Weird & Wonderful

The wacky, the random, and the just plain weird…but in a good way. This category may encompass fun and bizarre products, wines, foods, and everything in between.

Velvety jewel: A tall glass of fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice at Cafe Neto in Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Center.

Velvety jewel: A tall glass of fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice at Cafe Neto in Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Center.

I am quite a pomegranate aficionado: an admirer of their whimsical shape, their seductive ruby seeds, and the rich symbolism they hold, from fertility to happiness. In the United States, POM and other brands compete on the market to offer concentrated pomegranate juice, but during a recent trip to Israel, nothing beat the fresh squeezed varieties being offered in stands and cafés. If you know what pomegranate seeds are like — fairly dry to the touch with a delicate glaze encasing each seed — you could appreciate how many pomegranates it would take to concoct a big, tall glass of straight, anti-oxidant-rich, tart and tasty juice. And the color? Worthy of artistic inspiration. In Israel, they were certainly fond of their juice bars, but the crowning glory was the wide availability of this crowned, ancient fruit.

Beyond drinking pomegranate juice straight (or in cocktails), sprinkling the tangy seeds on a salad, or making a reduction of its juice to sauce meat with, what are other ways to incorporate pomegranates into cooking? Feel free to add your comments. I am convinced this will not be the last of a posting on pomegranates.

© Gilat Ben-Dor, 2010.

Pomegranates do grow on trees. The grove pictures is near the village of Lachish in Israel.

Pomegranates do grow on trees. The grove seen here is a common sight near the village of Lachish in Israel.

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Photo credit: meatcards.com

Photo credit: meatcards.com

I was thoroughly tickled to find a product that, quite literally, combines my love of food and business…and is also a perfect complement to my appreciation of bizarre and corny humor. Enter MeatCards.

A group of fearless entrepreneurs have experimented – successfully, it seems – with laser printing onto beef jerky, to create edible, and highly original business cards made of meat. Going by their Twitter handles of @eagleapex and @tikaro, they share their prototyping process via photos on Flickr and offer information about purchasing their meaty wares by following them on Twitter (@MEATCARDS).

Rather than spring for a predictable “first come, first serve” basis for creating business card prototypes for new clients, they awarded the customized samples via a most unusual competition: The first fifteen people who submitted photos accurately recreating scenes of man vs. dinosaur, based on Frank Frazetta’s stylized, pre-historic/fantasy paintings, were winners of the coveted meat cards.

MeatCards.com has swiftly been garnering global exposure, with a spot on Chinese television and a viral Internet following. The following statement from their website may sum it all up, especially for us over-the-top, business-minded carnivores: “MEAT CARDS do not fit in a Rolodex, because their deliciousness CANNOT BE CONTAINED in a Rolodex.”

Take a bite out of business, have a good chuckle, and keep your eyes open at your next networking event. The local Big Cheese may be bringing some meat to the table.

Fruit roll-up flyers, anyone?

© Gilat Ben-Dor. All rights reserved.

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Sweet Bamba, the strawberry-flavored Israeli snack, makes for an interesting wine pairing challenge.

Sweet Bamba, the strawberry-flavored Israeli snack, makes for an interesting wine pairing challenge.

One of my sweet childhood memories, literally, involves a snack made in Israel: crunchy, festive little magenta spheres, strawberry flavored and known as “sweet Bamba” (as opposed to their original, burnt-orange colored, peanut-flavored counterpart, just known as “Bamba”). Given that a dessert should never be sweeter than a wine that it’s paired with (lest it make the wine taste bland or bitter), I’m curious as to pairing a ripe, honeyed Sauternes or Barsac with good ol’ strawberry Bamba.

If anyone beats me to this, let me know the results…or at least, your predictions.

© Gilat Ben-Dor.

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