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Raw milk has a handful of purported benefits that are poorly supported by research, vs an extremely well-documented history of causing significant illness and death. Pasteurization was/is one of the cornerstone public-health interventions (along with vaccines and improved sanitation) that brought down child mortality in particular from 100 per 1000 live births at the turn of the 20th century, to 0.77/1000 live births at the turn of the 21st (those are US numbers, because they're easier to find, but Canada's tracked pretty closely to the same percentages). I don't have any particular objection to a billionaire and his former-dancer wife setting up shop as salt-of-the-earth homesteaders, and selling their homegrown meats etc to their Instagram followers. It's a grift, but (shrug) if someone wants to order meat from them at a premium, vs the farmer down the road, that's their prerogative. Nothing to do with me. But I do get het up over the notion of deliberately promoting something that's known to be unsafe, whether as a money-maker (again, the dude could live very comfortably on his trust fund without needing to do this), or from ego, or whatever. The "schadenfreude" comes from knowing this guy could definitely have budgeted to hire a consultant and gotten it right the first time, but couldn't be bothered. I guess you could say that "putting lives in danger for fun and profit" rubs me the wrong way (anti-vaccine grifters also set me off badly, which probably will not be a shock to you given the foregoing). As it happens I'd just finished reading this article from Ars Technica when I came across a link to that People Magazine piece on social media, so the timing was especially apt. https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/02/newborns-death-spurs-raw-milk-warning-in-new-mexico/ I've written a number of articles about outbreaks of foodborne illness during the time I've been freelancing, and there's been a pretty big body of research to pull from where raw milk is concerned. I'll drop a couple here, just 'cause, but this is one of my big hobby-horses so I'll exercise a bit of restraint. https://marlerclark.com/pdfs/raw-milk-jeh.pdf (The farm mentioned in this piece is especially influential, and has largely driven the rise in visibility for raw-milk consumption) https://www.livescience.com/health/viruses-infections-disease/new-report-details-one-of-the-biggest-raw-milk-related-outbreaks-in-recent-us-history ...and while this one isn't about people knowingly consuming raw milk, a mechanical failure allowed raw milk to mix with pasteurized milk, causing at least 12 known deaths, over 16,000 lab-diagnosed infections, and (after tracing the milk's distribution pattern) estimates of over 160,000 probable illnesses overall. https://theconversation.com/contaminated-milk-from-one-plant-in-illinois-sickened-thousands-with-salmonella-in-1985-as-outbreaks-rise-in-the-us-lessons-from-this-one-remain-true-254036 Please understand I'm not dunking on you, here. A lot of people are promoting the stuff, whether for mercenary reasons, or rote contrarianism, or because they've become True Believers; and obviously I don't know your daughter or her beliefs/influences on the matter. If you're interested, you can reach out in a private message and I can find some more links for you that either emphasize the science or actively debunk the main handful of bad-faith arguments that favor raw milk.

The weather never truly cleared yesterday. It remained cool and overcast for most of the day. I think we just picked a bad weather week for an island vacation. You cannot do anything about the weather though! We went for a walk around the neighborhood and ended up back at the beach during a brief period of sunshine. It was much too cold for us to swim, but some hardier souls were wading in the water. For dinner I had made a reservation at Ininfti at the Grace Bay Club. They are known for their wine list. I cannot drink anymore, but I thought it would be a treat for my husband to choose a really nice glass of wine from their extensive list. Getting over to the part of the island where the restaurant was took quite a while. Traffic is pretty bad on Turks and Caicos. There are no traffic lights, just double lane roundabouts, which leads to accidents, probably caused by tourists who don’t know how to drive in a roundabout. Anyway, once we got to the restaurant, the setting was lovely It was an open air setting on the beach, and it was cold! I was wearing a sweater and a jacket, and was still a bit chilled. The staff gave blankets to everyone to wrap up in. The menu, a bit hard to read unless you zoom in. Cocktail/mocktail We decided to share the tuna crispy rice and the toro roll They were not bad, but not the best version of either we have had either. For dinner husband had the lamb chops and I had the chili crab spaghetti. I was hoping it would be spicy, but it was not, at all. We decided to try a dessert The butterscotch tart. The coconut sorbet was very good. The tart itself reminded us of the tarts they make on St. John. Somehow they manage to fit triple the sugar you think would be able to go into such a small dessert. We were very glad we shared it. The sun is actually shining today so we are going out to a different part of the island to explore.

Yeah, I see it more as supplemental than the main coffee source. Great for that, IMO, and yours,too,it seems

So I looked up the item and then looked up the term and am not sure why you used the term with the item. We don't drink raw milk but our daughter has in the past and would no doubt do so if it were available to her.

Food recalls, "grifter schadenfreude" edition: https://people.com/ballerina-farm-halts-sale-of-raw-milk-after-failed-health-test-report-11897521

Thanks, @Shel_B. Yes, I suspect it will be more of an occasional use thing for me when I have guests. For example, if my sis and BIL spend the night and should happen to get up in the morning before I do, it is infinitely easier for them to pop in a capsule and make a cup rather than have to put the kettle on to heat water, grind the coffee beans, get the pot ready, etc. I may even house this downstairs where the guest room will be.

Duh! It says above it's "impervious to water splashes". What is FCC?

What happens if you spill water on the device? High voltage may need high frequency to generate plasma efficiently, does it have a rating by FCC? dcarch

My friend's younger daughter made her first meal for the family. Her mother is Chinese; her father American. She is bilingual like her sister. They live America.

@Kerry BealOh wow, I wish. Not sure I have the capital, or the space for one of those beauties. But it would be definitely something to consider... I did find these pots with automatic stirrers. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0FHJTNRJM/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?th=1 Anyone have thoughts? Seems like it could be a potentially useful tool.

Skillet Gnocchi with Mortadella - simple mix of pan-fried gnocchi with diced mortadella, red onions and sour cream. Topped with some chives

Most homes have one of these gas stoves, either free standing or built in. Free standing. Built in Woks were used on wood fires, yes. However, not particularly large ones. Stir-frying was invented to be quick as there was a shortage of fuel. Restaurants use high BTU burners to be quick, too. Different reason.

I've owned several Nespress machines, including thr one in your link. For a capdule machine they are pretty good. However, none of the three that I've owned brewed hot enough to make a great cup. I loved the convenience, the recyclable capsules, and the variety of blnds. Eventually I just used mine for those afternoal with, But for my morning cuppa joe, I went back to th French press.

Thanks Liuzhou

What's a typical home burner like? My understanding is that woks were originally used on pretty big wood fires. A lot of power! That's why restaurant wok burners are north of 60,000 BTU/hr.

Even in a fruit store, you have to be careful. You may fancy some 柿子 (shì zi) with a falling tone on the first syllable. The second is tone free. These are persimmons. If you accidentally slip up and use a flat tone on the first syllable, 狮子 (shī zi), youve ordered yourself some lions. Not many Chinese fruit stores carry these.

"Seafood Mushroom" is the direct translation of the Chinese name, 海鲜菇. In English, they are Jade Gill Mushrooms. They are a type of shimeji mushrooms; unrelated to enoki. More here.

Although I take on everyone's points I do think that it has to be remembered that this has been developed for the Chinese domestic market. Four burners plus oven are unknown here. One or two burners, at most. Also, it will almost certainly used with carbon steel woks. Chinese cooks have been cooking over flames for centuries. However, I do think these are too expensive at the moment.

We use paper plates when camping - uses less water and we burn them in the fire. We also use a dishpan in the sink and since it is just grey water, we can toss it and not fill up our holding tank.

I'm afraid the paper plates and plastic cutlery (if I find some) will continue until I can dewinterize the trailer and put water in the tanks. That will require warmer weather, but I can't get there until the Princessmobile is ready to start traveling again. And yes, I'm getting tired of it! I was supposed to be in those warmer climes by now!

"fully operable" meaning no more paper plates? I know it's petty, but that would drive me crazy.

@Smithy. I have lots of dehydrated lemons and would be happy to send you some. I’m lucky to have lots of friends with Meyer lemon trees. I know you’re in the road right now if you want to DM an address, would love to share these.

I wonder if the Minute Maid decision was made when south Florida froze solid enough to kill lots of the citrus trees there this week. As they said in Trading Places "Sell FCOJ"!

The article does mention the tradition of the crab (or crawfish) boil as a launching point, but this is apparently waaaaay past that. Pasta, really? Or even a big bucket of fried chicken, although I'll admit it could look like it had started that way once my darling and I were done with a bucket. I think I'd draw the line at anything that requires cutlery. Good idea, @Maison Rustique, about being otherwise busy. 🙂

No, you need a completed circuit to create the arc. I've done arc welding and I know how dangerous it can be. I don't think that that contraption is anything that I would want in my kitchen.