#also yes i know that most of the heat retention that comes from closing the windows is from how air doesnt circulate

[just-otter-thoughts]

Babygirl you would be surprised at the thermal insulation capabilities of glass

[cxmetery-gates]

OBSESSIVE TEACHINGS - DARK!TOM HIDDLESTON

CHAPTER FIVE: COFFEE AND TINDER

SUMMARY: Lynn and Gabriel have a heart-to-heart talk about her last lover, with Gabe offering barely-legal suggestions. WORD COUNT: 2.45k NOTES: Gabe is probably my favorite character WARNINGS: dark!tom hiddleston, teacher!tom hiddleston, mentions of past relationships, break-up talk, h*tler reference?? never thought i’d write that

OBSESSIVE TEACHINGS MASTERLIST

THE SOUND OF A BELL alerts the classroom that the period is over. Everyone had been already packed and ready to go minutes before Mr. Hiddleston even began wrapping up his lesson. Even when I suffered through chemistry or dragged my deflated soul through finance, I never thought of putting my notes and pens away so soon. I know more than one student saw the icy glare I sent across the room but, most importantly and unfortunately, I also know nearly all of them didn't catch the slight disappointment in Mr. Hiddleston's tone.

I truly despise most people.

From the moment class started, it's been so unmistakably clear how much he loves what he teaches, that he enjoys what he spent thousands of dollars on just to show people how great literature is. I understand that all too well— save the going into debt part. Teachers are often times so mundane with their knowledge, not realizing how the way they present the information affects our understanding and interest in such. This is why high school teachers are stereotyped as people who just want a paid summer vacation. However, Mr. Hiddleston really put effort into his theatrics, like his lecture was a play. People with a teaching degree should teach in this way— why else go penniless willingly? The overall excitement was entertaining. And for that, I have to give the man some credit.

"Alright, guys. We'll be diving into the second part of this lecture tomorrow. Have a good one, you are dismissed." I don't think Mr. Hiddleston needed to announce the last blip of his closing statement. As I said, people are so rude.

Ellie begins to shove her notepad and other items into her bag after our teacher finishes speaking, reminding me of my kind company. I, on the other hand, am scrambling to take the last bit of notes, trying to relay any possible concepts mentioned on to paper. While there might not have been much depth in today's class, jotting down every last tidbit of information could be life or death. Or perhaps I'm just anal-retentive when it comes to note-taking. By the time I finish the note, Ellie is already standing.

"Girl, hurry up. We gotta go!" She drags out the last vowel of the last word humorously.

I wave my hand at her, flipping pages and dodging paper cuts. "Go on without me. I'll be fine," I say, remembering that Ellie's homeroom is on the first floor and the farthest down the hall.

Rolling her big brown eyes, she sighs, walking backward. "I'll miss you poppet. I love you." Her fake British accent is terrible, but I don't bother enlightening her. Perhaps the slight discoloration in her cheeks and how fast she dashed out of the room was due to finding Mr. Hiddleston in ear-shot of her terrible accent. I bite my lip, forcing myself to look away out of sheer second-hand embarrassment.

Once all my belongings are together, I turn to leave.

"That truly was an awful mockery," Mr. Hiddleston says in my direction from the whiteboard. His long toned arms wipe the marker away as I begin to walk past him.

I chuckle. "I'll let her know you said that."

Mr. Hiddleston fakes a groan, placing the eraser on the marker tray then turning to face me with those oh-so-charming eyes. There's no other way to describe them other than mesmerizing. "Oh, don't tell her I said it. I like being liked."

"Being 'liked' is the least of your worries with these girls," I mumble, mostly to humor myself. However, I must have been louder than anticipated. The innuendo is heard and doesn't fly over his head.

A titter of a laugh is heard from the man, and I now regret the words I mumbled. "So I have been told," he replies, making a slightly uncomfortable face. I can't blame him; anyone would feel incredibly awkward if teaching a class full of people who would sell both kidneys just to see them without a shirt.

Not in my dreams would I have imagined having a conversation with Mr. Hiddleston about how everyone wants to nail him. While such a phrase hasn't been explicitly noted, I have a feeling both our minds are in the same gutter. And with that recognition, an awkward heat embraces me. I press my lips together tightly and offer a shrug. "I think the proper thing for me to say is good luck."

Seeming to take my word, Mr. Hiddleston passes me a smile. I can't read what the meaning is, but I'll take it nonetheless with a cough to clear my throat. "Ah, well, as much as I love juicy gossip and scandals, I've got a stuck up prune for homeroom, so I definitely need to get going." I send him a wave, making my exit as awkward as possible.

"Warntz?" He asks.

My nose wrinkles at the name. It eve sounds terrible, almost as terrifying as Trunchbull or Umbridge. "You betcha."

"Good luck, Lynn. You've got two minutes."

I want to give another sassy remark, but the teasing look I find when I look over my shoulder sends my body into another blush. Muttering something close to 'whatever,' I decide that leaving is for the best, even if that means awaiting an angry, shriveled up raisin.

══════════════════

Exiting the high school front doors a few hours before the final bell is like the biggest sigh of relief and 'sucks to be you' to everyone else. An arm wraps around my shoulder, one I embrace kindly.

"So, we've got an hour on our hands," Gabriel reminds me, hinting we'll have to come back to grab Ellie and River. As he speaks, I toss my head back on his toned bicep. I swear he works out too much for an unpopular loser. "What would you like to do?"

I groan, dragging my chin down to my chest. "Why do I have to decide? You know I hate making decisions."

"We're taking second lunch here, Lynn. It isn't life or death, you weirdo," Gabe chortles.

"Can we just go get a coffee? I feel like I'm about to pass out." For effect, I pretend to faint, nearly going complete limp before his arms can hoist me back up.

Rolling his dark eyes, my partner in crime pulls a set of keys from his pocket, swinging the lanyard around his fingers while we head towards a tattered white truck being held together by zip ties, duct tape, and love. "You and Elle with your coffee addiction."

"Could be meth," I retort.

Snorting, Gabe slips a key into the slit on the driver's side. I stand on the opposite, sending a humored smile. "Yeah, as if that's any worse."

We make it to the local coffee shop in no time. Luckily for us, the lunch rush hour in this town ends just as we hit the road if we avoid the main highways that is. Gabe's truck and the coffee shop have a similar aesthetic: crowded, old, falling apart with an overwhelming sense of home and personality. I can't count how many times I've broken down and received well off advice from him in both locations. It feels safe here and being around him. Gabe's like the much older brother (by a month) that I never had. We're both complete, utter assholes to each other about 60% of the time, enforcing the sibling-like bond we have.

"Thank you," I say sweetly to the barista as he places my cold brew in front of me and Gabe's hot chocolate in front of him. Mimicking my gratitude, Gabe gives his thanks as the employee shuffled away, awkwardly patting at his frizzy hair.

We both take a sip and visibly relax. "So, the first day of our last year of high school." Gabe is also the mom friend. "Tell me, dear, how were all your classes?"

"Oh, dearest mother, I feel so content with my choices," I reply with a vintage accent, acting as though my voiced popped in from the 1920s. "How ever will I pick a favorite?"

Wiggling his brows, Gabe replies, "I hear someone landed themselves in the hottest teacher's class."

Prompting to return to my normal voice, I roll my eyes, a huff expelling from my diaphragm. "He's definitely a piece of eye candy, I'll tell you that."

"Took four years to figure that one out? I didn't realize unobservant you are." Taking a pause, Gabe brings to smirk widely. "Maybe that's why you haven't asked River out yet."

My eyes grow wide, my skin goes red. Looking at anywhere other than Gabe's eyes and smirking lips is a must. "I don't know—"

"Lynn, everyone knows."

"Sure, but he doesn't." I pause. "Wait, does he?"

"Dude, no, of course, he doesn't. He still thinks you're heartbroken over Trinity."

Ah, yes, Trinity. Who knew a happy year and two months could be wholly demolished beyond reconciliation in a single weekend? Certain not I, as I have spent the past three months moving on and over the ordeal. An annoyed grunt leads my cheek to rest in my fist. "He thinks I'm not over it?"

Gabe leans forwards. "None of us do, Lynn."

I stay silent.

"What happened... you didn't deserve that. Hell, Hitler wouldn't have deserved that. Probably."

"Weeeeell—"

"Point is, I know you're still trying to find a way to heal. You've done a damn good job, duh. But River thinks you're still in love with her."

"Ugh. I'd rather eat hairy horse shit than see her ever again."

Gabriel nods, "I was hoping that would be the case."

Knocking my knuckles on the wooden table, I let out an exaggerated sigh. "Man, I'm tired."

"You know we're all here for you, right?" Gabe asks, leaning in just a few inches. I want to roll my eyes, tell him that he worries too much, but I can't. I can't tell him, not because I want him to shut up or to change the topic, but because he knows me. To Gabe, I'm an open book.

I run out of words to say relating to the topic. The breakup is old news, everything following the incident becoming irrelevant memories and irreplaceable time. I'm kidding myself when I say I've moved on entirely because Gabriel is right: I haven't. Sometimes my thoughts get stuck on what I could have done better or what I should have done to convince her to stay. Despite these annoying blips, I know deep down that it was inevitable, that her consistent cheating and the emotional manipulation would only surface for everyone to see in due time. If they hadn't— which I tried to keep from happening— I have a gut-wrenching feeling I'd still be in the situation. I had a feeling Trinity and me wouldn't last, but it wasn't until after things ended did I realize how well she had me wrapped around her finger. It's taken months to find my way out of her web, but I now face the scary journey of recovery. Thankfully, the process has not been as hard as I anticipated. After all, living two cities away certainly helps.

"Yeah, I know. I'm still going through the motions. I just want it to speed up, you know?"

Smirking and pulling his hand back, Gabriel replies, "Maybe a Tinder will help?"

My nose wrinkles at the mere consideration. Hooking up, dating apps, meeting strangers behind a phone— not really my thing. "Nah, I'll pass on that offer, thanks."

"Suit yourself."

"Hmm, maybe I'll look into a sugar daddy site. Money from older men might make me feel a bit better."

Gabriel takes a sip of his hot chocolate, grinning. "Well, you have an interesting way with teachers. If you're struggling in a particular class, maybe that little fantasy of yours will come true."

"Oh yes, I can't wait to hop on Mr. Riley's seventy-year-old dick."

"Mhmm, yummy."

At this, I bark into a laughing-while-painfully-cringing fit. Never being a fan of the phrase "yummy" and having it tied to a man that's so old he's basically decaying, I find every part of this new conversation revoltingly hilarious. I guess my sudden outburst of laughter caught Gabe off guard, staring at me with a shocked grin and fixing the infamous beanie he wears. I couldn't count how many times I've seen him without; you can't count to zero.

"It really wasn't that funny," he says with a small hiccup of laughter in his voice.

I settle myself now that I feel the eyes of everyone in the coffee shop staring. "You're right, but something about it made me crack." I flip my phone over to check the time. "Should we be getting back? They've got twenty minutes left."

Gabe nods and lets out a content sigh. "Yeah, I guess so."

We decide to chug the rest of our beverages quickly— now room temperature and not as satisfying— before heading back out into the world. Away in the parking lot, the truck seems to beckon us to its forty-year-old, duct-tape-bound seats. As Gabe unlocks the truck doors, I let out a content sign and stare up at the sky. Above, the sun beams down on us and, like an idiot, I managed to look directly into it. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust but by that point, a dark cloud rolled over the blinding, distant star.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

TAGLIST:

@khadineberry​

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TAGGED, LET ME KNOW!

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 65

I am so, so sorry for getting this out so late in the day.  I know this should have gone up almost eight hours ago. Entirely too much has been going on.

Thank you for bearing with.

“Final systems check,” Grey announced, glancing briefly over from the display and nodding at me.

Noah waved its left liw and vomu in a very human gesture, albeit in multiple. “Proper recordings of every Terran scientific paper in our database are prepared to be communicated directly into your translation implant.”

“He means audio,” I stage-whispered to Conor and Maverick.  Tyche had marched out and read them the riot act after she and I cleared the air.  Their abashed apologies once she dragged them back were still under consideration, but I felt safer with them in the room.

I was also a bit loopy on the sedatives they had given me for my blood pressure. So sue me.

Rolling her eyes, my sister turned to Antoine. “And the connection?”

“Strong and clear,” he confirmed.

Maverick cleared his throat to get our attention. “If we can stream all this information directly into her implant, why aren’t we using this for learning?”

Antoine leveled a half-scathing glare – I couldn’t tell if I was more impressed he mustered any degree of ‘scathing’ or that he was tired enough to let it slip through – before explaining. “Any information retention will be trivial at best, and that would be largely because of Sophia’s exceptional memory. She is still essentially hearing several lectures in a row and repeating them back as soon as she hears it.”

Poor Maverick looked devastated.  Unfortunately, his pout was almost comical, and it took every bit of what little self-control I had left to keep from laughing.

It seemed I wasn’t doing as good a job as I thought, because Tyche turned away with a growl, hands flung in the air. “Okay, papers are queued up, connection to the implant is good. Did we get the medication figured out?”

“Confirmed,” Grey asserted without looking up. “Sophia, you will be in REM sleep, but still lucid.  This should let you control the dream and speak to Else.”

“So I’ll be hypnotized.”

Grey scoffed, but Antoine cut them off. “We discussed this, Dr. Hodenson. While you may not believe in hypnosis, it is a proven phenomenon.  While difficult to accomplish deliberately, I have witnessed Sophia subject to this mental state.”

“Wait, what?” My neck hurt from turning so fast to look at him.

“When you read. When you cook. When you wrap presents,” he ticked off on his fingers.

“I’m not hypnotized, I’m in the zone,” I argued.

Tyche rolled her neck and cocked an eyebrow at me. “That is literally hypnosis, specifically when you read.  I remember seeing you sit in a house with no heat, in January, in shorts and a t-shirt, sweating bullets while reading a book that ended up taking place in Mumbai in summer.  You get cravings for whatever foods your favorite characters are eating, even if you hate the food.”

“That’s not hypnosis, that’s suggestion,” Grey stated flatly.

“And hypnosis is the induction of a state of consciousness that makes you particularly susceptible to suggestion,” Antoine pointed out, equally flat.  With these two, it was practically a shouting match.

Heading off the galaxy’s calmest blow out, I spoke up. “So, creation’s most boring audiobooks, check. Overkill-quality headphones, check. Deep-fake VR drugs, check.” I pointed at myself with both thumbs, “Stoned and willing guinea pig, double check. Let’s get this done.”

Two hours into spouting off what seemed to be hematological extracts, I was considerably less stoned and significantly less willing.

“A low packed cells volume usually indicablood loss due to cell destruction or failure in bone marrow production, while high mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentrations – “

Please. Stop.

“Oh thank fuck,” I gasped, allowing myself to tune out the stream of information piped directly into my head. “Else, is that you?”

Yes, I am here.

“Well, at least it worked… you’re talking quite a bit better now.” I glanced around at the landscape.  While focusing on reciting two hours of scientific papers, I had to ignore it all.  Since the last time I was here, I managed to figure out that the Ark in my dreams was an analogue of my health, from Else’s perspective.  Right now, everything looked okay.  The walls were cracked, but all the pieces were in place. No water. All the lights were functioning. “Also, good to see I’m not dying.”

We wouldn’t let you die.  We need you.

“Not all of me,” I pointed out to thin air.

Your hemoglobin, Else’s voice admitted.

I nodded. “That sounds more accurate.  You eat iron, right?”

Yes. And there is so much here.

“That sounds sinister,” I mused.  Since Else has been able to read my thoughts in the past, I made a point in the dream to speak out loud. It was more for me than the bacteria, since literally all of this interaction was happening in my head anyway. “Is that why you are on the ship.”

I didn’t ask to be here. Humans brought me here.

“The same humans you’re eating. Were you in the core samples we gathered?”

No. I came later.

“But that is the only time we have taken anything on board since we left Earth.” This wasn’t making sense.

I am from the Ark.

“Else, you aren’t making sense,” I took a deep breath. I imagined taking a deep breath. Something.  I was definitely getting a very real headache. “If you only came after the core samples, but you come from the Ark, how does that work?  Are you another alien race? What planet are you from?”

I am from the Ark.

“I mean what planet – “

No planet. I am from the Ark.

“Wait, what? You mean… Life on Earth evolved from the primordial soup that existed after Earth formed. From… amino acids, then proteins…”

From the oceans, to be simple.

“Right, from the oceans.” I mused. “But we’re in space, with all the radiation you could want, plus exotic trace minerals that may be in those core samples, and a big god-damned – “

Language, Else admonished.

“Oh, now you have a sense of humor,” I huffed. “We have a big lake with all kinds of biological experiments going on in BioLab 2. Is that where you come from?”

Not just the water. Experiments, too.

“Fuck.”

None of that.

“So we made you.”

Yes.

My knees spiked in agony as I hit the deck below my feet. “It was an accident,” I begged in a hoarse whisper. “All the shitty things we have done to ourselves and each other, please tell me it was an accident.”

Did you know if you were an accident before you were told by your parent?

“That is such a low blow,” I scowled. “You and Tyche are the only ones who know that.”

But fair.

“Unfortunately.” I huffed an imaginary lock of hair that just appeared in my face for the sole purpose of doing so. “I am going to assume this was an accident.”

Ouch.

Indulgently, I stomped around, fists clenched, growling the entire time. “I am negotiating with a sentient colony of bacteria, one that humanity made, somehow, and now you have hurt feelings!?” I was screaming by the end of it, and a distant part of my brain registered a chilled sensation in my arm. “Stop sedating me, I’m pissed!” Breathing heavily, I tried to calm down. “I get that it’s insulting, Else, but trust me, you do not want humanity to have made you deliberately.  If that was the case, your only actual function is to kill people and destroy buildings.”

I don’t want to hurt anyone. I just want to live.

“As a former intended entrée, I can sympathize. But you are killing us, Else.” Hot tears filled my eyes. “I’m okay so far, but that is only because Miys is constantly infusing me with freshly made, iron-rich blood. What happens when we’re out of resources? Or reach our destination?”

Nutrient rich plants, engineered to grow on the new planet.

“Conor,” I gasped, covering my mouth as the tears I was trying so hard to hold back fell down my face. “The catnip he gave Tyche. He said it was a failed experiment.”

He does not know he created us. The gift was in good will.

“Is that how you infected her?”

No. She likes to swim. And she loves you.

“Difference between intelligence and sentience: that was exactly the wrong thing to say,” I hissed. “The only body you have are the ones you stole from my family and the crew, so I can’t actually hurt you. But I am this close,” I held my fingers so they were barely not touching, “to having Miys filter you out of our blood and flush you into space.  The only reason I am here talking to you is because we knew you were sentient before we realized you were killing us.” Another deep breath. “Try. Again.”

She was infected when she went swimming. It was not intentional. We needed iron.

“Much better.”

We did not mean for the mermaid to be injured so. There was so much iron in her blood. I did not know that taking it away would harm her.

“You harmed us all!” I screamed. “All of us!  You made Grey absent-minded and forgetful. You undermined their confidence. You made Conor, Grey, and Antoine angry,” I spat. “The biggest betrayal of all. Three of the calmest, most reasonable people I know, the ones who would have rooted for you, and you took that away from them!”

I –

“Conor and Grey made you!”

Did not know. Not then. But I-we know that now. And we are sorry.

”Are you? Or are you pleading for your life?”

I-we want to live.

“That I believe.”

But we want you to live, even if we are not within you.

“How the fuck do you think we do that? Humans are the only source of iron on the ship.”

I-we am-are bacteria. I-we can be isolated.

“And then, what? Leave you on some poor planet to kill some other species? I hate to tell you, but you went from birth to genocide in alarming fashion. All of humanity that is left, is on this ship, and you are killing what’s left. From what we understand, the Galactic Council would frown on what you’re doing.” I focused on sending the information I had gotten back to Miys and everyone listening in. “I can’t let you do this to another species.”

Barren planet. Old one, where no more life will survive.

“One that is at the end of its life cycle?”

I-we do not believe I-we am-are vulnerable to heat.

I waited patiently for information before I responded. “Miys says we can isolate you and test for you heat resistance before booting you off in a nebula that you can’t fuck up. Is that sufficient?”

Humans cannot live in a nebula.

“We can’t live in a pylon either, but you ate it all the way through.”

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[raisingsupergirl]

Apple or AT&T—Who's More Evil?

Let me start out by saying that I get it. I really do. Companies have to make money. Successful companies with great products deserve to make money. Apple and AT&T? They both make wonderful products and provide top-notch services. The problem is, for some dumb reason, they both like making as much money as possible. And the easiest way for them to do that is to keep us, the consumers, buying their new crap. Convincing us that we need it and that there's no other alternative. So when a company gets that big, when they can leverage their power against the little people, what stops us from finally getting fed up, throwing our phones in the toilet, and going back to smoke signals? Well, to answer that, I need to tell you what brought on my recent frustrations (as if any specific examples need to be given)…

Problem 1: The Man With the Data Plan

My wife and I went on a cruise a few weeks ago. And like most Americans with 1st-world problems, we had to decide whether we wanted to 1) go a week without cell phone or internet access while we cruised across international waters…yeah, right, 2) buy an international data plan from AT&T, or 3) purchase access to our ship's Wi-Fi access. In the end, it looked like the Wi-Fi package would be the cheapest, so that's what we went with. My wife was careful to turn off all wireless data to all apps and services on her phone (I just kept my phone turned off all week. I would have thrown it in the ocean and never looked back if she'd have let me) as directed on the various FAQs she found, and she logged onto the ship's Wi-Fi without complication. Smooth sailing… or at least we thought so until we received our AT&T bill. Yup, you guessed it—$100 worth of charges for iMessages and calls.

Problem 2: Disposable Phones

My wife and I bought new iPhone 7s two years ago. It was a great time in our lives. I remember the occasion fondly because it was the same day that our sweet Avery (two years old at the time) dressed up in her yellow "Beauty" princess dress and took in her first movie theater experience with Mommy and Daddy. Well, fast-forward two years, and we just paid off those phones. And lo and behold, my wife updated her phone earlier this week and within 30 minutes…it stopped working. Not completely, just the microphone, which, contrary to this smart phone generation's beliefs, is kind of important. And there was "nothing" that could be done to fix it. Which meant, just when we were free from the clutches of our AT&T contract and iPhone debt, we were sucked back in. Sure, the wife would get her fancy new phone, but at what cost?

So off we went to the AT&T store. We spoke with our customer representative (Ayla, which is easy for me to remember because it's the name of a cavewoman character in my favorite video game of all time, but I digress…), and she was great. She upgraded our antiquated data plan, made sure we understood the new plan, showed us where things could be improved to fit our needs, let us know who to contact about the $100 charge on our AT&T bill, and put up with our two insane daughters while my wife got her new phone set up. All in all, it was a great experience, but it was one that should never have happened in the first place. Why? Because Apple is intentionally breaking their older iPhones (if two years is considered "old") so their customers will buy the newest model. If you're not aware of this practice (YES, it's real, and it's confirmed by Apple's corporate reps), read on. If you know about it, feel free to skip the next three paragraphs.

First, imagine a perfect product. Let's use a fish aquarium heater as an example. Its job is simple—heat water to a specific temperature so your tropical fishies don't freeze to death. A company could easily create a heater that would last for decades, but why in the world would they do that? Even if they charged double the price of typical heaters, they would still lose money because in those two decades' time, its customers would by three or four of those "disposable" heaters that crack or short out from routine use. So it just doesn't make financial sense for them to make a durable product when they could make one that works just long enough to keep the consumer coming back for more.

Now, take that principle to the tech world, and we have to look at things a little differently. For those of you old enough, you remember those first Nokia brick cellphones well. Why? Because they were indestructible, their batteries lasted forever, and they had service EVERYWHERE. They were perfect phones. Except, the most exciting game on them was Snake, and within a few years, the Blackberry (and all of it's thumb-injuring successors) had overshadowed the poor, reliable Nokia despite its inferior construction. In this way, the tech world kept consumers buying new products every year because the amazing technology advanced so rapidly. I mean, you'd be insane to use those boring old bricks that could only make calls and use T9 to text when there were newer phones out there that could take pictures and check electronic mail!

Then something happened. The technology started to stagnate. It kept improving, but not nearly as fast. All phones had cameras, internet access, and most importantly, apps. At that point, if a phone didn't break, it could be used forever while the user just downloaded whatever new apps that came out. Sure, the new apps would take up more space and demand stronger processors and whatnot, but a frugal user could make due for years and years. And that kind of return just didn't work for the tech companies. If they were ever going to be able to swim in a vault filled with gold coins a la Scrooge McDuck, they needed to find a way to keep selling new products that consumers had no real reason to buy. And so, they invented the "update." Oh yes, you NEED this update! It'll keep your phone safe. It'll keep it running smoothly with all those new apps. It'll keep it… updated. But we should mention that those updates will eventually fry your phone's "old" processor, forcing you to fork out a grand every couple of years.

I'm not going to pretend to be tech savvy enough to outline every reason for this (and that's not what this blog's about, anyway), but we've all been victims of the sudden battery death, random crashing, and in my wife's case, microphone failure that happens immediately after one of these "updates." And as I said, this practice is documented and admitted. For the big companies, it's essential to keep them afloat. Heaven forbid that they keep giving us actual reasons to buy new products. No, they've already perfected the smartphone, so instead of creating something new, they've found ways to keep selling us the same thing. It's brilliant, in an evil mastermind sort of way.

Okay, back to the story. My wife got her new phone. She was safe for the next couple of years (though it's just a matter of time before MY phone dies of update sickness…), so now it was time to take the fight to AT&T's retentions department and see about that $100 charge on our bill.

Round 1: I called 6-1-1 and I spoke with the level 1 boss, though I didn't catch her name… She told it to me, but I didn't catch it. She was polite the entire time. She explained how there were, in fact, charges on my bill and how those charges were because we'd used data and call services in international waters. I explained (politely) that we hadn't authorized these usages because we turned off all cellular data, etc. and only used Wi-Fi while out of the country, and that I didn't plan to pay these extra charges. 30 minutes later and she let me know that she was going to "send this case up," and I should get an email within 24 hours. "No," I said, again politely, "I think I'll just talk to someone now." Brief (ten minute) pause, then [insert name here] said, "One moment please."

Round 2: Level 2 boss's name was John, and his accent fit his name. He, just like Level 1 Boss, took a good while searching through the charges and getting back to me, but he also remained completely polite the entire time. He explained that the Wi-Fi packages on most cruise ships only cover international water usage, and our AT&T charges had come while we were docked in port in Haiti. Why? Because my wife's phone started using the Haitian towers (instead of the cruise line's Wi-Fi) without our approval. It made perfect sense whether it was true or not, but John went on to tell me that, while he may not be able to get ALL of the charges removed, he would do what he could because we were, "…long-time valued customers." His words, not mine. Five minutes later, John took me off of hold and told me that he obtained approval to take $75 off of the bill, so we would only have to pay $25. Truth be told, I had no intention of paying ANY of that bill, but my interaction with John was so pleasant (I didn't have to ask him to reduce the bill. I didn't have to bring up the fact that we were valued customers, or that we could take our business across the street to Crickett Wireless. He knew all of these things, and he that knew I knew them. And he got the job done, or close to it) that he'd gained my respect. I wasn't going to fight John over the remaining $25, even if it did take over an hour to get that $75 knocked off. Game over. Roll credits.

So here's the thing—I'm a huge skeptic. With everyone I worked with throughout this debacle, I know that there's a possibility that they were all just working off of a script. That they did exactly as they'd been trained, performing damage control and getting every cent possible out of a tough customer like me. After everything, it's possible that AT&T and Apple still won. But at least they played the game. At least these REAL people listened to me and answered my questions, and in the end, the interactions were extremely pleasant. Yes, I get that I'm a number to the companies, but I was a person to their employees. And they treated me with respect. And I did the same with them.

My title poses the question of who's more evil between AT&T and Apple. Unfortunately, I don't have the answer to that question, but in THIS case, as much as it hurts me to say it, the bigger evildoer is definitely Apple. Why? Well, in AT&T's case, their charges were legitimate. My wife incurred roaming charges in Haiti because of the cruise line's failure to explain how their services worked. And even if John straight up lied to me about that, his company still only wound up stealing $25 (and one hour) from me. Apple on the other hand… they're openly breaking their own phones so their loyal customers have to buy new ones. And those new phones cost a whole lot more than $25. Yes, our experience in the AT&T store was pleasant while buying that new Apple iPhone (thanks to Ayla), but it should have never come to that.

In the end, we're victims of our circumstances. We're brainwashed by brilliant marketing. We're forced into competition with our neighbors. And there's only one thing I can say as I finish up typing this scathing report on my Apple MacBook Air—Joke's on you, Satan, er, Apple. Money's not real. No one really owns anything anymore. There's no privacy. No Freedom. The only things we have are our experiences, our interactions, and our attitudes. And as the days get longer and the grass gets greener, I can't help hoping Y2K is just running fashionably late (all you millennials should Google Y2K along with The Matrix and Surge soda. There's so much you've missed…). In the meantime, I'm going to go cut my grass with a lawnmower that's older than every piece of technology I own, and believe it or not, it's never had a single update. What a world.

[ellawritesficssometimes]

Note: This theory will make use of Freudian theory. While I recognize that Freud’s ideas do not bear much contemporary relevance, that shouldn’t take away from the fact that many of his concepts (e.g., erogenous zones, childhood memory repression, catharsis) are nonetheless employed by Hima in the series. The purpose of this post is to give some insight into the psychologies of the characters.

Terminology I’ll go over: Psychosexual stages, causality, regression, fixation.

Yes, that’s right. Freud’s ideas are very much prevalent in the series. A big area of his work was analyzing the impact of childhood on personality development. Freud believed in causality, meaning that who you are as an adult can be directly traced back to your childhood.

How you’re parented and brought up is the most crucial factor. I don’t need to go into this in too much detail, but basically, we go through five stages of development titled: Oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.

For this specific post, we only need to focus on the early stages of development, which focus on sensual (sensory) pleasure and stimulation, often for the purposes of soothing and experiencing relief.

Each stage has corresponding needs. If these needs are not met (under-gratification) or if they are too easily met (over-gratification), then the person develops a fixation.

A fixation essentially means that the person is stuck at that level of development, which causes them to develop a problematic and unhealthy personality type.

However, it’s only when that individual is met with confrontation or a stressful situation that they regress back to the stage in which they developed this fixation. The stress causes them to revert back to the age where their needs weren’t met, and as such, they engage in childish behaviours.

For example, if you get into an argument with someone and they start behaving selfishly, like a toddler, then you have every right to poke fun at them for having Daddy or Mommy issues. Or, there are those who bite their nails and pick at their lips, something akin to the soothing acquired from sucking one’s thumb as a child.

Where America Fits Into This:  

America’s tricky in that he’s fixated at two stages of development. I’ll go over each of them separately.

Oral Fixation: 

The oral stages revolves around gratification through the mouth and lips. Tension and stress in an infant is reduced as they feed from their mother. It soothes them.

Over-gratification, as in the infant is fed too much or too easily, results in an oral-incorporative personality. In this case, it would apply not to how America was parented, as England wasn’t present in his life for long periods of his childhood, but rather the time that he spent in isolation.

In isolation, America only looked after himself. That’s why when he emerged from this isolation he came across as selfish and egocentric to the other nations. He had gotten so used to satisfying his own needs that he had trouble putting others first. [Please note that this is not the case in modern strips.]

Now, consider how much responsibility America had when he became a major manufacturing power in the years leading up to WW1.

Then, consider how he evolved to the status of a superpower following WW2. That’s a lot of responsibility for one nation to take, and as such, you would think that it would have caused America a lot of stress.

Well, it did.

Ex: He’s visibly distressed and disappointed in himself when the Stock Market crashes in 1939. He assumes all the blame given that it was his economy that had propped up the global market at the time.

While he doesn’t always show it, a lot of America’s habits help reduce this tension and stress. Not only that, but it helps him cope with the loneliness and lingering effects of isolation that he still feels when interacting with other nations.

Oral-incorporative personalities reduce tension through oral activities (duh). This would include things like smoking, drinking a lot, chewing gum, eating excessively, and being overly talkative. Hmmmm.

Doesn’t America overeat?

Isn’t America an overly-talkative person that just so happens to get on a lot of the other nations’ nerves?

Notwithstanding that America is completely aware of the fact that he’s not well-received in the international community?

This brings me to my next point. An oral-incorporative personality-type also possesses a high degree of gullibility. Following Freud’s allegory, they swallow everything they’re told.

With America, this gullibility of not being able to read the atmosphere is an act. 

It’s nothing more than a running gag and shouldn’t be taken seriously, especially if you look closely at his interactions with the other nations.

It’s a stress-reducing mechanism that allows him to avoid confronting reality, given how stressful his position as a superpower must have been. Point is, he’s more than capable of reading the atmosphere as seen in the example above. He simply chooses not to.

Similarly, America also embodies aspects of an oral-sadistic personality type. Under-gratification, as in the infant is not fed enough, results in this personality type. It means that they were weaned off early from their mother.

These people tend to be verbally abusive, or, in less serious cases they use “biting” sarcasm. Note again the use of an allegorical reference to infancy.

That said, we know that the nations often get frustrated with America for making reckless mistakes. More importantly, these mistakes are attributed to his youth and inexperience.

In that case, America being weaned off from England too early and not learning the proper ropes of how to conduct himself in accordance to tradition would be what is most relevant here...

Not many people know this, but America can be verbally abrasive (it’s not quite abusive) and sarcastic. The whole arc covering his and Canada’s childhoods are full of heated arguments between the two of them.

Ex: America gets frustrated with Canada when the latter refuses to let him see England following the Revolution.

The argument ends when Canada slams the front door on America.

Ex: America explodes at Canada upon hearing that the latter intends to gain his independence by being on good terms with England.

It’s the softness of the approach that doesn’t sit well with America. Canada is still fairly sheltered at this point, and hadn’t experienced/ travelled the world like America had. Put another way, Canada comes across as too idealistic to him.

“Is your head a field of flowers?!” 

Ex: Russia gives America a ticket to Siberia for his birthday. America blows his nose with it.

Anal Fixation:

[Yes, laugh. I didn’t come up with these terms.]

This stage of development centers around potty training. As toddlers gain control, autonomy, over their bodily functions, the authority that their parents assert over them regarding how they regulate these functions is met with hostility. They want to enjoy their newly-acquired independence and go whenever they want. The parents are the only barrier to that. Essentially, this stage is a battle of wills between the stubbornness of the toddler and their parents.

Sound familiar? Does the American Revolution ring a bell?

As America became increasingly sufficient, he realized that England’s authority was too imposing; it restricted his growth and freedom as a nation. He therefore pushed back and fought for his independence, his autonomy.

America fits best with an anal-retentive personality type. Similar to how a toddler will sometimes refuse to relieve themselves, these individuals tend to withhold their emotions and hoard their belongings. This also ties in nicely with how America pretends not to read the atmosphere.

Ex: America’s been shown on a few occasions to hold his tongue and not say what he really thinks.

Ex: He has a problem with over-manufacturing [hoarding].

Ex: While this doesn’t apply in the present, when he first came out of isolation, America would only do favors if it served to his own benefit.

Notice how similar that is to the behavior of a toddler. They lack the intellectual capacity to think of anyone but themselves.

Lastly, in terms of stress, you’ll also notice that America is often equated with child-like imagery.

This is especially the case when his ideas are challenged. The stress of it causes him to revert back to childish behaviour.

Ex: When proposing a world defense plan, he crushes bundled spoons to intimidate other nations into agreeing with him.

England berates him for this childishness too.

In sum, America’s childish behaviour is often an unconscious reaction to stress than it is arising from selfishness. Not only that, but a lot of his ‘obnoxious’ habits (e.g., eating excessively) can be attributed to him relieving his stress through them.

[topicprinter]

Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview.Today's interview is with Cailey Golden of The Patchsmith, a brand that sells custom embroidered patches.Some stats:Product: Custom embroidered patches.Revenue/mo: $6,500Started: September 2017Location: New York CityFounders: 1Employees: 0Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?Hey there, my name is Cailey Golden and I started The Patchsmith in the later months of 2017. I’m the only company based in the USA that offers no strings attached, no custom embroidered minimum patches. All of my production is done within New York City.Within 18 months working part time, I’ve grown the company to make $6,500 a month on average. I expect to transition over to full time in 2019 or early 2020.imageWhat's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?I’ve been in the customization industry for over 10 years. I started with screen printing first. Eventually I was hired to work for the Yankees and was taught how to embroider caps. A company reached out to me for a production embroidery job and I accepted. I was taught how to run production but was left alone a lot. I ended up teaching myself a lot of different embroidery methods, it was also the place I made my first patch. I ended up creating patches for my supporters club of the local MLS team, NYCFC, and sold them for $7 each. I stopped after a few months and didn’t think about patches for awhile.In 2017 I was going through a huge change in my life, a previous employer in the City attempted to permanently remove me from the industry, very unsuccessfully. I’d say it’s part of the reason why I’ve been able to be as successful as I have been so far. I spent months grasping at straws to come up with a business idea that I knew could do while keeping my mind busy while I was on a rollercoaster of repercussions from that employer.I was in the bank one day after work and was sitting down with a representative, I did that a few months prior with the same guy and we spoke a bit about my career. This time he asked me if I was able to embroider patches for his fantasy football league called “Fight Club”. It was the first time anyone had ever asked for patches, I had no idea what to charge him but I knew I could definitely do it. I said yes and charged him $6 per patch for 25 of them. He was all too excited and agreed. I had no idea if I undercharged, overcharged or was right on the money but it was too easy. I was completely hooked.imageTake us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.To get started on orders I need the artwork and I take the full payment upfront. If a customer doesn’t have artwork, I charge $50 an hour to create something from scratch. My competitors don’t charge at all for artwork. I think that’s a waste of potential profit. I also charge a high rate because I don’t feel like doing graphic design 99% of the time, so it better be worth the while for me.After their art is sorted out, I send them a digital proof before I digitize the art. Once everything is approved, I use Wilcom to digitize the graphics. It’s what 95% of people in the embroidery industry use to digitize artwork so it’s machine ready. It involves tracing over the artwork to create a digital file that the computer in the embroidery machine can read to be able to punch through the fabric to stitch the design.From here I get the design on the machine, play around with the exact thread color combination to get as close to the artwork as I can and hoop up the fabric that I’ll be embroidering the patches onto. For the fabric, I use twill that’s the same color as the satin stitch finishing of the patch for a cleaner edge or a color that is the majority of the background so it’s a lot less stitches.When everything is set, I get the hoop onto the machine and then get the actual patch going. A typical run length is usually 12 minutes. I can run 9 patches at once. On an average day I can get 250 - 300 patches done with little problems. After they’re done running on the machine, they get backing which is usually heat seal, sometimes velcro. Small orders will be hand cut, large orders will be laser cut. Just depends on the day.For the Smith’s Shop, which is what I call my retail store, all the patches have packaging. They all come on branded cardstock backing with instructions on how to apply the patches.imageDescribe the process of launching the business.My first attempt at a website was horrific. I don’t even have screenshots and examples of it, but it was bad. I knew I would be making a website on Shopify. It’s easiest for me as someone extremely inept with web development and web design could do. I wanted to keep my costs as low as possible while growing, so I put lipstick on a pig and ran with it. The Shopify mobile app is also extremely easy to work with compared to Wordpress for me and it keeps everything in one place.imageI’ve spent most of my time growing my business visually through Instagram. It’s the easiest way for people to see the product. “Seeing is believing” or so they say. I’ve done a ton of paid promotions as well. A lot of the promotion was just to gain brand recognition, this did however bring on a lot of time wasters so I’d have to weed through many messages.I didn’t take out any loans, didn’t find investors, do a kickstarter, etc. I’m lucky that I’ve been in my industry long enough to know people that I could buy equipment from cheaply, and to know what’s a good price for other vital pieces of equipment like heat presses, laser cutters, softwares.Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?So far I’ve been doing the same thing, Instagram promotions. I’ve spent about $15,000 on Instagram promotions sporadically, I started off very small with $5 -$10 per post and then got confident enough with the more I made. I didn’t start spending $800+ a month until September of 2018.imageI was stupid and had Instagram targetting my ads for awhile based off my followers. It actually did work out well. Now I’m doing a lot of testing and am yielding much better results only very recently from more targeted ads.I did experiment with Google, but my keywords were terrible and I was getting more people wanting direct embroidery instead of custom patches. I spent around $1,000 on Google and the same on Facebook, Instagram is definitely the bigger pull for me since it’s so visual.My two lifesavers have been Hotjar and AHREFS. With hotjar I’ve been able to watch and see exactly what people click, how they search through my site, how much time they spend in certain places. It’s been a huge help in changing my site little by little to make it more user friendly. I had literally no idea what SEO was 2 years ago and how to implement it, and honestly it’s still not done well but I have a structure to work off now. I plan on outsourcing that once I have a better handle on the subject so I can tell if someone is actually succeeding with the money I’m spending. The little infographics, directions and descriptions AHREFS gives me was written like a 5 year old needed an explanation so it was great to learn from.I don’t run any sales, I don’t give coupons out like candy, I don’t see the point for me. If a customer is wanting patches, they’re either going to go for extremely high quality with short turnarounds or cheap with very slow turnarounds. I also have a leg up on my direct competitors by offering no minimums and large full back pieces. I stand behind my product and I think it’s easy to convey that to a customer. When they find out my turnaround for small orders is about 5 days, compared to the 3 weeks they’d get their order from outsourcing overseas, the price doesn’t look as terrible.Once I do get a customer, I have a decent retention rate. The business so far has mostly been B2C, so while the retention rate is just about 35%, the orders aren’t as frequent. I’m looking to change that and expand much more into B2B in the very near future with very direct marketing.I’ve done expos as a vendor and have built up a bit local brand recognition for The Smith’s Shop, which is my small online store that has retail patches. I’m trying to pull back from that because it's a small amount of profit for the amount I put into it, it hasn’t really brought back any return customers either.imageHow are you doing today and what does the future look like?Currently I’m working on a major rebrand. Logo, marketing tactics, packaging, so my sales have dropped off while I don’t do any marketing with my older promotional material. I’ve created a landing page which no other custom patch company seems to have. I’m working on more B2B customers. I’ve done a lot of work into finding event marketers for different companies and am sending them very...unique boxes that are custom made with my logo, with their companies logo embroidered as a patch. Just trying to get them to see the quality and the product.Here’s the part that no one likes to post in these. I make $6,500 on average per month. There’s dips in that and then there’s months I clear $9,000. The most expensive part of the entire process is my time and knowledge. The materials cost less than a pack of gum. I make roughly 55% profit every month once all is said and done. However, 95% of that goes back into growing the business somehow.No matter what, I make sure I always charge $50 an hour for my time to customers. If I think a single patch that’s 4x4 is super detailed and will take over an hour to embroider, I will make sure I charge well over $50.I run ads for $500 - $1200 at a time and I usually like them to last me anywhere from 2 - 4 weeks depending on the ad. Conversion on ads tends to hover around 6%. It doesn’t cost too much for me to acquire new customers and usually after one order, I’m able to get extremely positive feedback in regards to the embroidery and patches so I take that as a win and make sure to check up and email the customers about a month after purchasing. It’s also a good way for me to ask them if they need more patches.Short term goal for 2019 is to land three large event marketing companies and to dip my toes into live embroidery events with a marketing plan I’m working on. Long term goal is to have a large warehouse in The Bronx with many multi-head machines and laser cutters.imageThrough starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I’ve spent thousands on the wrong types of marketing. I had a logo that fit me and my business but not my customers and that made marketing extremely hard.I’ve learned to let things go easier. I would get burned out trying to cram everything into one day and my life as a regular person suffered, like going to the grocery store. I never had time for that and felt guilty for walking away for a few hours. That’s changed a lot now.I’ve learned to say no to customers because I simply don’t want to do their work. You get very good at reading customers after a short while and it’s easy to spot a problem customer a mile away. Instead of charging more, I turn them down. It’s not worth the stress.What platform/tools do you use for your business?My two lifesavers have been Hotjarand AHREFS.With hotjar I’ve been able to watch and see exactly what people click, how they search through my site, how much time they spend. It’s been a huge help in changing my site little by little to make it more user friendly.I had literally no idea what SEO was 2 years ago and how to implement it, and honestly it’s still not done well but I have a structure to work off now. I plan on outsourcing that once I have a better handle on the subject so I can tell if someone is actually succeeding with the money I’m spending. The little infographics, directions and descriptions AHREFS gives me was written like a 5 year old needed an explanation so it was great to learn from.What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?I know it’s not very conventional for 2019, or most business owners you read about. But I don’t read books, listen to podcasts or attend conferences. I have no time for that. I’m a learn as I go type of person and seek out videos on YouTube if I have something in that moment I need to learn about. There’s also not many books and podcasts about my industry once you pass the “How to start a starting a screen printing company” since it’s the lowest barrier for entry in the industry.Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?Don’t put off opening until everything is “perfect”. Nothing will ever, ever be perfect. It only prolongs your ability to make money. Adjust and update your site, your tools and marketing as you go.People in the customization industry always want to be the cheapest. Don’t be the cheapest. Pick one thing, be the best that you possibly can. Blow people out of the water with the quality in the work and they will pay your price. I charge almost double what you would pay from a Chinese manufacturer and I have plenty of business and foresee plenty more coming my way.Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?I will never hire someone to actually do the embroidery. It’s my favorite part of the business and my biggest stress relief.I’m always looking for salespeople to sell patches. I mostly look for young college kids who have a wide network of clubs, Greek life connections, sports connections. Then people who are event marketers for my live embroidery events.Where can we go to learn more?thepatchsmith.comthepatchsmithNYCthe.patchsmithcontact@thepatchsmith.comIf you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!Liked this text interview? Check out the full interview with photos, tools, books, and other data.For more interviews, check out r/starter_story - I post new stories there daily.Interested in sharing your own story? Send me a PM

[jeepsister72-blog]

The Pros and Cons of Copper Cookware

[Photographs: Vicky Wasik. Video: Joel Russo.]

We've spent years here at Serious Eats building a compendium of cookware information, covering nearly all you need to know about buying, caring for, and cooking in everything from cast iron and carbon steel to modern nonstick and stainless steel pots and pans. But there's one classic material we've written almost nothing about: copper. The reason shouldn't surprise anyone who's considered buying a copper pan and then seen the price tag. That sh*t's expensive!

And yet it's worth a look, in the same way a luxury sports car is of interest to just about any car enthusiast, whether they have the dough to buy one or not. The car analogy is particularly apt, since copper really is the fancy sports car of the cookware world. It's flashy, it's fast, and it doesn't come cheap. Though, to be fair, it sells for a hell of a lot less than just about any car, even the most basic one, and most people own at least one of those, right?*

* I, a person who knows nothing about automobiles and who didn't get his driver's license until he was 29 years old, have no business writing car analogies. VROOM, VROOM!!

Given the historic importance of copper in the kitchen, and its continued use in higher-end French restaurants and some homes, it helps to understand a bit about it. Here we'll take a look at copper cookware to suss out its strengths and weaknesses, and try to help you decide whether you want to go deeper by investing in some.

Since Serious Eats is a media company and not an investment bank, we unfortunately aren't in possession of the types of funds that would allow us to buy a large collection of copper cookware on which to get tons of firsthand experience. To help fill in some of our knowledge gaps, we headed up to East Greenwich, Rhode Island, to visit Jim Hamann at the industrial complex where he runs his two copper cookware companies, East Coast Tinning (dedicated to vintage copper cookware restoration) and Duparquet Copper Cookware (where he makes his own line of copper pots and pans).

Jim gave us a tour of his factory, answered a litany of my copper questions, let me spin a couple pans with him, and allowed us to film him in action.

[top]

Copper was the first metal to be worked by human hands, and that history goes back a long, long time—about 11,000 years. That makes the human relationship with copper about as old as agriculture, though for several millennia we didn't do much with it beyond shaping it into decorative objects. Several thousand years later, but still some time before the Egyptians raised their pyramids, our ancestors figured out how to hammer copper sheets into bowls and other vessels. By the time of the Romans, if not before, we were using it to make cookware.

Copper is famed for its ability to conduct heat and electricity—it's no accident that it's copper and not iron that runs through the electrical wires in our walls—and it's this quality that makes it such an interesting metal for cooking. In a lot of ways, copper sits at the opposite end of the conduction and heat-retention spectrum as cast iron, making them two very different, yet complementary, materials for cooking.

Cast iron, as a reminder, conducts heat relatively poorly. It heats slowly and is prone to hot spots, but once it does get hot, it holds onto that heat very well. This makes it great for doing things like searing thick steaks, since you want the pan to remain hot when the cold meat hits it, which ensures the steak will sear and brown as efficiently as possible. Cast iron's great heat retention also makes it ideal for slow-cooking dishes that require sustained, even heat, like stews and braises, especially when placed in an oven, where the cooking vessel is heated from all sides.

The even heat of this copper skillet made a steady ring of brown around each little pancake, no matter which part of the pancakes was closer to the pan's edge and which closer to the center.

Copper inverts these rules. It heats quickly and evenly, but it loses that heat just as fast. This responsiveness gives it a nimbleness and agility that can be very useful for delicate proteins like fish and seafood, as well as sauces, caramel, and chocolate—remove a copper saucepan holding a delicate sauce from the heat and its temperature will drop rapidly, reducing the chances the sauce overcooks or breaks from exposure to the retained heat in the metal.

If you'll allow this automobile-ignoramus to return once more to my car analogy, you can think of copper as the sports car of the cookware world, and cast iron as the pickup truck. They're both useful for certain—often very different—tasks.

That's the simple explanation, anyway. Put a handful of cooking geeks in a room and the conversation heats up faster than copper on a flame. Arguments erupt over whether copper is good enough to justify its cost, and whether its relative merits really set it far enough apart from the crowd of more affordable cookware.

Someone from the Modernist Cuisine team might point out that copper's unrivaled conduction isn't the full picture. They'd argue that burner size and the thickness of the metal are factors that are just as critical, noting that a 7mm-thick piece of aluminum heats just as evenly as a 2.5mm-thick piece of copper.

Inevitably someone else will refute that, arguing that the Modernist team only looked at evenness of heating and failed to consider copper's responsiveness—how quickly it heats up and cools down as more or less heat is applied to it. You can have copper's evenness with a 7mm-thick aluminum pan, they'll say, but you'll lose its responsiveness in the process.

An engineer, trying to keep the peace, will kindly put together a summation of the pros and cons of the primary cookware metals, explaining in lay terms essential concepts like thermal conductivity, heat capacity, specific heat, and thermal diffusivity. In the process, he will make a pretty good case that copper has a lot going for it. But then it falls apart when specific pots and pans get called into question, and ultimately everyone just starts trolling everyone else and we get nowhere.

And that, really, is the challenge: The relative performance of a pan—any pan—can be an extremely difficult thing to assess given the variations in mass, thickness, shape, size, and material from one design to the next. Not to mention that the effectiveness of any given pan is dependent on what's being cooked in it, and the experience of the hands using the tools in question.

I invite anyone who's up to it to try to wade into the more advanced physics to see if they can't come up with a more definitive answer than what's already out there, but here's where I've landed: copper is a unique metal with unique properties that make for some of the most deft and efficient cookware in the kitchen. Other options, including plain aluminum and stainless steel with a thick aluminum core, can rival (or come close to) copper in many—but perhaps not all—ways. Copper certainly loses on cost, but it wins on looking pretty freaking great, if looks matter to you.

So, do you need copper cookware? No, no more than a person who drives needs a sports car (or any other very expensive car). I've been working as a professional cook for 15 years in restaurants and food media, and I've rarely used copper. Most professional cooks rarely use copper, and you can absolutely cook great things without ever picking it up.

But should you eschew copper? No, no more than a car enthusiast should avoid buying a sports car. If you want a sports car, if you'd like the experience of driving a sports car, if you can afford and are willing to pay for a sports car, then yes, for sure, get yourself a sports car!

I want to add that I personally find a well-made copper pan to be an object of beauty in the kitchen, like a great piece of vintage cast iron, and that aesthetic quality can have value in and of itself. Its preciousness can remind you to pay more attention as you cook and, consequently, can help you cook better. At least, it does if you find meaning in the form of an object and not just its ability to accomplish a task.

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A tin-lined copper skillet.

One of the key things to know about copper is that it's reactive. Acids like vinegar and tomatoes can leach copper into the food; over time, the ingestion of copper can be toxic. For this reason, most copper cookware is lined. What it's lined with is one of the main considerations to keep in mind when buying copper pots and pans.

Traditionally, copper was lined with tin. Tin is a pure element, like copper, and it has some fantastic qualities. First, and most critically for its role as a lining, it's totally inert—tin will not react with acids or anything else you would cook on it.

Second, and very importantly, tin is impressively nonstick all on its own, without any need for the seasoning we all strive to build up on cast iron. You can fry an egg, cook pancakes, or lightly sear a piece of fish on it and, for the most part, the food won't stick.

The downside is that tin has a low melting point of around 450°F (230°C), which a pan can quickly reach if left over a flame unattended and empty. For this reason, tin-lined copper should never be preheated while empty, and it should never be used for very high-heat searing (save your cast iron for that).

Tin is also somewhat soft, and can be worn away over time or damaged with metal utensils and abrasive scrubbing (I admit I have, on occasion, been a wee bit reckless and used a thin metal fish spatula on it). With care, a tin lining can last many, many years, but eventually even the most well-loved tin-lined copper pans will need re-tinning. While it's a rare event, you do have to factor that in when buying tin-lined copper, as it's an extra cost in the lifetime of the pan.

These days, though, the most common lining in copper pans is stainless steel. Lining copper with stainless steel is a much newer invention, since it's a heck of a lot more difficult to bond those two metals. The advantage that stainless steel offers is durability, just like any other stainless steel pan. The disadvantage is that it absolutely sucks in terms of adhesiveness: food loves to stick to stainless steel.

Also bad is that, while uncommon, if anything goes wrong with the stainless lining (say the lining decouples from the copper shell), you're probably out of luck. Unlike re-tinning, there's no easy way to fix a busted stainless steel–lined copper pan.

You will, on occasion, see copper lined with nickel, a practice that was briefly popular in the '90s, but has since fallen out of favor. More extravagantly, some copper pans are lined with silver. Silver, it turns out, is an even better conductor of heat than copper (not that conduction matters much with these ultra-thin linings), and it's supposedly very nonstick, though given the price, I don't expect to ever be able to confirm this firsthand.

In a few select cases, copper vessels aren't lined with anything at all. Jam pots, for instance, are made of bare copper since there's enough sugar in jam to prevent the fruit acids from reacting with the metal. There's also a plain copper mixing bowl intended solely for beating egg whites: the copper prevents sulphur atoms in the whites from bonding too tightly, helping to maintain the integrity of the foamy peaks.

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Aside from the lining material of a copper pan, the other most important characteristic that affects quality is the thickness of the copper. This can have a dramatic impact on the performance of the pan. The general wisdom is that copper cookware should be 2.5 to 3mm thick. Any thicker and you start to lose too much of the copper's rapid response to heat; any thinner and it won't heat as evenly as it should.

You're unlikely to find copper that's much thicker than 3mm, given its value and also density (copper is heavy, so adding more metal than is necessary just makes the pan that much more difficult to use), but you're quite likely to find copper that's less than 2.5mm thick. You're probably okay down to about 2mm, but any lower than that and you're getting into decorative pot territory: it may look nice in your kitchen but it won't perform well. This is where a lot of companies try to skimp, so make sure to confirm how thick the copper is before handing over your credit card.

Finally, the method used to produce copper cookware—whether it's made from spun copper, stamped copper, or rolled copper—is not determinative of its quality, even if spinning copper, as Jim Hamann does, requires a considerable amount of skill. Also, for those wondering about copper cookware that has hammer marks on it, while the practice of hammering copper was once used to strengthen the metal, today those hammer marks are almost always done by machine as a decorative gesture. They're mostly a matter of taste, and, again, not an indication of quality.

If you want some tips on where to find quality copper cookware, look at Hamann's tin- and silver-lined selections at Duparquet; the tin-lined pots and pans from Brooklyn Copper Cookware; and famous old-school makers like Mauviel and DeBuyer, which now focus on stainless steel–lined pans.

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As expensive as copper is, you can sometimes find a deal when shopping vintage goods (I saw one guy online who bought a pot worth hundreds for just $14). They key is to know what to look for. First, as mentioned above, is the thickness of the copper: it should ideally be 2.5 to 3mm thick (though down to 2mm is okay; larger stockpots are often thinner due to their size and weight).

If the piece is vintage, there's no chance it's lined with stainless steel, since that's a much more recent development. Nickel and silver are possible, but chances are an old piece will be lined with tin. The tin may have darkened—it darkens naturally over time, and you can use it with no ill effects—but if it's worn through to the copper below, it'll likely need to be re-tinned.

Old copper pots can come from many parts of the world, but if you're in the United States, chances are good that the cookware came from either the US, Britain, or France. There are some key details that can help you determine which country it's from.

At left, a pot from the UK with its sharply triangular handle attachment; at right, a French saucepan with a rounded triangle attachment; in the center, an American pot with an elongated, bar-like attachment.

The first is the shape of the handle where it attaches to the pot. Copper pots from the UK can be recognized by the sharp triangular shape of the pot-handle attachment, while French pots have a rounded triangle. American copper pots tend to mimic the French rounded triangle, but with a more elongated shape that can begin to appear bar-like (sometimes it's very bar-like). American pots also often have chunkier rivets than their European counterparts.

Left, the French (and American) teardrop handle loop; at right, the UK's keyhole loop.

You can pick up more clues from the end of the handle where the hanging loop is. The French loop hole looks like a teardrop, whereas in the UK it's more of a keyhole or an arch. Once again, American makers (many of whom came from France) mirrored French practices with a teardrop.

Beyond the handles, you should look for a maker's stamp, which can provide clear info about who made the pan and where it was made. (Jim Hamann of Duparquet got his company name by registering an old abandoned trademark from an American copper cookware company that went out of business in the 1930s.)

No matter how dingy an old copper pot may look, remember that, short of extreme damage (say, a hole in it), it can be fixed up like new. After re-tinning and polishing, what may have looked like a piece of trash could easily be an object of remarkable beauty and value. Sure, it's no Porsche, but good luck finding a dingy-but-perfectly-functioning one of those at the local junkyard.

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This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Serious Eats. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.

Source: https://www.seriouseats.com/2019/01/buying-copper-cookware.html

[newsnigeria]

Check out New Post published on Ọmọ Oòduà

New Post has been published on http://ooduarere.com/news-from-nigeria/breaking-news/prostate-gland/

Prostate Gland and its effect on Men: Must Read and apply, esp. the part on diet.

A useful talk on Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH) or in simple terms, Enlarged Prostate. Diet is the most important part of this talk which is something within our control; and it works.

FULL TEXT OF PROSTATE HEALTH AWARENESS LECTURE

Gentlemen,

I am here to speak with you on Prostate. The topic is misleading. Is prostate strictly for men? Yes, ONLY men have prostate and ONLY men over 40 years but the healthcare enlightenment is for everyone. There is no woman who does not know a man 40 years and above, father, uncle, brother, son, friend, neighbour, colleague…

Essentially what I will be doing today is health promotion. Responsible health promotion must provide three things:

Information

Reassurance

A plan of action.

Let me start with a background on prostate health.

Everyone has a pair of kidneys. The job of the kidney is to remove waste. It is the LAWMA (waste management company) of your body. Everyday your blood passes through the kidney several times to be filtered. As the blood is filtered, urine is formed and stored in a temporary storage tank called the urinary bladder.

If there were to be no urinary bladder, as a man walks on the road, urine will be dropping.

Now think of the plumbing work in your house. Think of the urinary bladder as the overhead storage tank. From the storage tank, a good plumber will run pipes to other parts of the house, including the kitchen. God in His wisdom ran pipes from our urinary bladder to the tip of the penis. The pipe is called the urethra. Just below the bladder and surrounding the urethra is a little organ called the prostate gland.

The prostate gland is the size of a walnut and weighs about 20grams. Its job is to make the seminal fluid which is stored in the seminal vesicle. During sexual intercourse, seminal fluid comes down the urethra and mixes with the sperms produced in the testicles to form the semen. So semen technically is not sperm. It is sperm + seminal fluid. The seminal fluid lubricates the sperm.

After age 40, for reasons that may be hormonal, the prostate gland begins to enlarge. From 20 grams it may grow to almost 100 grams. As it enlarges, it squeezes the urethra and the man begins to notice changes in the way he urinates.

If you have a son under 10, if he has a little mischief like we all did at that age, when he comes out to urinate, he can target the ceiling and the jet will hit target. Call his father to do same, wahala dey. His urine stream is weak, cannot travel a long distance and sometimes may come straight down on his legs. So he may need to stand in awkward position to urinate.

Not many men will be worried their urine stream cannot hit the ceiling. Toilets are on the floor and not on the ceiling. But other symptoms begin to show.

Terminal Drippling:

The man begins to notice that after urinating and repacking, urine still drops on his pants. This is the reason why after an older man urinates, he has to ring bell. A younger man simply delivers to the last drop and walks away. Just see an older man coming from the bathroom. Sometimes he may clutch the newspaper closely to hide the urine stains, particularly on plain colored trousers.

Hesistancy

At this point you wait longer for the urine flow to start. There are 2 valves that must open for you to urinate – the internal and external sphincters. Both open but because of obstructions in the urethra, you wait longer for the flow to start.

Incomplete Emptying

You have this feeling immediately after urinating that there is still something left.

As all these things happen, the bladder begins to work harder to compensate for the obstruction in the urethra. The frequency of urination goes up. Urgency sets in. Sometimes you have to practically run into the toilet. Nocturia also becomes common. You wake up more than 2 times at night to urinate. Your wife begins to complain.

Men being men may not talk to anyone even at this point. Then the more serious complications start.

Stored urine gets infected and there may be burning sensation when urinating.

Stored urine forms crystals. Crystals come together to form stone either in the bladder or in the kidney. Stones may block the urethra.

Chronic urinary retention sets in. The bladder stores more and more urine. The size of the bladder is 40 – 60cl. A bottle of coke is 50cl. As the bladder stores more urine it can enlarge up to 300cl. An overfilled bladder may leak and this leads to wetting / urinary incontinence. Also the volume may put pressure on the kidney and may lead to kidney damage.

What may likely bring the man to hospital is acute urinary retention. He wakes up one day and he is not able to pass urine.

Everything I have described above is associated with prostate enlargement, technically called benign prostate hyperplasia.

There are other diseases of the prostate like:

Prostatitis – inflammation of the prostate

Prostate cancer – cancer of the prostate.

This discussion is on prostate enlargement.

I have bad news and good news.

The bad news is that everyman will have prostate enlargement if he lives long enough.

The good news is that there are life style changes that can help the man after 40 to maintain optimum prostate health.

Nutrition

Look at what you eat. 33% of all cancers, according to the US National Cancer Institute is related to what we eat. Red meat everyday triples your chances of prostate disease. Milk everyday doubles your risk. Not taking fruits / vegetables daily quadruples your risk.

Tomatoes are very good for men. If that is the only thing your wife can present in the evening, eat it with joy. It has loads of lycopene. Lycopene is the most potent natural antioxidant. Foods that are rich in zinc are also good for men. We recommend pumpkin seeds (ugbogulu). Zinc is about the most essential element for male sexuality and fertility.

Men need more zinc than women. Every time a man ejaculates he loses 15mg of zinc. Zinc is also important for alcohol metabolism. Your liver needs zinc to metabolize alcohol.

Alcohol Consumption

As men begin to have urinary symptoms associated with prostate enlargement, it is important they look at alcohol consumption. More fluid in means more fluid out.

Drink less. Drink slowly.

Exercise

Exercise helps build the muscle tone. Every man should exercise. Men over 40 should avoid high impact exercise like jogging. It puts pressure on the knees. Cycling is bad news for the prostate. We recommend brisk walking.

Sitting

Divided Saddle Chair

When we sit, two-third of our weight rests on the pelvic bones. Men who sit longer are more prone to prostate symptoms. Do not sit for long hours. Walk around as often as you can. Sit on comfortable chairs. We recommend a divided saddle chair if you must sit long hours.

DRESSING

Wear breathable clothing to avoid Prostate Gland cancer

Men should avoid tight underwear. It impacts circulation around the groin and heats it up a bit. While the physiological temperature is 37 degrees, the groin has an optimal temperature of about 33 degrees. Pant is a no – no for men. Wear boxers. Wear breathable clothing.

Smoking

Avoid smoking. It affects blood vessels and impact circulation around the groin.

Sex

Regular sex is good for the prostate.

Celibates are more pronenn to prostate illness. While celibacy is a moral decision, it is not a biological adaptation. Your prostate gland is designed to empty its contents regularly.

Thought: when someone shared something of value with you and benefit from it. You have a moral obligation to share it with others because someone in your friends list might be saved. The subject is very important Please post the message on the largest number of your acquaintances:

“Pieces of lemon in a glass of hot water can save you for the rest of your life,” says Professor Chen Horin, chief executive of the Beijing Military Hospital.

Even if you are busy, you should look at this message and pass it on to others!

Hot lemons can kill cancer cells!

Cut the lemon into three pieces and place it in a cup, then pour hot water, it will become (alkaline water), drink it every day will certainly benefit everyone ..

Hot lemons can once again release an anti-cancer drug.

Hot lemon juice has an effect on cancerous tumors and has shown treatment for all types of cancer.

Treatment with this extract will only destroy the malignant cells and will not affect healthy cells.

Second: The acids and mono-carboxylic acid in lemon juice can regulate hypertension and protect narrow arteries, adjust blood circulation and reduce blood clotting.

After reading, tell someone else and pass it on to someone you love and take care of your personal health.

Advice:

Professor Chen Horin points out that anyone who has received this letter is at least guaranteed to save someone’s life … I have done my part, I hope you will help me to spread it too.🚑🚑🚑

Useful for all MEN over-40:

[josephkitchen0]

Gardening Tips: 12 Common Gardening Mistakes to Avoid

Gardening can be a fun and easy way to put food on your family’s table. But it can also be frustrating when things don’t grow as you expected. Here are 12 gardening tips to help you avoid common mistakes made by novice and experienced gardeners alike.

1. Planting too early.

All seeds have an optimum temperature at which they sprout. Seeds that sprout at warm temperatures won’t do well if sown too early in the spring. They may rot. They may sprout and then the seedlings freeze during the next frost (as would also transplants set out too early). Or the seeds may go dormant, in which case you might forget about them and later replant the same spot to something else and be surprised when the first sown seeds sprout along with the second ones. The best ways to avoid planting too early are to get a good soil thermometer and know the average last frost date for your area.

Ready to Start Your Own Backyard Flock?

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2. Planting too late.

Everything you grow in your garden as a certain maturation time, which is the number of days between first planting and first harvest. If you sow seeds, or set out transplants, too late in the season, the plants may freeze before their fruits have time to mature. Unless you plan to cover them with floating covers or some other method of frost protection, know the average last frost date for your area and calculate backward to determine the last reasonable date to plant a specific variety based on its maturation time.

3. Not amending the soil.

Unless you’re blessed with loamy garden soil — which consists of a balanced mix of clay, silt, sand, and organic matter — you’ll need to know how to improve garden soil by adding some amendments. For soil that is heavy in clay, you’ll need to add sand and organic matter to relieve compaction. For soil that is sandy, you’ll need to add compost or well-rotted manure to improve retention of moisture and nutrients.

4. Adding too much nitrogen.

Plants need nitrogen for chlorophyl production, but too much nitrogen can cause plants to become leafy and leggy. All that extra foliage takes its toll on the roots, which won’t grow and spread at their normal rate. As a result, the plants will produce little or not fruit and will be susceptible to disease and insect damage. Excess nitrogen also can cause an excess of mineral salts, resulting in plants that look sunburned. A good gardening tip is that, unless you grow plants that specifically require lots of nitrogen, go easy on the nitrogen.

5. Planting too close.

Transplants look so small, and seeds are even smaller. It’s awfully easy to plant them too close together. But crowded plants suffer from nutrient deficiencies, poor air circulation, and competition for moisture and sunlight. A gardening tip for success is to pay attention to the spacing recommendations listed on seed packets or seedling tags, and if necessary thin as the plants grow.

6. Planting too deep.

All seeds need contact with moisture in order to sprout. Large seeds, such as peas, beans, and corn, need to be planted deeper to maintain the proper moisture level for sprouting. Smaller seeds, such as lettuce and some herbs, require light to germinate. These seeds shouldn’t be covered, but sown into loosened soil and then pressed in. Similarly, some transplants should be planted at the same depth as they are in the pot to prevent the stems from rotting, while others (notably tomatoes and peppers) should be planted somewhat deeper to encourage more root growth. Each plant has unique requirements that are usually specified on the seed packet or seedling label.

7. Using too much mulch.

Mulching is great for controlling weeds and enhancing moisture retention. However, adding too much mulch can have the same effect as planting too deep. And if you use compost as mulch, it also serves as a source of nitrogen. If you plan to mulch with compost, it may be all the organic matter you need to add to your garden each year. How to mulch a garden involves knowing the right amount to use.

8. Using too little mulch.

Most of us who keep a garden love to work in the garden — except when it comes to pulling weeds. Using too little mulch around your growing plants won’t deter weed growth. And if you live where the weather is warm and dry, or where water is scarce, using too little mulch won’t help retain moisture. Generally, I like to add about an inch of compost as mulch when seedlings are a few inches high, and then add another two inches or so when the plants are about half grown. If you’re not constantly tilling your soil and turning up weed seeds, a total of two to three inches of mulch should suppress most weeds.

9. Underwatering.

Neglecting to water the garden can be a problem where the climate is hot or dry or both. Underwatering is especially a problem for sprouting seeds or new transplants. A great gardening tip is the finger test can tell you whether or not your garden needs to be watered. If your garden is loamy, stick your finger 2 inches into the soil; if it’s moist, it doesn’t need water. For sandy soil, check 4 inches down. With clay, if you can’t easily get your finger 2 inches into the soil, it needs water.

10. Overwatering.

Worse than underwatering is overwatering because waterlogged roots can’t get enough oxygen. As well as being a possible sign of underwatering, wilting can be an initial sign of overwatering. On the other hand, many types of garden plants wilt in the daytime heat and revive when the temperature cools in evening. If plants revive, they don’t need water. A gardening tip to avoid overwatering, as well as encourage deep root growth, is to water deeply and less often.

11. Planting in the wrong spot.

Every garden has microclimates where the conditions are slightly different from elsewhere in the garden. In some spots the temperature might be warmer or cooler than usual. Some areas might get less sun and more shade during the day. Differences in soil type or soil level could create areas where the soil is drier or wetter, or where drainage is either poor or too rapid. Some sections could be more or less susceptible to frost. Knowing your garden and knowing the needs of the plants you grow is a good gardening tip that will let you match plants to your garden’s microclimates.

12. Choosing the wrong plants.

Some plants will simply not grow well in your area. Plants that thrive in limited gardening zones won’t do well in a much higher or lower numbered zone. Plants that need a lot of moisture may not grow well in a drought-prone area, and conversely, plants that don’t like to be wet won’t be happy where the climate is rainy. Plants that have a long maturation period won’t produce well where the gardening season is short. Luckily, for nearly every fruit or vegetable you might want to grow, usually at least one variety has been developed to thrive under your specific conditions. Plant those varieties, and your garden will flourish.

Gardening Tips: 12 Common Gardening Mistakes to Avoid was originally posted by All About Chickens

[williamlfox]

Outdoor Cooking Equipment - 20 Great Tips to Plan For the Coming Season

Some people just love eating and some people just love cooking; but when it comes to cooking and eating outside most people say, hey, I love it.

So lets get to it.  Summer will soon be upon us and the outdoor season beckons. Its now the ideal time to think about those barbecues you'll be having. Whether those meals will be on the patio or in the outback its now the time to ensure that you've got all your outdoor cooking equipment to hand and that you've got a good idea about how best to go about things.

There's many that will argue, including me, that nothing tastes better than food cooked outdoors! Don't you just love the aroma when cooking outdoors, the smells seems to just waft around as the food cooks and this makes everyone hungry. How is it that the food cooked outdoors always seems to smell so much nicer than when its cooked indoors?

Cooking outdoors comes in many guises. You and your family may prefer to use wood or charcoal because of those wonderful flavors that come from the charcoal and the smoke; or, you may prefer the cleanliness, control and  convenience of cooking with propane gas.  Whatever you prefer the market is now awash with great outdoor cooking equipment to make your cooking experience enjoyable and the results fabulous.

Now when it comes to choosing your outdoor cooking equipment a little thought is necessary as you can easily miss a trick or two and fall short when the time comes to perform!  So, here are 20 great tips to help you make the right decisions when planning this season's outdoor cooking:

Firstly you must decide will it be gas or charcoal; don't fudge this one as its important; if you want ease and convenience go for gas grills; if you don't mind a little extra trouble & time and your family loves the flavors that are picked up from the smoke then go for charcoal;

If you go for charcoal always start the fire naturally, never use lighter fuels; let me say that again, never use lighter fuels! Why? Because no matter how long it is before you bring your food to the grill you'll pick up those chemical smells...Yuk!; www.finalcooking.com

Ask yourself, are you making an investment for the future of just for the coming summer season; because that's how long cheap 'stuff' is going to last!  I recommend making an investment in the future, therefore go for quality; as you know in your heart, you pay for what you get! Don't go cheap if you can afford better; for example: stainless steel looks better and lasts longer than aluminum and cleans up much better and easier; although it has to be said heat distributes more evenly and quickly with aluminum so the arguments are not always so clear cut; portable pick up and go grills are going to be great for tailgating and impromptu stops but they'll be a disappointment on the patio when cooking for a group of  friends & family;

There are many styles & sizes of outdoor grills, picking the right one to meet your needs and of course your budget is important, but remember that quality counts; you don't want to be regretting your purchase half way through the summer! Go for the best you can.

Think about where you're going to be doing your cooking and buy your kit appropriately. Ask yourself, will we be cooking on the patio, or will you be tailgating or then again will we be going outback; this makes a big difference to your choice of kit; indeed you may decide that you need quite separate cooking equipment for the patio as opposed to when you're getting out and about. Gas grills are heavier and bulkier than charcoal, on the patio that's a bonus in the outback its a chore; gas grills cook quicker than the charcoal grills; some people hate gas grills by comparison because they love the flavors that wood bestows; gas grills are more expensive than charcoal ones etc. etc.

Decide what style of cooking best suits you because the kit you'll need will change with your preferred style of cooking. If you're into Jambalaya cooking then you should buy Jambalaya pots, if your going to be frying whole turkeys then a turkey fryer kit will be ideal; do you prefer cast iron stove ware for cooking, Dutch ovens are great for simple outdoor cooking or do you prefer open grills;? The questions go on and on and only you know what the family are going to prefer. Its not as hard to think things through as you might think,  I suggest that you go to a store that sells the full range of equipment and ask yourself what's going to work best for us?

When cooking with propane check the level of gas in the cylinder and whenever possible have a second one in reserve. There's nothing worse with friends and family hovering, the meal is half ready and the gas goes out!!! If you've a replacement, no problem, but if  you've not, just how bad can things get?

Don't forget basic safety advice when cooking outdoors; remember salmonella is just as happy and active outdoors as it is inside. So what to do? Keep those fresh meat  plates and your cooking utensils away from any plates and cooking utensils that you'll be using for eating off. Yes i know its obvious but this is important and its easily forgotten especially by the kids if they take a hand;

Will you betaking your cooking kit out in the outback or to the beach where there are safety regulations preventing the use of certain cooking methods; how annoying is it to arrive and then find your kit isn't appropriate. And don't think you'll be okay they'll never know. have you seen the recent damage that's been caused by fires that get out of control; think safety first. Its important to remember that usually you find restrictions at picnic areas and on beaches & camping zones;

When you find a great recipe that cooks well outside share it with family; especially the simple tips that made it work out so well. Many people are apprehensive about cooking out doors and even when they do they make simple errors that you could help them avoid making. Simple tips need passing on;

Never pierce food on a BBQ or the juices will run out and it will dry out very quickly: most people who say they don't like BBQs do so because they hate dried out tasteless food that so often arises from a smoldering BBQ

Never cook meat too long as again it dries out

Always make sure that meat is fully defrosted before starting cooking on your grill, not only is this dangerous to your health but the food will burn on the outside before you've cooked it in the inside!

Try to cook slower rather than faster when cooking outdoors, except with you steaks of course, they need searing and a minimum of time is preferred for however well you like them cooked; [yes I know this goes against what conventional wisdom says and your desire to tuck ij but the rewards of slower cooked foods great exceed the extra time it takes; believe me

Always let your meat rest after cooking without cutting it up. This allows the juices to settle and the full flavor to come out, it also means all the juices don't run away across the serving plate; 7-10 minutes is all you need to wait and whilst the time is short the difference in flavor can be huge; try it.

Try marinating your meats before barbecuing, and remember, the longer the better, overnight if you can. If you do the flavors of your cooking will be greatly enhanced and your friends will marvel;

If you use a grill with a lid, keep it closed as much as possible. This improves the consistency of cooking due to the retention of the heat which otherwise is lost each time you open the grill; stop worrying and go and have a chat;

Try some of the many free recipes you'll find online; there are so many and some are really good. Don't get hooked on complication though; keeping things simple and experiment are the keys. But equally don't get into the ideas of those that say quick and easy is best go for things that cook quickly! NO. Marinades are simple and add tremendous flavor, cook slower than quickly and you'll retain more flavors;

Try out Dutch cooking; its easy and straightforward and the flavors are great; look for Dutch cooking recipes on the web;

Keep your outdoor cooking fun; share the joy of the cooking with friends & family. Try to get the kids involved; if you do you'll develop in them a lifetime passion for cooking, which is often hard to do in the kitchen. Better still you'll have a laugh and if you involve your friends you'll start appreciate them in totally different ways than before; its like a new way of bonding. You'll start to see them in a totally different light...... interesting! ... Oh, just one quick point, but take care the opposite can work out too.

[k1reynolds]

It was with eager anticipation that we set off on our journey to the first annual Experience Alexander Valley. We’d been invited as guests of Alexander Valley Winegrowers*, and based on all we’d heard about this new event, we knew we were in for something special. We wrote a couple of preview pieces, which if you missed them and want to catch up, you can read here, and here. But the previews don’t come close to capturing the magic and adventure that Experience Alexander Valley delivered.

* As guests, our event admission was complimentary. We received no other compensation or incentive. All descriptions, opinions, and reviews are our own.

Like many wine country events, this was a two-day adventure. Unlike many wine country events, rather than racing from winery to winery, guests got to choose two Experiences per day. Since we were invited as bloggers, to cover and promote the event, Robyn and I wanted to participate in as many Experiences as possible…to a point – we do enjoy each other’s company! So we decided “divide and conquer”, at least for a couple of Experiences. We each selected one Experience per day to fly solo, and one to attend together.

Saturday dawned clear and bright. And warm.  Weather forecasters predicted highs near 103F, and they weren’t far off. This meant that many outdoor Experiences had to be canceled or at least modified. Nevertheless, we were undaunted and headed from our hotel to Robyn’s first destination, deLorimier Winery. I’ll let Robyn tell the story of her Experience herself. Watch for her blog post in a few days.

I had a bit of a drive to get to my first Experience, at the Medlock Ames Winery. Though they have a tasting room on the valley floor, they wanted to treat guests to a Sustainable Winemaking Experience at their vineyards and production facility. The drive was beautiful, along the east side of the valley, then up Chalk Hill Road. The thing that struck me most: No Traffic! I was virtually alone on a Saturday morning in Wine Country.

Turning onto a single lane road, I started to get a little nervous that my trusty Google Maps might have failed me. It was a paved, single lane road, so that was hopeful. Alas, my trust in Google ran out two hilly ridges in. I turned around, beginning what would be a 30 minute detour that ended up taking me right back where I was. Around a curve about 100 yards beyond where I’d turned around was the entrance to Medlock Ames. Sigh. I’d done it to myself, and was almost 45 minutes late!

Fortunately, friendly Isabella saw my plight and left her post in the tasting room to rescue me. She came out into the already 90+ degree day, and caught me up with the small group on the outdoor tour. Isabella handed me off to Chelsea, who was leading the two other guests, Jimmy and Maryanne, on a tour of the grounds.

Medlock Ames is a sustainable, organic winery, and includes a one-acre vegetable garden, and a one-acre fruit garden. Due to the heat, we were not able to walk to those gardens, but still got a brief overview of the property and history. Chelsea led us to the shade of a large tree at the edge of a vineyard. There she told us that the two acres of vines were looking at were nearly ripped out when owners Chris Medlock James and Ames Morison purchased the property in 1998. The vineyard had been planted by the previous owner, a sheep rancher, and nobody knew what variety they were. Ames, the head winemaker, was hesitant, however, and decided to walk the vines before excavation. He found a tag on a vine, from a nursery in New York. After a call to the nursery and some research, and they found the answer: Merlot. But not just any Merlot. These vines are Jefferson clones; descendants of vines that Founding Father Thomas Jefferson brought from France to his Virginia estate! With that kind of pedigree, the former Tulane University roommates decided to leave the vines in.

Jefferson Clone Merlot

Grow, Merlot. Grow!

All Medlock Ames are made from 100% organic, estate grown fruit. The winery is fully solar powered. Of the 338 acres on the estate, only about 55 acres are farmed, leaving the rest of the land to its native flora and fauna. There are more than 800 olive trees, five retention ponds for irrigation, and at least 50 barn owl boxes on the property. To help conserve energy, the barrel room is underground, below the production facility.

Speaking of the barrel room, where better to continue the tour on such a hot day? After a brief visit among the fermentation tanks upstairs, we ventured down into the 55 degree cellar to meet Ames, and enjoy some barrel tasting.

The beauty of the Experience Alexander Valley event is that the three of us had about 30-45 minutes of interrupted time with the head winemaker. (I was enjoying myself too much to keep track of time.) We could ask whatever questions we wanted, and he took the time to answer in a way we could all understand. You don’t get that on a party bus tour!

Ames is clearly passionate about what he does, and is very knowledgeable. He thieved us samples of their 2017 Lower Slope Chardonnay, the 2017 50 Tons Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Kate’s & B’s Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2017 Secret Ingredient Malbec. Each of the wines has a nick-name, and a story. The Kate’s and B’s is named after Chris and Ames’ wives; Kate is Ames’ wife, and B (stands for Bradley) is Chris’ wife. They chose the very best grapes from the very best vineyards to make the wine with their wives’ names on it. Smart men!

From the cellar, we walked back up to the tasting room where Chelsea hosted us in a wine and cheese pairing. The cheeses are all local, Sonoma County artisan cheeses, and paired each of the wine amazingly! I’ll let the pictures tell the story here.

As we were finishing up, I got Robyn’s text letting me know her Experience was over, and she was ready for me to come get her. So I didn’t have time to explore the preserves, marmalades, and olive oils they make with estate fruit. No worries though; that gives me something to look forward to when I bring Robyn on our next visit!

After a quick lunch break, we headed to our next Experience, this time together. Turning up the tree-lined drive to Stonestreet Estate Vineyards, we were taken with the beauty of the property. Here, we were to enjoy a chocolate and Cabernet Sauvignon tasting. Originally scheduled outdoors on their beautiful patio overlooking the valley and nearby Mayacamas Mountain range, they thankfully relocated the tasting indoors, in their air conditioned tasting room.

We were greeted by DTC (Direct to Consumer) Manager, Michelle, and our host and guide for the day, Tasting Room Manager, Samantha. Having never heard of Stonestreet before, we were in for a bit of a surprise.

Video credit: Stonestreet Estate Vineyards

Stonestreet Estate Vineyards owns a large chunk of the Mayacamas Mountains we had admired as we entered the property. 5500 acres, to be more specific. Yet of those 5500 acres, only 800 acres are planted to vines. Committed to sustainable and environmentally friendly winemaking, when the owners purchased the land in 1995, they conducted wildlife studies; migration patterns, breeding grounds, etc. and planted around those areas so as to not disturb the native wildlife. This also helps to keep the critters out of the vineyards. But that wasn’t the biggest surprise. Stonestreet Estate Vineyards is part of Stonestreet Farms, located in Kentucky. Stonestreet Farms breeds thoroughbred race horses, very successfully, including such standouts as Rachel Alexandra (depicted in the beautiful statue on the grounds.) The founder of Stonestreet Farms was Jess Stonestreet Jackson. Jess Jackson. Yes, the Kendall-Jackson Jess Jackson! Surprise! Who knew?

Now on to the chocolate and Cabernet pairing. Some might think that it is difficult to pair chocolate with Cabernet Sauvignon, and it can be. The wine is often too tannic to work well with the creaminess of the chocolate. But Stonestreet sent samples of the wines for the pairing to the local pastry chef they’d commissioned for the event. She, in turn, created the chocolate confections to match each of the wines. It was exquisite! While it was hard to select a favorite, if forced, I’d say mine was third from the left, the Chocolate Budino with huckleberry compote. Robyn fell in love with the Opera Cake (second from left) made with dark chocolate genoise, espresso cream, and topped with a sprig of lemon thyme. Each of the single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons paired perfectly with the chocolates.

Running a little ahead of schedule allowed Samantha to give us a brief tour of the barrel room, and some photo ops. We also had a chance to sample their Meritage, Bordeaux-style red blend. Made from all five of the noble grapes, it was amazing!

  And that’s it. Just two Experiences per day. I’ve prattled on long enough for now, and we’ll cover Sunday later. Robyn will write about her solo Experiences in separate post, too. Oh sure, there was the fantastic blues concert at deLorimier Saturday evening, but Robyn will write about that in her first Experience post.

The biggest takeaways for us on Saturday were these: One, Alexander Valley is a hidden gem; a peaceful wine oasis mere minutes from the crowds and bustle of Napa. There was virtually no traffic all weekend, and no crowds, either. Sure, the heat may have kept some away, but Sunday was much cooler and yet no more crowded.

The other takeaway was this: though the lack of crowds was nice, Experience Alexander Valley was noticeably under-attended. Experiences had capacity for up to 24 guests. Of the four I attended, two had only three guests, one had four, and one had seven. Intimate to be sure, but really, folks, come out next year and let’s make this an event, an Experience, worth repeating! You’ll remember your Experiences forever.

Cheers!

By Kent Reynolds, with Robyn Raphael

Photos by Kent Reynolds and Robyn Raphael, unless otherwise noted.

Experience Alexander Valley, Day 1 – Medlock Ames and Stonestreet It was with eager anticipation that we set off on our journey to the first annual…

[euroman1945-blog]

The Daily Thistle

The Daily Thistle – News From Scotland

Monday 18th June 2018

"Madainn Mhath” …Fellow Scot, I hope the day brings joy to you…. Hot, Sticky and cloudy, at 3.30am this morning, even Bella is walking with her tongue hanging out, not a breath of wind is the reason, the moisture gets trapped by the mountains and we get a heat buildup, but give it a few hours and the sun will be up and all the clouds and moisture will be gone, and we will be back to sun and the beach weather once again….

HOUSE PRICE RISE IN INVERNESS FASTEST IN SCOTLAND INVERNESS….. House prices in Inverness have risen further than in any other part of Scotland over the past 20 years, according to research published today. The average cost of a property in UK’s most northerly city has increased by 259 per cent since 1998, the study by Bank of Scotland found. When Scotland last qualified for the World Cup in 1998, a house in the city known as “the Gateway to the Highlands” was £53,118 on average, but this year the figure stands at £190,537. Inverness’ high quality of life and improving transport connections with other parts of Scotland and the wider UK were both cited as key reasons behind the rise. House price values in the city also started from a low base in 1998, with demand for properties increasing over the past few decades as more people choose to retire to the area. The research also showed that the average price of a home in Scotland has almost trebled since 1998, rising from just £63,559 to £174,712 today, an increase of 175 per cent. Edinburgh has also seen its property fortunes rise dramatically and is now the second most expensive place in Scotland to buy a home, with an average price of £246,063. Westhill in Aberdeenshire remains the most expensive place in Scotland to buy a home, thanks to the effects of the North Sea oil and gas industry on the region throughout the 2000s.

PENSIONER LEFT BLEEDING AND IN TEARS AFTER SEAGULL ATTACK…. A woman was left bleeding after she was dive bombed by a seagull. A pensioner was taken to hospital bleeding and in tears after she was divebombed by a seagull. Christine Kerr, 73, was smacked in the face as she walked home from a trip to her local post office in Ardler, Dundee. She was left with a gash on the right-hand side of her head, and was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee. She said it felt like she had been “walloped by a cricket bat”. At first she thought she had been struck by another person, and that the impact had knocked her glasses off her face. Ms Kerr was crossing Whitehall Street after a trip to the Post Office when the incident took place just after midday on Thursday.

45 ROOM SCOTTISH CASTLE UP FOR GRAB IN COMPETITION - FOR £5 A TICKET…. A wealthy property owner is holding a competition to give away a 45-room castle worth £2.5million -- for just £5 a ticket. Orchardton Castle, in Dumfries and Galloway, is being raffled off for charity by owner Susan DeVere after repeated attempts to flog the 18th-century estate failed. Orchardton Castle, in Dumfries and Galloway, is being raffled off for charity by owner Susan DeVere. Over five floors the castle has 17 bedrooms, three internal flats, a drawing room, a music room, a games room, an art studio, and even a 20-seat cinema. And situated on the Scottish Riveria, it’s just 16 miles across the sea to the Lake District in Cumbria, England. Orchardton Castle, in Dumfries and Galloway, is being raffled off for charity by owner Susan DeVere. And she says she will donate any extra cash raised to charities including the Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity and ones trying to stop the Yulin dog meat festival in China She said: “Whatever target we meet there will be money for every charity. Entries for the competition will close on May 18th and entries can be submitted to www.winacastle.co.uk

‘GLASGOW’S OLDEST PUB’ SAVED AFTER STUDENT FLATS PLAN SCRAPPED…. Plans to build student flats in Glasgow have been scrapped - safeguarding one of Scotland’s oldest pubs. The proposals which were first unveiled in March sparked a fierce reaction from politicians, who said such developments were “swamping” Glasgow. But revised £40 million plans have been revealed for residential flats for let on the site at the corner of High Street and George Street, which include the retention of the Old College Bar. The pub building dates back to 1812, while the bar’s foundations are understood to be more than 500 years old. Other pubs in the city claim to be the oldest, but The Old College Bar has traded under its special status longer than any of its competitors. Its first liquor licence was awarded in 1812. The new plan has been put forward by Glasgow-based developers Structured House Group in response to feedback on the initial plans and is expected to create around 500 jobs.

INDEPENDENT SCOTLAND COULD BOOST ECONOMY ‘BY HAVING MORE SEX’…. An independent Scotland could grow its economy by persuading its citizens to have more children, a senior SNP MP has suggested. Kirsty Blackman, the party’s economy spokeswoman at Westminster, said growing the country’s population should be a key priority in the wake of a future Yes vote. “Denmark decided it would do a thing called ‘Do It For Denmark’” She said this would be most easily achieved by increasing levels of immigration, but also said Scotland could follow the example of other nations by encouraging more reproduction. “You can increase your population in two ways,” she told a fringe meeting at the party’s conference in Aberdeen. You can increase your population by people having more children, or you can increase your population by immigration.” To laughter from delegates, she added: “Now, Denmark decided it would do a thing called ‘Do It For Denmark’. You know what, I had suggested that we could come up with something in relation to Scotland – I think there’s a good kind of alliteration that you could come up with there. That might win us some votes. “But in the absence of that, in the absence of people being willing to have more children, what we need to do is to ensure that we get more immigration.”

On that note I will say that I hope you have enjoyed the news from Scotland today,

Our look at Scotland today is of The Old College Bar in Glasgow taken by Graham MacKay

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Monday 18th June 2018 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus #Scotland #travel #highlands #news #love #blog

[yesterdaysdreams]

Ask a Dietitian: Why Should I Eat Seasonal? Does Eating Organic Matter?

The wise Michael Pollan once said, “Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.” While this all sounds well and good, truth is this practice can be quite hard to accomplish. Farming and agriculture practices have changed drastically in the past 100 years, bringing about both positive and negative consequences. Yes, we have greater access to food year-round, but at what cost to our health and environment? On the contrary, if we only eat seasonally might we be at risk of inadequate micronutrient intakes in the “off seasons,” when fresh produce is not available? Grab a cup of something tasty and let’s review what the research tells us.

Fact: Until about a hundred years ago, human diets were tied closely with what was in season. Depending on where you lived, acquiring a fresh tomato in the dead of winter was difficult, if not impossible. That’s not to say our ancestors didn’t adapt; for centuries, fresh produce has been stored to extend the period that food is available (canning, fermenting, etc.). Our bodies are designed to thrive on a wide variety of foods, however, when it comes to eating real food there are several nutritive benefits to trusting nature’s perfect timing.

Here are some examples:

A tomato develops over half of its lycopene concentration in the final stages of ripening.

Greater sun exposure yields higher level of antioxidants in fresh produce; when you select in-season berries, grapes, avocados, apples, greens, eggplants, etc., you’ll be majorly upping that antioxidant dose.

A study comparing in-season and out-of-season broccoli found that the out-of-season broccoli only had half the concentration of vitamin C when compared to the in-season option.

Cucumbers and summer squash (which ripen in the hot summer months) help cool the body and provide extra water and antioxidants needed to beat the heat, while winter produce like onions and kale are more calorically dense and provide a different set of phytonutrients (1).

Nutrient retention is optimized if fruits and vegetables are gently handled, exposed to proper sunlight and stored at high relative humidity. Storing in boxes and spraying with hormones just can’t mimic nature’s perfect recipe; when produce is picked prior to ripening, it is often sprayed with hormones to speed up that ripening process and produce a ripe-ish looking berry. Problem is, prior to hitting shelves, that berry is crammed into a tiny box with no exposure to sunlight, therein given no chance to ripen properly and accumulate all those tasty nutrients.

Speaking of produce hitting store shelves, how long does that process really take? According to a publication from UC Davis, in the U.S. fruits and vegetables may spend weeks (if not months) in transit before making it to the consumer. The journey starts from harvest where food spends about five days “on the road” before arriving at a distribution center. From there, transportation time from these distribution centers range from as little as a few days if going by air freight to several weeks if sent by refrigerated ship. Produce then spends 1-3 days on a shelf (if not longer) and an estimated seven days on home shelves before consumption. That’s a whole lot of time for nutrient degradation to occur in a tiny little box (cringe!). Furthermore, transporting produce sometimes requires irradiation (zapping the produce with a burst of radiation to kill germs) and preservatives (such as wax) to protect the produce (2). But what’s a gal or fella to do? I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a live-in chef. It’s just me and my brood, living paycheck to paycheck, doing our best to get a home-cooked meal on the table each night.

If the USDA recommends making half your plate fruits and vegetables, how realistic is it to fill that plate with only local, in-season selections? Enter The 100 Mile Diet. This was a project started by a couple who wanted to see if it was possible to consume only locally-produced food (defined as staying within 100 miles from Vancouver city) over the course of one year. I’d highly recommend checking out the book for yourself, but in a nutshell, the couple did achieve their goal. However, they described the time needed to acquire and prepare a nutritionally balanced, seasonal diet throughout the year as being equivalent to a part-time job. (3) Yowzas.

So here’s where I land. Yes, the undesirable storing and acquisition of an out-of-season veggie may not be the most nutritious option. However, I daresay eating an out-of-season vegetable is worse than eating no vegetable at all. But, if we’re really trying to challenge ourselves, I’d recommend trying to eat in season as much as possible. I’ve created this fancy 5-star system to simplify things:

★ – eat a vegetable

★★ – eat an organic vegetable from the “Dirty Dozen” (see link below)

★★★ – eat an organic, in-season vegetable

★★★★ – eat a local, organic, in-season vegetable

★★★★★ – GROW a local, organic, in-season vegetable

I’m totally digging (pun definitely intended) this past post on Gardening 101. If you live in the city, try planting some fresh herbs or a small pot of lettuce in your window. Investigate the community garden situation in your area—these are often free and right in your backyard. If you are able to plant a garden in your yard, give it a try and do NOT feel discouraged if your harvest isn’t plentiful the first season or two. Gardening isn’t for the faint of heart and takes patience.

Finally, try to eat sustainably, even if it’s in modifying one grocery item per week. When you select cheap produce, we do so by passing on the environmental costs of pollution and degradation to our future children, great-grandchildren and so on. Check out EWG’s list of the Dirty Dozen to know specifically which organic produce is worth the extra pennies. Avoid pesticides and wash fresh produce. While studies have not shown a direct correlation with reduced disease risk and consuming an all organic diet, by selecting organic produce when possible you will be reducing your exposure to possible disease inducing pesticides.

It’s all at your fingertips, friends, city girl or farm boy—pay no mind. All you need is some dirt, a pot, sunshine and a positive attitude. Farmers markets and CSA’s are amazing options for obtaining fresh, delicious, in-season food for your enjoyment while also supporting your local economy. These websites are great for connecting you with a local CSA or farmers market (US residents & Canada). Get out there and get your fingernails dirty! – Sarah

A note from Lindsey:

Hey everyone! In my last post on gut health, I briefly discussed the benefits of fermenting. This fall, if you’re feeling blue about the long, cold, winter months ahead with minimal access to fresh produce, take heart; fermenting vegetables is a great way to get crafty in the kitchen and prolong those summer (or fall, or winter) crops. The fermentation of vegetables (like sauerkraut and kimchi) was born of practicality—a way to preserve the harvest well into winter. But this also serves as a dual purpose of increasing beneficial bacteria, enzymes, and vitamins (4). By preparing foods traditionally, we are maximizing their nutrient density. 

Credits // Author: Sarah O’Callaghan with contributions from Lindsey Kelsey. Photography: Elsie Larson.

References: 1. Bliss, Nishanga (2012). Real Food All Year. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications 2. Halweil, Brian (2004). Eat Here: Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket. W.W. Norton & Company 3. Smith, Alisa & MacKinnon, J.B. The 100 Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating. (2007) Random House Publishers 4. McGruther, Jennifer (2014) The Nourished Kitchen: Farm-To-Table recipes for the Traditional Foods Lifestyle.

The post Ask a Dietitian: Why Should I Eat Seasonal? Does Eating Organic Matter? appeared first on A Beautiful Mess.

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Some individuals just love eating and some folks just enjoy cooking; but when it comes to cooking and eating outdoors most men and women say, hey, I enjoy it.

So lets get to it. Summer will soon be on us and the outdoor season beckons. Its now the excellent time to believe about those barbecues you’ll be having. Whether those meals will be on the patio or in the outback its now the time to guarantee that you’ve acquired all your outdoor cooking equipment to hand and that you’ve acquired a excellent notion about how very best to go about things.

There’s several that will argue, like me, that nothing at all tastes better than meals cooked outdoors! Don’t you just love the aroma when cooking outdoors, the smells seems to just waft all around as the foods cooks and this helps make everybody hungry. How is it that the foods cooked outdoors often would seem to smell so considerably nicer than when its cooked indoors?

Cooking outdoors comes in numerous guises. You and your household may possibly desire to use wood or charcoal because of those wonderful flavors that come from the charcoal and the smoke; or, you may possibly prefer the cleanliness, handle and ease of cooking with propane fuel. What ever you desire the market place is now awash with wonderful outdoor cooking tools to make your cooking expertise enjoyable and the benefits fantastic.

Now when it comes to selecting your outdoor cooking products a small thought is necessary as you can simply miss a trick or two and fall quick when the time comes to carry out! So, here are 20 great suggestions to aid you make the correct decisions when arranging this season’s outdoor cooking:

First of all you must choose will it be fuel or charcoal; don’t fudge this one as its important; if you want ease and comfort go for gasoline grills; if you don’t mind a tiny additional difficulties & time and your family loves the flavors that are picked up from the smoke then go for charcoal; If you go for charcoal usually start the fire naturally, never use lighter fuels; let me say that again, never use lighter fuels! Why? Because no matter how long it is before you bring your foods to the grill you’ll pick up those chemical smells…Yuk!; Ask yourself, are you making an investment for the future of just for the coming summer season; because thats how long cheap ‘stuff’ is going to last! I recommend making an investment in the future, therefore go for quality; as you know in your heart, you pay for what you get! Don’t go cheap if you can afford greater; for example: stainless steel looks better and lasts longer than aluminum and cleans up considerably far better and easier; although it has to be said heat distributes more evenly and quickly with aluminum so the arguments are not usually so clear cut; portable pick up and go grills are going to be great for tailgating and impromtu stops but they’ll be a disappointment on the patio when cooking for a group of friends & family; There are a lot of styles & sizes of outdoor grills, picking the appropriate one to meet your needs and of course your budget is important, but remember that quality counts; you don’t want to be regretting your purchase half way through the summer time! Go for the very best you can. Consider about where you’re going to be doing your cooking and buy your kit appropriately. Ask yourself, will we be cooking on the patio, or will you be tailgating or then again will we be going outback; this helps make a big difference to your choice of kit; indeed you might decide that you need quite separate cooking products for the patio as opposed to when you’re getting out and about. Fuel grills are heavier and bulkier than charcoal, on the patio that’s a bonus in the outback its a chore; fuel grills cook quicker than the charcoal grills; some people hate gasoline grills by comparison because they enjoy the flavors that wood bestows; gasoline grills are more expensive than charcoal ones etc. etc. Choose what style of cooking very best suits you because the kit you’ll need will change with your preferred style of cooking. If you’re into Jambalaya cooking then you should buy Jambalaya pots, if your going to be frying whole turkeys then a turkey fryer kit will be excellent; do you choose cast iron stove ware for cooking, Dutch ovens are excellent for simple outdoor cooking or do you choose open grills;? The questions go on and on and only you know what the family are going to choose. Its not as hard to believe issues through as you might think, I suggest that you go to a store that sells the full range of equipment and ask yourself what’s going to work very best for us? When cooking with propane check the level of gasoline in the cylinder and whenever possible have a second one in reserve. There’s practically nothing worse with friends and household hovering, the meal is half ready and the gasoline goes out!!! If you’ve a replacement, no problem, but if you’ve not, just how bad can items get? Don’t forget basic safety advice when cooking outdoors; remember salmonella is just as happy and active outdoors as it is inside. So what to do? Keep those fresh meat plates and your cooking utensils away from any plates and cooking utensils that you’ll be using for eating off. Yes i know its obvious but this is critical and its very easily forgotten especially by the kids if they take a hand; Will you betaking your cooking kit out in the outback or to the beach where there are safety regulations preventing the use of certain cooking methods; how annoying is it to arrive and then find your kit isn’t appropriate. And don’t consider you’ll be okay they’ll never know. have you seen the recent damage that’s been caused by fires that get out of management; consider safety first. Its crucial to remember that usually you find restrictions at picnic areas and on beaches & camping zones; When you find a great recipe that cooks well outside share it with family; especially the simple suggestions that made it work out so well. Numerous folks are apprehensive about cooking out doors and even when they do they make simple errors that you could aid them avoid making. Simple tips need passing on; Never pierce foods on a BBQ or the juices will run out and it will dry out very quickly: most individuals who say they don’t like BBQs do so because they hate dried out tasteless food that so often arises from a smoldering BBQ Never cook meat too long as again it dries out Often make sure that meat is fully defrosted before starting cooking on your grill, not only is this dangerous to your health but the meals will burn on the outside before you’ve cooked it in the inside! Try to cook slower rather than faster when cooking outdoors, except with you steaks of course, they need searing and a minimum of time is preferred for however well you like them cooked; [yes I know this goes against what conventional wisdom says and your desire to tuck ij but the rewards of slower cooked foods great exceed the added time it takes; believe me Often let your meat rest after cooking without cutting it up. This allows the juices to settle and the full flavor to come out, it also means all the juices don’t run away across the serving plate; 7-10 minutes is all you need to wait and whilst the time is quick the difference in flavor can be huge; try it. Try marinating your meats before barbecuing, and remember, the longer the greater, overnight if you can. If you do the flavors of your cooking will be greatly enhanced and your friends will marvel; If you use a grill with a lid, keep it closed as significantly as possible. This improves the consistency of cooking due to the retention of the heat which otherwise is lost each time you open the grill; stop worrying and go and have a chat; Try some of the numerous free recipes you’ll find online; there are so a lot of and some are really excellent. Don’t get hooked on complication though; keeping things simple and experiment are the keys. But equally don’t get into the ideas of those that say quick and easy is best go for issues that cook quickly! NO. Marinades are simple and add tremendous flavor, cook slower than quickly and you’ll retain more flavors; Try out Dutch cooking; its easy and straightforward and the flavors are excellent; look for Dutch cooking recipes on the web; Keep your outdoor cooking fun; share the joy of the cooking with friends & family members. Try to get the kids involved; if you do you’ll develop in them a lifetime passion for cooking, which is often hard to do in the kitchen. Greater still you’ll have a laugh and if you involve your friends you’ll start appreciate them in totally different ways than before; its like a new way of bonding. You’ll start to see them in a totally different light…… interesting! … Oh, just one quick point, but take care the opposite can work out too.

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Great Cooking Supplies

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Some people just really like eating and some men and women just adore cooking; but when it comes to cooking and consuming outside most men and women say, hey, I love it.

So lets get to it. Summer season will quickly be upon us and the outdoor season beckons. Its now the ideal time to feel about those barbecues you’ll be having. Regardless of whether those meals will be on the patio or in the outback its now the time to make sure that you’ve acquired all your outdoor cooking tools to hand and that you’ve received a excellent thought about how greatest to go about factors.

There’s a lot of that will argue, which includes me, that practically nothing tastes far better than meals cooked outdoors! Don’t you just enjoy the aroma when cooking outdoors, the smells would seem to just waft around as the meals cooks and this helps make everybody hungry. How is it that the meals cooked outdoors often looks to smell so a lot nicer than when its cooked indoors?

Cooking outdoors comes in numerous guises. You and your household may favor to use wood or charcoal because of those fantastic flavors that come from the charcoal and the smoke; or, you could favor the cleanliness, handle and convenience of cooking with propane gasoline. What ever you prefer the market place is now awash with fantastic outdoor cooking tools to make your cooking expertise enjoyable and the outcomes fantastic.

Now when it comes to picking your outdoor cooking equipment a small thought is needed as you can simply miss a trick or two and fall short when the time comes to carry out! So, here are 20 excellent ideas to support you make the right selections when preparing this season’s outdoor cooking:

Firstly you need to choose will it be gasoline or charcoal; don’t fudge this one as its essential; if you want ease and convenience go for gasoline grills; if you don’t mind a tiny extra problems & time and your loved ones loves the flavors that are picked up from the smoke then go for charcoal; If you go for charcoal always start the fire naturally, never use lighter fuels; let me say that again, never use lighter fuels! Why? Because no matter how long it is before you bring your foods to the grill you’ll pick up those chemical smells…Yuk!; Ask yourself, are you making an investment for the future of just for the coming summertime season; because thats how long cheap ‘stuff’ is going to last! I recommend making an investment in the future, therefore go for quality; as you know in your heart, you pay for what you get! Don’t go cheap if you can afford greater; for example: stainless steel looks much better and lasts longer than aluminum and cleans up much greater and easier; although it has to be said heat distributes more evenly and quickly with aluminum so the arguments are not constantly so clear cut; portable pick up and go grills are going to be fantastic for tailgating and impromtu stops but they’ll be a disappointment on the patio when cooking for a group of friends & household; There are a lot of styles & sizes of outdoor grills, picking the correct one to meet your needs and of course your budget is essential, but remember that quality counts; you don’t want to be regretting your purchase half way through the summer time! Go for the best you can. Think about where you’re going to be doing your cooking and buy your kit appropriately. Ask yourself, will we be cooking on the patio, or will you be tailgating or then again will we be going outback; this can make a big difference to your choice of kit; indeed you could choose that you need quite separate cooking tools for the patio as opposed to when you’re getting out and about. Gasoline grills are heavier and bulkier than charcoal, on the patio that’s a bonus in the outback its a chore; gasoline grills cook quicker than the charcoal grills; some people hate gas grills by comparison because they love the flavors that wood bestows; fuel grills are more expensive than charcoal ones etc. etc. Decide what style of cooking greatest suits you because the kit you’ll need will change with your preferred style of cooking. If you’re into Jambalaya cooking then you should buy Jambalaya pots, if your going to be frying whole turkeys then a turkey fryer kit will be ideal; do you desire cast iron stove ware for cooking, Dutch ovens are wonderful for simple outdoor cooking or do you prefer open grills;? The questions go on and on and only you know what the family are going to favor. Its not as hard to consider factors through as you might believe, I suggest that you go to a store that sells the full range of products and ask yourself what’s going to work best for us? When cooking with propane check the level of fuel in the cylinder and whenever possible have a second one in reserve. There’s nothing worse with friends and household hovering, the meal is half ready and the gas goes out!!! If you’ve a replacement, no problem, but if you’ve not, just how bad can issues get? Don’t forget basic safety advice when cooking outdoors; remember salmonella is just as happy and active outdoors as it is inside. So what to do? Keep those fresh meat plates and your cooking utensils away from any plates and cooking utensils that you’ll be using for consuming off. Yes i know its obvious but this is important and its simply forgotten especially by the kids if they take a hand; Will you betaking your cooking kit out in the outback or to the beach where there are safety regulations preventing the use of certain cooking methods; how annoying is it to arrive and then find your kit isn’t appropriate. And don’t consider you’ll be okay they’ll never know. have you seen the recent damage that’s been caused by fires that get out of management; believe safety first. Its essential to remember that usually you find restrictions at picnic areas and on beaches & camping zones; When you find a wonderful recipe that cooks well outside share it with family; especially the simple suggestions that made it work out so well. A lot of folks are apprehensive about cooking out doors and even when they do they make simple errors that you could aid them avoid making. Simple ideas need passing on; Never pierce meals on a BBQ or the juices will run out and it will dry out very quickly: most men and women who say they don’t like BBQs do so because they hate dried out tasteless food that so often arises from a smoldering BBQ Never cook meat too long as again it dries out Often make sure that meat is fully defrosted before starting cooking on your grill, not only is this dangerous to your health but the meals will burn on the outside before you’ve cooked it in the inside! Try to cook slower rather than faster when cooking outdoors, except with you steaks of course, they need searing and a minimum of time is preferred for however well you like them cooked; [yes I know this goes against what conventional wisdom says and your desire to tuck ij but the rewards of slower cooked foods excellent exceed the additional time it takes; believe me Always let your meat rest after cooking without cutting it up. This allows the juices to settle and the full flavor to come out, it also means all the juices don’t run away across the serving plate; 7-10 minutes is all you need to wait and whilst the time is brief the difference in flavor can be huge; try it. Try marinating your meats before barbecuing, and remember, the longer the much better, overnight if you can. If you do the flavors of your cooking will be greatly enhanced and your friends will marvel; If you use a grill with a lid, keep it closed as significantly as possible. This improves the consistency of cooking due to the retention of the heat which otherwise is lost each time you open the grill; stop worrying and go and have a chat; Try some of the many free recipes you’ll find online; there are so numerous and some are really very good. Don’t get hooked on complication though; keeping issues simple and experiment are the keys. But equally don’t get into the ideas of those that say quick and easy is very best go for issues that cook quickly! NO. Marinades are simple and add tremendous flavor, cook slower than quickly and you’ll retain more flavors; Try out Dutch cooking; its easy and straightforward and the flavors are wonderful; look for Dutch cooking recipes on the web; Keep your outdoor cooking fun; share the joy of the cooking with friends & family members. Try to get the kids involved; if you do you’ll develop in them a lifetime passion for cooking, which is often hard to do in the kitchen. Better still you’ll have a laugh and if you involve your friends you’ll start appreciate them in totally different ways than before; its like a new way of bonding. You’ll start to see them in a totally different light…… interesting! … Oh, just one quick point, but take care the opposite can work out too.

You can also check out some of my other websites at backpacking food bags, gaiters for hiking, camping recliner chairs.

[madzhughes147-blog]

Terrific Cooking Equipment

Here are some amazing webpages baby raincoat, hiking waist pack, large deep fryer. Cooking Equipment

Some individuals just enjoy consuming and some men and women just enjoy cooking; but when it comes to cooking and consuming outside most individuals say, hey, I enjoy it.

So lets get to it. Summer time will quickly be upon us and the outdoor season beckons. Its now the perfect time to think about those barbecues you’ll be having. Regardless of whether those meals will be on the patio or in the outback its now the time to make certain that you’ve received all your outdoor cooking products to hand and that you’ve received a excellent notion about how ideal to go about issues.

There’s a lot of that will argue, which includes me, that nothing tastes far better than foods cooked outdoors! Don’t you just adore the aroma when cooking outdoors, the smells seems to just waft close to as the foods cooks and this makes everybody hungry. How is it that the meals cooked outdoors constantly seems to smell so much nicer than when its cooked indoors?

Cooking outdoors comes in several guises. You and your family may prefer to use wood or charcoal because of those fantastic flavors that come from the charcoal and the smoke; or, you could favor the cleanliness, manage and ease of cooking with propane gasoline. What ever you prefer the marketplace is now awash with wonderful outdoor cooking gear to make your cooking expertise fulfilling and the final results fantastic.

Now when it comes to deciding on your outdoor cooking gear a tiny believed is essential as you can easily miss a trick or two and fall quick when the time comes to complete! So, here are twenty fantastic tips to aid you make the proper choices when planning this season’s outdoor cooking:

Firstly you should determine will it be fuel or charcoal; don’t fudge this one as its essential; if you want ease and ease go for gasoline grills; if you don’t mind a small extra difficulty & time and your family members loves the flavors that are picked up from the smoke then go for charcoal; If you go for charcoal constantly start the fire naturally, never use lighter fuels; let me say that again, never use lighter fuels! Why? Because no matter how long it is before you bring your meals to the grill you’ll pick up those chemical smells…Yuk!; Ask yourself, are you making an investment for the future of just for the coming summer time season; because thats how long cheap ‘stuff’ is going to last! I recommend making an investment in the future, therefore go for quality; as you know in your heart, you pay for what you get! Don’t go cheap if you can afford far better; for example: stainless steel looks better and lasts longer than aluminum and cleans up considerably better and easier; although it has to be said heat distributes more evenly and quickly with aluminum so the arguments are not always so clear cut; portable pick up and go grills are going to be wonderful for tailgating and impromtu stops but they’ll be a disappointment on the patio when cooking for a group of friends & household; There are a lot of styles & sizes of outdoor grills, picking the appropriate one to meet your needs and of course your budget is important, but remember that quality counts; you don’t want to be regretting your purchase half way through the summer time! Go for the greatest you can. Believe about where you’re going to be doing your cooking and buy your kit appropriately. Ask yourself, will we be cooking on the patio, or will you be tailgating or then again will we be going outback; this makes a big difference to your choice of kit; indeed you could make a decision that you need quite separate cooking products for the patio as opposed to when you’re getting out and about. Gasoline grills are heavier and bulkier than charcoal, on the patio that’s a bonus in the outback its a chore; gas grills cook quicker than the charcoal grills; some folks hate gas grills by comparison because they love the flavors that wood bestows; gasoline grills are more expensive than charcoal ones etc. etc. Decide what style of cooking ideal suits you because the kit you’ll need will change with your preferred style of cooking. If you’re into Jambalaya cooking then you should buy Jambalaya pots, if your going to be frying whole turkeys then a turkey fryer kit will be perfect; do you prefer cast iron stove ware for cooking, Dutch ovens are great for simple outdoor cooking or do you prefer open grills;? The questions go on and on and only you know what the household are going to desire. Its not as hard to think things through as you might feel, I suggest that you go to a store that sells the full range of products and ask yourself what’s going to work best for us? When cooking with propane check the level of fuel in the cylinder and whenever possible have a second one in reserve. There’s absolutely nothing worse with friends and family members hovering, the meal is half ready and the gasoline goes out!!! If you’ve a replacement, no problem, but if you’ve not, just how bad can issues get? Don’t forget basic safety advice when cooking outdoors; remember salmonella is just as happy and active outdoors as it is inside. So what to do? Keep those fresh meat plates and your cooking utensils away from any plates and cooking utensils that you’ll be using for eating off. Yes i know its obvious but this is crucial and its simply forgotten especially by the kids if they take a hand; Will you betaking your cooking kit out in the outback or to the beach where there are safety regulations preventing the use of certain cooking methods; how annoying is it to arrive and then find your kit isn’t appropriate. And don’t think you’ll be okay they’ll never know. have you seen the recent damage that’s been caused by fires that get out of control; consider safety first. Its important to remember that usually you find restrictions at picnic areas and on beaches & camping zones; When you find a wonderful recipe that cooks well outside share it with loved ones; especially the simple ideas that made it work out so well. Several people are apprehensive about cooking out doors and even when they do they make simple errors that you could assist them avoid making. Simple ideas need passing on; Never pierce foods on a BBQ or the juices will run out and it will dry out very quickly: most folks who say they don’t like BBQs do so because they hate dried out tasteless food that so often arises from a smoldering BBQ Never cook meat too long as again it dries out Often make sure that meat is fully defrosted before starting cooking on your grill, not only is this dangerous to your health but the foods will burn on the outdoors before you’ve cooked it in the inside! Try to cook slower rather than faster when cooking outdoors, except with you steaks of course, they need searing and a minimum of time is preferred for however well you like them cooked; [yes I know this goes against what conventional wisdom says and your desire to tuck ij but the rewards of slower cooked foods excellent exceed the further time it takes; believe me Always let your meat rest after cooking without cutting it up. This allows the juices to settle and the full flavor to come out, it also means all the juices don’t run away across the serving plate; 7-10 minutes is all you need to wait and whilst the time is brief the difference in flavor can be huge; try it. Try marinating your meats before barbecuing, and remember, the longer the much better, overnight if you can. If you do the flavors of your cooking will be greatly enhanced and your friends will marvel; If you use a grill with a lid, keep it closed as considerably as possible. This improves the consistency of cooking due to the retention of the heat which otherwise is lost each time you open the grill; stop worrying and go and have a chat; Try some of the many free recipes you’ll find online; there are so several and some are really good. Don’t get hooked on complication though; keeping issues simple and experiment are the keys. But equally don’t get into the ideas of those that say quick and easy is best go for items that cook quickly! NO. Marinades are simple and add tremendous flavor, cook slower than quickly and you’ll retain more flavors; Try out Dutch cooking; its easy and straightforward and the flavors are great; look for Dutch cooking recipes on the web; Keep your outdoor cooking fun; share the joy of the cooking with friends & loved ones. Try to get the kids involved; if you do you’ll develop in them a lifetime passion for cooking, which is often hard to do in the kitchen. Much better still you’ll have a laugh and if you involve your friends you’ll start appreciate them in totally different ways than before; its like a new way of bonding. You’ll start to see them in a totally different light…… interesting! … Oh, just one quick point, but take care the opposite can work out too.

You can also check out some of my other websites at heated neck pillow, hiking sock liners, camping stove fuel.