Dukeofyork

Wasn't there a study showing that lobsters (etc. crustaceans) don't actually feel pain at all? In which case, this is more about selling something to people who have their own issues with the current methods...

Why not weigh amounts that you have already measured, and make up your own tables? E.g. measure 1 cup of cocoa, then weigh it, so you'll know for sure!

I've often wondered about others' idiosyncrasies in their choice of consumptive hardware... E.g. I always eat my soup with a teaspoon, so it lasts longer. But how many people always use an Asian soup-spoon, regardless of the style? Stirfry always with chopsticks - short, wooden Japanese style, no other. I also toss dressed salads with chopsticks so that I don't lose as much dressing... If I weren't a vegetarian, I suspect I would have a favourite knife for steaks; I remember my father, however, being of proper British stock, refusing to use a steakknife no matter how cheap the meat was. I knew some people that spread peanut butter with a spoon, because it was easier to get out of the jar. Is this insane? So elaborate on your own preferences and quirks in this regard!

I grew up with bag milk in Canada, and while the system quite well, you notice a few things: 1. Some people like 'high-pressure' pours, hence they cut a small hole in the bag, much to the annoyance of those wishing to pour milk on cereal. 2. Others use some dull object (read: dinner knife) to open the bag in a pinch, causing a messy, ragged edge on the bag. 3. Milk in bags is really the easiest way to keep it stocked in a small fridge. The extra liters sit flat on the bottom shelf, rather than taking up precious 'standing' space on the top shelf. I love milk in bags, and I'm very proud of the Canadian system. Buying milk in unpourable gallon jugs (as in the U.S.) seems silly and wasteful; we used to wash our milk bags and have free sandwich bags! Now that I live in the U.K. it's one thing that I miss (of a very short list, unfortunately).

I was 'porkchop' and 'little sausage-cake boy'... I've never heard of a sausage cake aside from this, but it sounds mighty fine!

Is it just me, or does the sheer paranoia and hostility of the article slip into the realm of 'eating disorder'? It all sounds like something that would be posted FYI on an anorexia forum.

Room for all tastes, of course, but just to add that to me there is an art to serving warmed apple pie with ice cream. The pie should not be screaming hot and the (vanilla) ice cream should be very firm. Some of the ice cream will slowly melt and form a great sauce with the apple juices. But the best part is to have most of the ice cream not melt over the duration of eating the slice so that you always have the contrast of warm crispy crust and filling with cold ice cream in each bite. ← I second the warm/cold combination. Like in a creme brulee, 'tis. As for the cheese, it was a common practice for my father, born British but Canadian raised. My grandmother wasn't shy around the cheese when mother broke out the pie, either, as I recall. For myself, iced cream was always the preferred choice but I may have to explore this new option further ... !

I haven't shopped for meat in Kingston for a while, but ... Try John's Deli at 507 Princess, or The Hind Quarter, nearby at 637 Princess. There are also a number of farmers and outlying meat markets that sell local meat. We used to get our lamb, chicken and beef from a farm out at Lemoine's point, all wonderful and 'free-range' (to use an urban cliche) ... but that farm didn't have pork. It's worth asking at the Farmer's market about which farms sell pork direct. Just my two cents.

I started a thread on Chowhound 'Not About Food' on this very topic... You wouldn't believe the flames cast in my general direction. But it's nice to see the discussion a little more elevated here. I'm a vegetarian trying to move back into meat eating, mainly because I can't get excited about beans any more. In fact, everytime I think of something I want to eat, it's pretty much always got meat in it. My body (appetite?) wants meat. This is of course no moral justification for anything, in itself. I'm not one for arguments of the 'if it feels good, it must be right' vein. I thought for a long time that I shouldn't eat meat because I would experience revulsion from a slaughter (e.g. Jude the Obscure) but I've since realised that my squeamishness has no necessary logical connexion with morality (the surgery argument mentioned above is an encapsulation of this point). But it could, if my revulsion comes through empathy. I'm not sure that it does, however, in my case. There are a few good reasons I've found, though, for moving back. One is that by not eating meat, I damage (in a minutely, totally insignificant way, I admit) both the inhumane and the humane animal producers. When all is said and done, I would much rather see humane production win out ... by buying their product, I increase demand, which will pressure supply, and eventually it will become more available and cheaper. Which means more people will eat it. So if animals are going to die for food, whether I eat them or not, I think it better to support producers who give animals a much better life. EDIT: I forgot this point, so I'll add it now. If I start to eat well raised meat, it becomes a social 'condition' of eating with me. My family is not going to become vegetarian because I'm one, but they will switch to organic/humane consumers so that I can sit down to dinner with them. So, instead of 3 supermarket meat eaters and one veggie, you have 4 people supporting humane producers. This seems like a better option. There are holes in the argument above, I admit. It's distastefully pragmatic. Should I not act by Kant's maxim, and act in a way that I would accept my behaviour to become universal law? That is, if no one consumed any animals, would they not be better off? I'm still wrestling with this issue. Yes, all things die eventually. But it comes down to the definition of murder. Why is it alright to kill a pig and not a human being? You can't kill someone and say 'He woulda died anyhow'. But to avoid dying myself, I must destroy. It is the essence of life. Unless I self-immolate, either a pig gets chopped up, or a hundred sardines, or a whole bunch of plants. How do you weigh life? What is more precious? I would never chop down a sequoia to save a mosquito, but that's how some vegetarians seem to think. Is killing a whale better than killing a hundred pigs, because you end one life rather than a hundred? Is intelligence the only thing that gives life value? I'm beginning to think I must accept a certain amount of destruction in my wake, and the environmental effects of pure vegetarian living (unless I grow all my own food) may be less acceptable to me than a roast organic chicken every Sunday. Just my long-winded musings...

As fall and winter approaches, I have new gardening question: what vegetables can you grow indoors? Which ones work best?

I'm a Kingstonian, and I'm not surprised that you had a bad experience at Chez Piggy... but there are many more restaurants in Kingston than Casa Dominica. It's a bit insulting to the rest of the establishments that you would go there multiple times in a short visit.

I had seen the menus before, and they are indeed impressive for 'Hall' food ... nice to know that the execution isn't horrible, either.

Hello all, this is my first real query to eGullet (save a paranoid post about botulism ). I'm about to leave Toronto, a wonderfully cosmopolitan city when it comes to food, and where I cook for myself, to attend Trinity College, Cambridge. I'm anxious about many things ... one comparatively minor issue is, as you guess, food. When I started at the University of Toronto four years ago, the food was so terrible that I lost 10% of my bodyweight in first year. I promptly moved out of residence into an apartment, and found that I would much rather cook for myself than eat mealhall food. I'm worried that the same thing will happen when I go over to Cambridge in a few weeks... and I can't afford to lose another 10%! Does anyone know about the quality of food in Hall at Trinity, or more generally in the colleges at Cambridge?

Thanks so much. I know this is a weird first post, but at least I got tips on how to get my marmlade to set...!

Hello all, lurker with a serious case of the jitters... I made orange/lemon marmalade two weeks ago. Boiled my jars, filled them with hot fruit, processed in a boiling water bath for 5-7 minutes and let cool overnight. Then I put them directly in the fridge to let them set... two weeks later, I open one, it's not set. Tastes fine, looks fine, just not set. Have I given myself botulism by tasting it? I thought the acid and the fact that they have been in the fridge would cut the risk, but I find myself worrying if I'm about to drop dead ... I can't enjoy mussels/clams for a similar reason (PSP)... Help!