Eating Up Summer: This Week In Food

Lately it seems like all anyone in the food world can talk about is local, seasonal food. Now, you can bet your firstborn that we at AM will never preach to you, we'll never drink the self-righteous foodie Kool-Aid and then spew it all over you, our innocent readers, but we will say this: all the talk about local food is totally legit. It's more delicious. It's better for the environment. Growing food brings us closer to our roots, back to a time when men were truly men. Wait, didn't we just promise we'd never preach to you? Sorry -- you can have your firstborn back.

Searching for the perfect tomato
So all this local food talk is great, but we're still in the dark about which specific foods we should be looking for as the seasons change. After all, not every guy can manage to get up before noon on a Saturday to make it down to the farmers' market, and not every guy has a buddy who happens to be a farmer. For the guy who shops at the grocery store when he has time but doesn't want to sweat it, here's a guide to what's in season right now. Chances are that even if they're in the produce section of your local mega-store, these fruits and veggies are at their peak right now, and might even be sourced locally.

The right-now hot list
These fruits and veggies are in season pretty much everywhere right now:
Tomatoes, zucchini and all other types of squash, sweet corn, cucumbers, carrots, beets, all kinds of salad greens, peppers, eggplant, peaches, plums, blueberries, and raspberries.

These fruits and veggies hit their peak later in the summer and early fall, so hold off for the best stuff:
Apples, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower.

These fruits and veggies are generally shipped in from other parts of the world at this time of year:
Bananas, citrus (oranges and grapefruit are ready in Florida and California in winter, but not right now), asparagus (they're local in early summer, but it's too hot now), and kiwis.

So what do you do with a semi-intimidating pile of fresh local vegetables? Here's a tip from AM's test kitchen: Almost any three vegetables, cut up small and seasoned with lime and salt, will make a pretty good salsa.

Read full story

The Man Wall

You probably think your home entertainment system is complete. You have the flat-screen HDTV, you have the hot gaming consoles and you even have the sick Blu-ray player, and 5.1 surround-sound system. But that was all before Hybrid Space Furniture introduced The Man Wall, and made that puny rig you've got in your living room seem ancient. If you want your house to be the go-to spot for Sunday NFL football, and you have a spare $15,000 lying around, this insane setup will blow your mind and send your spouse running for the hills.

The Man Wall is technology and sports done to obscene excess, just the way any guy would want it. Housed in a stunning wooden wall unit, The Man Wall crams every possible amenity a sports-loving dude would want into one space. Nobody should have to be limited to one TV on Sundays -- after all, there are up to 16 games a weekend -- so Hybrid Space installed four high-definition sets into this thing. The centerpiece is a 42-inch Vizio, which is flanked by three smaller 26-inch Vizio units. All four TVs allow for 1080p up conversion. If the handful of TVs don’t impress you, how about the fact that they come complemented by a 1,000-Watt Panasonic 5.1 Home Theater system, a five-disc DVD player, iPod dock, and two wireless speakers with only one remote needed to control the whole enchilada.

Any serious sports fan will tell you that getting together with his buddies and watching the game is only half the fun, the other half is only achieved when you have some good food, cigars and quality cold beverages ready to go as well. Hybrid Space Furniture is aware of this fact, and has built every single one of these features right into your treasured Man Wall. There is a fully functional refrigerated keg and tap in The Man Wall, as well as a 32-bottle wine rack and two top-of-the-line cigar humidors to keep those celebratory stogies in perfect condition. When you are ready for some halftime food, pop some grub right into the 1,000-Watt microwave oven located directly under the main TV. You could walk 20 feet to your kitchen and do all of these things, but why risk missing a single snap or play? Topping the entire Man Wall off is a 7-foot Las Vegas-style sports book ticker that updates scores and comes with one year of free service (guess that was the least they could do after you drop your life’s savings into this thing). If you have the means, the space and the insane love of all things sports, The Man Wall will be your ultimate purchase. Just please feel free to invite us all over for the Super Bowl this year.

Read full story

How To: Argue Against Vegetarians

“You don’t win friends with salad.”
-Homer Simpson

Nearly every meat-eater has an unfortunate encounter with a righteous vegetarian at some point. Perhaps it’s just moments before you were ready to dig into a sirloin steak, or when you were browsing the meat aisle price-checking lamb shanks. Regardless of the location, there’s a good chance you were forced to endure a long-winded treatise about animal suffering that compared your own dietary habits to cannibalism. Luckily for you, you’ll never have to sit idly by while your diet is questioned again. This article will arm you with a series of well-informed arguments that will allow you to defend your dietary choices in a debate with a willing partner.

The health argument
Many vegetarians argue that their lifestyle makes them healthier than those who eat meat. Although we certainly won’t discredit the many benefits of a vegetarian diet, there’s reason to believe that a well-balanced omnivorous diet is a far healthier choice. Studies have repeatedly shown that vegetarians who fail to supplement their diets with Vitamin D, B12 and iron are prone to becoming dangerously anemic. Vegetarians also typically miss out on omega-3 fatty acids. These unsaturated acids have been proved to slow the progression of atherosclerosis, reduce triglyceride levels, act as anti-inflammatory agents, and potentially help with depression and some personality disorders.

Researchers at Oxford University recently followed 35,000 individuals aged 20 to 89 for a period of five years and discovered that vegans are 30% more likely to break a bone than their vegetarian and flesh-eating peers. A subsequent study conducted by Sydney’s Garvan Institute for Medical Research found that vegetarians had bones 5% less dense than meat-eaters. This can be attributed to the fact that many vegetarians and vegans consume very little calcium due to the limitations of their diet.
The moral argument

Many vegetarians argue that god’s creatures shouldn’t be sacrificed simply to appease our craving for a thick, juicy rib eye. While there may be some merit to their arguments, their rationale also reeks of hypocrisy. Although vegetarians openly decry the slaughter of animals, they think nothing of tearing carrots and spuds out of the earth or of sticking a zucchini into a high-speed blender. Like it or not, plants are also living organisms that respond to stimuli like light, gravity and touch. In fact, some groups even believe plants can feel pain. Take the Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology, for instance. This Swiss group recently came out in defense of our leafy green friends in a report on “the dignity of the creature in the plant world.” They argued that plants deserve respect and that killing them arbitrarily is morally wrong.

Want to formulate better arguments against vegetarians?

The humane treatment argument
Another issue that some vegetarians take personally is the way in which cuddly little lambs are turned into delicious lamb chops. We’ll be the first to admit that traditional slaughterhouses should be condemned. However, there are plenty of organizations that raise -- and kill -- animals humanely. One of them is Humane Farm Animal Care, a nonprofit organization created to improve the lives of farm animals by certifying their humane treatment. When you see the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® label on a product, you can be assured that the products in question have come from facilities that meet precise, objective standards for animal treatment. Other organizations, like the American Humane Association (AHA), offer meat certifications to farms that practice humane farming techniques. Their standards are based upon the values of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, as well as input from animal science experts and veterinarians.
The environmental argument
Many vegetarians argue that the cultivation of meat harms the environment. However, they fail to recognize that the cultivation of fruits and vegetables can also have dire environmental implications. Consider this: the vast majority of non-organic farms still use pesticides and insecticides that kill off just as many beneficial predators as pests, thereby leaving nature’s delicate balance in disarray. These dangerous chemicals also frequently leach into water supplies where they can cause harmful neurological effects when consumed by humans and animals alike. Speaking of water, the cultivation of vegetables requires vast amounts of it, which in turn can cause water shortages and, in extreme cases, drought. Fruit and vegetable farms also harm the environment through the burning of agricultural waste and the production of oxide emissions from nitrogen fertilizer.

While we’re on the topic of air pollution, it should be noted that vegetarians also produce more gas than meat-eaters. The problem lies in the human body's inability to fully digest the complex carbohydrates in the vegetarian diet, resulting in higher production of gases like hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane.
make them eat their words
You didn’t get to the top of the food chain just to eat vegetables. Try peppering our arguments into your next dietary debate and you’ll be able to send even the most self-righteous of plant-eaters crawling back to his or her plate of alfalfa.

Read full story

Are Magazines Dead?: Celebrity Topic

John Koblin's article "The Gilded Age of Condé Nast is Over" in The New York Observer suggests that the print industry is about to have its death certificate inked. One of Koblin's most important observations? Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter now eats in the Condé Nast cafeteria.

An insider told the journalist: "I saw Graydon in the cafeteria this week! In all my years here, I've never seen him in my life there. He was behind me in the line at checkout with his little swipe card! He was milling around uncomfortably with the commoners."

The cafeteria? Who eats in the cafeteria? We'd rather eat a soggy homemade tomato sandwich in a bathroom stall peppered with our very own tears than eat in the AskMen.com cafeteria... We're kidding. Isn't the fact that the idea of eating in a cafeteria is somehow below someone a little sad? Even Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt aren't ashamed to go to McDonald's, so why is it such a big deal for a magazine editor to hold a tray and say: "Can I have a little more ketchup please?" Have we maybe blown the whole idea of an editor out of proportion and allotted them more cultural significance than they actually deserve?

Forget about the cafeteria. The real sign the magazine industry is probably over? Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett will grace two separate covers of Vanity Fair's September issue. Not to piss on anyone's ashes, but isn't that a little weak? When an A-list magazine chooses to use existing artwork as opposed to doing their own cover shoot for the September issue, it's a sign that the industry might indeed be falling apart. But maybe the death of print isn't the worst thing? We don't mean to come off as tree huggers because we love a coffee in a paper cup as much as the next guy, but maybe it's time to rethink the way we cover pop culture? Should we let magazines be a thing of the past, or is the tangibility of the object itself something we still value?

Read full story

The Most Dangerous Man On The Planet?

Why Is He Famous?

Anderson Silva is one of the toughest and most successful UFC fighters in history. A middleweight champion (he is also the middleweight champ of Cage Rage World), Anderson Silva has competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships, Shooto and Rumble on the Rock. As of August 2009, Anderson Silva has compiled a professional record of 25 wins and 4 losses, with 15 wins coming by knockout -- including a career-shattering blow against

Woman Magnetism

Anderson Silva is a fighter, not a lover (at least that's what he's known for). That said, the man still has a unique effect on the ladies. On the one hand, women who are married or coupled up with his challengers get to watch in horror as he pounds the stuffing out of their men. On the other hand, the women who aren't related to his opponents can marvel at Anderson Silva's impressive fighting skills and his appropriately chiseled physique.

So how does Anderson Silva maintain his perfect brawn? A 40-minute run starts the day off, followed by an intense jujitsu workout. Training at the gym follows, with some vale-tudo after that. There are also two days of additional physical workouts each week as well as specialized medical examinations. If you can keep up with Anderson Silva's training regiment, you can handle the UFC and its female fans.

Success

Anderson Silva's list of professional achievements packs quite a punch. Skilled in mixed martial arts, he's a specialist in Muay Thai techniques and also in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, in which he holds a black belt. The UFC's Middleweight Champion going into 2008, Anderson Silva has also held top spots on the Shooto and Cage Rage circuits. In addition, he's participated in other grueling competitions like Rumble on the Rock and PRIDE.

The list of Anderson Silva's defeated challengers is a who's who of talent like Jeremy Horn, Rich Franklin and Chris Leben. Anderson Silva's achievements haven't come without recognition from industry observers: MMWeekly.com, Nokaut.com and SherDog.com all place Anderson Silva at the top of their worldwide middleweight rankings, while Yahoo.com puts him at the top of their list as one of the best martial artists on the planet.

Biography
Anderson da Silva was born on April 14, 1975, in Curitiba, Brazil.His interest in martial arts began at age 14 when he started learning tae kwon do, but he wouldn't start fighting professionally until 11 years later. Until then, Anderson Silva was actually working odd jobs that included everything from service jobs at McDonald's to clerical office work.

When Anderson Silva did start fighting in 2000 as part of Brazil's Mecca circuit, he had the dubious honor of losing his first match to Luiz Azeredo. His fortune changed when Anderson won his next two bouts in spectacular knockout fashion. Anxious to test his skills elsewhere, Anderson Silva went to Japan in 2001 to fight on the Shooto circuit. After a unanimous decision against Tetsuji Kato in his first Shooto match, Anderson Silva split his time between Mecca and Shooto until mid-2001 and didn't lose a fight in the process. Anderson Silva proved he was nearing the top of his game in the summer of 2001, when he captured the Shooto middleweight title against Yahato Sakurai, who had never been beaten.
anderson silva joins pride and cage rage
As his fighting career expanded, Anderson Silva participated in matches on four continents between 2003 and 2006. Initially fighting as a member of the highly regarded Chute Boxe Academy, he moved on to the Muay Thai Dream Team and finally settled in with a new team called Black House.

Anderson Silva's team changes proved to be superficial since he kept winning everywhere he went. With his Mecca winning streak intact, Anderson Silva fought almost exclusively in Japan on the PRIDE circuit until 2004, winning three out of five matches. Among the wins were victories over Carlos Newton, an ex-UFC champion, and Alexander Otsuka, also known as the "Diet Butcher.” In 2004, Anderson Silva joined Cage Rage and immediately won the middleweight title with a victory over Lee Murray. Anderson Silva would successfully defend his Cage Rage belt until 2006.
anderson silva joins the ufc
By 2006, Anderson Silva had already proven himself as a fierce competitor and a top-notch mixed-martial-arts master; this made the UFC a logical next step in his quest for glory. Before the ink had dried, the UFC was heavily promoting Anderson Silva before he ever stepped into their ring. When it came time for his UFC debut against Chris Leben, Anderson Silva didn't disappoint. Leben was down and out in less than a minute, and in his next match, Anderson Silva defeated Rich Franklin to win the UFC Middleweight Title.

Since defeating Rich Franklin in 2006, Anderson Silva has retained his belt in two official title defense matches, including a testy rematch with Franklin. Even with the competition, Anderson Silva continues to stand tall, and he crossed the 20-win barrier while suffering less than five losses.

In 2008, Anderson Silva continued to defend his title with a win against Dan Henderson in March. Following his stunning performance against Dan Henderson, Silva had two lackluster fights (and wins) against Patrick Cote and Thales Leites. Those two performances prompted prompted UFC's Dana White to push Anderson Silva up to the light heavyweight division in search of more aggressive talent.
anderson silva defeats forrest griffin
On August 11, 2009, Anderson Silva fought former lightweight champion Forrest Griffin at UFC 101, a match that ended with a devastating first-round knockout by The Spider.

Read full story