Category: Pop Culture Corner

Interdimensional Hole of Pancakes: Blueberry Matcha Pancakes from The Good Place

Posted November 7, 2019 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes, Pop Culture Corner / 2 Comments

 

 

I don’t watch many TV shows these days. With two tiny kids and a cookbook manuscript deadline looming large on the horizon, I just don’t have time to keep up with the new stuff coming out (I haven’t even STARTED the latest season of Stranger Things 😬). Then one night while I was trying to keep myself awake while nursing my baby, I turned on Netflix. And up popped The Good Place.

I don’t even know what happened. Somewhere between thinking “Kristen Bell? Cool, I like her” and “It’s only a 20 minute ep what could it hurt” I was plunged into a wild world of architects, soulmates, and chili babies. It was the light-hearted romp through moral philosophy I didn’t know I needed.

My friend Jess recently shared her own love for The Good Place on FanDummies, a pop culture fan podcast where she is one of the lovely hosts. She mentioned on Twitter that while she was at comic con she visited the actual Interdimensional Hole of Pancakes cafe, a reference to an interdimensional crossroads in the show shortened to the “IHOP”. It’s filled with giant green floating disks (the pancakes), swirling blue chaos, vicious little monsters called Niednagels, and something called the Time-Knife. When I heard Jess got to visit the Good Place IHOP at SDCC, I felt unabashedly jealous. Then it got me thinking…Wouldn’t it be cool to make interdimensional pancakes at home?

They’d have to be blue and green, of course, to match the color scheme of the IHOP in the show. And kinda edgy, since the IHOP is supposed to be dangerous, but they’d have to be delicious too. My answer to this was classic buttermilk pancakes with a twist: I flavored half the batch with matcha to make it green and the other half with homemade blueberry syrup to make it blue. I threw some fresh berries into the batter too.

I was so pleased with the final product. The matcha was evident without being overpowering, and the syrup added distinct blueberry flavor without being too sugary. 

So fire up the griddle and whip up a batch of pancakes from the Interdimensional Hole of Pancakes…and if you suddenly find yourself caught in a swirling vortex between dimensions about to be eaten by a Niednagel or staring down the edge of the Time-Knife, just remember:

EVERYTHING IS FINE.

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Red Shirt Fruit Salad

Posted June 15, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes, Pop Culture Corner / 2 Comments

      

Red Shirts (also known as Redshirts) get a pretty raw deal in Star Trek TOS. The term refers to Star Fleet engineering and security officers who wear a red shirt as part of their uniform…and they have a tendency to die at every opportunity. It’s such a common occurrence that the term “red shirt” has become a pop culture term referring to any character who is killed off to show the situation is serious.

I wanted to dedicate a recipe to the Red Shirts, so I came up with the idea for Red Shirt Fruit Salad! It’s composed of four kinds of red fruit and drizzled with pomegranate dressing (plus some blueberries for contrast). It was easy to throw together and even easier to eat—a dish any Red Shirt would be glad to snack on as a final meal before being sent to their inevitable doom! 😉

 

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My First Comic Con: Wizard World Chicago!

Posted August 23, 2015 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Pop Culture Corner, Teas / 3 Comments

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The first thing I saw when I walked through the door. Shout out to all the other Supernatural fans out there! 😀

For years, my reason for not attending comic book conventions was simple: I don’t read comic books. No better reason than that, right? Well, a month ago the Mister (a big video game and comic book fan) asked me if I was interested in going to our local comic con, Wizard World Chicago. I thought, why not? With him working full time and attending grad school, it’s not often we get to spend a whole day together. Plus, my geeky horizons have widened considerably over the past couple years. I still love my books and tea, but now I’ve added things like Star Trek and Firefly to the mix. I still don’t have much interest in comic books, but I figured the convention might still be fun anyway. Turns out I TOTALLY wasn’t giving it enough credit.

 

Sherlock and Star Wars pillows by Craft Encounters
Tree mugs by Mesiree Ceramics (they had Totoro mugs too!)
This was a tea booth with steampunk flair!

When we got to the convention hall yesterday, it was PACKED. There were hundreds of people in the main lobby alone. Our first stop was the vendor hall, and I was floored by the huge variety of things there. We’re talking Hogwarts house bathrobes, hobbit hole watercolor paintings, leather Celtic journals, steampunk coffee presses, Star Trek oven mitts, and of course all things superhero. We stopped by a gaming room where the Mister played Super Smash Bros, and there were even Q&A panels with Youtube stars, comic book creators, and famous actors. We went to the Firefly panel and saw Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, and Summer Glau! * insert fangirl squeal here *

 

Like cars? They had three famous ones on display. This is the car from Knight Rider, but there was also a Mystery Machine and Iron Man's 1965 Shelby Cobra.
Like cars? They had three famous ones on display. This is the car from Knight Rider, but there was also a Mystery Machine and Iron Man’s 1965 Shelby Cobra.

 

And these are the spoils of my lovely trip to the vendor hall: a custom quote pillow, handmade stoneware Totoro mug, and two custom teas (Red Queen and Irish Whiskey Cream).

 

Pillow by Craft Encounters of the Nerd Kind
Mug by Mesiree Ceramics
Tea by Tea & Absinthe

 

Now as I sit sipping my delicious new tea out of my Totoro mug, I’m exhausted but happy. And I’m DEFINITELY planning on going back next year! 😀

 

10 Valentine’s Day Gifts for Avid Readers

Posted February 13, 2015 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Holidays, Pop Culture Corner / 5 Comments

I’ve always closely associated Valentine’s Day with books. Last week, I did a guest post for Real Life at Home explaining why. So if you’re stumped as to what to get your special reader this Valentine’s Day, you’ve come to the right place. I’m always keeping tabs on the latest literary gifts! Here are my Top 10 Valentine’s Day Gifts for Avid Readers, sure to please the bibliophile in your life:

 

  1. This awesome scarf
    http://data.uncommongoods.com.edgesuite.net/images/newweb/product/25333_zoom2.jpg
    Photo via Uncommon Goods

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Thanksgiving Throwback

Posted November 24, 2014 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Holidays, Pop Culture Corner / 0 Comments

As a holiday based entirely around food, Thanksgiving holds a special place in my heart. Yet as much as I love it, deciding what to cook can be a little intimidating. If you have a potluck-style dinner like my family, pretty much every relative has their “thing” that they make every year. Finding something traditional and festive that someone else isn’t already making can be a challenge. However, a great way to circumvent this problem is to make a dish that uses iconic Thanksgiving flavors in a new way. I’m making Deeper ‘n Ever Turnip ‘n Tater ‘n Beetroot Pie for Thanksgiving this year, since it’s one of my favorite AWR recipes (and TOTALLY tastes like stuffing). In fact, after looking through the archives, I realized we have loads of Thanksgiving-appropriate recipes…

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