Could a Vitamin Water lover and homemade food and drink lover bring himself to make his own “vitamin” water? Maybe. Maybe not. Has anyone tried the homemade sport drink recipe from Tuesday’s Well section of the New York Times? For me, looking at this recipe just makes me want to make lemonade instead. Then again, if given the choice between an actual Vitamin Water and a glass of lemonade I’d choose the lemonade, too. Here’s the recipe below.

Sports drink recipe from “Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook”

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 1/2 cups cold water

In a quart pitcher, dissolve the sugar and salt in the hot water. Add the remaining ingredients and the cold water. The drink contains about 50 calories and 110 mg of sodium per 8 ounces, approximately the same as for most sports drinks.

See other handmade, artisan objects in this New York Times interactive.

The Wedge is hosting a workshop entitled “Canning Foods Safely” with Suzanne Driessen on Wednesday, July 22 from 7 to 9 pm. The workshop is $15/12 members and was just announced in the Wedge’s most recent newsletter. Here’s what their description says:

Whether you are new to home canning or have been canning for years, you will learn what’s safe, what’s not, the latest research and resources available. Includes a demonstration on water bath canning tomatoes.

This is very timely, given the growing canning trend (ok, it’s obviously been going on forever… but trendy for the young folk). I also appreciated the most recent NYT article on various dos and don’ts. Check it out here. If you’re in The Bay Area, check out the Kitchn’s recent post on local canning workshops.

Anyone interested in going to the Minneapolis workshop??

Photo: New York Times

I’m pretty sure one could get vertigo by scanning over this for too long with a scrolling trackpad or mouse. But I love it! It’s fun to see so many bright, classic (and new) objects together at once. I’d like to post about the changes in our office soon. We too have a rather small nook, and since I rearranged the bedroom/office much has improved.

March greeted us in the New York Times with a series of recipes for what to do with cube steak. I found the article inspiring. Cheap?! 3-recipes-in-one!? WOW! Tom, on the other hand, responded, “Do you know what cube steak is? Why yes, sort-of, I did. For I had read about it in the article! Tenderized portions of the cow that may not otherwise be so appetizing are made into cube steak, aptly named after the cube-shaped metal hammers that pound said beef into submission.

I found what was to be OUR cube steak the day after reading the article at our local Rainbow grocer or, as we like to call it (after the in-store brand), Roundy’s. And! It was on sale. When I proudly proclaimed that I’d purchased 2 pounds of beef for $6, Tom replied again unmoved, “Don’t you think there’s something wrong with that?” I settled on one of the three recipes, this one for Bistec de Palomilla. I’ll let you be the judge:

The lime was definitely the best part after a day spent marinating in the fridge. As for the cube steak itself? I’m not sure I’d revisit it. Unlike other readers, I don’t have fond childhood memories of the stuff, and at my command it ended up a bit tough when it reached the table. The rice? Excellent!