Oct
15
I recently become a member of Slow Food. Slow Food is an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment. It is about improving health, building community and making sure everyone can eat well.
Like language, food is a foundation of most cultures. In the US we have lost the pleasures and benefits of slow food for the efficiencies of fast food. By such we are loosing our culture and a connection to our community, our family ties to the daily rush. Some of my most pleasurable experience with friends and family is taking time out to dine with them.
I highly recommend checking out Slow Food USA.
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/
Jul
25
California is yet again blazing the trail in epicurean frontier when the Govenator signed into law a ban on restaurant use of trans fats. This ban will take place starting 2010 with all retail baked goods following suit by 2011. Unfortunately, packaged foods or anything with a ingredient label will continue to be exempt.
In many cases I am just not a big fan of government regulation. Too much regulation or regulation without a direct benefit can become an undue burden upon a market and make a segment uncompetitive. But some regulations can allow for a level playing field, to enable innovation and have significant market benefit. In general it can enable companies to “do the right thing” with the knowledge that everyone else needs to also follow the same rules. It is my belief that this regulation does more good than bad. The health risks are real and the people who are at the greatest risk are those who are lower income families and children. Likely it does not go far enough but this is a great step forward.
As I see it, if we are to go to a universal healthcare, the government needs to be more proactive in preventative measures. This is definitely a step in the right direction.
PS- NYC has the ban in place and I have visited several times and frankly, the food still tastes just as unhealthy as I remember from my youth. For Interesting factoids about partially hydrogenated oils and taste tests check out FryTest.com.
Jul
22
Mathra’s spawn still lives. The Safer Pantry Pest Trap that uses pheromone that attracts the male moths does work but only better slightly better than any other sticky surface. They are not very intelligent or fast moving. We also spend time killing most of them by hand with ease and the vacuum cleaner is always a safe alternative for those hard to reach areas. Apparently this is going to be an issue for a long time to come so we have taken to using Lock & Lock food storage to store and protect food we don’t keep in the frig or freezer. I bought these containers on Clement Street in the Richmond.
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It works well though we are not storing any grains. I am hoping they decide to move out before we are forced to.
From original post: http://dennismueller.org/blog/?p=19
Jun
16
So in my eco-friendly desire to be a good citizen, I have purchased on too many organic bulk food items without understanding the real risk and consequences of my actions. You might think, well he is doing a good thing but you would be wrong! Because of my foolish green eating hippy ways, I have gave birth to Mothra and she has spawned hundreds of followers who have now taken over my house. AHHHHHH!!!!
The Indian Brown Moth is a nightmare. It is nigh impossible to destroy and infests almost any food, packaged or not. Only way to really get rid of them is to remove anything that might be food or breed upon, and yes, they eat about anything. This is really difficult since they don’t need to lay eggs only in food.
So here is the tid bit to help you prevent an infestation (note the prevent part):
Put all grains, rice and pasta in the freezer for 4 days after purchasing. This will kill any potential infestation.
If you are an unlucky soul like me, here are a few good sites on what to do to combat the problem. I will let you know how it turns out in the next few months.
http://www.kendall-bioresearch.co.uk/domestmoth.htm#moth2ctrl
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/Pubs/insect/05598.html
Once you take the steps above, you can also use the Safer Pantry Pest Trap that uses pheromone that attracts the male moths. There is no poison involved…
Sep
16
My lord I would be really fat if I lived in Texas! The food there is all so damn rich. I must say I really did enjoy the BBQ, I think all lunch places should serve bbq with women in hot pants and zipper tops. Mmm tasty! Continuing with the culinary experience, I even ate fried Gator tail! Now that was scrumptious; it is similar to fried calamari except less chewy and without the fear of potentially eating Cthulhu’s baby and being damn to potentially stay in Dallas for the rest of my life (a personal fear). So even though I found it quite easy to get inebriated finding a decent bar proved to be difficult even in a city the boasts it has more bars than any other city.
Leaving Texas proved to be very difficult. First, I woke up still drunk. Not a good sign, then I proceeded to the airport to go through all the normal lines and headaches as I am starting to get my hangover. Now with 4 hours of sleep under my belt, the thought of going home keeps me going. As it comes to boarding time, THE announcement comes, there is a mechanic issue with the plain and the flight will be delayed. “Anyone with a transfer please come to the desk and we will TRY to accommodate you.” By when the lady said we, she meant the “Royal We”, as in after 45 minutes on line, she completed only 4 people’s tickets. Thankfully I was like 9th in line but I need to be home for a 3 pm meeting. It is already 9:30am Central time and with a layover almost guaranteed, it just did not look good for our heroes. After an hour and fifteen minutes a second attendant showed up to help. In the mean time I try calling united and they do put me on a flight that will get me in about 2pm but I still need to wait on line for ticketing and everything else… useless… So when I finally get up to the counter… I great the new guy with a big smile and ask him how his day was going. Then I explained to him that I need to get to either SFO or Oakland before 2pm PST. He put on a different carrier, American, and told me I needed to change terminals. Well I that was a process within itself…” I ended up walking 1/2 mile with all my bags and standing on line for tickets once again. I then get to the desk and ask for exit row seat, if not then an isle seat. She said that there was an exit row available and an isle seat. So I took the exit row. Then I went on line for security, again. It took me 35 minutes to get to the point in which I got to be scanned and such. Ok, now I have been standing on lines or walk from one line to another since 8 am. It is now 11am. And I am a potential terrorist risk.
The TSA guy pulls me aside. Scans me with a wand and every time it touches me it goes off. He then proceeds to pat me down. Moving next to my luggage, he opens up everything and asks detailed questions about my electronics… Thankfully I did not have the Peter North 10″ Vibrating dildo that Amy got me for my birthday! I am sure that would have been considered a deadly weapon, anyway he swabs things for explosives and goes through my dirty cloths. He eventually found CONTRABAND! I apparently smuggled a small lighter, the mini size deep inside my overnight bag. He thoroughly explained the regulations in a way only a government official could and then offered to allow me to mail it to myself. Which, I did not want to point out would also be illegal due to the fact that you can’t put compressed, flammable liquids in the mail. So I decided to just let it go. He did write up a report on how I had such a thing so I am pretty sure I am on a watch list from now on. I did finally get on the plane! To my middle row seat next to a 6’4” guy… wait there is something fishy about this, beyond the fact that I was one of last to board and was sitting in row 8 on my $1200 ticket, there was no exit at the end of this row. Nope, I am now in a middle seat, in a cramped row and there is no place to put my carry-on bags. Oh the humanity. So I go into first class and put my bags there to the scowling looks of those people who probably all paid less for their ticket, and then went to my center seat. The only saving grace was that the closed the door before the person to my right could board so I was able to put some space between us.
After landing I spent several hours of running around and dealing with all the shit I did not do before I left. I was able to have a playful evening reveling in the fact that I was in my own bed and probably breaking at least 30 obscenity laws if I was still in Texas. (Thanks for the warm welcome…) God do I love San Francisco!
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