chromedome

Perhaps her name is Ruby and she just assumed...

Yeah, for those of us in other countries we can switch things up (for falafel fava beans are equally canonical; and we can certainly make other bean dips). In the areas where chickpeas are a staple, though, it's not that simple. They're a core agricultural crop as well as a core food, so on one hand the food chain becomes that much more precarious for everyone if the crop fails (ie, we're likely looking at millions of people starving) and the agricultural sector also needs to learn - almost overnight - how to reinvent itself around a new and unfamiliar crop. To put it into perspective, imagine a sudden blight wiping out the US corn crop. Americans and Canadians (because we grow the same cultivars, it would affect us as well) would not be in imminent danger of starving, thankfully, but it would be a massive, costly and emotionally wrenching* dislocation. *How many corn-based dishes are hard-core, group-identity comfort foods in the Americas? It's like that for chickpeas in their homelands, too.

Rhetorical question of the day from FB: "If two vegans don't like each other, is it still called a beef?"

Bummer. I always loved feather/down sleep things, but both of my wives had nasty allergies. Current GF, like me, is a fan of the feathers so we sleep on a feather bed, with a down comforter and feather pillows. It's a nice change (for me, for you I totally get that it would be hell).

We do roasted veg a lot, including mushrooms (also cremini, most of the time. Whole if they're small, halved or quartered if they're not. Pretty tasty.

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/bite-house

Yes, the pendulum of hyperbole is now on the backswing. Let's take a look at that, shall we? Here's the actual list of ingredients: Water, pea protein, canola oil, coconut oil, rice protein, natural flavors, cocoa butter, mung bean protein, methylcellulose, potato starch, apple extract, salt, potassium chloride, vinegar, lemon juice concentrate, sunflower lecithin, pomegranate powder, and beet juice extract. Not hard to parse out, right? Proteins to replace the meat proteins, fats to replace the animal fats, starches to act as binders, and then flavoring and coloring agents. Although "natural flavors" can conceal a host of dubious things, the only "scary, unpronounceable" items on that list are potassium chloride and methylcellulose. Potassium chloride is mostly used to make foods savory while reducing sodium in the form of salt, and also to dial up the food's nutritional profile by adding potassium. Both of these are positives, by any measure. Methylcellulose is... (gasp, shudder) plant fiber. You know, the stuff that the USDA estimates only 5% of Americans get enough of* (but 66% *think* they do...So unless you're keeping a detailed food journal guess which category you're probably in?). Also, it's already in a bunch of other stuff you're probably already using. Bottom line, I suspect most of us would not have to dig very deeply at all into our cupboards and pantries to find items containing more unpronounceable ingredients than you'll find in a Beyond Burger. There are many reasons to eat or not eat faux-meat products, but the ingredients list is a non-factor. *I'm not picking on Americans here, I'm pretty sure the figures for Canadians are pretty similar. I've just recently been re-reading the research on the subject, so it was fresh in my head.

Rather a recurrent theme in this thread from its inception, in fact. Edited to clarify: For all of us, not Jo specifically.

Just seems like an innately bad idea, doesn't it? (They've sold beer at gas stations in Newfoundland for years, FWIW, which also strikes me as a bad idea. There's a joke about a couple of "bay b'ys" on their way home from getting liquored up in Corner Brook. They stop at the gas station for another box o' beer - as it's described there - so the party doesn't need to stop while they're driving. As they're subsequently motoring somewhat erratically down the highway, they pass a Mountie going the other way. Sure enough, the Mountie slews around in a braking turn and flicks on his lights and siren. As they pull over, the suddenly-sober driver tells his buddy "Quick! Do what I does!" His buddy watches as the driver quickly but carefully peels the label off the beer and slings the bottle into the back seat, and does likewise. The driver claps the beer label onto his forehead, so the passenger shrugs and does the same. The Mountie saunters up to the window, as they do, and shines his light into the driver's eyes, as they do, and - as you can imagine - boggles at what he sees. He motions for the driver to roll down his window, and says "Have you been drinking tonight, sir?" The driver points to the label on his forehead, and says "Noooooo, my son. I'm on da patch!")

Another product added to the Mann listeria recall, applying to units sold up to and including today. http://inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/food-recall-warnings/complete-listing/2019-11-06/eng/1573074840419/1573074840780?utm_source=r_listserv

I used to keep a small hatchet for just such uses, but it has long since gone by the wayside. I still have my food-only hacksaw, though. Very handy for sawing through chine bones and the like.

Well, fwiw the mention of methylcellose as "an ingredient in laxatives" is disingenuous. It's used as a thickener in everything from ice cream to shampoo, and unless you avoid processed foods altogether you're probably eating it regularly. Seeking Alpha is a site I draw on regularly when writing on personal-finance topics. It's the money equivalent of those sports-fan sites that go deeply into "moneyball"-style analytics, so it's always an interesting read. He's pretty keen on Beyond as a stock, and feels there'll be plenty of growth from its current valuation. That's one man's opinion, of course, and proverbially "there's many a slip..."

Here's the source material, for anyone else who can't read the original link. TL:DR version: https://www.uvm.edu/uvmnews/news/genetic-limits-threaten-chickpeas-globally-critical-food Science-geek version: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-02867-z

LOL I guess we colonials don't rate... (ETA: I looked up other articles covering the same ground, so thanks anyway for the heads-up. Biodiversity is a serious concern with most worldwide staple crops...)

Paywalled, alas.

True that. I kept my eye on the local classifieds and picked up a couple of air purifiers on the cheap, one larger and one smaller. They make a big difference to my GF's allergies, taking dust and fur out of the air. Both are the kind with permanent filters, thankfully, or replacement filers would have me in the poorhouse.

Salmonella in Filicetti brand dry-cured hot Italian-style sausage. Distribution (at present) is BC, Ontario and Quebec. https://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/food-recall-warnings/complete-listing/2019-11-05/eng/1572977804354/1572977810433?utm_source=r_listserv Also, another update on the beef/veal recall in Ontario and Quebec. This one applies to a single meat shop in Toronto. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/food-recall-warnings/complete-listing/2019-11-05/eng/1572993056173/1572993062423?utm_source=r_listserv

I know, right? The phrasing some of these businesses choose is often awkward (as someone whose writing gets copyedited, I'm very aware of this sort of thing). My local Mitsubishi dealership, which is on the way to our favorite dog-walking spot, encourages us to "Test drive the best warranty in the business." Seriously, guys? What do you want me to do, bring one in for service? The worst example was a small indie hotel/motel in Surrey BC, which invited passing motorists to "Come on in for the rest of your life." I understood what they meant, but it sounded rather like the tag line for a slasher movie.

To all of the above, I say...cut yourself some slack, hon. You've been going through a lot, lately. Do what you can, when you can, and don't sweat what you "should."

Another update to the beef/veal recall for E. coli, but this one's pretty limited/local: If you bought beef shank or flank at Foody World in Scarborough during a three-day period in June... http://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/food-recall-warnings/complete-listing/2019-11-04/eng/1572909311761/1572909312183?utm_source=r_listserv

National recall for a variety of Mann's brand products, mostly cut vegetables, salads, etc. Apparently this is related to the earlier recall for Compliments-branded products, so presumably Mann was the manufacturer for those. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/food-recall-warnings/complete-listing/2019-11-03/eng/1572825937797/1572825944046?utm_source=r_listserv

Hunh. I'd pictured it being bigger. I was in Dartmouth just last weekend. If we'd had this conversation beforehand, I could have picked it up for someone.

I have the old-school aluminum Presto, but haven't yet used it much. I bought it (barely used) for my dad the year before he died, and so far have only used it a couple of times to can stock (in the interest of preserving freezer space). Interested to see how you fare, once you accumulate the cash.

That's an interesting avenue for speculation. Whatever the outcome of your thought process, I applaud the self-awareness required to even pursue it. It's outside my sphere (zero interest in/experience of cocktails) but in my experience, genuine enthusiasts recognize and respond to one another. There's always a time and place...with the best will in the world, you probably won't have the opportunity to get into a deep discussion of house-made bitters with someone at midnight on Saturday. If you find a bartender/mixologist who appears to be receptive, make a repeat visit or two and cultivate him/her. It could be worthwhile for you both.

Your assumption is that every diner who might order the burger went there specifically for the burger, which is pretty tenuous. In a given party (especially around closing time) there will usually be one or two people who have strong feelings in the matter, and the rest simply follow. If I got dragged to a place where I was unfamiliar with the food and the chef, or if I was the non-epicure in a group of foodies, the burger is simply the safe option. If this particular chef has an avid following for her specific burger, and it's an outstanding specimen of the type, then more power to her. At the end of the day it's still just a burger.