Behemoth

Dr. Friedman discovered Leptin -- I remember reading the Science article a year or so ago. (Old copies lying around in the gym -- gotta love grad school ) I think they were hoping it would be a silver bullet in figting obesity, but it didn't work as well as they'd hoped for most people. But in any case, this: A 10 lb shift across the whole population in just over ten years is no small number, no matter which way you slice it... I wonder what the change has been in the last 30 years. Interesting stuff, anyway.

smoking 10 cigarettes after dinner probably doesn't hurt either...

"genetically predetermined" is an interesting statement. One could argue that most people are genetically predetermined to become obese if they eat like 18th century farmers and lead a sedentary lifestyle.Which would sort of support your second statement, about affluence, which is an environmental cause I guess...

A trend about fiftteen years old, even in Canada. Even most teppan steak places have a few tables like this. I can't believe Frank never saw one before. If that's the case, his inexperience as a diner has been severely underestimated despite the Times' touting of it. ← Yeah, if they have them out here in the midwest you know it ain't new or innovative. God, I hate those things with a passion.

Just to play devil's advocate here...the typical response would be that depression has always existed, so it is reasonable to look for genetic causes. But while there have presumably always been people who are overweight, the percentage of severely obese people has increased in the last 50 years, so it makes more sense that the causes would be environmental, rather than genetic.

What kind of whiskey, what kind of popcorn? I have done the wine and popcorn thing, but never mixed my whiskey with anything but nuts (OK, no crazy jokes here please ). ← Ha ha. If you must know, the Whiskey was Laphroaig 10 year old. No better occasion to drain that bottle, let me tell you. The popcorn was just plain old popcorn, popped in the giant non-stick stock pot (why??) I inherited from an ex-boyfriend and only use for popcorn. Topped with a little melted butter and lots of salt. I usually have the whiskey with nuts, but I was so nervous that night I knew I would want something to stuff in my mouth to keep my teeth from grinding. Figured popcorn in that quantity would be the healthier choice. Last night we got invited out to dinner, as a thank you for the dinner party I hosted 5 or 6 pages back. I have no idea what I'm making tonight, I kind of have a stack of work waiting for me this weekend. Probably lebanese food, and I am really craving greens.

Oh, mousakka in lebanon is more like a ratatouille -- no meat or white sauce. I love both, presonally.

To be honest, I was going back and forth about buying one, and then happened to stop by a TJMaxx that evening (to look for shirts, I swear!) and they had a "Norpro" one for $19.99. I figured that way I could see if I find the thing useful enough for me without spending to much money at first -- if I feel like trading up I will just give this one away or whatever. I have to say, it is plenty sharp (I am still a bit scared of it!) and I can see it will cause me to cook a lot of new stuff so totally worth the $19.99 for me. If the blades degrade too quickly I will upgrade. They had a couple of different brands but I was avoiding the v-shaped ones after reading the threads. The blade on this one is not slanted guillotine style, but still works quite well.

Actually, they wouldn't peel the garbanzos for hummus, they would use a food mill which would do the work for you. We are a food-loving people, but we are also a lazy people

Greek! Heresy! Ha ha Looks very tasty, actually. We had "grown up" grilled cheese and tomato soup: The soup was chickpea tomato rosemary, the sandwich was prosciutto & taleggio paninni. Looked really cool but I didn't feel like fussing with the camera, especially with the spouse hovering over the stove, waiting to be fed.

I cook when I'm happy, as a break from work. When I'm sad I barely feel like eating at all. I guess the silver lining is I won't be gaining that much weight this winter...

Nice.

I love chickpeas. I resort to canned sometimes but boiled from dry is undoubtedly better. Let's see... Hummus, of course Fatteh (the Middle Eastern dish with yogurt and toasted pita) Marcella's chickpea soup (with rosemary and tomatoes), preferably the version with pasta. roasted with salt candy coated I have to try the chorizo thing. And my favorite thing would have to be green chickpeas, pop off the pod and eat it straight

For us it is Saturday brunch with Bundesliga (German league) soccer.

whiskey, popcorn.

I did glazed onions stuffed with a lentil goat cheese salad one year when I was veg, that went over very well.

Finally someone NOT from the midwest

I remember the first time I had Spaghetti-O's. It was at a sleepover at a friend's house whan I was 10 or 11. I was aghast at how much sugar there was in the sauce -- not at all what I was used to, I couldn't eat so I slipped my friend my leftovers. I remember liking chef boyardee beef ravioli, though when I tried to relive the magic a couple years ago I found it pretty inedible. I also don't like tater tots, so there

Exactly -- the border of the first row of squares lines up exactly with the packaging seam. Have you ever had the rum raisin kind? They really go fairly "adult" on the rum... Great blog, BTW, very fun to read.

Rittersport: Square. Practical. Good. Do you know about the special "snap open" quality of the packing? I didn't, until I married a german dude.

New Mandoline...

I was always an avid DIY-er, but I was also a vegetarian for 10 years. Now, due to someone's recommendation, I own THIS. And to make matters worse, I find it indispensable.

That looks good !! Do you mind sharing the recipe with us or pointing us to it? Thanks P ← I will be your google fairy tonight tartiflette link Boy, now is definitely the time of year for that. Tonight we had a savory bread pudding (to use up all my odds and ends of cheese), and I tried tuscan kale for the first time, blanched then sauteed with garlic, evoo, crushed chili and fennel seeds, and grated lemon rind. Tuscan kale is a lot "meatier" than the regular kind, really wonderful stuff.

Okay, you are a genius. This is why I love egullet. I think my main problem lies in vent control. I smoked ribs this summer pretty sucessfuly overall, but I think the fire was a little too hot. I thought opening the vents would make it hotter, but if you are using only one of the baskets I guess it would even things out. Also, I wasn't able to find lump charcoal first time around, so I kept having to prepare the briquettes in the chimney, which was a pain. I finally found a source for lump charcoal and stocked up. Thanks! Now I need to start paying attention to our 5-day forecast, I have a package of ribs in the freezer begging to be played with.

Ron, that picture left me slack-jawed with want, afloat in a puddle of my own drool (not pretty). How do you control the heat with the weber? I have a hard time keeping the charcoal supply steady over that period of time. Also, is that some kind of special thermometer, or could I just use my standard oven thermometer?