig cheesecake and this recipe turned out to need a lot of blueberries.

I first had to take a trip to my local grocery store and purchase the ingredients as I had almost nothing that was required. Once I was home I began making the crust. I needed to smash up nine graham crackers, add sugar and cinnamon, then add half a stick of melted butter, mix it all up and break it down well. Having broken the crust down well, it needed to cook for twelve minute. With that in the oven I began making the filling.

In a large bowl I dropped in the cream cheese, eggs, and sugar and then proceeded to zest and juice two lemons. After mixing the filling well, which was conveniently around the time the crust was done, I dropped it into the cooled down crust. I then added 1½ cups of blueberries, making sure to spread them out better than I did with my blueberry pancakes. That needed to go into the oven for thirty-five minutes and cool for a couple hours before eating.

Once we started eating it, it went fast. I think I was a little overzealous zesting and juicing the lemons as the lemon taste nearly overpowered the blueberries, but I like lemons so I’m fine with that. If you don’t want the lemons overpowering the recipe, I’d recommend using two small lemons or zest and juice one large lemon. All in all it probably cost $40 to buy everything but the majority of the ingredients required a fraction of what was there.

The recipe

The Produce Department

Blueberry Pancakes

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Recently an idea popped into my head. I work in the produce department of a grocery store; I ought to eat produce often, not just for my health but to be able to answer questions like “how is this.” Currently I don’t eat totally healthy although I don’t eat terribly either. My plan is to buy something from produce and eat it straight or make something with it. The first item… blueberries!

A nearly empty case of Naturipe blueberries.

The blueberries were on sale: an 18oz container for $2.99, normally $5.99. They are super fresh as I purchased them on the day they were delivered; surely a benefit of buying fresh produce is knowing the delivery schedule. Naturipe is the brand and they are grown the US, specifically where, I’m not sure. The case says they are sold out of Naples, FL and checking Naturipe’s website showed me the location of their farms in Florida.

The blueberries are plump and juicy. Biting into one reveals the pale green flesh and a somewhat tart taste. My first thought was to make blueberry pancakes. I bought a case of Hungry Jack pancake mix for a couple of dollars and on the side of the box there is a recipe for blueberry pancakes which I decide to use. I made the batter, dropped in some blueberries and then off to the griddle I was.

Once completed, I got myself a plate, slapped some butter in between the pancakes and dug in. The initial pancakes only had a few blueberries in them whereas the last couple had upwards of eight. Next time I try blueberry pancakes, I’ll have to portion out the berries better. They added tartness to the pancakes and juiciness when bitten into. Personally I’d prefer to not have the whole blueberries and rather smash them together and make a glaze. The pancakes were very simple to make; all I had to do was make the batter and plop the blueberries in. All told, I spent about seven dollars: three for the blueberries, three for the batter and two for the syrup.

Nintendo DS, Reviews

Picross 3D – Review

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Before picking up Picross DS, I had only heard of picross through snippets in magazines and until I played it I had no idea why it received these mentions, when there had only been one game released in the US. Once I had got it, I was instantly hooked. I’m a fan of Sudoku and crosswords and for those who have never played picross, it compares to those games favorably to those kinds of games.

Notice the blue squares that have been marked in and the faded clues on them.

Before making the transition to 3D, picross was played in a grid (5×5, 10×10 etc.) and to complete it you’d fill in boxes by the clues given to you on the outside of the rows and columns; once completed, an image is revealed. I would have been happy with more puzzles for picross but instead they went and added another dimension which changes the game dramatically, yet it still retains familiar elements that make it picross.

In Picross 3D you are now given a 3D grid, that you can rotate and “look into” to figure out the image. Each image is completed the same as it has been in the past: each row and column still has the numbers that tell you how many of those boxes you need to fill in. The controls are superb and allow you to maneuver the starting grid easily and without any confusion. The game has a great, and lengthy, tutorial explaining every aspect of the game clearly and repeatedly which will help new players learn invaluable techniques and practice using logic to complete examples puzzles.

Creating a school bus with the creation tools.
There are more than 350 puzzles, and if my experience with the game is any indication, it’ll keep anyone busy for a long time. Whenever I play, I typically do a handful at a time or pop in some music when playing for extended periods; I seem to play it every night just before bed. Once you finish with the included puzzles, you can get online to download more, for free, for what looks like will be a long time to come. Even whenever I finish everything, I foresee myself going back and starting a new profile to do it all again, the game has a good ability to allow you that opportunity; once completed, I can come back to a puzzle and not remember how to quickly solve it, or remember the image until it’s revealed.

And if you’re the type of person that likes creating in games, Picross 3D also scratches that itch. There is the ability to create your own puzzles and then share them locally or submit them for themed contests. Without a dedicated community to share with, I can’t see the creation being that much of a draw, unless you have a friend or two who are into that aspect of games.

For only $20 it’s hard not to recommend, and with the amount of puzzles included, it’ll remain in your DS for a long time, but if you’re not a fan of games like Sudoku or crosswords, check it out before running to the store, regardless I highly recommend getting Picross 3D.

First Impressions, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Super Street Fighter IV – First Impressions

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Super Street Fighter IV Logo

I’ve always wanted to get into the Street Fighter games but have never tried or really had the chance. I bought a copy of Street Fighter II Turbo for the Super Nintendo a long time ago at a garage sale but I probably haven’t put in even an hour. Recently, while over at a friend’s house, we decided to pop in Street Fighter IV; coincidentally, this was a few days  before Super Street Fighter IV came out. My two friends were in a similar situation as me, they’ve played a bit of Street Fighter in the past but came away not liking it.

We played it that day and all that time was spent learning about the game. We were figuring out how to read the moves and what everything meant. This was a few hours of nothing but learning; we were fighting matches but they weren’t competitive.After this, I am of the opinion that if you want to get into a fighting game, you can’t do it alone, you need to have someone else who wants to learn as much as you do.

A day or so later my friend went out and purchased SSFIV and we’ve moved onto that. Throughout this I’ve stuck with Ryu, wanting to be able to perform all his moves on command (I still have trouble doing his Shoryuken and the two quarter circles for his Special and Ultras) but have tried a few other characters. They have each done the same thing, but with different characters. I have since purchased SSFIV and an arcade stick. The arcade stick, I think, has improved my technique and I can now play the game for long periods without a sore thumb. Now that I have the game I’ll probably write a review of the game once/if I play something besides versus.