Tuesday Megalinks

In today’s links: last-minute Christmas gift ideas, healthful foods, and best of all, lots and lots of booze. Merry *hic* Christmas, everybody!

Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood: Make it From Scratch Festival
Featuring more cookie recipes than you can shake a stick (of butter) at, plus Leigh’s fabulous craft post from last Thursday.

Chow: The Year in Food 2008
From Rachael Ray’s terrorist scarf to Michael Phelps’ 4-billion calorie diet to Julia Child: International Spy, Chow has a rundown of every food story that mattered this year. And remember: 2008 was fleeting, but bacon is forever.

Chow: 10 Little Luxuries
Attention, tardy gift-buyers! These small food items can be purchased for a pittance. But the rewards reaped? Will be INFINITE. Muahahahahahahahaha!

Eater: The Worst Food Porn on the Internet
Shockingly, no CHG pictures were included in this Gallery of Stomach-Churning Food Horrors (not even Broiled Eggplant Japonaise), but one look at "Shrimp with Lobster Sauce (Ha T'zee Lung Ha Joing: Canton),” and you’ll understand why.

Elastic Waist: Personal History and I Almost Believe They Are Real
Two semi-lengthy anecdotes about the life of a formerly fat person. The second one, about unwanted Facebook nostalgia, should resonate with a lot of folks.

The Epi-Log: Dieter's Diary - Can You Lose Weight Just by Thinking about It?
Hm. I drop pounds primarily through denial and angst, so … maybe?

Epi-Log: Food-related Charities
Eight more philanthropies to add to the list.

Frugal Dad: Gym Memberships Still Worth it Despite Recession
FD argues that enrollment in your local Bally’s will relieve stress, lower healthcare costs, ease your mind, and more. And I think I agree. Opinions may vary.

Health Assist: 14 Habits That Make You Fat
Holy moly, this is like a Greatest Hits of all my faults. If you add “Sitting in a Cubicle for 45 Hours a Week, Which Lies Less Than Six Feet From the Pantry,” it’s nearly a biography.

The Kitchn: 15 Really Useful Kitchen Items for Your Favorite Cooks
Hands down, the best holiday gift guide I’ve seen so far, mostly because it concentrates on simple necessities, rather than floofy trinkets. Buyer beware, though: cast iron skillets are heavy mothers, and will burst through most Christmas wrapping like Kool-Aid Man.

Lifehacker: How to Live Freegan and Die Old
a.k.a. "Dumpster Diving for Fun, Food, and Profit." Not suggested if you’re prone to rashes or garbage-borne illnesses.

National Massage Certification: 50 Foods That Will Help You Feel and Look More Beautiful
If you blend everything in this post together, it’d make one hell of a smoothie. I’m just sayin’.

Serious Eats: The Best Bubbles - A Guide to Affordable Holiday Sparklers
Couple this with Slashfood’s champagne post (six links after this one), and you’ve got yourself one fine New Year. If you can remember it the next day.

Serious Eats: How Was Your Wedding Food?
SE threader PumpkinBear has a simple theory: most wedding food sucks. Some commenters beg to disagree, while others chime in to support their fellow chicken-beef-or-fish slagger. Head over to sound off.

Serious Eats: Is There a Cooking Gene?
WOW. Neat question: “Do you think the ability to cook is inherited and at sometime, clicks in?” If I went by my grandmothers, that’s a definite negatory. Readers, what about you?

The Simple Dollar: Planning Ahead for Next Year’s Garden
Prospective gardeners, you may start your engines (meaning, blueprint and begin researching) … now.

Slashfood: Inexpensive New Year's Eve Idea - Beer Swap Party
THIS IS THE BEST IDEA IN THE WHOLE WORLD. And it prevents a major party foul, which is bringing crap beer to a party (Natty Light, etc.) when everyone else buys the good stuff (Dogfish Head, etc.).

Slashfood: Inexpensive Holiday Sparklers - Wine of the Week
See: Serious Eats’ Best Bubbles guide.
Buy: booze.
Be: happily tipsy.

Wise Bread: Cooking with Canned Pumpkin - Fresh Ideas for a Frugal Superfood
Gigantic list of pumpkin-heavy meals, with a few thrown in from left field. Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spinach Pizza? Yes, please.

Wise Bread: Six Simple Tips for Buying Great Affordable Wine
If the Serious Eats and Slashfood links aren’t cutting it for you, check out WB’s more general guide to purchasing decent, low-cost vino. Your sobriety will curse you, but your general sense of well-being will give you a big high-five.

Wise Bread: When Tradition Meets Necessity - The Reintroduction of Soppin’ Bread
Without bread, democracy would falter. I DECLARE IT SO. (I don't know what that means, either. But it's so close to the holidays, let's just go with it.)

(Photos courtesy of Bloginomicon, My Country Home Decor, and Flickr member Seetwist.)

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