chromedome

King oyster mushrooms from TWA Fungi are being recalled for listeria. They're only known to have been sold in BC at this point, but may have been redistributed elsewhere. https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/twa-fungi-brand-king-oyster-mushroom-recalled-due-listeria-monocytogenes?utm_source=gc-notify&utm_medium=email&utm_content=en&utm_campaign=hc-sc-rsa-22-23

For those among us who eat gluten-free or have family members who do, several Enjoy Life cookies, breakfast bars etc have been recalled due to foreign material (plastic) in the food. https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/certain-enjoy-life-brand-bakery-products-recalled-due-possible-presence-pieces-plastic?utm_source=gc-notify&utm_medium=email&utm_content=en&utm_campaign=hc-sc-rsa-22-23&

I'm putting this here as the best fit among several candidates. We've spoken at times on various threads about the various efforts being made to produce food in a more environmentally-friendly manner. There tend to be many, many viewpoints on this, and some deeply-entrenched positions, and relatively few voices attempting a non-dogmatic overview of (to steal a phrase from another link I posted recently) an appropriate level of "informed hypocrisy." Journalists Tamar Haspel and Mike Grunwald are attempting to do just that in a new podcast called Climavores, and they were interviewed about it by the Columbia Journalism Review. So, for those who are interested, here's your look at what they're doing and how they're attempting to do it. https://www.cjr.org/covering_climate_now/climavores-food-climate-grunwald-haspel.php Disclaimer: I follow Haspel on Twitter but haven't listened to the podcast yet, because time to just listen to something is extremely hard for me to block out. Sadly, there's no transcript (at least, not yet) attached to each episode.

I don't mind "grassy," but I hate the way they squeak on my teeth. With most veg I'm okay with anything from raw to tender-crisp to fully cooked, but beans - as Rotuts said - are a category of their own.

I'm in the same camp. Beef to me is rather a "Johnny one-note" compared to pork. It's all moot now, because my GF can't eat either of them for medical reasons (both will trigger a flare of her rheumatoid arthritis, with pork - especially cured pork - generating a stronger reaction). I won't cook them for myself, because it would be downright cruel in the circumstances, so I get my "fix" during my monthly visits out of province.

I always loved those as a kid. I still try to keep one or two on hand at all times, because if I want a quick caramel sauce to go with a dessert I can just melt one in a saucepan (or the microwave) with some heavy cream and I'm done.

A modest but significant percentage of my kitchen cleanup takes place under not-dissimilar circumstances.

This is in the US, not Canada, but I hadn't seen anything on it until today. I don't know if anyone here subscribes to Daily Harvest (not a lot of meal-kit users, I think) but this is potentially life-threatening: https://www.npr.org/2022/06/22/1106650999/daily-harvest-lentils-leek-food-poisoning-recall-instagram-statement

To me the key takeaway was that execs expect the market value of the three new operations will exceed the value of the company as it currently exists. In other words, beneath the pious platitudes about growing market share through niche focus, they expect to reap a short-term windfall that's unrelated to actual success or growth; rather like the effect of stock buybacks. Juicing shareholder value through things other than, you know...innovation? Increased sales? ...always feels sketchy to me.

FWIW, even though I live less than an hour's drive from the world's highest-volume sardine cannery, I was unable to source fresh sardines here for my restaurant. I've seen them offered exactly once, by a well-connected local chef, but they're definitely not a readily available item.

One of my father's navy buddies complained about always getting the scut work. Overhearing this, the offending CPO sauntered up to my father and the other sailor present (once the complainer was safely out of earshot) and told them with a big grin "You want to know the most efficient way to get something done? Assign it to the laziest guy around for a few weeks in a row, and watch how he does it, and then get everyone else to do it that way too."

Not one of our usual food recalls, but the recall of several Abbott-brand infant formulas (cronobacter, salmonella) has been extended to Canada. I think most of us here are past that life stage, but y'know...friends, family, grandkids... https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/certain-abbott-brand-powdered-infant-formula-products-recalled-due-possible?utm_source=gc-notify&utm_medium=email&utm_content=en&utm_campaign=hc-sc-rsa-22-23&

Specific Revive Superfoods smoothies and oats products are being recalled nationally, because they contain raspberries that may have been contaminated with norovirus. https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/certain-revive-superfoods-brand-smoothies-and-oats-recalled-due-possible-norovirus?utm_source=gc-notify&utm_medium=email&utm_content=en&utm_campaign=hc-sc-rsa-22-23&

Greenhouse growing does provide a controllable growing environment, and enables year-round production, but there's a significant learning curve involved, and a significant financial investment, as well. It's more often done on a commercial scale, but certainly a motivated home gardener can do it to. Outdoor growing is a lower-stakes option for most beginners, unless you're in a really marginal climate.

My GF is seldom ready for breakfast as early as 2 PM, so she'd totally endorse that. She no longer works a late shift but her body clock is pretty nocturnal, so she's usually thinking about a bite to eat somewhere between 5 and 8 pm. "Breakfast for dinner" is something I eat a few times a month, in consequence, though she isn't really hung up on traditional breakfast foods for her first meal.

Okay...as for a greenhouse, that's primarily a way to extend your season. If you're in a short-summer climate, or just plain want to garden for as long as possible, a greenhouse lets you start things earlier and keep them later. In summertime you basically open everything up lest the plants fry. The time it takes is [x]. Gardens, like bills, have a way of expanding to absorb all of the resources you have at your disposal, and time is at the top of that list. You can certainly grow tomatoes and cukes with minimal effort (climate permitting), and get enough of them to feel that you haven't wasted your time. The bigger your ambitions, the more time, effort and money you'll need to invest. You can certainly grow a worthwhile range and quantity of produce from even a small plot (look up "square foot gardening" for one approach). It's smarter to start small and build, than to dive in headlong and find yourself overwhelmed and exhausted. You'll need a spot that gets a lot of sunlight, though late-afternoon shade can benefit some plants (like lettuces) that do best in the cool months. Ideally the soil will be loose and well-drained, which is achievable through various amendments if your current soil is poor. Alternatively, you could buy or build a raised bed and fill it with decent-quality soil, then maintain it over the years with compost and such. It's a big, BIG topic. There are lots of books out there offering guidance and advice, much of it conflicting ("Double dig your soil!" "No, don't till your soil at all!"). After a few seasons of trial and error you'll find a methodology you're comfortable with.

I would have said Keurig, but the principle is the same I guess.

That's odd. It didn't block me, but perhaps it's one of those "x free articles/mo across our properties" scenarios.

There's a new translation of an important Moorish-Andalusian cookbook from the 15th century: https://www.ft.com/content/4f902bf3-49c4-4227-bac4-d590c5a03516

Their headquarters is about 90 minutes up the road from me, in fact. You know when you're near Florenceville, because it smells of french fries for miles around.

Here in Canada, I've had Newfoundlanders ask me in all seriousness, "Oh, you're from the mainland? Maybe you know my cousin Phil, he moved over there." I was from Nova Scotia, and Phil turned out to work in Fort McMurray, some 4000-odd km away, but hey...it's all the mainland.