Things to make so I can eat them (and food news)

I'm sure this will come as a surprise, but I love good food.  I love to eat yumminess.  Because of this, I kind of like to cook.  And I really kind of like to bake.  I'm not great at cooking or baking but I fake it pretty well.  Here are some things I would like to make VERY soon:

• It's a Brooklyn cookie.  It has chocolate chips.  And molasses.  And chili powder.  Nuff said!
• I have always wanted to do this and hear it is super easy, maybe even easy enough to get M to do it for me: BBQ Beer Can Chicken (video).
• I love shake and bake chicken but don't like the ingredients in those packets.  Yummo to homemade, although I'll probably try it with panko instead for more crunch.
• I love Peppermint Patties even more--you know the ones I'm talking about.  As I read this the first time, I thought (1) this would be great to make with kids, and (2) I don't use shortening anymore. Hmm. Then I started reading the comments and found it: substitute extra virgin coconut oil--I have that!  I would also use dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet.  Yummo.
• I can't believe there are such things as Ice Cream Bread and Thin Mint Truffles.  All I can say is boo, friggin boo, too all who told me I did NOT need any Girl Scout cookies this year.  You know who you are and I do NOT forgive any of you.  You think you're helping me.  Go ahead and think that.  It's your own fault you aren't getting any truffles.  In case you missed it, boo.

That's 2 chicken recipes, one bread, and 3 desserts.  Add a salad and you have a perfect lunch for friends, if you ask me.  (At least one dessert should count as an appetizer, don't you think?!)  If you think that all of these recipes sound like something you "shouldn't" eat, here's your recommended reading: When Food Attacks!  I couldn't have said it any better--"As I always say, the only thing you should ever feel guilty about eating is babies."

If you are an emotional eater, here's the news to piss you off so you have a reason to make all the recipes above and eat them at one sitting.

• Artificial food coloring may be linked to behavorial changes and health issues in children.  Products with artificial dyes include Jell-O, Lucky Charms, Minute Maid Lemonade, Cheetos, Froot Loops, Pop-Tarts, and Hostess Twinkies.  Most artificial colors are now made from petroleum products (they used to be made from coal tar), so while Americans drive hybrid vehicles to reduce reliance on foreign oil, they can eat it, literally.  Note the financial aspect: no patents on dyes, so no incentive for research; pediatric research expensive and difficult, so it doesn't happen; and who benefits from this news--a sentence at the very end, extolling the virtuous Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, who "refuse to sell foods with artificial coloring."  That is an interesting choice of words by the "journalist"--"refuse" is probably the most emotional way to describe that.  Whether this is a marketing ploy or not, I am glad to hear that Frito-Lay is going more natural since there is a lot of artificial coloring in chips.  They are taking the MSG and other artificial ingredients out of about 60 snacks.  I can eat Doritos again!  I think my hips are already protesting...
• I already know that food inflation is being kept hidden in tinier bags, but just realized this is going to have an impact on lots of recipes.  I haven't made any of my "old" recipes recently, so I wonder how much of an issue I will run across.  Some people think, just don't used process food, but we're talking about things like canned vegetables and packaged pasta that have gone smaller for the same price.  I'm still annoyed that I can't get a 5 pound bag of sugar anywhere besides Fresh & Easy.
• I'm always interested in the case against veganism, although I'm not sure this one would stand up to criticism.
• I'm still interested in the raw milk movement and found an old post about milk for daredevils.  Hmm, not sure how I feel about that one.
• There are 21 ingredients in McDonald's oatmeal!  Great oatmeal doesn't need more than 5 at most: oats, milk and/or water, dried fruit and/or nuts, and possibly a sweetener like honey, brown sugar, or molasses. Okay, maybe cinnamon too--it's good and good for you. If you eat a lot of oatmeal, consider making your own oatmeal packets (with cost analysis).

And, for your viewing amusement, rapping about dairy farming.