rgio wrote:

the whole channel is almost (dare i say) therapeutic 
animal protein optional

 miamizsun wrote:
Great video.  He has mad chopping skills.  

 Steely_D wrote:

 

on another note i'm exploring chili oil and a multitude of variations
picked some up locally at my asian market
eventually i want to try my hand at making my own concoction

good video here (production is excellent)

 

 Steely_D wrote:


   congrats!

Sister in law & old friend comes into town yesterday so dinner was veg, basmati rice, salad, and roasted Patagonian Toothfish with a lemon/butter/caper sauce. Foodie friend proclaims “best fish I’ve ever had.”

Breakfast: naan and a green Shakshuka via Yotem Ottolenghi. “Best breakfast I’ve ever had.” 

Looks like the rest of her life is all downhill from here.

 miamizsun wrote:
Seems like a twisted reuben variant (peanut butter?).  Not sure why he lists it as 1952; it's from a 1967 episode.

sandwiches of history does dragnet proud

 Red_Dragon wrote:
I understand that a lot of Farmers voted for Trump and had no idea the leopard eating face party was going to eat THEIR faces! 47 will hemorrhage MAGA supporters as they learn the hard way how 'gubmint' really works.

Folks, it's taken a few days to trickle down, but I'm seeing post after post after post in the ag community social media channels of massive issues impacting U.S. farmers and the U.S. ag economy from Trump's DOGE efforts, tariff wars and the USAID shutdown.

Here are a few:

*Cotton and grain growers are losing contracts to long-time Canadian buyers because, even with the tariff pause, Canadian buyers don't trust the stability of U.S. export commerce with Trump in office. Plus, Canadians are just flat-out pissed and avoiding U.S. made/produced goods, including farm products.

* Chuck Grassley, of all people, is pleading with Trump to exempt potash from any Canadian tariffs because U.S. potash (a major fertilizer in agriculture) mainly comes from Canada. Impending tariffs will shoot farmers' fertilizer prices sky-high.

* Corn and soybean farmers are upset because Trump cancelled all of Biden's Climate Smart grants that were supposed to help them offset their adoption of soil health improving new practices like no-till and cover cropping.

* USAID's cancellation cuts $2 billion straight out of U.S. farmer's pockets from the Food for Peace program which purchased rice, wheat, corn and soy from U.S. farmers and distributed them to hungry nations. In some states and for some crops, USAID was their primary buyer.

* USDA NRCS is cancelling conservation contracts and leaving farmers holding the bag. These are things like fence improvements and upgraded water lines that boost farmer efficiency while also conserving the environment. Plus, the way they work is the farmer has to do the work first, then once they are done, the NRCS reimburses them. So now farmers that have spent the money to do the work are being told the NRCS won't honor their contracts.

* California farmers are PISSED because his "turn on the taps" PR move did nothing to combat California wildfires and instead wasted 2 BILLION gallons of water being held in reservoirs for summer irrigation.

* U.S. crop farmers are freaked out over the trade wars since Canada, China and Mexico represent half - let me repeat that again, HALF, of all U.S. agricultural exports!

* Per Trump's freeze on financial contracts, the USDA is withholding funds for the Organic Market Development Grant program and the Transition to Organic Partnership Program, which typically go directly to organic farmers or to non-profits supporting organic farmers.

* The shutdown of USAID has been trickling down through multiple ag-focused agencies, including the Soybean Innovation Labs, which were hosted at land-grant universities across the U.S.. These research labs focused on developing new genetics and growing practices in soybeans critical to U.S. and international growers. They had to close the entire program, laying off 30 scientists and researchers in 19 labs across 17 states.

* K State University lost up to $50 million that was pledged through a USAID Program over the next five years to advance research in “sustainable intensification,” an approach focused on increasing crop yields without expanding agricultural land use, expected to directly benefit Kansas (and U.S.) farmers.

* China's retaliatory tariffs (although not yet on crops, we shall see) are expected to have a major impact on U.S. ag machinery manufacturers, who were already struggling and have had massive lay-offs over the last 12 months. China imported almost $800 million of U.S.-manufactured ag machinery in 2020.

And it goes on and on and on with new, major issues coming to light on a near-hourly basis. My heart hurts for U.S. farmers and U.S. farm communities, large and small, that are needlessly and thoughtlessly being impacted by this.

But hey, on the bright side, Trump banned those infuriating paper straws!

P.S. I'm making this public, so please, share away. I will also update this post as I hear about more impacts.

~Georgie Lea Smith

 ScottFromWyoming wrote:

For the record, my tongue still feels the salt-burn so I took a covid test last night just in case that was the only symptom. Negatory.

 ScottFromWyoming wrote:
Bacalhau is the national food of Portugal.  Oddly, I was just watching an old episode of one of Anthony Bourdain's shows a few days ago, and he was in Portugal eating a bunch of different bacalhau dishes. But, yeah, the cod they use is from the North Atlantic.

 Steely_D wrote:
Kurlansky is thorough (meaning: I think his books drag) but how else could you discuss the Fish That Changed the World? Spoiler: Portugal became a naval force because of cod. 

 Steely_D wrote:

Lots of our food is problematic. I've given up octopus even though it is very tasty.  I like shrimp, but it's not great environmentally. Fish in general is good, but the catch practices are iffy. Sustainably farmed beef/pork/chicken is okay with the associated moral qualms. I am comfortable with my place on the food chain, but I find myself looking for other proteins a lot. I like chickpeas and they are pretty guilt free. Vegetarian diets do have some benefits. All things in moderation.

JFW and I just took a weekend in Jackson Hole. Ostensibly to go skiing but really to eat. 

Did I miss a thing where the trend now is to radically—and I mean put away the shaker and get a spoon—salt everything? Three out of four meals I had were so salty that I couldn't finish even though they were otherwise outstanding. I ordered spicy stuff and it took a while to realize that the burn I was feeling was not jalapeño. When I had covid the first time, I lost all sense of taste and smell except for salt, and everything seemed super salty, so I spent yesterday worrying that I was getting covid again. But no, I can taste everything. 

Anyway the snow sucked but it's beautiful.

 Steely_D wrote:

It isn't necessary to say "fuckin," every five words. I'm not offended but I find it distracting. It has no purpose, other than maybe shtick. Unclever shtick. 

 Steely_D wrote:

Looks pretty oniony but I'd eat it. He is one of the best cooks to watch because: no rules. Just cook. The other one I watch is 

Come on now. Become a fan of Nate, champions. 

 Steely_D wrote:

I can't speak much about the food on the mainland but yes traditional Portuguese food is very heavy on the salt. Very big on all sorts of pastries also. Here in the Azores the main exports are fish, wine and Azores cheese etc. So lots of fresh fish. No factory farms here. Cows all over the place eating grass. Chickens are also free de-ranging and eat what they are supposed to eat like bugs. Eggs have orange yolks like they are supposed to.  There is a chicken farm just a few minutes walk down the street and get sane day fresh eggs. Milk also comes from a few blocks away.  You can find some very healthy food here but lots of temping bad stuff also. Bacon comes in very small quantities as its not processed and won't keep long unless you freeze it. only get many fruits and veggies in season as most is grown right here and not imported.  Pretty much anything grows here like crazy even the stuff you don't want. Like weeds and grass. The stores here don't sell family packs of anything.  The wine and beer is excellent and cheap.

Recently visited Portugal and the food really put me off.
1) the big thing is salted & dried, then reconstituted, cod - which isn’t even from coastal country Portugal. WTF? But it’s ubiquitous. Bleh.
2) otherwise, you’re eating pork - far too intelligent a creature, so it troubles me, and - worse - 
3) octopus - probably much smarter than we realize, but they cut off one of its brains (arms) and serve it.

I suppose it would be easy to say “yes, but factory chicken…” or whatever. But, still, as a cultural touchstone, having those three things being the core of their food is off putting.
/vent