The champion has fallen! To a pizza! If this is the beginning of a descent into a life of—dare we say it—meat remains to be seen, but Andrew will from now be known as the former champion.

Which leaves Mark G. While he has lasted the longest, he still has to last for roughly 16 more hours to be the champion. Can he make it?

For a while there were three, but not anymore.

He’s out there, and he’s loving it!

• Mark S! Mere minutes after sending an e-mail confirming he was still in, I received a phone call from a torn up Mark. Turns out the pressure was too much to handle, and the lure of gyros and fries overpowered Mark’s winning instinct. In other words, Mark G won the battle of the Marks!

They’re not giving up!

• Mark G! Oh snap! Not only is Marky Mark G cruising through the contest, he’s taunting and prodding those of us who failed with a sharp stick. Two more days, though I’m sure Mark will just keep going, living the life similar to that albino dude in The Da Vinci Code.


• Andrew! Looking cold and miserable, Andrew has recorded what probably is his last will and testament. But let’s give him this: at least he is tenacious, and we have a feeling he’ll go two for two.

Well now, it looks like the game is tightening with a slew of competitors dropping like flies. We give you…

And theeeeey’re out!

• Jordy! Spokane Food Blogs last hope is done for, thanks to the lure of coffee and pistachio crackers. But like she says: “We all know who’s going to win this thing anyway…SPOKANE FOOD BLOG BABY!” And really, I do think we’re winners, and we can eat whatever the hell we want!


• Paul! Paul, as it turns out, has been out since Monday. How about that?! Exactly why he is out is a bit of a mystery, but an e-mail combined with his comment, suggest he got drunk in the Chuck E Cheese’s ball-pit where he crapped his pants. Or something like that.

Still kicking along!

• Mark G! No surprise here. With the willpower of a rabid vegetarian bear, Mark is in it for the win. With less than three days to go, I have a feeling he is just getting warmed up, and will live on water and lemon slices for the remainder of the contest.


• Andrew! As opposed to last 7vs7, Andrew is feeling the sweet sting of temptation. I, for one, had Bennidito’s yesterday, and it was delicious. Will the champion have to give up his title?

The ???

• Mark S! Mark’s blog is ominously quiet. Mark? Are you still in it?

Oh oh! Seems like there was quite the massacre last night…

Out!

• Becky! Oh Becky, we hardly knew ye. Maybe it was the lack of caffeine, maybe it was the squirrel, or maybe it was just that she was pulled down by… Well, who are the two others she is talking about?


• Spokane Food Blog! For heaven’s sake, we’re a food blog, we can’t put limits on ourselves! And while we don’t know if Jordy is still in or out, we do know that media celebrities Not Unknown at All Neva and yours truly came crashing out of the competition after inhumane Ben and Jerry tempting from a Philadelphia librarian. That’s right. We were sabotaged! And you know what? Shakes, in addition to a beer and fries from Twigs were pretty heavenly.

Still in! (Aka, The Suckers)

• Mark G! Is the kung-fu master of the competition losing his edge? With an uninspired post which wasn’t witty at all, we can’t help but wonder… Maybe Mark G isn’t the player we had expected him to be?


• Mark S! Mark S, meanwhile, is playing it cool. With his eyes on the prize (although there isn’t one), and a cool, calm exterior, Mark S might easily cruise through the contest. As for a reply to “Remi, I am amazed that you are playing nice still.”: Things are about to change.


• Andrew! Having wisely gotten to-the-door assistance from Fresh Abundance, Andrew is trying to win the game by not leaving the house. Very wise; the temptations are certainly out there. Will the winner of last 7vs7 take home another gold medal? We shall see.

Who the heck knows…

• Jordy! Are you still alive? How about your cat? SFB is counting on you.


• Paul! We have a nagging feeling Paul is out, largely because he has gone undercover to hide his shame.

Well, by the looks of it, we’re still in it. We not including Bart and Mariah who just didn’t have the conviction to go through with a one week commitment! And, then there are those we’re actually not 100% sure about right now…

The ???s

• Jordy! Was talking about eating her cat… This could be ugly.


• Mark S! We still think Mark is in it, but there have been no updates on his web site to indicate anything either way. Last blog post indicated determination, though, so we remain optimistic.


• Paul! Is the man behind Down To Earth in or out? You let us know, Paul.

The Heroes

• Andrew! Paranoia might be starting to set in, but Andrew is enjoying a life of beans, and is looking to trump predictions of an early exit.


• Becky! Becky is putting the “some” in “awesome,” and is still in the game. This despite mental abuse from her own flesh and blood. In the words of Peep Show: “He does beat you though, mentally. And with his hands and with his fists.”


• Mark G! There’s no stopping Mark, who like an extremely tall miniature Buddha just considers this a quick jaunt of meditation. He also includes Pinky and the Brain references in his posts, likely to psyche the rest of us out.


• Spokane Food Blog! We started this thing, we can’t very well go out first. (First minus the quitters I mean.) Increasingly Known Neva posted some pictures of her lunch just to prove that cheating is not an option. Yours truly, meanwhile, is an educator and thus posted a pico de gallo recipe which is pretty awesome. We love Alton Brown.

Power through!

So here we are, a day in, living off only non-processed foods and we are doing fantastic. Of course, we is a relative term here, as we already have two contestants out! We give you…

• Bart! Always among the two first to throw the towel in, Bart sent an e-mail mere hours before the contest started, complaining about not having a spine and how he was going to drown his sorrows instead of competing. Impressive!


• Mariah! Gave some excuse about being sick or something. Well, call me crazy, but I think I’ve heard non-processed foods might actually help when you’re sick… Of course, when she tried to come up with some flimsy excuse that this was the second time Bart exited a 7vs7 competition before her, Bart jumped into action: “In the first installment you went out first, yet fooled everyone into thinking you lasted longer than you really did. So yes, I may have beat you to the punch this time, but not last time. Karma will get you….” Maybe Bart has a spine after all?

The rest of us are, by all accounts, in it and kicking it pretty well:

• Mark G has kicked off, showing that the newcomer is a contender. With his almost zen-like discipline, rumors are circulating that Mark G might be competing from a cave in the forest.


• Mark S, possibly enraged that who he likes to refer to as Imposer Mark actually ate some almonds—Mark S’s blog is called Rhymes with Almonds —has thrown down the gauntlet and is showing science-like determination to winning this contest. This might end up being a showdown of the Marks!


• Paul, Bart’s down to earth big brother, is playing the game shadily, and has only released a short statement via e-mail: “I’m still in…for now.”


• Becky, meanwhile, is upping her dark horse reputation by actually eating other contestant’s food. Making other people check the food for her before eating? Very Cleopatra, and Becky might yet put the “me” in awesome.


• Then there’s last year’s winner, Dancing Andrew, who’s aiming for gold again, by pretending he’s a vegan. After last year’s success, golden-boy Dancing Andrew is the one to beat, and rumors of sabotage plans being underway are still officially unconfirmed. Officially.


• And finally, the Spokane Food Blog crew is, by all accounts, doing well. Fully knowing we have the crosshairs of our competitors on us, we are playing it safe and leading by example. Of course, when I say we… Who knows about Jordy? Knowing her willpower, however, I’m guessing she’s planning on living off water the next week. Both Unknown Neva and myself are representin’ (yo) and will hopefully not fall prey to anything like last year’s cheesecake incident again.

One day down. Who will be the next to go?

Update: Jordy is still alive! Her statement, however, is unsettling:

So I haven't written because talking about it makes it more real. I'm going crazy. Clinically, completely documented crazy. I thought removing all the food (i.e. temptation) from my house would help me with the challenge. It turned out to be a fatal mistake. I left one thing behind. I want to eat my cat. As the days go by I'm find myself looking at her more and more inappropriately"¦and I'm a vegetarian. I'm not going to lie. Today is not looking so good. I have a big deadline and all I can think about is an entire pot of coffee, a bathtub full of macaroni cheese, and my cat on an onion bagel.

Will the US FDA guidance on regulating genetically engineered animals change your omnivore or vegetarian diet?

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued its final regulations governing the approval of genetically engineered animals. The rules do not require consumer labeling for foods from these animals.”

- Steven Reinberg

Genetically engineered foods are all over the grocery aisles and are not labeled on packages as such. Soon, genetically engineered meat will also be available on store shelves, all without labels. Some groups approve of the genetically engineered animals because they are raised without the “pain” gene. Others think it is outrageous and strongly feel consumers should be advised if the meat they buy is genetically altered.

Next week, local bloggers will take on a challenge of eating natural, non-processed foods. The fact that it will be a competition to avoid human altered foods might seem strange to the generations before us who only had the option of eating foods provided by small farms and gardens. They might not have been able to imagine superstores with chemically filled foods. Not to mention the vegan diet from only a few decades ago, when the only food options were whole and natural compared to the numerous processed items available as demonstrated in the I Can’t Believe It’s Vegan site.

Will you eat genetically engineered animals?

Some of you might remember how a group of us took on a silly challenge last year, called 7vs7. The idea was to only live off seven ingredients for seven days. It was hell, and only one contestant made it through.

We’re nothing if not suckers for punishment, and starting next week your favorite Spokane Food Blog will host a new incarnation of the challenge. This time we will (try to) go seven days without eating processed food. Simple? When you start thinking how much out there is processed—anything canned, boxed, bottled… tofu…—it’s easier said than done. Who will win? Who will power through to the end? Lord knows, but stay tuned to this site to stay up to date!

The contestants are from blogs you probably know, and some you might not have heard of:

• Burger, Revised, represented by Andrew.


• Down to Earth, represented by Bart and Paul.


• I put the me in awesome, represented by Becky.


• Librarian Lateralus, represented by Mark G.


• Rhymes with Almonds, represented by Mark S.


• Spokane Food Blog, represented by Jordy, Remi, and Unknown Neva.


• The Spovangelist, represented by Mariah.

God help us all.

So here we are. January 20th, 2009. It will be remembered as a historical day. It will be remembered as the day change came. It will be remembered as a day of hope. It will be remembered as the day Taste Everything Once, the only restaurant guide in Spokane, launched the beta version of its new design.

It is true, Taste Everything Once, or TEO as we lovingly call it, has grown up and into a brand new version. No major testing has been performed yet, so if something looks wrong… Let us know in the comments. A few of the major changes:

• Restaurant tags now show up in the main listing.


• Easier access to core functions: all menu items and search functions are located “above the fold.”


• New larger maps: Switched from Yahoo! maps to Google.


• “Find near-by restaurants.” Click this, and the map will be populated with restaurants within roughly 1.5 mile radius.

And as time moves forward, we are also moving away from supporting older technologies. This means those of you who, for whatever crazy reason, are still using Internet Explorer 6 will be left behind. Also, recommended minimum screen resolution is 1024*768. In other words, nothing a five year old computer should have any issues running.

Later this week we also hope to put Spokane Food Blog in to the new design too.

So that’s it—run and beta test it now! Run and be part of change!

(Oh, and some guy is apparently moving into some house today also.)

I hope I piss you off with this one. By you, I mean the collective. The meat-eating public. The fact of the matter is: vegetarians are better cooks. Now I'm not claiming that I, myself am a culinary genius, so don't challenge me to a cook off or anything macho. I'm speaking more"¦in general terms.

Vegetarians are more creative when it comes to cooking. Perhaps it's because there are fewer ingredients to cook with. Or perhaps it's true. Vegetarians are just better at everything, including cooking. Ok, so I made the latter part of that sentence up, but the first fact stands. A narrow list of ingredients forces a chef to be creative. Meatchefs (I hope this word catches on), on the other hand"¦ just add chicken.

For example. What do meatchefs use to add flavor to everything from meat, potatoes, soup, bread, casseroles, mixed vegetables, and cardboard if given the chance? The answer: animal stock. A substance most commonly made from beef, chicken and veal bones. Mmm.

When truly, I don't have much of a problem with meatchefs. They can go on leading their boring little culinary lives, while I'll enjoy a feast of vegetarian flavors. What really upsets me, is when a meatchef starts murdering vegetables.

There's nothing so obvious, as when a traditional meatchef attempts to make a vegetarian dish. A perfect example of this is at the Sour Dough Place at 821 N. Division. This might be Spokane's epicenter for meatchefs who try to cook with vegetables.

I recently tried their cheesy cauliflower soup. Although the sourdough bread bowl was rather good, the soup tasted like liquefied Cheez Wiz combined with water and a few cauliflower florets. Silly meatchefs, you can't just throw vegetables into a tub of water and call it soup.

Side note: I used the word meatchef seven times in this blog post. I've done my part. Now it's up to you, the general public to make it catch on.