Goodbye Hostess (Repost)

A re-post from The Sketchpad on Jan. 12, 2012: Goodbye Hostess...

Gold Twinkies | William D. SIEMER II

Twinkies maker Hostess seeks bankruptcy protection

As a kid, me and my mom would sometimes go to the local Hostess store to get some produce, bread, and a box of Hostess snacks. It eventually shut down, followed by the other location, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2004, changed its name to Hostess Brands in 2009, and now filed for bankruptcy once again early in 2012.

Supposedly Twinkies last forever, so hold on to them like gold to see if their value increases over time because Hostess profits sure need to...

Twinkies: Good as gold wdsiemer ii

Ollie's Trolley Over-The-Rhine

Took this shot a while back. I had always loved the historic feel of the area, and the vintage trolley of Ollie's Trolley in Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati. However, I have never tried the food.

Ollie's Trolley, wdsiemer ii

Tired of Fish? Eat Rabbit

Poor Man's Rabbit Recipe

justjans

More rabbit recipes...

Will Something For Food

Will Something For Food
Designs We've Seen (a lot) Series


My buddy wanted some dough for CiCi's pizza buffet, and the dog just wanted treats. There have been so many spoofs of signs like these...

Chemicals You Eat

I knew someone who worked at a flavoring company and he had all kinds of interesting stories to tell me about the chemicals in food and coloring.

Ammonium Hydroxide, image from KSDK TV

More on this later...

The International Business Times lists some other questionable chemicals showing up in our foods:


Ammonium Hydroxide: MSNBC reports that the chemical, used in fertilizers, household cleaners and even homemade explosives, was also used to prepare McDonalds' hamburger meat that would otherwise be inedible.

Propylene glycol: This chemical is very similar to ethylene glycol, a dangerous anti-freeze. This less-toxic cousin  prevents products from becoming too solid. Some ice creams have this  ingredient; otherwise you'd be eating ice.

Carmine: Commonly found in red food coloring, this chemical comes from crushed cochineal, small red beetles that burrow into cacti. Husks of the beetle are ground up and forms the basis for red coloring found in foods ranging from cranberry juice to M&Ms.

Shellac: Yes, this chemical used to finish wood products also gives some candies their sheen. It comes from the female Lac beetle.

L-cycsteine: This common dough enhancer comes from hair, feathers, hooves and bristles.

Lanolin (gum base): Next time you chew on gum, remember this. The goopiness of gum comes from lanolin, oils from sheep's wool that is also used  for vitamin D3 supplements.

Silicon dioxide: Nothing weird about eating sand, right? This anti-caking agent is found in many foods including shredded cheese and fast food chili.

Food of the Future

Food of the Future
As Inspired by Dippin' Dots

Why eat the same old foods of the past, when you could enjoy all your favorite foods in rabbit poop form?

Mice & Birds Cat Food

Mice & Birds Cat Food

Thinking of starting a new line of cat food that is more reminiscent of the prey cats usually find around the neighborhood. With flavors such as Mice & Birds, Roadkill, and Rabbits & Squirrels in a bloody mixture, how could I fail? Whiskas is in no way associated with this idea, I am using their packaging as a representation of what this product could be.


A "new" kind of cat food. wdsiemer ii

McDonald's Happy Meal Toys

McDonald's Happy Meal (Smurfs) wdsiemer ii

McDonald's Happy Meal Toys

I have been to McDonald's a very limited number of times in the past decade, mainly for others' enjoyment. Their food does not appeal to me. There is something about the pale and processed look of the hamburgers that leads me to believe they are not made from cows at all. I must be immune/tolerant to the drug they mix in their food. Billions served, so my opinion must not be universal.

But those Happy Meals! I remember the excitement I'd receive in collecting my Happy Meal toys when I was a kid. My favorite series had to have been the McDonald products (like fries/cheeseburgers) that would transform into robot figures. I remember wanting to go to McDonald's just to complete the series. They currently sit packaged in a storage box in my basement. They'll probably never have any worth beyond the flashbacks of childhood nostalgia.

On my most recent visit, we took my niece and nephew. Their Happy Meal toys were Smurfs (I think I still have vintage glass Smurfs cups from McDonald's). I was jealous, and contemplated buying myself a Happy Meal to relive the golden days. However, that would have meant eating more McDonald's food, so I decided it was best to put my Happy Meal toy days behind me.

McDonald's Happy Meal (Transformable Robots)