For Easter, A Sunday In The Peep With George

The WASHINGTON POST used to be known as a august newspaper of hard journalism and investigative reporting. But, like all newspapers in the Internet age, they've had to make some adjustments and lighten up to appeal to a wider (and younger) range of readers. Thus, for the last seven years, the POST has had a contest in which people are asked to submit diorama scenes created with Peeps, those delicious marshmallowy Easter treats. 

This year's contest debuted online today and I have a winner myself--A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Le Grande Peep.  This one is a repeat finalist from previous years, a man by the name of Mark Rivetti who, so the caption says, has submitted his "master-peep". I know...they couldn't resist. And neither could I. Now I am seriously craving some Peeps. Bring it on, Easter!

Happy Peepster

Peeps, those sugary, quasi-marshmallowy, neon-colored treats, are slowly but surely usurping the tired old Easter Bunny as the kitschy symbol of Easter.  As you can see by this pic, spotted on Facebook over the weekend, they are trying to take even Jesus himself out of the picture.  

Though they've been around since 1953, made by a candy company based in Lancaster, PA, the popularity of Peeps has been growing in recent years, as evidenced by the growing trend of Peep-diorama contests. Even reputable newspapers like the Washington Post now hold these annual events where they get hundreds of submissions from Peeps-crazed readers.  My favorite is this one below from the Hot Dish blog of Peeps at a peep show:

Currently, the latest in Peeps-trending seems to be cooking.  The soft little birdies and bunnies are being cooked, baked, fried and even added as toppings onto pizzas.  The food blog Serious Eats did an experiment dropping some Peeps onto a NY pie. The results are hysterical and somewhat disturbing too.

They claimed that the mix of savory and sweet tasted interesting....hmmm. I'm not sure this is what I want on my pizza.  However, a melted Peep can be delicious. A couple years ago, I was at an Easter BBQ where Peeps were roasted on an open flame. However, there was a small margin of error between the perfectly roasted Peep and a runny, chemical spill.  You had to time it just right as the unnatural makeup of Peeps, which has been thoroughly documented, is quite particular.  Or should I say Peep-ticular.