When I started playing StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, I always feared the infamous Zerg baneling bust. I would religiously scout at 10 supply so I could catch the Zerg’s fast gas. The moment I saw that, I went into full barricade mode… PULL SCVS OFF GAS! BUILD MORE BARRACKS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! 

I remember I held off a pretty fierce baneling bust and my opponent said, “Wow, you’re one of the first to hold that. GG”. Dang, that felt SO good! Getting a compliment from a complete stranger in a video game always boosts my ego.

However, most games did not go so smoothly back then. I’d get caught off guard and BOOM, my supply depots would just explode and my entire base would be covered in baneling pesto! Err, I mean baneling acid guts. I suppose the baneling’s acid looks suspiciously similar to basil pesto, right?

UNIT COMPOSITION

FOR THE GNOCCHI

1. salt
2. 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
3. 1 egg
4. 1 cup of ricotta cheese
5. 1 scoop of Quest Brown Rice Powder
6. 2 scoops of Quest Multi-Purpose Mix Protein Powder

FOR THE BASIL PESTO

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 3 – 5 cloves of garlic
4. 1 tablespoon of pine nuts (reserve some for later)
5. 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese
6. 2 tablespoons of olive oil*
7. 1/2 cup of basil

(you may end up with extra pesto!)

*you may need to add more to get a smoother consistency

BUILD ORDER

Adapted from The Splendid Table

This recipe takes about 20 minutes to prep. Cook time is <5 minutes. This makes about 3 servings.

Each serving contains: ~36g of Protein, ~26g of Fat, ~12g of Net Carbs

OPENING

1. In a bowl, combine your ricotta cheese with your egg. Stir until thoroughly mixed.
2. Sprinkle in 3/4 of a scoop of brown rice powder. Stir until combined.
3. Add in your two scoops of protein powder, salt, and nutmeg. Mix until you get a doughy consistency.
   

MID GAME

1. In a food processor, combine 1 tablespoon of olive oil, basil, pine nuts, garlic and parmesan cheese.
2. Remove about 2 tablespoons of the mixture and set aside.
3. Continue adding your remaining tablespoon of oil or until you’re happy with the consistency of your pesto.

LATE GAME

1. Coat a clean surface with 1/4 a scoop of brown rice powder.
2. Knead your dough into a ball.
3. Cut this ball in half. Add 1/2 to a bowl and mix pesto into it to create the baneling’s acid sacs.
   
4. With the other half, cut it into 4 equal sections and roll them into long noodles.Then, cut these noodles into smaller 1″ portions. You should get about ~12 of them.
5. Then, take your pesto-infused dough and create small spheres for each of the gnocchi. This dough will be much more difficult to handle due to the pesto’s oil. Attach each sphere to the gnocchi. You can also add eyes to the baneling by carefully placing some extra green gnocchi dough on its face.
   
6. Take 4 pine nuts and place them into the sides of the gnocchi.These will become the baneling’s feet.
7. Boil your water and season with salt. Carefully drop each gnocchi into the boiling water. The gnocchi will float to the surface when they’re almost ready (should take about ~2 minutes). I recommend cooking them in separate batches so they don’t stick to one another. Remove the gnocchi using a slotted spoon.
8. Plate your gnocchi and serve with your pesto.
9. Eat!

GG WP!

Mine came out a bit more squished than I wanted (I crowded the pot too much!) … but they were still pillowy soft and protein packed!

If you enjoyed this recipe, please check out another one of my Zerg-friendly Quest recipes: Spawning Pools!

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This recipe was created with support from Quest Gaming. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to learn more about how other gamers eat healthy and #CheatClean.

Have you ever wondered why Zerglings are in such great shape? I mean, they run marathons around Marines and Zealots without breaking a sweat.

I’m sure the creep spread throughout the terrain helps, but I’m convinced that these little Zerglings have an incredibly healthy diet. Their brood mothers probably make sure they eat all of their veggies before storming the enemy base.

I assume all the veggies are kept in the spawning pool… That’s why it’s green, right? It’s just pureed leafy greens!

Why else would Zerglings be so fast? Clearly, it’s diet and exercise! Perhaps they use Quest Protein in their creep spread?

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. 1 teaspoon of olive oil
2. 2 teaspoons of salt
3. 1 1/2 tablespoons of coconut oil
4. a handful of sliced almonds
5. 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
6. 2 scoops of Quest multi-purpose mix protein powder
7. 3 eggs
8. 1/4 cup of milk
9. 1/4 cup of water
10. 1/3 cup of fontina cheese, shredded
11. 1/3 of an onion, diced
12. 1/3 cup of spinach
13. 1/3 cup of swiss chard
14. 1/3 cup of kale
15. 3/4 cup of coconut flour (or almond flour)
16. OPTIONAL: 1 tablespoon of beet juice

You’ll also need 4 ramekins.

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this recipe is about 30 minutes. Total cook time is roughly 25 minutes. This makes about 4 – 5 servings.

Each serving contains: 23g of Protein, 10g of Fat, 21g of Carbs (12g of Fiber)

OPENING

1. Combine your protein powder, 1 teaspoon of salt,  flour and 2 eggs in a bowl.
2. Add in your beet juice. The beet juice is just to add color — this step is optional.
3. Add in your 1/4 cup of water and melted coconut oil. and mix all the ingredients together until a dough forms.
4. Place your dough on a clean surface that has been dusted by coconut flour (or the flour of your choosing)
5. Knead the dough into a ball.
6. Divide the dough into four sections.
7. Place each of the four sections into the ramekins. Mash the dough to fit the form of the ramekin.
8. Place your almonds on the edges of the dough to make the “teeth” of the spawning pool.
9. 
10. Bake these ramekins in an oven set to 350°F for 10 minutes. This is just to get the dough to harden up before adding in the filling.

MID GAME

1. Set a small pan on high heat. Once the pan comes up to temperature, add in your olive oil.
2. Sweat your garlic and onions. The onions will become translucent when they’re ready.
3. Add in your leafy green vegetables and cook for about 1 minute, or until they’re wilted.
4. Place the cooked vegetables in a blender. Add in your milk and blend.
5. Add in your egg and blend.
6. Add in your cheese.

LATE GAME

1. Remove the empty spawning pools from the oven.
2. Pour your vegetable puree into each of the spawning pools.
   
3. Bake them in the oven set to 350°F for 15 minutes
4. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
5. Eat!

GG WP!

Now you’ve got a tasty little treat fit for the swarm!

Enjoy these healthy snacks while watching the finals of the WCS!

Or maybe the GSL Code S finals?

It’ll be an eSports packed weekend for StarCraft II. But don’t worry, you’ll be prepared with these Spawning Pool Quiches. FOR THE SWARM!

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This recipe was created with support from Quest Gaming. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to learn more about how other gamers eat healthy and #CheatClean.

Over the weekend, I attended a BarCraft event at my friend’s home. We’ve had BarCraft events here before (with the occasional karaoke involved), but none of this caliber. Blizzard, being the awesome folks that they are, sent Ray some StarCraft swag to help with the festivities.

PRESENTS!! A GSL calendar, TONS of coasters, authenticators, stickers, and lanyards!

To prepare his bar for eSports, Ray put decorations honoring all of the international StarCraft teams.

Unlike Joeyray’s Bar on Mar Sara, Ray’s Bar in California does not stock Benson Cognek or Scotty Bolger’s Old No. 8, but there is a plethora of other fine spirits…

No shortage of refreshments here. 

In order to have a proper BarCraft, we had to have proper bar food and that was my job. I created a menu full of finger food that could be easily enjoyed with a beer-in-hand. Each race is proudly represented here in a very foodie fashion:

For Terran, I’ve created the Hellbat Sliders, turkey sliders with a spicy BBQ base and apple coleslaw. These hellbats won’t damage your economy.

For Zerg, I’ve created Swarm Host Bites, stuffed mushrooms with mozzarella cheese and Italian sausage. Warning, unlike in-game swarm hosts, these swarm host bites cause major splash damage!

Finally, for Protoss, I’ve created Tempest Croissants, prosciutto, spinach and mozzarella stuffed croissants. Let these croissants siege your taste buds.

These recipes are meant to be very simple and I will be taking some shortcuts in order to reduce the prep time and the ingredients list.

UNIT COMPOSITION: HELLBAT SLIDERS

For the Burgers

1. 1 tablespoon of olive oil
2. 1 lb of ground turkey
3. 8 mini hamburger buns

For the BBQ Sauce

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 2 teaspoons of liquid smoke
4. 1 tablespoon of worchershire sauce
5. 2 tablespoon of chiptole paste
6. 3 tablespoon of ketchup

For the apple coleslaw

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar
4. 2 tablespoons of white vinegar
5. 1/3 cup granny smith apple, sliced thinly
6. 1/3 cup of shredded cabbage
7. 1/3 cup of shredded red cabbage

(If you can find a ready made bag of shredded cabbage and red cabbage, I suggest getting that)

I recommend making the apple coleslaw and BBQ sauce ahead of time, especially if you plan on traveling to a friend’s house to make these. It will save you a ton of time and it’ll be easier for you to bring a container full of cole slaw or sauce instead of bringing each individual ingredient.

BUILD ORDER: HELLBAT SLIDERS

Prep time for this will take about 20 minutes. Cook time is roughly 12 minutes. This makes 4 servings.

Calories per servings: ~300 calories

1. Thoroughly combine your BBQ sauce ingredients (salt, pepper, liquid smoke, worchershire sauce, chiptole paste, ketchup) in a bowl.
2. Pour your 2/3 BBQ sauce over your ground turkey and stir the sauce through the turkey. Reserve the 1/3 of the BBQ sauce for the burgers.
3. Shape your ground turkey into small patties. You should create about 8 patties.
4. Set a pan on high heat and add your olive oil. When the pan becomes hot, place your patties in the pan. You may have to cook them in separate batches. Cook the patties for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove patties when done.
   
5. Place chopped apples and both shredded cabbages in a bowl.
6. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, vinegar, and sugar. Stir to combine to create the dressing.
7. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
8. Place 1 patty on each of the burger buns (optional: place 1/2 teaspoon of BBQ  sauce over the patty) then top with some of the apple slaw.

UNIT COMPOSITION: SWARM HOST BITES

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 1 teaspoon of olive oil
4. 12 large mushrooms, stems removed
5. 1 Italian pork sausage, casing removed
6. 1/2 cup of marinara sauce
7. 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded

BUILD ORDER: SWARM HOST BITES

Prep time for this will take about 10 minutes. Cook time is roughly 15 minutes. This makes 4 servings.

Calories per serving: ~120 calories

1. Pre-heat an oven to 350° F (~176° C).
2. Add olive oil and heat a pan on high heat. Once the pan comes up to temperature, add in your sausage. Cook the ground sausage for about 6 minutes.
3. Dry the inside of your mushrooms with a paper towel. Season with salt and a little pepper.
   
4. Add in a spoonful of marinara sauce into each mushroom.
5. Add in a spoonful of ground sausage to each mushroom and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
6. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

UNIT COMPOSITION: TEMPEST CROISSANTS

1. pepper
2. pre-made croissant dough (usually comes in a tube)
3. 8 slices of proscuitto
4. 1/4 cup of spinach
5. 8 slices of mozzarella
6. Butter

BUILD ORDER: TEMPEST CROISSANTS

Prep time will be about 20 minutes and cook time is about 18 minutes. This makes 4 servings.

Calories per serving: ~380 calories

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F (~176° C).
2. Unravel your croissant dough and separate the triangles.
3. Wrap 1 slice of prosciutto around mozzarella and a 2-3 leaves of spinach. Season with pepper.
   
4. Place your wrapped prosciutto on the bottom of the triangle (opposite the point).
5. Roll your dough towards the point of the triangle. Pinch the edges of the rolled croissant.
6. Grease a baking dish and place your croissants on the dish. Bake for about 18 minutes or until golden brown.

If you have a large enough oven, you should be able to cook the mushrooms and the croissants at the same time.

If you’re cooking for a large party, feel free to double or triple the ingredients in order to increase the serving sizes.

GG!

With WCS Season 2 finals coming up (August 23 – 25th) in Cologne, Germany, these BarCraft bites would be a perfect snack if you’re watching the action from home!

BONUS: SLUSH OF THE SWARM

It wouldn’t be a BarCraft without some sort of alcohol! Since it’s summer, we decided to create a very simple and refreshing drink — all you need is 3 ingredients: watermelon, ice, and coconut rum. Just throw 1 cup of crushed ice, 1 cup of watermelon, and 2 (or more…) shots of coconut rum into a blender and blend. This simple slush is great alcohol-free as well!

We kind of drank a lot of these…

I had a lot of fun watching the WCS America finals — the games were very entertaining Even some of my friends who don’t particularly follow StarCraft were chanting for their new found favorite players!

Great StarCraft games, great food, and great friends. That’s how you hold a BarCraft. GG!

Playing StarCraft II multiplayer can be a bit of a mental strain for me. I don’t think I’m up to the challenge of sitting down and laddering non-stop for hours. I end up getting absurdly frustrated and the more I play, the worse I preform. Even 3v3 and 4v4 games can be pretty exhausting for me (the fact that my laptop can’t handle 4s anymore doesn’t help either).

There’s days I want to play StarCraft without really playing StarCraft, which is why I turn to the “Arcade” section of StarCraft. The Arcade section is full of games created by players from around the globe who’ve messed around with the map editor to create some really spectacular things.

One of my favorite games in the whole world is StarJeweled. It combines my love of StarCraft and my unhealthy addiction to match-3 puzzle games.

I will admit that I am much much better at StarJeweled than StarCraft. My skills of match-3 puzzle games was fine tuned during my business calculus classes in college. In my defense, optimizing revenue with integrals is super boring compared to my fancy puzzle games on my phone… Zzzzz

HARDCORE

In StarJeweled, you earn energy by matching 3 or more of the same jewels. Energy can be spent on building units or using skills. One of the skills that can be used is everybody’s favorite AoE High Templar skill, Psionic Storm.

In StarJeweled, Psionic Storm is pretty helpful in destroying the continual onslaught marines coming to destroy your lovely base.

Though I am not a Protoss player, I can still enjoy the lovely destruction caused by dropping a big ol’ Psi storm on a flock of marines. I assume that a Psi storm leaves quite a sting, similar to eating a bunch of horseradish on a lamb burger! Ok, a well place Psi storm will be a bit more painful than eating horseradish-covered lamb burger… But at least this lamb burger with horseradish tzatziki is delicious!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. pepper
3. rosemary
4. dill
5. 1 tablespoon of olive oil
6. 1 tomato, sliced
7. 1/2 red onion, sliced
8. 1/2 cup of romaine lettuce
9. 1/2 cucumber, chopped
10. 1/2 juice of a lemon
11. 1 cup of greek yogurt
12. 1/2 cup of feta cheese
13. 4 teaspoons of horseradish powder (You can substitute Horseradish sauce instead)
14. 1 1/2 lb of ground lamb
15. 4 whole wheat buns

BUILD ORDER

Total prep time is about 25 minutes. Total cook time is about 15 minutes. This makes 4 servings.

OPENING

I will admit that I have been playing a lot less StarCraft than I would like. I wouldn’t say that I’m entirely out of the loop because I do watch streams and various tournaments. One of my friends was kind enough to host an MLG Anaheim viewing party — it’s like your own private Barcraft!

I volunteered to cook and I decided to make these burgers. There may have been significantly more Jack Daniel’s than usual though. Oh well!

Tournament play showcases some of the latest and greatest builds from the top players. However, I really only pay attention to the Terran builds.  GLORIOUS HELLBAT MASTER RACE.

Like many Terrans, I love the sweet smell of hellion-roasted drones on a fine afternoon. But, after seeing the offerings Blizzard has at this years San Diego Comic-con, I may have to reconsider my stance on Zerg abuse.

AWWW SO WIDDLE!

I’m not a big convention-goer, so I’ve never been to or had the desire to go to Comic-Con. I honestly don’t think I could handle the insanity that is Comic-Con. But for those awesome folk who are in San Diego right now, I salute you and your tenacity!

Speaking of awesome folk, a few of my friends from Geek Panda Apparel have offered to rescue me a cute little plush zergling of my own! Amazing, right?! The zergling plush pretty darn adorable. Look at that smile!

So maybe I’m developing a soft spot for the zerg, which is why this recipe is goes out to the Swarm.

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
4. 3 tablespoons of olive oil
5. 2 stalks of green onion, sliced
6. 8 cloves of garlic, diced
7. 1/2 white onion, chopped
8. 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
9. 1/4 cup of shiitake mushrooms, sliced
10. 1 cup of mung bean sprouts
11. 1/3 lb of ground pork
12. 1/3 lb of shrimp, shelled
13. 1/4 lb of squid
14. 1/2 lb of spaghetti noodles

BUILD ORDER

Total prep time is about 45 minutes. Total cook time is about 45 minutes. This will make 4 servings.

Calories per serving: ~460 calories

OPENING

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375° F (~191 C°).
2. Add salt, pepper, 1/3 of your green onions, and 1/4 of your chopped garlic to your ground pork.
3. Form the ground pork mixture into meatballs, roughly 2 inches in diameter.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
5. While your meatballs are cooking, prepare the rest of the ingredients.

MID GAME

1. Boil your spaghetti in salted water.
2. Reserve 1 cup of salted pasta water and then strain the pasta when cooked.
3. Combine oyster sauce and the pasta water to create a sauce. Reserve for later.

LATE GAME

1. Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a large wok (or skillet).
2. When oil becomes hot, add in your sliced mushrooms and garlic. Saute your mushrooms and garlic.
3. Add your shrimp and squid. Saute until cooked (roughly ~5 – 7 minutes).
4. Add in your meatballs (and any fat drippings from the baking dish) and mung bean sprouts into the wok. Stir to combine.
5. Add in your pasta. Drizzle the olive oil and oyster sauce mixture over the entire dish. Thoroughly toss the pasta to combine.
6. Remove from heat and serve with parmesan cheese and green onions.
7. Eat!

Ta-da, GG WP!

As I mentioned earlier, the guys at Geek Panda Apparel are down in San Diego for Comic-Con. Geek Panda Apparel is a group of my friends/former co-workers who’ve decided to wear their nerdiness with pride by developing a line of geek-culture inspired shirts.

They’re currently running a Kickstarter campaign to help get their project off the ground. If you donate at least $25, you’re guaranteed a shirt of your choosing and some other goodies (such as stickers). So if you’re feeling generous or just want a cool shirt, please donate to their Kickstarer campaign. <3

The weather is getting warmer and that means it’s time for summer foods! Hooray!

With Soulkey pulling off a miraculous win against INnoVation, it’s time to crown another Zerg GSL Champion and time for another Zerg recipe!

More eSports events need people in monkey costumes. 

If Soulkey’s plays have inspired you to hop onto ladder, I suggest that you do not ladder on an empty stomach!

So if you’re looking for a meal that will satisfy your hunger during the heat, try out this recipe: Fungaled Fusilli! It’s green and lean!

Fungal Growth has never been this delicious… The avocados in this dish provide a healthier alternative to standard creamy pasta sauces. In this application, I’m using the avocado sauce for cold pasta salad.

There is no need to be scared of this fungal growth, because it won’t root your army or ruin your drop play.

How could you say no to roasted veggies? 

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. pepper
3. thyme
4. 2 tablespoons of olive oil
5. 4 – 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
6. juice from 1/2 of a lemon
7. 1/2 cup of cremini mushrooms, chopped
8. 1 cup of chopped onion
9. 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
10. 2 ripe avocados
11. 1/2 lb of fusilli pasta
12. 1/2 lb of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
13. 1/2 lb of chicken breast

This dish is best served at room temperature or slightly chilled.

BUILD ORDER

Prep time will be about 35 minutes. Cook time is about 40 minutes. This recipe will make 4 servings.

Calories per serving: ~590 calories

OPENING

1. Preheat your oven to 375° (~190° C).
2. Place chicken in a baking dish. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Drizzle 1 table spoon of olive oil over the chicken.
3. Place your tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms and onions in a separate baking dish. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the vegetables.
   
4. Place both dishes in the oven (preferably on the same level if you can fit it)
5. Roast the chicken for about 25 minutes and remove from oven. Roast vegetables for 40 minutes.
6. Allow chicken to cool. Once the chicken has cooled, chop into cubes.
7. When vegetables have finished cooking, remove them from the pan. Allow them to cool.

MID GAME

1. Add pasta  into salted boiling water. Cook until pasta is done.
2. Reserve a ladle full of pasta water and strain pasta under cold water.
3. Return the pasta to the pot.

LATE GAME

1. Slice your avocado in half and remove the pit. Carefully scoop out the meat and place it into a bowl. Using a fork, smash and separate the avocado. Smash avocado until smooth.
2. Add in parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and thyme.
3. Add in the reserved pasta water. Stir to combine.
   
4. Pour avocado sauce over the pasta and mix.
5. Add in your chopped chicken and roasted vegetables. Gently stir the chicken and vegetables through the pasta.
6. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.
7. (Optional): top with extra cheese.
8. Eat!

You can eat this dish warm, but I personally prefer eating it cold. I think the avocado flavor is more noticeable when chilled. No matter which way you prefer it, this dish is definitely worth a GG WP.

Serve it at your next home LAN party or home barcraft! FEED THE SWARM!

In the right hands, the Force Field can be a very dangerous tool used to rip apart and isolate opposing armies. It doesn’t really get that much use in a PvP scenarios as Guardian Shield is much more useful (plus, you usually don’t have an abundance of Sentries in PvP anyway).

I personally have watched my glorious Terran reach an untimely demise due my poor micro which led to my Marauders and Marines smashing their dumb faces on an invisible shield. Should’ve waited for Medivacs…

Unlike your standard Force Felds, these Thai-inspired Force Fields will always be a welcomed treat in your base.

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. small pinch of salt
2. 2 tablespoons of honey
3. juice from a lime
4. lime zest
5. 1/2 cup of blueberries
6. 1/2 cup of brown rice (or any rice of your choosing) + 1 1/4 cup of water
7. 1 cups of coconut milk
8. 1 mango (chopped; reserve 2 large slices to create a Protoss symbol)

BUILD ORDER

Prep time will be about 10 minutes. Cook time is roughly 20 minutes. This makes 3 servings.

Calories per serving: ~250 calories

OPENING

1. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Once your water has begun to boil, cook brown rice as normal. This should take about 10 minutes.

MID GAME

1. Add your 1/2 of your lime juice, salt, 1 1/2 tablespoons of honey, and your coconut milk to the rice.
2. Stir the rice and combine.
3. Sprinkle in your lime zest and stir.
4. Add in your chopped mango.

LATE GAME

1. Place blueberries, lime juice, and 1/2 tablespoon honey in a pan on low heat. Cook for about 5 minutes.
2. Remove blueberries from heat and pour into a food processor. Process until smooth.
   
3. Scoop rice into a small bowl. Place a plate, upside down, on top of the bowl of rice. Hold the plate tightly against the bowl and flip the bowl over to create a small rice dome.
4. Serve rice with blueberry sauce.
5. Eat!

Since this is a Protoss recipe, I felt that it had to bear the Protoss insignia. To make a mango Protoss symbol, simply take a thin slice of mango and use kitchen shears to cut out a Protoss symbol. Alternatively, you can try using a parring knife .

To make the hexagonal shape, just use a butter knife to form the six sides of the force field. Now you’re ready to enjoy a delicious force field. Hooray! GG WP!

If you’re a Zerg player, you will understand how critical Infestors can be in your unit composition. For Terran and Protoss players, you’ll know how difficult it can be to defeat a Zerg player who skillfully uses their Infestors. Despite the recent balance changes to Infestors for Heart of the Swarm, they still play a key role in the mid and late game.

In the right hands, the Infestor can be a very cost effective unit. If you can sneak a few burrowed Infestor’s into your opponents base and throw out a ton of Infested Terrans, you can halter your opponent’s mining. This strategy was recently displayed in the RO32 match between KT.Rolster Flash and AcerBly at MLG Dallas 2013. If you don’t get caught, an Infested Terran attack on the mineral line can be pretty devastating.

If you’re an Infestor lover, then this recipe is for you! Take a break from campaign or multiplayer in Heart of the Swarm and reward yourself with this sweet treat.

So why are these called “Drunken Infestors?” Well, it’s because these little Infestor pears have been relaxing in wine!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. pinch of salt
2. 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
3. 1 teaspoon of honey
4. 2 teaspoon of vanilla
5. 1 cup of orange juice
6. zest from 1/2 an orange
7. 2 bartlett pears (or bosc pears), peeled
8. 1 tablespoon of mascarpone cheese
9. 2 cups of red wine
10. 1 cup of orange juice

BUILD ORDER

Prep time will take about 10 minutes. Cook time will be about 20 minutes. This makes 4 servings. (1/2 pear each)

Calories per serving: ~170 calories

OPENING

1. Cut peeled pears in half.
2. Scoop out the seeds of the pears.

MID GAME

1. Pour red wine and orange juice in a pot.
2. Place pears in the pot. Set the pot on medium heat.
3. Add in your pinch of salt, honey, vanilla, and orange zest.
4. Poach pears in the liquid for about 20 minutes. Occasionally spoon the wine over the pears.

LATE GAME

1. Remove poached pears from the pot and place each 
2. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
3. Place a mascarpone cheese in the pitted center of the pear.
4. OPTIONAL: Garnish with a orange wedge and additional honey.
5. Eat!

And that’s a GG WP!

Alternatively, if you want these pears to look a little bit more like Infestors, flip over the pears so the pitted side faces downward:

This silly Infestor is so drunk that he’s wearing a orange slice as a hat! Teehee.

Since the bulk of this recipe is fruit, it’s fairly low in calories. If you’re really trying to watch your calorie intake, just omit the mascarpone cheese. They store pretty well in the fridge, so you can enjoy these Infestors either warm or cold!

GL HF!

Today, we’re serving up fresh burgers straight from the master Zealot chefs of Aiur! All aboard the bad pun train because we’re making Cyburgnetics Cores. Yes, I went there.

shirt available at Jinx.com 

The Cybernetics Core is an early game structure necessary to many standard Protoss build orders. Of course, if you’re rushing (i.e., cannon rush or proxy Zealot rush), you probably won’t need a Cybernetics Core since your game will be over in 5 minutes or less.

However, assuming that you want to actually play towards the mid game and beyond, it’s probably in your best interest to place a Cybernetics Core sometime after your first Gateway.

While we’ve given some insight on why you need a Cybernetics Core, we haven’t answered the most question of them all: how does it taste? Hopefully like shrimp satay!

And I hope they actually look like this:

Seems legit.

Anyway, enough pictures and talk about Protoss… Let’s start cooking!

UNIT COMPOSITION

FOR THE BURGERS

1. salt
2. pepper
3. cilantro (fresh coriander)
4. 2 teaspoons of olive oil
5. 2 teaspoons of minced garlic
6. 2 teaspoons of sriracha sauce
7. juice from 1/2 of a lime*
8. 1/2 tablespoon of turmeric (be careful, tumeric will stain)
9. 1/2 tablespoon of cumin
10. 1/2 tablespoon of coriander
11. 1/4 of a cup of coconut milk
12. 1 stalk of lemon grass, chopped
13. 1 egg
14. 1 cup of red cabbage, shredded
15. 1/3 cup of red bell pepper, chopped
16. 4 hamburger buns
17. 1 lb of raw shrimp, peeled, shelled, and deveined

FOR THE PEANUT SAUCE

1. salt
2. 1 teaspoon of honey
3. 1 teaspoon of sriracha
4. juice from 1/2 a lime*
5. 1/2 cup of peanut butter
6. 1/2 cup of coconut milk

*not shown in the photo

BUILD ORDER

Total prep time will be about 35 minutes. Total cook time will be roughly about 12 – 15 minutes. This will make 4 servings.

Calories per serving: ~610 calories

OPENING

1. Combine salt, pepper, turmeric, coriander, cumin, garlic, coconut milk, lemon grass, lime juice, and sriracha in a food processor (or blender). Pulse the mixture for a few seconds or until combined. 
2. Add your shelled shrimp into the food processor. You will want to add the shrimp in batches and process after each batch. Process until combined (it’s okay to leave larger shrimp chunks in the mix).
3. Remove shrimp mixture from the food processor and place in a large bowl.

MID GAME

1. Crack an egg into the shrimp mixture and combine.
2. Add in chopped red pepper and some chopped cilantro.
3. Divide the mixture into four parts. Take one each of the four sections and shape them into patties. Set patties aside.
4. Set a large skillet on high heat and in 1/2 of your olive oil. Once your skillet becomes hot, place 2 patties in the skillet. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, then reduce the heat to medium allow the patties to cook for an additional 2 minutes.
5. Remove cooked patties and set aside. Repeat the previous step for the next two burgers.

LATE GAME

1. In a small bowl, combine coconut milk, salt, honey, sriracha, lime juice, and peanut butter. Stir to combine the mixture. If your sauce is too thick, add in a little bit more coconut milk. The sauce consistency should be similar to ranch dressing. 
2. Place a spoonful of peanut sauce on bottom half of the hamburger bun.
3. Place a shrimp patty on top of the peanut sauce. Place another spoonful of peanut sauce on top of the shrimp patty. Add shredded red cabbage and cilantro on top. Finish by placing the top of the hamburger bun over the patty.
4. Eat!

And that’s a GG WP. My dinner for Aiur!

From my understanding, Protoss don’t eat food. That’s quite a shame because they’re missing out on these delicious burgers inspired by their own buildings.

Oh well! Guess that just means more Cyburgnetics cores for Terran and Zerg. Om nom nom nom.

Oh baby, you’re the stim to my marines. The concussive shells to my proxy marauder opening. I love you more than watching nukes fall on 200/200 Zerg army. That’s right, love is in the air… Or maybe that’s just the smell of gun powder from a C-14 gauss rifle.

Either way, Valentine’s Day is very soon and dessert is the perfect way to woo your sweetheart. Unless, your sweetheart is overcome with vengeful rage due to being left on a Zerg-infested planet and then subsequently became the leader of a colony of Zerg who just so happen to now be hellbent on destroying everyone and everything in the galaxy. You might need to buy some long stem roses for that…

For this Valentine’s Day special, we’re tackling one of my favorite desserts: Tiramisu.

But in this case, we’re making terranmisu. OH HO HO, PUNS!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. 1.5 oz of coffee liqueur (about 1 and 1/2 shot glasses worth)
2. 1/3 cup of honey (or sugar)
3. 1/2 cup of powdered chocolate
4. 2 cups of espresso (or coffee)
5. 14 – 20 lady fingers (amount will depend on how large of a dish you are using; for a 10″ loaf pan, I used about 14)
6. 1/2 cup of mascarpone cheese
7. 1 pint of heavy whipping cream
8. OPTIONAL: 1 cup of white chocolate, broken into pieces

BUILD ORDER

Prep for this dish will take about 30 minutes. Cook time (or idle time in this case) will be about 2 hours. This will make 6 servings.

Calories per serving: ~520 calories

OPENING

1. Pour your whipping cream into a bowl. Using a balloon whisk, whisk the whip cream until it begins to form stiff peaks. (I suggest placing your bowl in the sink and then whisk side to side very quickly… Extreme APM is required for this step!). The cream will not thicken unless you whisk it very aggressively in a short amount of time. Ideally, this step should take you less than 5 minutes. Here’s a YouTube showing how to properly whip cream.Once done, set your whipped cream aside.
2. Take your mascarpone cheese and combine it with the honey (or sugar).
3. Gently fold the mascarpone cheese into your whipped cream.
4. Pour your coffee liqueur into your whipped cream mixture and gently combine.

MID GAME

1. Pour your espresso into a shallow dish.
2. Dip your lady fingers into the espresso. Do not let them soak — the cookies should be moist, not soaking wet.

LATE GAME

1. Place half of your lady fingers in your dish. Spoon some espresso over your lady fingers. 
2. Cover the lady fingers with half of your whipped cream mixture.
3. Sprinkle powdered chocolate over the whipped cream.
4. Place the rest of your lady fingers on top of the powdered chocolate. Repeat steps 2 and 3.
5. Cover your dish with cellophane (cling wrap) and place in the fridge for at least two hours.
6. Eat!

I mentioned earlier that this would be terranmisu, so here’s how to give this dish an extra terran flair.

METAGAME: How to create chocolate terran symbols and other designs

Ok, so this was my first attempt at making these… These take a fair amount of time to create, so if you’re not patient, you may want to skip this entire process completely. It took me about 15 minutes to make 3 of these symbols (however, I have very little experience working with chocolate, so if you’ve done something like this before, you’ll probably be faster). You’ll also need to pop these chocolates into the fridge for about 20 minutes. Total time is about 45 minutes (including the time required to melt chocolate).

I will also suggest that you take your design and flip it in photoshop or another photo editing program. This means that your design will print backwards and you’ll be creating the chocolate design backwards. Once the chocolate cools, flip the design over so that it will be facing the correct direction. This will make the design smoother and will have less mistakes.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t smart enough to remember this step when creating the chocolate terrans, so they’re a little bit more bumpy than I would’ve liked. Oh well!

Tools: tooth picks, cotton swabs, wax paper, tape, paper, glass cup, pot of boiling water, and a spoon

1. Set a pot to boil water.
2. Once the pot has boiled, remove it from the heat and place a glass cup full of broken white chocolate into the hot water.
3. Allow the chocolate to melt and stir with a spoon. This process should take about 5 minutes.
4. Let the chocolate cool down for about 5 minutes;  occasionally stir the chocolate during this process.
5. Select your design and reduce the size of your design to about a width of 4″. Try to fit at least 4 of your designs on a single piece of paper. Then, print out your design. 
   
6. Place your print out on a clean, flat surface. Place a piece of wax paper (large than the size of your paper) over the print out and tape it down.
7. Dip a toothpick in your cup of white chocolate and begin to paint over the designs. If you happen to make a mistake, simply clean up excess white chocolate with a damp cotton swab.
8. Once you’ve completed your designs, place them in the fridge to cool.
9. When you’re ready to serve the tiramisu, remove the symbols from the fridge. Carefully peel back  the chocolate from the wax paper and place your design onto the tiramisu.

And, ta-da! Now that’s a GG WP for terranmisu!

Go get cozy in your kitchen and whip up this delicious treat for your sweetheart or just yourself! Om nom nom nom.