Casual Kitchen Test

Food Spending Survey Results

2009-08-19T03:42:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I asked my readers to share what percent of their disposable income they spent on food. My intent was to double-check the shocking government data on food costs that we recently wrote about here at CK.

You'll recall that the data showed that food costs have fallen dramatically since the 1930s as a percent of disposable income. This data is compelling evidence that despite all the concerns bandied about in the media in recent years about rice shortages, corn shortages and other drivers of food price inflation, in reality our food has never been cheaper.

But I wanted to see what the results were for regular people, and that's why I asked readers to weight in on their spending.

So what were the results? How do CK's measure up compared to the overall US population?

Well, we spend more on food. By at least five percentage points. You'll recall that the median spend on all food was 9.6% according to the government data. CK readers averaged 14.7% (that's a mean--see below for more details on the data). Government figures say that Americans spend 5.6% on food eaten at home. CK readers averaged 9.8%.

I'll admit up front that I expected the numbers to be lower. In fact, I was concerned that they might be misleadingly low, because I thought there might be a "selection bias" in the responses (meaning I figured readers who spent less on food would be more likely to submit their responses, thereby skewing the data downward). Fortunately, I was wrong, and the results were all over the map.
Of course we are all food blog readers, and many of us are food blog writers, so we shouldn't be surprised that many of us take our home cooking seriously. But I figured that the savings of not eating out would compensate. As it turns out, our survey respondents spend slightly more than the government figures on eating out too (5.0% of disposable income, vs national figures of 4.0%).

So much for my assumptions.

Poll: Tennis TV Viewing Habits for the 2009 Australian Open

2008-12-21T03:59:00.001-08:00

The Australian Open is fast approaching and with it the beginning of the 2009 tennis season!

poll by twiigs.com

The Worst Call in This Year's US Open

2008-08-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

Safin gets called for a center line foot fault by the line judge on the other side of the net. What was so embarrasing about the call that the line judge called the foot fault before Safin even hit the ball, and by then Safin had moved his back foot to miles away from the line. He was nowhere near foot-fault territory.

Even McEnroe was getting hot under the collar and he was in the commentator's booth. Forget about Safin. He went ballistic.

Supposedly, the rules say that if any part of your body is past the center hatch mark when you begin your service motion, that's a foot-fault. News to me.

Safin loses the point, which gives Vince Spadea a set point--which Safin ends up losing to make it 2 sets all.

Worst call I've seen in a long time.

Ultimately Safin won in five though.

Federer Loses to Blake? In the Olympics?

2008-08-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

What is wrong with Fed? 56 unforced errors and 19 unforced errors on the forehand side--in a two set match?

Fed isn't moving well, he looks listless and he looks like he needs to take a break from the game for a while.

Roger Federer Does Not Want It Anymore

2008-07-26T11:39:00.000-07:00

Here's one of the best "citizen journalist" pieces I've read on tennis in a long time. Thanks to Burton DeWitt at Bleacher Report for penning a provocative essay.

Money quote:

"Roger Federer does not want it anymore. Federer does not want to be out there playing; he does not want to win tournaments; he does not want to be the best player in the world.

...I will take that one step further: Roger Federer is going to retire, if not immediately after the Olympic Games, then by the end of the year."

I hope Burton's wrong.

The Obliteration of Roger Federer

2008-06-08T09:16:00.001-07:00

How is it possible that a player with Roger Federer's sublime talent can look like such an amateur in the French Open Final? How can Rafael Nadal beat him so badly?

There's some encouragement here for all of us club players out there. Roger is forcing it. He doesn't have a lot of chances in any given game to take control of a point. Rafa is such a quick player, such a natural retreiver, and he can go from defense to offense in a point so quickly that Roger knows that any potentially neutral ball Rafa hits to him might be the last he sees.

That extra mental pressure is what causes Roger to force shots-- just as regular players like you and I force shots when we are playing an opponent with just a slightly better baseline game.

And if you know you might only get one or two chances in a GAME to put away a point, you'll go for a little bit too much on any given shot. Some of those shots might go in, but on the margin most of those shots become unforced errors.

Then what happens? Well, you can take a little bit off your shots and play more conservatively in order to make sure they go in. But then you can't take control of any points because you're sending too many neutral balls over the net to your opponent. Naturally they come back at you in the form of winners for the other guy.

You can go back to being more aggressive and pressing. Take your chances earlier in a point, and attack shots that you'd normally not attack. You can go for more challenging shots than you typically make. This is a great strategy on a day where you're playing out of your mind. But on a normal day where you're not playing out of your mind, this is suicide--at your normal level of play you cannot make these shots a sufficiently high percentage of times.

So, your error count skyrockets and you start to second guess all of your shots, or you play too passively and can't control any points at all. That's when the wheels come off your game and you lose the final set 6-0.

I makes me feel a little bit better at least. Congrats to Rafa.

Lindsay Davenport 2.0

2008-06-07T07:27:00.000-07:00

Watching the French Open Women's final this morning and thinking that Anna Ivanovic and Dinara Safina are basically Lindsay Davenport 2.0.

Big girls, 6' tall or more and not that quick around the court. But both just a notch quicker than Davenport, and just a notch stronger, and just a little bit better than she was in her prime.

Ivanovic and Safina

2008-06-07T07:25:00.000-07:00

For those of you at home trying to improve your tennis games, there is a great learning opportunity at 3-2 in the second set of the French Open Women's final. Ivanovic is serving with a game point to go up 4-2.

Take a close look at the next two points after this:

1) She double faults.
2) Then she makes an unforced error from the baseline.

It's now break point for Safina.

Here's where, if you're in Ivanovic's shoes, you have to stop and adjust. You have to kill this string of errors right here, right now. And on the next point, you must get a solid first serve in play. But in Ivanovic's case, she steps right up to the baseline, rushes into her service motion, and dumps first serve into the net.

Granted, Safina wasn't able to take advantage of the second serve that came next, and Ivanovic ended up holding serve a couple of deuces later. Lucky for Ivanovic.

But I mention this series of points because this is a typical situation players will face at all skill levels.

You are under pressure in an important game situation. You are nervous. You're a bit fatigued after a tough first set. So my advice here is to accept and understand in advance that this is situation when bad habits can creep into your game.

You might not keep your head up during your serve toss (as Ivanovic failed to do, causing the missed first serve), or you might not watch the ball as carefully as usual during the ensuing baseline rally.

It's at these points during a match that you need accept that this is the likely time you may fall victim to a "bad habit." Take a deep breath, take a little extra time before the point, and concentrate on your form and watching the ball.

Kill the string of misplayed shots and unforced errors before you let the game get away from you.

And your first serve will go in.

I have a new favorite tennis player: Mikhail Youzhny

2008-04-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

The Colonel!

Here's the video.

....and he won the match too.

Can You Win a 15-Ball Rally?

2008-01-31T18:33:00.000-08:00

At almost every level in tennis, it's a loser's game. The loser of the point is usually the player who makes the unforced error first.

If you can stay in a point for 15 hits without an error, you will consistently beat any opponent at your level of play.

How do you get consistent enough at tennis to hit 15 balls in a row every time?

1) Add more topspin to your shots.
2) Go for more net clearance on your shots.
3) Learn to choose reasonable shots at the right time in the point.
4) Aim for zones of the court, not for lines, and give yourself room for error. If you're a 3.0 level player making a crosscourt shot, you should be aiming for a zone of perhaps two feet inside the sideline to guarantee the ball lands in.
5) Practice your groundstrokes relentlessly.

You have to stay alive for 15 balls. Make that your goal.

Federer is Still the Earth's Greatest Tennis Player

2008-01-25T06:21:00.000-08:00

Great for Novak Djokovic last night. That was a really convincing straight set win.

In sports, it seems like you have to either be invincible or you suck. So any loss for Fed is a bigger story than it should be.

Federer made a great point in his press conference afterward:

ROGER FEDERER: Of course, I've created a monster, so I know I need to always win every tournament. But semis is still, you know, pretty good. But, yeah, I'll analyze and see if I have to make changes for next year. But, honestly, I think I did play pretty good. I didn't play my best throughout the championships, but it was pretty solid, so it was okay.

Q. You don't really feel like you've created a monster, do you?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, some sort of, yeah.

Q. Can you elaborate on that?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, winning every other week, you know, lose a set and people say I'm playing bad. So it's my own mistake, I guess.

Q. Do you need to be able to shut that out more?
ROGER FEDERER: Not at all, no. I got used to it by now.

Last year he loses two matches to Canas, a match to Nalbandian, and at one point in the year I think he loses two matches in a row. These loses yield so much controversy among sportswriters and fans that it's as if the wheels came of his career. But don't forget that this happens during the same year that he wins three slams, a fifth Wimbledon in a row and a fourth US Open in a row. I mean, come on. He's still the best out there.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

2008-01-24T07:43:00.000-08:00

49 winners.
17 aces.
2, 3 and 2 against a player who only had 12 unforced errors in the entire match.

This guy IS for real.

Ivanovic and Hantuchova

2008-01-23T07:25:00.000-08:00

Two big tennis surprises last night. Daniela Hantuchova gets to the semis in the Australian open, the deepest she's ever been in any grand slam tournament.

And Ana Ivanovic beats Venus Williams in a close one. She's the Marcos Baghdatis (or the Jo-Wilfried Tsonga!) of the women's tournament.

You have to think the final will be Sharapova vs Ivanovic.

I missed the Federer Blake match but can't say I'm surprised by the result.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

2008-01-22T08:15:00.000-08:00

It seems like in every tennis grand slam there's one player who comes out of nowhere to beat a bunch of big names.

First he takes out Andy Murray in four.
Then, two rounds later he beats Gasquet in four.

Then last night he destroys Youzhny in straights. Biggest victory of them all.

And he's only 22 and his best performance in this tournament until now was a first round loss in 2007.

Women's Tennis: Sharapova vs. Henin, Jankovic vs. Serena Williams

2008-01-22T05:26:00.000-08:00

I don't think I've ever seen Sharapova play so well, both offense and defense.

At the same time, I don't think I've ever seen Serena Williams play such uninspired tennis against Jankovic. The Australian Open website called the match "a brilliant slugfest" but I beg to differ.

Finally, here's to wishing that the journalists could ask some more insightful questions in the post match press conferences.

Neiminen

2008-01-22T02:11:00.000-08:00

Jarko Neiminen had his chances in the first set with break points in Nadal's last two service games. Nadal breaks to win the set and the match isn't competitive the rest of the way.

Federer is Playing Below His Normal Standards

2008-01-21T10:30:00.000-08:00

Federer is still finding ways to win, even though he's not playing at his usual standards. The Tipsarevic match was a good example. And Berdych yesterday had a great opportunity in the second set against Fed, up 4-1 and then 5-2 in the second set tiebreak. He fluffs a volley at his own set point at 6-5, and then misses an attackable short ball at 7-6. Then he loses the breaker 9-7. Match over at that point.

A couple of mismatches in yesterday's round. One was surprising, the other not so much. I thought Cilic would have matched up much better against Blake, but it wasn't close at all. Hewitt just doesn't have enough weapons to beat Djokovich.

Mary Carillo had another groaner during the Hewitt/Djokovich match: the commentators were talking about how the friends in Novak's player's box were wearing shirts with the letters of his nickname "Nole," but you could only see the "N" and the "O." Carillo follows up with "that no is about to turn into a yes!"

She should be careful or she'll turn into a female version of Bud Collins.

Kirilenko and Walkabout Tennis

2008-01-21T09:23:00.000-08:00

Kirilenko loses 17 points in a row to drop the second set against Hantuchova. Then she proceeds to throw in a double fault to give Hantuchova a 5-2 lead in the third set.

Kirilenko then breaks back and holds to make it 5-4 in the third. Then she makes an unforced error at Love-30 to give Hantuchova 40-love to serve it out.

You can't just play well here and there in a match. In the men's game, a walkabout for just a few consecutive points is all it takes to give a set to your opponent.

Here, Kirilenko "went walkabout" two separate times.

Nadia Petrova, Between the Ears, and Poland

2008-01-21T07:19:00.000-08:00

The ESPN staff was pretty harsh talking about Nadia Petrova having problems "between the ears" in her match against Aggie Radwanska.

Also Poland is starting to look like "the new Serbia" with Radwanska, Domachowska and (Polish emigre to Denmark) Wozniacki all going deep in the tournament.

Wozniacki Can Play

2008-01-20T18:23:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe that Caroline Wozniacki is 17... she didn't wilt after the first set where Ivanovic was blowing her off the court. She seemed to stay calm and hang in there. She has the firepower to go toe to toe with one of the bigger hitters in women's tennis and the 3rd ranked player in the world. Sure, it was only for a set that she didn't win, but just wait a couple of years.

Vaidisova vs. Serena

2008-01-20T05:13:00.000-08:00

Vaidisova breaks Serena back to even the second set at 4-4 and then double faults at ad-out in her next service game to give Serena a 5-4 lead. That was the match right there.

More Dementieva's Serve

2008-01-20T05:03:00.000-08:00

Dementieva definitely improved her serve immeasurably. But it's no less of a liability. Her old serve (the one that John Wertheim calls "the wounded seagull") was so weird and had so little pace that many of the big hitter opponents she faced seemed to have trouble with it. Big hitters love pace, and this serve was the exact opposite of pace.

Now she has a more traditional serve instead of a knuckleball. It's less of a weird surprise to her opponents. Sharapova actually made her serve look as much of a liability now as her old serve.

Dementieva's Serve

2008-01-19T23:15:00.000-08:00

Dementieva's serve is definitely much improved, but she still can't seem to hold serve against Sharapova.

Unbelievable match last night between Hewitt and Baghdatis. Unbelievable.

Bud Collins

2008-01-19T09:40:00.000-08:00

Bud Collins can really say some cringe-worthy things into the microphone.

I'm not sure helps viewers to hear Bud say that Andy Roddick needs to chip and charge more on the backhand. It's not the 1970s anymore.

And I'm not sure I really care whether Janko Tipsarevic's black shirt is some kind of sign of the "black plague" for Federer.

ESPN Tennis is Getting it Done

2008-01-19T08:49:00.000-08:00

You have to give ESPN2 a lot of credit (so far) for its coverage of the Australian Open. Last night and this morning are great examples. Instead of breaking away from a great match to show bowling, the network stayed on the entire night to show Federer and Tipsarevic.

And instead of showing fishing shows this morning, ESPN2 is showing the Hewitt-Baghdatis match live.

Quite a difference from prior years! It's been a pleasure watching so far.

One of the Best Nights of Tennis in ESPN History

2008-01-19T07:56:00.000-08:00

Blake-Grosjean comes back from down 2 sets.
Federer-Tipsarevic goes to 10-8 in the fifth (even Mirka was working up a sweat cheering).
And Hewitt-Baghdatis step on the court at nearly midnight Australia time to start their match.
And ESPN shows it all live with no breaks.
This is one of the best nights of tennis TV coverage I've seen in years.

Cilic vs. Blake Will Be a Great Tennis Match

2008-01-19T05:52:00.000-08:00

I'm a new fan. He dominated Gonzo. He plays like a quicker (and taller) version of Mario Ancic. Next round's match between Blake and Cilic should be a great one.

Blake coming back from two sets to love (and then down two breaks in the fourth) has to be one of the greatest comebacks in Australian Open history. I turned off the TV at 11:30 last night at 4-1 in the fourth set, assuming it was over. Wrong!

Roddick Out

2008-01-18T10:29:00.000-08:00

Roddick loses 8-6 in the fifth to Kohlschreiber.

Has Elena Dementieva Developed a Serve?

2008-01-18T06:47:00.000-08:00

Didn't catch the Dementieva/Peer match but I assumed Peer would win it. Instead Dementieva just destroyed Peer, 2 and love. And the brief highlight ESPN showed of the match was of Dementieva hitting a clean second serve. Imagine what could happen to her if she adds a good serve to her amazing baseline game.

Lefty Tennis Players

2008-01-18T03:53:00.000-08:00

People have no idea how much of an advantage it is to be left-handed in tennis.

You have to take it from the perspective of the right-handed opponent: All of the opponent's angles are wrong, the forehand is on the wrong side, and therefore the opponent's shots are much more unpredictable.

Vince Spadea

2008-01-18T03:18:00.001-08:00

ESPN, and American TV in general gets justifiable criticism for covering American tennis players to the exclusion of all other countries. But it was great that they spent at least a few minutes on one of the outer courts covering Vince Spadea's five-set win over Denis Gremelmayr (at 9-7 in the 5th no less).

I couldn't help noting that P-Mac was totally silent the whole time (P-Mac and Spadea had a conflict years ago when Spadea didn't get chosen for the Davis Cup team). Even ESPN anchor Chris Fowler called Spadea "a wingnut," which he is.

Jelena Jankovic gets a coaching violation because her mother says "c'mon" in Serbian to her.

Casey Dellacqua with a huge win over Mauresmo, after taking out Schnyder 8-6 in the third last round. She seems like a textbook Aussie, shops at Target for her tennis outfits even:

Q. Going back throughout memory banks, was it this time last year that you talked about having to go to a department store and get yourself kitted out ahead of the Aussie Open last year?

CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, I think I've struggled. I think it's not just me. I think you'll see a lot of players out there. And some Australian players out there I guess are struggling for an opportunity to get sponsors and stuff.

And, yeah, my favorite shop has always been Target, so I've always ‑‑ I like their tank tops and they're comfy to practice in. Usually you can get deals for like three for 30 bucks or something. I mean, it's just reality of it. It's not something ‑‑ because that's just the way it is and it's just something I've always done.

And, yeah, but I always had a great opportunity to obviously get some stuff from Nike yesterday, and I really appreciate that.

James Blake and Fabrice Santoro

2008-01-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

Remember in the US Open last year James Blake barely beat Santoro in a five set match? Federer beats Santoro one, two and love despite Santoro hitting only four unforced errors the entire match. Shows you how far Blake has to go to get on the same court as Fed.

From Santoro's post match press conference: "Today, I feel like he's coming from somewhere else. I served quite good. I was moving well. I was fit physically. I was hitting the ball well. And I won three games."

Was a real shame to watch Safin fall apart right away in the fifth set against Baghdatis. You can't wake up and decide to start playing down 0-3.

Lindsay Davenport

2008-01-16T17:17:00.000-08:00

I just watched tape of the tennis match between Maria Sharapova and Lindsay Davenport. Lots of people are saying Lindsay looks a step or two slow and I agree. Caught flat footed on many of the points. Sharapova played well.

It's still totally amazing what Lindsay is doing.

Goodbye Guga

2008-01-16T07:21:00.000-08:00

The best backhand in tennis when he was in his prime. His one-handed, inside-out backhand was an amazing weapon.

And never in a bad mood when on the court, always living in the moment.

--------------------------

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Three-time French Open champion Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten will retire from professional tennis after playing at Roland Garros this year.

Kuerten will enter only six tournaments in 2008 before ending his 14-year career, the Brazilian said in a news conference on Tuesday.

"I reached my limit because of my physical condition," Kuerten said. "I wanted to keep playing, participating in the important tournaments. I think I still could play for two or three years if it weren't for the physical part."

Women Tennis Players Back on Track

2008-01-16T06:32:00.000-08:00

Looks like both Serena and Jankovic are back in business after playing squishy first round matches. Jankovic is of course totally lucky to still be alive in the tournament.

Serena looks like last year in the sense that she's playing herself into sharper and sharper focus round by round.

Maria Sharapova just dominated Lindsay Davenport, 1 and 3. Seems like Davenport wasn't too discouraged about it based on her comments to the press after the match. I think what she is doing is absolutely amazing. It's been seven months since she had a baby (by C-section no less) and she's already won three tournaments. It seems preposterous doesn't it?

Some of the top women are back on track, but a few fell off the rails: Schnyder, Golovin both lost to lesser players.

#1 in Tennis

2008-01-15T06:57:00.000-08:00

The ESPN tennis commentators can't seem to shut up about how it's mathematically possible that Rafa could become #1--if Federer loses early and Rafa wins or at least makes it to the final.

Nobody seems to be asking why Rafa has his knees taped and why his patellar tendinitis is bothering him at the beginning of the season. That tape was the first sign of him physically starting to break down last year--he had it put on partway through the Wimbledon final last year and his results gradually declined from then on.

Federer on the other hand looks fresh as a daisy. Can't wait to see him play Santoro next.

The Poorest Sport in Tennis

2008-01-15T05:27:00.000-08:00

Thanks to JC Ferrero for taking Keifer out of the draw. No chance anymore for Keifer to chuck his racquet at his opponent in the middle of a point.

Baghdatis, Nalbandian and Fitness in Tennis

2008-01-14T23:11:00.000-08:00

I was about to say the Bagman looked pretty fit today, until he started cramping in the middle of the second set.

And was that Homer Simpson or was that David Nalbandian playing tennis tonight?

Andy Murray

2008-01-14T10:37:00.000-08:00

I wonder how Brad Gilbert is feeling right now.

Murray loses to Tsonga in four.

Jankovic vs Paszek

2008-01-13T22:22:00.000-08:00

I've never seen a tennis match quite this embarrassing as this one. Third set: 14 breaks out of the first 18 games?

Not too many 17-year-olds have conquered their fears. But you have to want to win. Otherwise, why are you there?

Also, the new biggest hitter in women's tennis: Jarmila Gajdosova. Just wait and see what happens if she gets fitter and cuts down on her errors. She was actually blowing Serena off the court with her serve.

Neither Serena nor Henin looked their best today.

Really pulling for Lindsay this tournament.