Good choice Jim as far as frozen lasagna. Stouffer's ain't bad. It's a bit heavy on the meat/grease and light on the ricotta I think. It's classic American style lasagna. Rana is more Mediterranean with a better tom sauce. The Rana chicken primavera is super yummy, comes fresh and ready to heat/cook. From bag to bowl pretty quickly.
Food but not recipes
- bill_g
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Food but not recipes
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How traditional Hawaiian food is playing a key role in wildfire recovery
The firestorm that engulfed Lahaina last year disrupted a whole way of life and led some to reflect on food, land and a future beyond tourism
Nina Lakhani in West Maui, Hawaii
Wed 21 Feb 2024 13.00 CET
In the aftermath of last summer’s catastrophic wildfire in West Maui, Miriam Keo began to question everything – from her well-paid union job at an upscale resort and the island’s reliance on tourism and food imports, to what role she, a Native Hawaiian, should play in rebuilding Lahaina. At the heart of much of this soul searching was the question of food (meaʻai) and land (Āina) – who controls it, and why it matters.
“My outlook changed during the pandemic, but the fire was the last straw for me … I don’t want to serve tourists any more. This isn’t what our ancestors would want,” said Keo, 40, who recently resigned from the hotel after 16 years to work at a composting company. “I want to be a better steward for my people and Āina. I want to show my kids that there’s an alternative to the corporate tourism we’ve been under for so long, and food is a big part of that.”
Keo was among 11,000 people displaced – and deeply traumatized – after the 8 August firestorm razed the historic town of Lahaina, killing 100 people.
The survivors, many of whom are struggling with a loss of income and food insecurity, are grateful to the Red Cross, the non-profit managing the emergency shelter program including the buffet meals served three times a day. But thousands of people are still stuck in hotels, eating the same set menu week after week with no comforting Hawaiian dishes like poi (starchy porridge) or luʻau (baked or steamed meat and fish wrapped in taro leaves) or even popular local dishes that reflect Maui’s cultural diversity such as pork and watercress soup. The strict rules forbidding food preparation and not being able to share a meal with loved ones have taken a physical and emotional toll.
“It was so frustrating not being able to cook, eating the same things over and over again, and none of our traditional foods. Everything was so Americanized,” said Keo. “Food is one of the biggest parts of who we are as people, passed down to us through our ancestors. So when that’s taken away, it makes us feel less than.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... awaii-fire
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This is a constant issue with just one person. So many things from recipes and many things in the store are designed for multiple people. You either have to eat the same meal multiple times in a row, eat too much (the unfortunate choice I end up making), or freeze it, assuming that it can be frozen effectively.
Fresh stuff is the worst. I want fresh herbs to make something but only need a little, and end up wasting the rest. I don't like wasting food items but it is tough.
Sadly, I have to use dried or packaged stuff more because there is less waste. However, I also understand there is not a easy answer and such is life. Stores need to package according to the majority of customers, and how I do things is likey a small minority. I get it.
101010
Food but not recipes
You could look into having a little potted herb garden. There are many types available. They could sit on a window sill or under a grow light.northland10 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 24, 2024 7:36 pmThis is a constant issue with just one person. So many things from recipes and many things in the store are designed for multiple people. You either have to eat the same meal multiple times in a row, eat too much (the unfortunate choice I end up making), or freeze it, assuming that it can be frozen effectively.
Fresh stuff is the worst. I want fresh herbs to make something but only need a little, and end up wasting the rest. I don't like wasting food items but it is tough.
Sadly, I have to use dried or packaged stuff more because there is less waste. However, I also understand there is not a easy answer and such is life. Stores need to package according to the majority of customers, and how I do things is likey a small minority. I get it.
A little companionship that doesn’t talk back or pee on the carpet is a good thing
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- sugar magnolia
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Buy small quantities of the fresh herbs, chop them and freeze in olive oil in ice cube trays. I tend to pack the herbs in with as little oil as possible because I'm usually adding butter or bacon grease and don't want to overload with olive oil.northland10 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 24, 2024 7:36 pmThis is a constant issue with just one person. So many things from recipes and many things in the store are designed for multiple people. You either have to eat the same meal multiple times in a row, eat too much (the unfortunate choice I end up making), or freeze it, assuming that it can be frozen effectively.
Fresh stuff is the worst. I want fresh herbs to make something but only need a little, and end up wasting the rest. I don't like wasting food items but it is tough.
Sadly, I have to use dried or packaged stuff more because there is less waste. However, I also understand there is not a easy answer and such is life. Stores need to package according to the majority of customers, and how I do things is likey a small minority. I get it.
- bill_g
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Food but not recipes
Ha! I've walked this ground for a while. When we had boys at home, we cooked for a dozen because they would pound down the calories any way they could. But as they all left the nest we faced aging cans of soup, and leftovers we never ate. We had to adapt.northland10 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 24, 2024 7:36 pm This is a constant issue with just one person. So many things from recipes and many things in the store are designed for multiple people. You either have to eat the same meal multiple times in a row, eat too much (the unfortunate choice I end up making), or freeze it, assuming that it can be frozen effectively.
Fresh stuff is the worst. I want fresh herbs to make something but only need a little, and end up wasting the rest. I don't like wasting food items but it is tough.
Sadly, I have to use dried or packaged stuff more because there is less waste. However, I also understand there is not a easy answer and such is life. Stores need to package according to the majority of customers, and how I do things is likey a small minority. I get it.
Food waste: I compost everything. All yard debris and kitchen scraps go into the barrel along with a good handful of straw or shreaded paper. My motto is "If we don't eat it this year, we'll eat it next year out of the garden." The babies (as I call the flora and fauna that inhabits the compost) make fast work of kitchen scraps. If the pile smells, I add more straw. If the pile cools, I add more grass. I keep it cooking as best I can all year round. I put so much attention into composting, I am pretty sure I am an amateur botanist and soil scientist, not a gardener. Getting fresh eats out of the deal is a bonus. Making the dirt it all grows in is my secret passion. So, I'm not above opening a dozen cans of soup two years past their date to feed the babies. I am not fond of the knowledge we spent $4/jar for local peaches because we never found the right occasion to serve them, but the pile gets fed, and we get another canning jar out of the deal. We cut our losses and move on.
Fresh herbs versus dried: I grow a lot of herbs indoors and outdoors. The hardy ones like parsley, sage, rosemary, and oregano grow outside quite well all year. They have a stronger flavor in the winter, but you adjust for that. The more delicate ones like basil and thyme easily adapt to indoor life in a pot in a southern window. I use plain old potting soil amended with spent coffee grounds and a teensy bit of garden soil. They get watered with cold coffee, and at least once a month they get a rinse in a bucket - dipped in and out of clear water several times until the soil is saturated. The basil gets a haircut regularly. The thyme stays small and doesn't really add new growth until Spring when I let it spend time outside in warm air with dappled sun.
When I want strong herb flavors, I use fresh. When I want subtle flavors, I used dried. Dried do well in leftovers. They tend to ramp up their flavor as they spend time rehydrated in sauce or meat juices. Fresh does too, but tend towards the dark as they saturate the food. I compensate for that by using less fresh if I know there will be leftovers like spag sauce or meatloaf. The porkchops I pan fried last night have dried oregano on them. They picked up a hint of the oregano. Tonight it will be more pronounced.
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Food but not recipes
The OT bacon discussion in the Republic of Ireland thread prompted this: Frozen precooked American bacon is great for those of us feeding only ourselves and/or one other. It's redunkulously expensive compared to ready to cook sliced bacon. If you need a lot of bacon, get the regular stuff. But, if you need just a slice or two for a breakfast, a sammich, or a recipe, get a couple packs and freeze them. Cut or break off what you need, and 25 seconds later in the microwave it's ready to serve. You can have a BLT in the middle of winter without making a mess of the stove top. Fresh bacon bits for a salad? Sure. Why not? Want to sweat down some vegetables in lard when making bean soup, or any number of Southern recipes? Now you'll always have bacon when you need it.
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My way: purchase the presliced bacon, open up the package, make portions of choice, separate with some backing paper, wrap to freeze, the paper makes separating the frozen sections easy. Or just wrap each portion in clingfoil for freezing.bill_g wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2024 11:39 am The OT bacon discussion in the Republic of Ireland thread prompted this: Frozen precooked American bacon is great for those of us feeding only ourselves and/or one other. It's redunkulously expensive compared to ready to cook sliced bacon. If you need a lot of bacon, get the regular stuff. But, if you need just a slice or two for a breakfast, a sammich, or a recipe, get a couple packs and freeze them. Cut or break off what you need, and 25 seconds later in the microwave it's ready to serve. You can have a BLT in the middle of winter without making a mess of the stove top. Fresh bacon bits for a salad? Sure. Why not? Want to sweat down some vegetables in lard when making bean soup, or any number of Southern recipes? Now you'll always have bacon when you need it.
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I don't understand these weird concepts. I mean, buying bacon and not cooking all of it? Cooking bacon and not eating all of it?
Your words are strange to me.
Also, I really want some bacon now.
Also, too, I wish this place was still open, because I would drive up to San Francisco right now and give them all of my money.
Your words are strange to me.
Also, I really want some bacon now.
Also, too, I wish this place was still open, because I would drive up to San Francisco right now and give them all of my money.
Food but not recipes
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
- John Thomas8
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Among things to avoid:
- bill_g
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Two thumbs up!
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I, a fellow bacontarian, concur.
BTW, Costco helpfully sells 20 ounce bags of pre-cooked crumbled 100% bacon, which makes putting it on top of salads much easier. Price is reasonable, too.
- sugar magnolia
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Salads, omelettes, pasta, baked potatoes, soup, the list goes on as to how you can use those little crumbs of heaven.johnpcapitalist wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2024 9:51 pmI, a fellow bacontarian, concur.
BTW, Costco helpfully sells 20 ounce bags of pre-cooked crumbled 100% bacon, which makes putting it on top of salads much easier. Price is reasonable, too.
Food but not recipes
I’ve learned to live with my mammalian meat and dairy allergy. Chicken tastes like whatever you cook it in. The Impossible Whopper at Burger King is surprisingly edible. I’ve found some really good vegan cheese and sour cream. Bridgford makes a good turkey pepperoni.
But, to paraphrase that old dog treat commercial, there’s only one thing that tastes like bacon and that’s bacon! Turkey bacon just isn’t the same. I’ve tried them all.
I really miss bacon!
"Hey! We left this England place because it was bogus, and if we don't get some cool rules ourselves, pronto, we'll just be bogus too!" -- Thomas Jefferson
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I get Good Food, one of those meal kit things. It works perfectly for me as a single person. They send the exact amount of each ingredient to make 2 servings for each recipe. I can stretch that to 3 servings usually. The meals are pretty healthy and delicious!northland10 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 24, 2024 7:36 pmThis is a constant issue with just one person. So many things from recipes and many things in the store are designed for multiple people. You either have to eat the same meal multiple times in a row, eat too much (the unfortunate choice I end up making), or freeze it, assuming that it can be frozen effectively.
Fresh stuff is the worst. I want fresh herbs to make something but only need a little, and end up wasting the rest. I don't like wasting food items but it is tough.
Sadly, I have to use dried or packaged stuff more because there is less waste. However, I also understand there is not a easy answer and such is life. Stores need to package according to the majority of customers, and how I do things is likey a small minority. I get it.
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Food but not recipes
Looks good!
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
- bill_g
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That does look good.
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The recipes are so fresh and tasty! They send all the fresh herbs and a spice blend for each recipe. And just enough that you need so no waste.
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Nightshade Vegetables Aren’t Actually Bad for You
https://time.com/6960316/are-nightshade ... s-healthy/
https://time.com/6960316/are-nightshade ... s-healthy/
If you've ever gone down the rabbit hole of health and wellness trends online, you've likely stumbled upon the so-called shadowy side of nightshades—vegetables that include tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and peppers. What’s made them suddenly newsworthy is that they’ve been singled out by self-proclaimed wellness experts and celebrity dieters as culprits behind a range of health issues, from arthritis to autoimmune disease flare-ups and indigestion.
Why have nightshades become so controversial (and where did that shady name come from, anyway)? Scientists, internal medicine doctors, and registered dietitians shed light on these unfairly maligned vegetables.
Nightshade vegetables come from the Solanaceae family of flowering plants, which are nutritional powerhouses, packed with vitamins (such as C and K), minerals (like potassium and magnesium), and fiber. Dietitians and doctors recommend them in abundance. In fact, they make up a few of the staples in one of the world’s healthiest eating plans, the Mediterranean Diet.
While there’s little scientific evidence for these claims, some people report feeling better after cutting nightshades from their diets. So before you start side-eyeing your salad, eggplant parmesan, and baked potato, it’s worth taking a closer look.
Here’s where the suspicion lies: These vegetables also contain alkaloids, which are natural chemicals produced by plants believed to deter predators. Consumed in very high concentrations, alkaloids, such as solanine in potatoes and eggplants, tomatine in tomatoes, or capsaicin in peppers can cause symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain.
This has led to debates about their effects in any dose. Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society and author of A Grain of Salt: The Science and Pseudoscience of What We Eat, explains that while nightshades do contain alkaloids, the amount they typically contain are of no consequence. While potatoes, for example, which are eaten by a billion people worldwide, do contain solanine, the amounts are only in traces, he says. An average amount of solanine in a potato’s peel means a 200-pound person would have to eat 20 pounds of potatoes to experience a toxic level, according to the University of Nebraska.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
- John Thomas8
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Food but not recipes
Not the kind of food I'd be inclined to eat, but the video interesting for the different viewpoint from my "normal":
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Slaughter-free sausages: trying the latest lab-grown meat creation
Meatable hopes its cultivated sausages will satisfy the world’s appetite for meat without harming animals or the planet
Linda Geddes
Wed 17 Apr 2024 17.32 CEST
Even before I see the sausages, I am greeted by their rich, meaty aroma. Sizzling in a pan of foaming margarine, they look like regular chipolatas being fried up for a Sunday breakfast, their pink-grey exteriors slowly turning a rich caramel brown.
Consisting of 28% pork fat, bulked out with textured pea, chickpea, soy and wheat protein, these mini-bratwursts would happily sit inside a hotdog or next to a plate of mashed potato. But these are no standard bangers.
Cultivated from cells plucked from a fertilised pig egg and grown inside steel fermentation vessels like those used to make beer, these slaughter-free sausages are being touted as the future of sustainable and ethical meat production.
I’m at Meatable’s laboratories in the Netherlands, attending one of the first legally approved tastings of cultivated meat in Europe – and the first of a cultivated pork sausage.
Such tastings are considered a crucial step on the road to commercialisation of lab-grown meat, providing a rare opportunity for a handful of people – including the company’s co-founders – to sample the product and provide feedback on its taste and mouthfeel, before a final recipe is submitted for regulatory approval.
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/a ... t-creation
Food but not recipes
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... fs-experts
Read on.According to the 2024 UN Food Waste Index report, about a fifth of the world’s food is wasted. Worldwide, households are responsible for the majority of it: about 60% of the 1bn tonnes of food thrown away annually. So how best to keep your leftover food fresh – and for how long does it remain safe to eat?
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler