Ode to a Sterno Cook Stove

My mother found this Sterno Cook Stove for at a garage sale earlier this year; I needed the Sterno itself, not the cook stove, but the cook stove came with the Sterno for the same price, so my mom bought the whole caboodle. I used the Sterno and saved the box and the cook stove—put them up on display (hey, I liked the graphics on the box).

OK, so Hurricane/Tropical Storm Sandy knocked out all our power (electric stove included) this week. And then I remembered this kitschy red box up on the shelf. Well, this little Cook Stove rocked up some coffee, some soup, and a bunch of other heatables until we were able to get our power back.

Nifty little folding trick, Sterno goes in the bottom.

Not so sure I'd use it to "heat baby's bottle", but hey, it was the '50s.

Aren't you?

Loud and proud at the Dunkin Donuts in Midtown.

Cheers, Chang

A meeting of the minds went down the other night at Bao Noodles in Gramercy. Designers B & S met for salt and pepper squid and a bucket of happy hour Chang beers to discuss the state of design today (stay tuned!). Our intrepid bloggers were charmed by the Tiger brand water glasses, Chang mugs and bottles, and the plastic bucket (which would make a great beach pail!).

When ham was king

Pat's mother's recipes remind me of a Woolworth's menu someone sent me recently, purportedly from the 1950's, when ham salad was all the rage. Later decades brought pork chops, bologna, pork rinds, and now bacon. What part of the pig will be next?

Onward, supermelt!

   

The poetry continues.

But it's a great name for a band.

There's just something so...bombastic, and summery, and, well...gross...about this signage.

And in deference to my Italian heritage, I feel I must register my complaint about pairing seafood with cheese/cheez.

The most Chelsea Papaya

I didn't expect anything less from this outpost of the papaya/hotdog stand.

Peep Sushi!

We've all seen the peeps in the microwave, and checked out the peep diorama contest in the Washington Post, but have you ever seen peep sushi (also known as Peepushi)? The rice is Rice Krispie treats, and the nori is fruit leather.

Brilliant! Conceived and created by Russ Marchand, who is the self-proclaimed child of Wink Martindale and the Devil!


Thanks to Noah Dziobecki for sending.

Coco Lopez...upended.

Scenario: a cruise through the grocery store. Sighting: death knell for the cans of Coco Lopez. While I admire the "thinking outside the box" (please excuse this tired phrase) of the packaging, I wonder if this is really necessary. Cans of cream of coconut are recyclable (and this plastic is not) and you can get every last bit out with a spatula.

So does the upside-down dispenser really improve this product for the competitor Coco Real? I suppose if you only wanted to make one piña colada it would be useful to have a container that you can close and put away in the fridge. But piña colada for one doesn't sound very fun, even if you only have to "simply squeeze".

Metallic food

Loving this edible metallic food spray. I am imagining spraying my entire breakfast, or a whole salad! Article here.















Thanks to Noah Dziobecki, designer extraordinaire, for sending.

Dirty Water

I've got my students making some packaging for a project this month. Meanwhile, taking a walk minding my own business, I spy this new beverage in a shop window with some compelling packaging.

This concoction is Dirty Water, which turns out to be tea. The blurb says that if "you drink this Dirty Water, a child will have access to safe, clean water for a whole year."

The website is less clear about what to do, but it's an interesting concept nonetheless. An informal poll of my class indicates that teenagers like to drink gross looking stuff. Especially ones with a cause.

Venice Daily Photo...Gondola Pasta

The blogsite Venice Daily Photo had a great shot of some strange looking pasta...in the shape of gondolas (or correctly pluralized, gondole).

If you don't blog feed this site, I recommend it. A little slice of La Serenissima every day!

Hasty Pudding

Trader Joe's often has nice and evocative packaging, but this pudding box design makes even the vanilla look fun!

Sushi Cupcakes

Amazing! Created by a blogger on NotSoHumblePie.blogspot.com!