King of the Nerds 2x06 "Nerds to the Rescue"

As they were suspecting, this was the last week the two teams were going to be teams heading into the Nerd War competition. Chris decided he would try to stir the pot with Zack and get him riled up so he wouldn't be able to focus. This ended up sort of backfiring as it made him and Jack more determined to win, but valiant effort?

Indeed, math can be hard without paper.

This week's Nerd War was pretty fun. Last year they did something with driving hovers through a maze-like situation, but this year they changed it up. The team had to get through a field of lasers, then solve a math problem at the end in order to free George Takei from his cage of doom. But there was an added twist to getting through the laser maze. The person going through said maze had to be blind-folded, while the other directed them through. Any time one of them would hit a laser, they would have to stand there for an entire minute before starting again. Once they were through the maze, they would then have to solve a math problem involving Tribble procreation to open Takei's cage.

The -ack team (Zack & Jack) were obviously the two from Midas Touch Attack going in, as they're the only two left, with Zack directing Jack through the laser beams. From the Titans of Rigel, Chris would be directing Brian through, since Brian is the smallest and Chris is kind of their leader. It was pretty hilarious how quickly the -acks managed to get through the maze while the Titans floundered. They didn't even get through the whole thing before Jack was working on solving the math equation, which ended up being part of the Fibonacci Sequence (that's what Jack said it was, anyway). I mean, Jack is a statistician, I hope he can solve a math problem. So, yes the yellow team finally pulled through with a victory. They got to go visit the Legacy Effects Studio as their prize, while Chris got to re-think his push button strategy.

Goodbye Chris!

This meant the Titans were finally going to be sent to a Nerd Off for the first time in an eon. They were pretty sure that the -acks would be sending in Chris since he was annoying them so much, so that left them with the decision about who on their team they should also send in. Some advocated for Kayla since she knows science fiction, but she decided to push for Brian to go in as he knows just as much, apparently. In the end, her gambit worked, and it was the laser maze team going up against each other.

The Nerd Off this time was two-fold. First, they each had to answer science fiction-related questions. Then, if they got the question right, they got to fire a nerf gun at some ships. Some ships were worth more points, etc. So whoever got the most points in the end would be victorious. Brian did better at first, but then Chris started to have a comeback, and I was wondering if we were in for a similar ending to when he went up against Kelsey. But, no, in the end, Brian proved victorious, sending Chris packing.

So, yes, one of the top three vote-getters in my poll of who you all would like to see win was ousted this week. Now that the competition is going to be more individual, I'm wondering how much of a chance Xander has in this thing. He's been kind of riding on his teammates coattails of late, not competing in this week's or last week's Nerd Wars. Even though he is definitely the most likeable, should he really win? Kayla is now the only girl left, so I'm wondering if the producers will try to keep her in despite whatever may go on, if they are that puppet-y. And what happens now that everyone is going up against Zack alone? No one wants him to win, but who can defeat him? Things are winding down in this competition, so we'll find out soon enough! Vote again for who should win now that Chris is out!

Who do you want to win?
	Brian
	Jack
	Kayla
	Xander
	Zack
pollcode.com free polls

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Supernatural 9x14 "The Captives"

After an Olympics-induced three-week hiatus, the show is back. Lest you think maybe they were going to let Kevin stay dead, this episode just went down the rabbit hole of what's become so very wrong with everything. Death doesn't mean much anymore to us as viewers, because lo, they can just come back as ghosts.

Ain't no respect for hipster demons.

Lest you think I am giving anything away, put that thought to rest. Within the first few minutes of the episode, the brothers are haunted in the bunker by some ghostly being, and theorizing that it can't be any decades-old ghost just now showing its face, it must be Kevin, despite Dean burning his body. Yep, he's there. Because he can't get in to Heaven due to the whole Metatron thing, so he's stuck in the Veil. Yada yada, he's heard from another ghost that his mom is still alive and tasks the Winchesters with finding her to set things right.

Meanwhile, Castiel is in pursuit of Metatron. He meets up with some dude who was following an angel lady named Rebekah, but this faction has been slowly killed off by Bartholomew, who has a couple of his angel minions take Castiel to his place to have a nice little sit down chat about how they used to be friends and fought together and blah blah, he wants to work together to find Metatron and be the leaders of the angels.

Sam and Dean track the ghost Kevin heard it through the grapevine with to a shady storage facility. Storage facilities can be quite shady, in fact. It turns out that indeed, Mama Tran has been kept in this storage facility for quite some time now. At first, she used to get regular visits from Crowley along with his young demon cohort, but after awhile Crowley stopped coming. Hmm, I wonder why? That left the demon dude to stew in his juices and get altogether cranky. He whacks Dean over the head, but Sam and Mama Tran work together to get her out of her cell and she gets the honors of killing her torturer.

Just your normal, angel-to-angel chat about killing.

Back in Bart land, Castiel is on the verge of feeling somewhat accepting of this plan to unite, until Bartholomew wants to start killing off angels who don't see things their way. This, naturally, leads to fisticuffs, which, duh, Castiel wins. He tries to take the high road, but ends up stabbing Bart in the gut for his trouble. One good thing comes of this, however - he gets some of Bart's followers on his side now, ready to help him out.

The brothers bring Mama Tran back to the bunker and reunite mother and son, despite one being, you know, a ghost. She wants to keep Kevin with her (he's tied to the bunker by an old ring of his father's that she can take with her) until they get the gates to Heaven open again. Kevin tries to give the guys some real talk about getting the hell over their drama, but Sam is having none of that quite yet, and storms off to his room mere seconds after the Trans leave.

Random Thoughts:

- For being an episode about the overall arc of the season, this one felt pretty non-important. Not really a whole lot going on.

- I'm sick of dead people coming back, downright sick of it. Death has so little meaning anymore, I'm not sure what could give it meaning again.

- I am happy, however, to see that the *spoiler alert* Ghostfacers are going to be back for the next episode. Their episode in season three is actually one of my all-time favorites. I know some people don't agree, but you're just downright wrong, I tell ya! Hilarity.

- How much longer is this drama between the brothers going to go on? Please dear GAHHG not much longer.

Quotes:
Not a lot this week. Boo hoo.


Kevin: It's bad in here. Like DMV line times infinity bad.

Kevin: My mom's taking home a ghost. You two, you're both still here.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

Underappreciated Gems: Fastlane

Guns in our waistbands like what.

You may find this latest addition to my underappreciated gems posts surprising. As in, you may be surprised that I watched it. And liked it so much. That show is Fastlane. The show, starring Peter Facinelli, Tiffani Thiessen and Bill Bellamy, lasted only one season back in the early 2000s, which is a damn shame.

The premise wasn't anything too mind-blowing. Two mismatched cops are forced to team up together under the direction of a lieutenant who has her own secret undercover operation based out of the Candy Store. Anything they seize in the line of duty, they then keep and are able to use in the future - anything from cars to guns to whatever else they can use to blend in to the criminal world.

I know, you read that and you think, no wonder this show didn't last. But I'm telling you, it was actually good. There was something addictive about it that just worked. Honestly, a lot of it had to do with Peter Facinelli. Though Bill Bellamy probably seemed funnier on paper, Facinelli really sold it as Van. The three of them had good chemistry in general, which is not always that easy to find on TV.

The show was a blend of action, comedy and, well, scantily clad ladies, including Tiffani Thiessen, she of former Saved by the Bell squeaky clean-ness. Yes, there was an episode that featured her character Billie stripping down and macking on another hot lady. There was always an abundance of hot ladies, okay? And normally that would be something that I would roll my eyes at, but couple that with flashy direction and really fitting music, and it didn't matter. It just made the show more whole, honestly.

What's really upsetting is that things were just starting to get interesting for the main characters when the show got canceled. It's just sad when you get no real closure to a thing, because there was a bit of a cliffhanger left there dangling on the edge. But we've all been there before. That would be bad enough. But do you know what is the most upsetting thing about the show being canceled? Unless you were one to, ahem, procure said show back before regular DVD releases were a thing, there's no way to get an accurate copy of the show now. Yes, there's a DVD version available on Amazon, but from what I've read, it doesn't have the original music (a large part of the show), and, what's worse, even though the show was shot and shown in widescreen, the DVD is pared down to the square size of what TV shows used to be. That would be okay if that's how it was shot and originally shown, but it wasn't, so it truly makes no sense. They were going for something more cinematic, and were a bit ahead of their time in that respect, so it's really crappy the show is treated so dismally on DVD.

I just got a little heated there, didn't I? So, yes, I'm telling you about a show you should watch, but there's no legal way to watch it the way it was intended. You can buy the DVD set or even watch it on Amazon Instant, but it's not quite the same. Nonetheless, you can give those a try, or if you can get your hands on some of the originals, I would recommend those. Some of my favorite episodes are below, though I think I pretty much liked every single one.

Favorite Episodes
Ray Ray (1x06)
Defense (1x13)
Offense (1x14)
Dosed (1x21)
Iced (1x22)

King of the Nerds 2x05 "Trek Wars"

Sigh. No sooner had I decided a certain contestant was one of my favorites, than that contestant was sent packing! Curses! Anyhow, this week's episode featured a theme that we also saw last season - debate! Whereas last season the debate was about superheroes, this season featured one of the greatest nerd debates of all time. If you don't already know what that is, then perhaps you're not a Nerd. That's right, I'm talking about Star Wars versus Star Trek.

It's all fun and games until you start shooting plasma beams.

Midas Touch Attack got to pick which side they wanted to fight for first, and they chose Star Wars. You'd think maybe it might have been better for them to pick Star Trek since they know Kayla is a huge Trek fan, but in the end they picked the one they thought they could fight better for. What they didn't expect was to find that Jack has not seen either of the two franchises, and does not even know what the Millennium Falcon or Enterprise are. Egads! On the other team, Xander decided to sit this one out while Kayla, Brian and Chris fought for Trek.

When it came time to debate, the most exciting judge this time around was Billy Dee Williams, everyone's favorite Lando Calrissian. Another judge was the head of debate at USC and Kumail Nanjiani. And then it was time to debate!

Kayla and Katie started it off with a debate on whether the Enterprise or Millenium Falcon would win in a dogfight. Despite my actual belief that probably the Falcon wouldn't stand much of a chance against the Enterprise, surprisingly Katie won with her points that it could get in and out quickly since it was much smaller. Point one to team yellow. Up next was Chris versus Zack. Their question of contention was whether the Empire or the Borg were more dangerous as evil entities. Here, Chris' debate training really helped him out, and he took that one home for the Titans of Rigel. So, for those keeping track, that's 1 point for each time. Down to the final debate, Brian versus Jack, and whether the Wars or Trek universe was generally better. Jack, knowing not much of anything about the series, decided to go from a purely statistical standpoint, comparing the monetary value and general public feeling for each series, with Star Wars coming out on top. But Brian came at it differently, arguing more on the basis of story and what the purpose of each series is, and won for his efforts. So, that's a continued win streak for team purple.

Farewell Katie and her awesome purple hair!

So, Midas Touch Attack was in for yet another Nerd Off. Zack and Jack basically told Katie that, despite her being the only one on their team to win a point in the debate, they would be voting her in to the Nerd Off because she was really still on the Titans of Rigel's side. I mean, look at her hair. The titans did try to sway Jack to instead vote Zack, arguing that they would be more on his side if he did, as they would be voting him in either way. In the end, their efforts were for naught, as Jack voted for Katie to go in. Thus, it was Katie and Jack in the Nerd Off.

A Nerd Off of spelling! Now, this is one based more purely on skill than any of the others we've had so far. Or, at least, memorization ability. While Zack helped Jack to memorize a bunch of science fiction and fantasy words about stuff he had basically no knowledge of, the others all helped Katie, who apparently is not the best speller. Sadly, I think we could see where this was going. In the Nerd Off, each player also had to pick someone who would get shocked any time they spelled something wrong, so there was a double whammy of pressure for them to get things right. Things were close, so close that it came down to one final point. A point that involved spelling a word that Zack had been drilling in to Jack a bunch of times, which my boyfriend pointed out seemed a bit fishy, as the producers were likely able to see that too and could therefore weight the questions in Jack's favor. Do we believe in such trickery? Hmm.

So, yes, Katie ended up losing, which is a shame because she was definitely one of the people who seemed the most like she was having a genuinely good time, and actually cared about the other people there. It was interesting to note it seemed like she only hugged her other purple team members and not Jack or Zack, but then they did kind of stab her in the back. All I know is, if Zack wins this whole thing, it will only make him worse. They dialed back some of his shenanigans this week, but he was still sniggering in the background through the whole Nerd Off any time something went in Jack's favor.

Well, that's it for this week! Kayla is now the only girl left in this competition! Eeesh! Vote below for who you'd like to see take it all.

Who do you want to win?
	Brian
	Chris
	Jack
	Kayla
	Xander
	Zack
pollcode.com free polls

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Cornflake Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies make me feel super fancy. Not because they're particularly complicated, but because I used an actual gram measure scale when making them. What! I know. Super fancy times.

Also? These cookies are a replica of one of the famous Momofuku Milk Bar's cookies. Well, not a replica necessarily, because they actually come from Christina Tosi's cookbook, which also features their Crack Pie, among other things that I will surely be trying in the future. The recipes are pretty funny sometimes because they are all basically references to other recipes in the book. So basically, there are a lot of bases for you to work into multiple recipes. These particular cookies only use one such base - the Cornflake Crunch. And man oh man, you can just munch on the crunch all by itself and you would probably be happy. But go for the whole shebang and make the cookies, you won't regret it.

One thing I must tell you - these cookies are BIG. Like, the size of my hand huge. Only make six to a pan, and even then make sure they are spaced out or they will run in to each other. I wonder if mine spread a bit more than intended, but it doesn't matter, because they taste pretty great anyway. They're not too sweet, but sweet enough to satisfy that dessert craving. The edges thin out and crackle thanks to the marshmallows, while the middle stays nice and chewy with the interesting texture provided by the cornflake crunch.

I'm going to include both the grams and the cup measures below, as I know most people, including myself up until this last weekend, don't have kitchen scales to get fancy with it.

Cornflake Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies
Author: Jen @ Fresh From The…
Servings: 12 Cookies
Prep time: 01:15

Cook time: 00:18

Total time: 01:33

Christina Tosi's Cornflake Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies, from the Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 225 g (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 250 g (1 1/4 cups) granulated sugar
• 150 g (2/3 cup packed) light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 g (1/2 teaspoon) vanilla extract
• 240 g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 2 g (1/2 teaspoon) baking powder
• 1.5 g (1/4 teaspoon) baking soda
• 5 g (1 1/4 teaspoons) kosher salt
• 270 g (3 cups) Cornflake Crunch, below
• 125 g (2/3 cup) mini chocolate chips
• 65 g (1 1/4 cups) mini marshmallows

Instructions:

1. Combine the butter and sugars in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment; cream together on medium-high for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the egg and vanilla; beat for 7-8 minutes.
2. With the mixer on low, add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until the dough is incorporated, no longer than 1 minute. Scrape down the sides again.
3. Still on low, beat in the cornflake crunch and mini chips no more than 30-45 seconds until just combined. Then mix in the mini marshmallows until just incorporated.
4. Use a 2 3/4 oz ice cream scoop or 1/3 cup measure and portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined pan. Pat the tops flat, wrap the pan in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to a week.
5. Preheat the oven to 375°F once you're ready.
6. Arrange the chilled dough bits at least 4 inches apart on your parchment or silpat-lined pan. Bake for 18 minutes. At that point, they should be brown on the edges and just starting to brown in the center. If too doughy, leave in 1 more minute.
7. Cool the cookies completely on the pan before transferring to wherever you're going to serve or keep the cookies. They should keep for 5 days.

Cornflake Crunch
Ingredients

• 170 g (5 cups)cornflakes
• 40 g (1/2 cup) milk powder
• 40 g (3 Tablespoons) granulated sugar
• 4 g (1 teaspoon) kosher salt
• 130 g (9 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 275°F.
2. Pour the cornflakes in a medium bowl and crush with your hands until about 1/4 of the size. Add the milk powder, sugar and salt, toss to mix. Add the butter and mix to coat, creating small clusters.
3. Spread the clusters on a parchment or silpat-lined sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes. Your house will smell buttery and amazing.
4. Cool completely before using in the below.

Recipe via Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook

In Photos:

First, get your hands in to those cornflakes and crunch them up to about 1/4 the size.

Then toss in your sugar, milk powder and salt.

And let's not forget the melted butter. Mix that on in too.

Spread that out on a silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 275F for 20 minutes. Your house will smell amazing while this is happening.

It will be just slightly browned and altogether delicious. Now let that cool completely before you use it in a bit.

Now, on to the dough. Beat together your butter and sugars for a few minutes until it's all incorporated.

Then add in your egg and vanilla and beat for 7-8 minutes. Yes, you heard that right, 7-8 minutes. The egg will make the dough puffy and fluffy in that amount of time.

And then it's time for your dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just incorporated. Don't overdo it.

Then it's time to add in your cornflake crunch and chocolate chips. Give it a quick mix.

Finally, add in your marshmallows. Another quick mix.

Scoop out about 1/3 cup size cookies and put them on a sheet, cover 'em up, and refrigerate for at least 1 hr or up to 1 week.

After the dough is good and cooled, preheat your oven to 375F and space those suckers out 4 inches apart on your silpat or parchment-lined sheet. I did six to a sheet and that seemed to work best. Bake for 18 minutes until the edges brown and the middle is still light.

Let them cool completely on the pan. This is when a second pan comes in handy.

And voila! A pile of giant cookies to eat to your heart's content! Your metaphorical heart, not your literal one, because it is probably not quite as happy about the cookie eating.

King of the Nerds 2x04 "Ready, Set, Robot Dodgeball"

Katie prays to the Nerd gods, while the rest of Team Midas Touch Attack looks downtrodden.

As I guessed last week, with the teams becoming so uneven in numbers, right off the bat the two teams were told one member from the Titans of Rigel would have to join Midas Touch Attack. Of course, all the purple players were less than thrilled to hear this, as that was the very last thing that any of them wanted. They were to all draw colored coins out of a bag to see who would pull the yellow, but that didn't much matter, because first up was Katie, and she got it on the first try.

Which seemed like a boon to the yellow team considering this week's theme - robots! With Katie being a roboticist, the yellow team now had a distinct advantage. Except that their worst enemy was still lurking within - that of distrust, animosity, general unkindness and wackadoo dissent coming from Zack. He did seem to at least try a tiny bit to be nicer to everyone this episode, but there seems to be some kind of inherent belief within him that he is better than everyone else, that his efforts were probably not as high as others would be.

Anyway, the competition was one of robot dodgeball. Each team had to create four robots that would be used in said dodgeball match. Except, one team would be picked for, basically, better looking robots, making the other team lose one of theirs before starting the dodgeball. As has been the general way of things for the last few weeks, the Titans of Rigel had more flashy robots with a more cohesive theme to them, so they came out on top in that competition. And, sadly for the yellow team, they won the whole shebang in the end too. It was actually very close, but in the end Zack messed up with his robot controls and his robot got hit. This led to a downward spiral for him, basically tirading at himself for once, which Jack thought was more mature of him to believe it was his fault, but then Zack was like uh no, it's not really my fault. Sigh. So close. So far.

Goodbye, Nicole!

And, thus, it was Midas Touch Attack's third go in the Nerd Off. Zack was hoping his team would not vote him in yet again, but despite Nicole assuring him she wouldn't vote for him, that was not to be so. Sorry, dude, but you're mean and a bit unhinged, and the truth is no one wants to have to continue to babysit you on their team. The Titans of Rigel pick Nicole to face off with him in the challenge, hoping that this time she would beat him. They were actually getting smart this time, thinking that it might be hard for anyone to beat Zack when it comes down to an individual competition, considering his wins so far.

The Nerd Off was a game of Zombie Kerplunk. And, I don't know, can you really be good at kerplunk? Again, it seemed another game mostly of luck rather than skill. Sure, you can sort of see when certain pole are going to drop more stuff, but on the whole not really. So, despite pretty much everyone rooting for Nicole to win, and Zack hooting and hollering throughout the competition every time she did well and he didn't, she ended up losing. Sigh. The way Zack whined throughout that thing? Oy. I mean, the person going up against you shouldn't have to console you throughout, and then be the bigger person once she loses, just saying.

So, yes. Nicole lost, leaving Zack in this competition again. The real question now is, who the heck can beat him? Will any of the Nerd Offs be actually based on skill rather than a healthy heaping of luck? And did you enjoy seeing some of the past contestants as a few of the zombies during the Nerd Off?


Previous Episode -- Next Episode

Soft and Light Sugar Cookies

You know what I've realized? I'm a person who only gets her hair cut once a year. It's true. Sad, maybe, but true nonetheless. It's not that I don't like to get my hair cut, even. I mean, who doesn't love the part where they massage your scalp with the shampoo and conditioner? There's really no explanation other than laziness, I suppose, and that it takes nearly a year for my hair to start looking scraggly. Oh well. The point is, I got my hair cut last night after nearly a year. Inches to the floor, gasp! It's so light and bouncy now, it's weird.

These cookies are also light! Maybe not bouncy, because I'm not sure how a cookie could really be bouncy in a good way, but soft and light and melt in your mouth delicious. With Easter coming up in April, you would not be remiss to bake these along with some Chocolate Chip Easter Egg Cookies for a full on spring cookie-palooza. I know, I'm talking about spring when it still feels like we're in the dregs of winter. Winter in LA being, you know, the 60s during the day.

Also? These are SO EASY to make! No rolling them out and cutting them, even though that is fun to do with sugar cookies. But these you can just add some sprinkles and you're good to go, which makes them really versatile for any holiday, really. President's Day? Some red, white and blue stars! St. Patrick's Day? Duh, hello shamrocks! Or you can go totally sprinkle free for your regular old Sunday. You get the drift.

Soft and Light Sugar Cookies
Author: Jen @ Fresh From The...
Servings: 30 Cookies
Prep time: 00:10

Cook time: 00:12

Total time: 00:22

Nobody likes a hard sugar cookie – these are perfectly light and soft and especially delicious warm out of the oven!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• sprinkles optional

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon liner and set aside.
2. Cream together the butter, oil and both sugars until well-combined. Beat in egg and vanilla for about a minute. Add in baking soda, cream of tartar and salt and mix to combine. With mixer on low, slowly add in flour until just combined.
3. Drop dough onto lined sheets in tablespoon-sized dollops. Add sprinkles if desired, and bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are just starting to get gold.
4. Let them rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe via Cookies and Cups

In Photos:

Beat together your sugars, butter and oil.

Then add in your egg and vanilla.

And after you've added your dry ingredients, your dough will look all yummy and dough-like.

 Scoop those out onto your parchment or silpat-lined cookie sheet.

Get sprinkly with it, if you so desire.

Bake those at 350F until the edges are JUST starting to brown. Don't overbake or you'll be sad. Let sit on the sheet for a few minutes before you remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

 These are really great warm, and you can always give them a little 10 second zap in the microwave after they've cooled to get that warm cookie deliciousness we all know and love. They'll be good in an airtight container for about 3 or so days.

Melt Organic Butter Review & Giveaway

Congratulations to winners Jackie Villano and Leanne Cobbledick!

In my house growing up, it was all about the margarine. Sure, maybe you would use real butter when baking cookies, but for everyday use, for the buttering of bread and potatoes and sundry vegetables, it was all about the margarine. Some Country Crock, some Blue Bonnet, some Gold N Soft.

I don't know about you, but growing up on margarine makes just regular butter seem kind of bland when just spread on things. Not to mention how difficult spreading regular ole butter is. But there's been this whole movement against margarine. You know, it's bad for you. And truly, it is. Partially hydrogenated oils and whatnot are obviously not something good for the body. There are many alternatives out there nowadays to get your margarine fix without the actual margarine.

Melt Organic contacted me about trying out their new butter spread, and I thought why the heck not? Instead of partially hydrogenated whatever, they use a combination of virgin coconut oil, palm fruit oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, and flaxseed oil to give you the nice buttery flavor your young self became accustomed to, without all the nastiness.

So what's my opinion on the product, you may wonder? I actually really like it. It looks more like regular butter than your average margarine, melts very much like regular butter as well, and is easily spreadable. All important factors. And what about the taste? It's a bit less "buttery" than your average margarine spread, or I guess I should say it's a bit less "margarine-y" as it tastes more like regular butter. I was concerned there may be a slight coconut flavor since I am not a huge coconut fan, but while there is a twinge of sweetness, it's not necessarily coconut flavored.

Since I had two coupons, I decided to also give the honey version a try. Honestly I was not as big of a fan of this one. It's kind of a honey/cinnamon blend, so if you really like to have cinnamon sugar toast, you'll probably enjoy it more than me, but I found myself hardly ever wanting to use it. That's really probably just a personal preference thing and nothing against the product itself, I just found it maybe to be a touch too sweet.

There has been some brouhaha about the fact that Melt touts itself as being an alternative to butter when it actually contains organic ghee (clarified butter) in the ingredients, which makes it a milk product after all. So, if you're looking for something that does not have butter/milk in it, this won't be for you. But if you're looking for something as a healthier alternative, then perhaps Melt is the way to go. I will note that it is gluten free, for those that are not gluten friendly.

Now the fun part - YOU can get in on the action and try out Melt too!

Win a prize pack of one cutting board, one spreader, and coupons for free Melt Organic spread.

ENTER HERE

The giveaway will end on February 28th at which time Melt will randomly select one winner per participating blog. I will then notify the winner here so they can claim their prize.

Disclaimer: I received vouchers for Melt Organic buttery spread, so it was free. I also received a complimentary cutting mat and spreader as shown in the above photo. I was not otherwise compensated for this review, and all opinions are my own.

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King of the Nerds 2x03 "To LARP or Not to LARP"

Oh man. As far as being painted as a villain, Zack has sure provided everyone an easy target. That's right, the tirade of whatever he calls himself, the Forsaken?, continued this week on King of the Nerds. I'm not saying I wanted to be right, but, I was sort of right? Throughout this episode, Zack's teammates kept trying to diffuse the tension, but he would just ratchet it right back up if he heard one astray comment. But that's enough talk about that, let's talk about some other stuff.

Gettin' IN to it.

This week's theme was the ever-nerdy LARPing. Live Action Role Play, for those who don't know. Though I'm not sure anyone who would be reading this wouldn't know what LARPing is, but I digress. The two teams were tasked with creating a world and characters based on four character archetypes provided, then had to enact their characters for the judges. This week, the judges were Kevin Sorbo, of Hercules fame, Yaya Han, she of the cosplay stratosphere, and Jon Heder, who you may remember as Napoleon Dynamite.

There was much drama on the yellow team, as previously mentioned, as they tried to get their act together, though I do wonder if maybe parts of the team weren't trying too hard in an effort to get Zack into the Nerd Off again in an attempt to get him out. But who knows if that has any merit! The purple team, on the other hand, were having tons o' fun coming up with their characters and story. Perhaps the team to get along best that I've ever seen on this show, which makes me wonder if they're going to mix things up with the teams soon, considering it's now 5 people to 3 on the teams.

Because, yes, Midas Touch Attack did indeed end up losing to the Titans of Rigel in the LARP contest. While they touted themselves as being the true LARPers because everything in their presentation was improvised, in the end the flash, spectacle and cohesiveness of purple could not be denied. I found it especially funny when they were like, um, she's not a monk, she's a forest nymph. Look, you don't have to be absolutely literal when you're coming up with stories. Forest Monks are allowed, I decree! Also, Xander was pretty hilarious.

Anyway, drama erupted again on team yellow when Zack and Mary Kate had a bit of a tiff that ended in Zack basically calling her stupid and not anywhere near his apparent genius. This got them both into the Nerd Off. Zack, voted in by his team (and himself), and Mary Kate voted in by purple because they are being rather diabolical and trying to keep Zack in to cause discord, and viewed Mary Kate as the weakest on the yellow team. You do know that means you're leaving yourself with stronger people to be up against later, if that's your view, right? Just saying. I did respect Kayla for wanting to put up someone else because she would rather not have the constant drama.

Fare thee well, Mary Kate!

But, that was not meant to be. The two were tasked with playing each other in a board game that was sort of like Battleship. They were both allowed to have an adviser, and this led to probably the only sort of redeeming moment for Zack on the show so far, because it became clear to him that no one wanted to be his adviser. He basically made a plea that this was mean-spirited and that because they are already part of a group that is somewhat ostracized in society, they should at least want each other. Which I think is maybe part of his problem, he feels he has to over-compensate because he's been put down most of his life for being weird. Mary Kate pointed out to him that to her, he was acting like a bully, and he did actually apologize for that, so perhaps this is a step in the right direction for him.

In the end, despite her very best efforts and near-win, Mary Kate lost to Zack due to, quite frankly, luck, which was kind of annoying. My boyfriend says he wondered if maybe her dice was weighted to make her roll smaller numbers, but that seems especially diabolical for the producers to do, but who knows. Mary Kate did tell Zack to basically think before he speaks and treat people with more respect as she left, so we can all hope he takes this to heart. As we did not see anything in the preview to indicate that one way or the other, who knows!

One more week down, and I'm still not quite sure who I want in the finals of this thing. I think until the purple team actually ends up in a Nerd Off, it will be hard to tell because right now they're getting along so well. But I do kind of root for Xander just because he's so funny. But is he the nerdiest of all? What about you? Anyone you are particularly hoping will make it to the end?

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

Tres Leches Cake

I don't know if you've noticed, but I haven't been making as many chocolate recipes as I have in the past. I mean, it's not been entirely chocolate-less here, there were those Nutella-Swirl Peanut Butter Blondies, but no Deep Dark Mocha Cupcakes or S'mores Bars. I've not forsaken chocolate or anything, but you know what? The BF isn't a huge chocolate fan, and I mean, duh, you want to make things that aren't just for your own personal enjoyment, right? Enter Tres Leches Cake, the cake of three milks. Or, really, four milks if you're being completely honest. Condensed, evaporated, cream, and whole milk! That's a lot of milk products! Look out, lactose-intolerants!

Before making this cake, I'd never actually had Tres Leches Cake before. I don't know if that's weird or not, but there you have it. This cake is moist and sweet without being overpowered with sweetness, which is something considering how much cream and sugar is packed in. And that little dash of cinnamon gives it an intriguing flavor that isn't necessarily expected in a cake, unless you're already a fan of tres leches, then you're probably like duhhh that's always how it is! It's good when you first take it out of the fridge, but even better around day two when everything has fully coalesced. You don't absolutely have to have the whipped topping, but why the heck not?

So, if your sweetie isn't a big fan of chocolate and things overly sugary, then maybe you should give this cake a go this Valentine's Day. Because, oh yes, it's only a week away now! Egads! Even if you're not one to celebrate a corporate holiday, you should still try this cake. You won't regret it.

Tres Leches Cake
Author: Jen @ Fresh From The...
Servings: 18 Pieces
Prep time: 00:30
Cook time: 00:35
Total time: 01:40

The classic tres leches cake that uses three different kinds of milk products to create a moist and dense cake.

Ingredients:

For the Milk Mixture:

• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Whipped Topping:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 Tablespoons corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. For the milk mixture, pour your condensed milk into a large, microwave-safe, bowl and cover. Microwave on low power (power 3), stirring every 3-5 minutes, until slightly darkened and thickened, which should take 9-15 minutes. Remove from the microwave and slowly whisk in the evaporated milk, cream, and vanilla. Let cool while you work on the rest.
2. For the cake, preheat your oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Heat the butter and milk in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter is melted. Set that aside to cool a bit.
3. With your electric mixer on medium, beat your eggs for about 30 seconds, then slowly add the sugar until all incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the egg mixture is very thick and glossy, about 5-7 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and slowly mix in the melted butter/milk and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in three additions, scraping down the sides of your bowl as necessary. Once you've got all the flour in, mix on medium speed until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape your batter into your prepared pan and bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes. Set your cake on a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes.
4. Using a skewer, poke holes about 1/2 inch apart in the top of the cake. Slowly pour your room temperature milk mixture over the cake until completely absorbed. Let sit at room temp for 15 minutes, then refrigerate at least 3 and up to 24 hours.
5. To make your whipped topping, set your cake out for 30 minutes. With your mixer on medium speed, beat the heavy cream, corn syrup and vanilla to soft peaks, 1-2 minutes. Frost your cake and slice it up to serve. Keep this cake refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Recipe via Cook's Country

In Photos:

For your milk mixture, you want to microwave your condensed milk on low for 9-15 minutes, stirring every 3-5. The original recipe says to cover with plastic wrap and replace each time you are stirring, but I just covered with a plate instead, as I don't like those nasty plastic zappers in my food.

Once it's darkened a bit and thickened, then whisk in your evaporated milk, heavy cream and vanilla.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

On low, melt your stick of butter and cup of milk. Then take off the heat to cool.

Mix together your eggs and your sugar until incorporated.

Then put that on medium-high speed for 5-7 minutes until it performs magic and becomes thick and glossy.

Then mix in your flour mixture in 3 increments. Beat that for about 30 seconds more to get fully incorporated.

Scrape into your prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes at 325F.

It'll come out looking something like this. Let that sit for 10 minutes on a wire rack.

Once the 10 minutes have passed, poke holes in your cake with a skewer about 1/2 inch apart, then slowly pour on your milk mixture. It'll settle in to soak. Let that sit for 10 more minutes at room temp then stick in the fridge for at least 3 hours, and up to 24.

This is how it looks after a few hours sitting in the fridge. You can see the milk from the above picture has soaked in.

Now, let's make the whipped topping. Beat your cream, corn syrup and vanilla until soft peaks form. We're using corn syrup here instead of sugar for sweetness so that the whip stays whipped.

Spread that over your cake. Avoid that corner where your boyfriend couldn't wait for the topping before digging in.

Cut 'er up and dig on in!