Cheesy.

So, I've put myself on a diet which isn't anything new, but I'm actually doing a pretty good job at sticking with it to some degree. So, that's totally new.

I've lost a tiny amount of weight, but my face isn't any prettier, which leads me to believe by the time I reach my goal weight, I'll just look like a very svelte fruit bat. Why do people diet if they don't get prettier?! I feel lied to.

But moving on, prior to recently my diet consisted of only two key staples. Cheese and Beer. I've noticed now that I'm not eating as much we've got a cheese pile-up happening in our fridge.

I decided to compile a list of cheeses we've got in our fridge right now because just saying "We've got a lot of cheese!" didn't feel like enough. So, here it is, in no particular order:

Cabot Mild Cheddar slices
Cabot Garlic and Herb Cheddar
Cabot Tomato Basil Cheddar
Sorrento Trivia String Cheese (because I like to learn something when I eat my cheese!)
Cracker Barrel Sharp White Cheddar (I just now realized that I say "brarrel" not "barrel". I died a little)
Cracker Barrel Cracked Black Pepper Cheddar
Athenos Garlic and Herb Feta (which makes excellent Spanakopita, by the way)
Kraft shredded Mozzarella
Hahn's Cream Cheese
Kraft grated Parmesan Cheese

and finally, the greatest of all cheeses, sent to us by Michael's mother:
Cabot Seriously Sharp Hunters Cheddar - 2 lbs

I could make some VERY good macaroni and cheese. But I wont. ... Maybe I will.

I'm Walking on Mexican Sunshine

In an effort to fully immerse myself in learning Spanish, I decided to review the Mexican import Sol.

I'm just kidding. This has nothing to do with me trying to learn Spanish. Although, I did learn that "Sol" means "Sun" in this context, and is not a reference to the name Solomon. That makes the slogan "The Original Mexican Sunshine Beer" make a lot more sense, although they could have a great mascot in a guy name Sol. Just sayin'...

Moving on. I bought a 32 oz bottle of Sol for just over two dollars. It totes a 4.5% alcohol content, which is about average. The label, which apparently has not been altered since it's creation in 1890, is appealing in that "looks like something I might find in my grandparent's basement" sort of way. The beer itself has got good color, similar to a Corona.  

Upon pouring, I was made a little uncomfortable to the soapy foam that made rings around the bottle and stayed there for what seemed like minutes. And it smelled like pee.

Now is as good a time as any to mention that BeerAdvocate rated Sol at the same level of 7-11's Game Day Ice. At least I didn't have to buy twelve of them like I did when I reviewed Game Day. I've still got one of my fridge.

 Any takers? I didn't think so. 

With an introduction like that, its not hard to be pleasantly surprised. This highly carbonated beer was light and refreshing, had excellent bite, and no weird mouth-ruining aftertaste. It did, however, induce some rather terrible malt liquor burps.

I have to say this is one of the less stomach-turning beers I've had the pleasure of reviewing. It would have paired really well with spicy or salty food. I might actually buy this again (maybe).

Since I've gotten in the habit of rating these after drinking, I give Sol a solid C. For "C"ertainly not the worst beer I've ever had.

Gross Food Photography Rides Again!

I decided to take a break from gross beer to revisit one of my earlier passions: gross food photography. Also, I can'find any new gross beer. 

Last week I bought five frozen meals, and disappointed myself one lunch at a time. Starting with this:

                                 

By far the most expensive of my frozen meals, costing over two dollars, was this steam-fresh meal. When I started eating it, I was disgusted by what I thought were gross large mealy carrots. Upon reading the box, I discovered they were actually gross large mealy sweet potatoes. The texture was worse than the flavor. It was the easiest to prepare: four minutes in the microwave, and then eat. None of that, cut the film, then 2 minutes, then stir, then remove remaining film, then 2 minutes, then sit. I might as well just make a real lunch if I'm going to work that hard!

Next, lets play a game. The following two meals cost 88 cents each. I want you to guess which is chicken, and which is fish! (because who doesn't like to play with their food?)

Gross Meal Number One comes with completely odorless, flavorless Mac and Cheese and a brownie that bakes itself in the microwave (and goes everywhere):

Gross Meal Number Two also has flavorless Mac and Cheese, but comes with clumpy chocolate pudding for dessert:

If you guessed Meal Number One was chicken, you win! How did you know?! (If you were wrong, don't worry, I'm the only real loser here) Both 'meats' were grey, and although the 'chicken' tasted like raw corn meal, it still narrowly beat out the fish, which smelled more fishy than it tasted. You're welcome communal microwave.  

After two days of that, I decided to finish the week with a quick tour of Italy, starting with Manicotti in a red sauce:

No, that's not the bottom of a dumpster you're looking at, that's my lunch! Two tiny rolls of cheese filled pasta tucked into the corner of cardboard box of red sauce with suspicious black flakes in it. The cheese wasn't that bad, but I couldn't get over the pasta to sauce ratio. 99 cents for the meal, by the way.

Never in  the history of mankind has anyone looked forward to the end of the work week more than I did last week. My tour of Italy concluded with every frozen dinner maker's favorite bastardization: 

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo.

Sponge-y chicken cubes smothered in fat sauce, with the tiniest suggestion of broccoli, and hard, dry pasta. Probably the best of the bunch, honestly. 

I'm ready to go back to gross beer now, please.