#but lettuce not make such bold declarations

[angeliciaaaaaaa]

Daveed Diggs: "This is the coolest thing I've ever been a part of."

Me:

Blasphemous!

[blackgwenstacy]

this fire brings me pain, even so, make it rain

“It’s not fair.”

Her voice is hoarse, and suddenly Leo is reminded of that time in Wilderness School when she had laryngitis. Nevada had been through a month long drought, and one day dark ominous clouds rolled in, the sky opened up, and rain was plentiful. The two of them were eating lunch together in the dining hall when it began, and Piper dared Leo to do the “Mexican hat dance” in the downpour.

“What am I McLean, your personal entertainment monkey? Besides,” he smirked, lightly kicking her shin under the table, “shouldn’t you be doing a Cherokee rain dance or something right about now?”

Her jaw dropped, and Leo graciously waited for the dramatics to make an appearance.

“First of all, Valdez, you don’t perform rain dances while it’s raining, idiot. Secondly, that was racist and stereotypical--”

“You started it. ‘Mexican hat dance.’ Bold of you to assume I’m even Mexican. Please.” He scoffed, downing the rest of his chocolate milk.

Piper laughed, eyes twinkling with mischief. “Touché.”

The short bicker died down. They resumed their lunch quietly, the white noise of rain pelting against the windows filling the silence that settled between them. Leo watched as Piper picked yellowing lettuce leaves out of her salad, face scrunched in disgust.

He hadn’t even tried to dance the Jarabe Tapatío since he was, like, five he’s pretty sure. He had some vague memory of a party, dancing with his mom. They weren’t even doing it right, at least he doesn’t think so. The memory’s more vivid details are buried deep in his brain somewhere, with all the old memories of his mother he unconsciously repressed.

Still, he felt pretty bold today. 

“Are you done?” He nodded at Piper’s lunch.

She grimaced, pushing her tray away. “Yeah.”

“Great!” He clambered off the bench, picking up his tray. “Come on.”

Piper frowned. “Right now? It’s pouring.”

“Uh, yeah. You dared me to dance in the rain.”

She raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “You’re gonna--?”

Leo reached over and grabbed her trash as well, finding the nearest garbage can and dumping the foam trays. This place wasn’t very environmentally friendly, huh? No wonder Nevada had month long droughts.

He walked back over to their table. Piper was staring at him with the most amused expression.

“Well? Come on,” He insisted, grabbing her hand.

“Uh, I dared you--”

“The Jarabe Tapatío requires two people.” Leo winked at her. “Didn’t think that one through, did you McLean?”

And so Leo dragged her outside into the rain, laughing at her protests along the way. He found it slightly hilarious, considering the history of the dance. They were soaked down to their socks, and Piper complained about being in the downpour at first, but eventually she relished the refreshing feeling. For once, they weren’t baking in the desert heat.

“Do you even know what you’re doing? Is this how you even do the dance?” Piper asked as Leo twirled her around, her wet bangs plastered over her eyes.

Leo grinned impishly. “Oh, yeah, totally!” It wasn’t, not in the slightest. He did a mean 1, 2, step though.

Coach Hedge definitely got on their asses for making fools of themselves in the rain. And Piper definitely caught a cold two days after that.

“Why aren’t you sick?” She glared. Her voice sounded like she’d been drinking acid. “It’s not fair.”

Leo giggled. “I dunno. Karma, maybe?”

“It’s not fair,” she repeats, her voice breaking.

It isn’t. It fucking isn’t. It isn’t fair that they spent a whole year fighting against monsters and wind spirits and Gaea for this not to be over yet. It isn’t fair that Jason had been randomly thrust into their lives only to be ripped away hardly two years later. It isn’t fair that Piper’s currently crying her eyes out on the roof of Cabin One in the middle of the night while Leo sat uselessly by her side, unable to say anything that could make this less painful.

“You know what’s fucked up? It doesn’t feel real,” she confesses through gritted teeth. She aggressively wipes her face. “I keep trying to convince myself this is some kind of sick demigod dream, or maybe Hera is messing with his life again. This can’t be— He can’t be...he can’t be—“

Leo reaches over, tentatively placing a warm hand on her back. She was shaking. From the chill. From the grief.

Leo isn’t quite sure what to say, what to do.  It was Piper who would let you lean on her. She always knew what to say, what to do in situations that needed morale. She was the optimistic voice of reason when all seemed lost. Now, shivering in the chilly nighttime air, tears gliding down her cheeks, she was inconsolable.

Jason should be here. He should be sitting on this rooftop with her, not Leo. Because all of their memories with Jason may be fabricated godly bullshit, but he remembers how happy Piper was when she told him about the night on the rooftop with Jason. And Piper may not have felt that way about Jason anymore but it would still be more natural than Leo being in his place.

They sit up there for what feels like hours. Piper’s crying had slowed to a gradual hiccup. Leo watches as the stars become obscured by dark grey clouds. The rain moves in silently and without warning. There is no thunder, no lightning.

The first drop splashes on Piper’s cheek. She doesn’t even flinch.

It becomes heavier as minutes pass by, but it’s not a downpour. Leo wishes it was. At least then he could pretend it was washing away his sins.

“You’re not up for a Mexican hat dance, are you?” he says humorlessly. 

Piper laughs wetly, pushing her soaked hair back. “Oh my gods, no. We’d slip and fall to our deaths.”

Leo chuckles dryly. Yeah, that’s dangerous. They were pretty bad dancers anyway.

“Thanks for helping me tell the camp today,” she says. “I kind of shoved the burden on you because I couldn’t stop crying. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Leo says. “I’m sorry our reunion ended up so. . . shitty.”

Piper laughs again. “When we got that holographic scroll I wanted to deck you in the face so much.”

“I figured,” Leo grins. He really wishes that happened instead.

“It would have been shitty for you either way,” she declares. Leo hums in agreement.

The rain soon passes by. The two of them are left drenched in rainwater, damp clothing plastered to their skin. Piper’s shivering has intensified. They should probably go inside. They’ll have to take shelter in Cabin One until the harpies retire.

“I’m going to get laryngitis again.”

Leo snorts. “We should go inside.”

“Yeah.”

But they take no initiative to get off the roof. They just sit there. The stars make a reappearance. Piper leans into Leo’s warmth.

“I’m glad you’re back, Valdez.”

[ninja-librarian]

Commission for @sapphirenova, a Jade/Jalapeno wedding! (What could  possibly go wrong?)

For info about commissions, click here!

“Is it too late to elope?” Jade whispered to Jalapeno behind her hand.

Jalapeno responded only with a glance.

“Yes, yes, I know they’ve worked hard, and that they’re being nice helping us, but, babe, look.” Jade gestured towards the scene before them in Café Mew Mew.

From behind the swinging doors that led to the kitchen, there was black smoke and the sound of Chile and Rin yelling at each other while Keiichiro tried to separate them.

Meanwhile, Cayenne and Mylo were staring in disbelief at the groomsmen’s tuxes that Kisshu was showing them.

But calling them tuxes was probably too generous.

After all, tuxes implied that the pants were not booty shorts and that they were not turquoise in color with had a glittery scale pattern on the back. In sequins, the booty shorts read ‘Best Merman’.

“Now, see, this is what they call a bold fashion statement,” Kisshu said, trying desperately hard to get Cayenne and Mylo to like the atrocity that poor Masaya had been roped into modeling. “A real trendsetter item.”

Meanwhile, Topaz was floating near the ceiling, yelling into a phone, “We said emerald green. Does sapphire blue look like emerald green to you? Why you—DID YOU PUT ME ON HOLD? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?”

“THEY DO NOT KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND THEY DON’T CARE, GIVE ME THE PHONE!” Mint yelled, jumping uselessly, trying to grab Topaz by the ankle. “AND THEY CAN’T HEAR YOU WHEN YOU’RE ON HOLD!”

Meanwhile, Pudding, Tart, Rozu, Shinji and Zen were wandering around, looking under and over just about anything and everything, only to periodically gather together and whisper frantically, their expressions becoming more and more panicked as seconds ticked.

Meanwhile, Ichigo, Homare, Bell, Pepper, Riri and Zakuro sat in a pile of flower petals and string.

“Well,” Bell said softly. “At least we have enough petals for the flower girl to throw.”

“But there isn’t a flower girl,” Pepper reminded her twin.

“Oh yeah.”

Meanwhile, behind Jade and Jalapeno, Lettuce was on her knees in the grass in front of the Café, yelling up at the sky, “OH GREAT GODDESSES OF CRAFTING, WHAT SIN HAVE I COMMITTED THAT YOU ABANDON ME IN MY GREATEST HOUR OF NEED?”

“Lettuce,” Pie said calmly and patiently. “Please come inside.”

“I NEED TO ATONE FOR MY CRAFTING SINS, PIE!”

“Lettuce, people are staring.”

Meanwhile, Kirin the dragon flew past, holding a jewelry box between her claws. The little dragon made eye-contact with Jade and Jalapeno, her wings batting in the air as she floated there, then silently, slowly, flew away.

Ryou took this moment to emerge from the basement, saying, “Hey, I’m done balancing the books, what can I do to—”

His words trailed off as he surveyed the chaos. He grimaced and slowly backed down the steps, saying,

“Oh, no, I forgot to, uh, carry a two, I’ll be back soon.”

Jalapeno looked back at Jade and nodded in agreement.

Yeah, they should have just eloped.

*****

In all fairness, when Jade and Jalapeno announced their engagement and celebrated with their friends and family on Earth, they had no idea that casually mentioning that they had no plans for a long engagement and wanted the ceremony to be on Earth would lead to total and utter chaos.

“Well then,” Jade’s mother said. “Why wait?”

“What do you mean?” Jade asked, frowning.

“If you’re planning on staying on Earth for only a week anyways, why not do it now?” She said. “It’d be difficult to plan while you’re on your travels. So, again, why wait?”

Jade glanced over at Jalapeno, who simply nodded.

“Alright then,” Jade said. “Let’s do it. Let’s get married this week, before we leave.”

“So you’re just going to elope?” Lettuce asked, a bit surprised. “Just like that?”

“I mean, yeah, might as well,” Jade said. “It’d be easy. All we need is a marriage license and find a priest to marry us. Everyone’s invited, it’ll be great.”

To everyone’s surprise, Topaz slammed her hands down on the table-top in front of her, jumping to her feet and said, “No. I have spent too long planning this wedding to let you two simply elope.”

“What?” Was the chorused confused response from around the room.

Topaz materialized a large pink binder into her hand, shoving it at Jade and Jalapeno. “I said, I’ve been planning this wedding too long for you two to just get a license and a priest and call it a day.”

“How long have you been doing this?” Cayenne asked, glancing at the binder that Jade was now flipping through. “Jalapeno proposed two days ago, and only got the ring a month ago.”

“Yes, so now we’re already six months behind schedule,” Topaz said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Topaz!” Ichigo groaned. “You can’t just plan other people’s weddings for them!”

“Is there not an entire profession with the title of ‘Wedding Planner’ that does exactly that?” Pie asked.

“Yes, but those people are hired to do that,” Zakuro pointed out. “Which Topaz was not.”

“Hmm, but I think I might hire her anyway,” Jade said, still flipping through the binder. “This is great. I think releasing a thousand Birds of Paradise might be a little much, but these flower crowns are super cute.”

“How about a compromise then?” Keiichiro suggested. “You’re staying here for a week. We plan for a wedding a week from today?”

Jade and Jalapeno glanced at each other and nodded.

“Sounds like a plan,” Jade said. “A week to put together an entire wedding. Let’s do it.”

*****

Kisshu and Masaya somehow ended up in charge of procuring tuxedos.

Masaya started to question this decision as Kisshu leaned against the counter of the men’s clothing shop and said, “Sir, we’d like three of your best tuxedos!”

“Yes, sir,” The man behind the counter said stiffly and formally, appraising Kisshu warily. Then he told Kisshu the price of each of their best tuxedos.

Kisshu’s winning smile dropped some. “That’s the total for the three suits?”

“No. A piece.”

Kisshu looked over at his shoulder at Masaya. “How much is our budget again?”

“Nowhere near that much,” Masaya confirmed.

Kisshu hesitated a moment then turned back to the man behind the counter and said, “Sir, we’d like your best suits that ten-thousand Yen can afford.”

“A piece?”

“Total would be preferable.”

There was a heavy sigh. “Yes sir.”

*****

“What—what are you doing?” Chile demanded, jaw clenched as Rin hovered near the stove. “Back away from my food.”

“It’s my kitchen, I can do what I want,” Rin retorted. “Besides, you just told me to add salt. And I did.”

“You put in too much salt.”

“No, I didn’t. You’re over-reacting.”

Chile inhaled deeply, then yelled, “YOU PUT SO MUCH SALT IN THE DISH, A PREIST WANTS TO USE IT TO EXORCISE A DEMON!”

As Keiichiro watched the argument begin, he couldn’t tell which mistake was worse: letting Chile and Rin share a kitchen when they were both so protective of their workspaces, or introducing Chile to Gordon Ramsey memes.

*****

Lettuce rubbed her hands together, slightly gleeful as she surveyed her supplies.

“These are going to be the best flower crowns ever,” She declared.

“They look kind of difficult to put together, though,” Pepper said warily, looking at the picture on Pinterest. “Are you sure we can make them look right?”

“Of course,” Lettuce said, starting to measure out string.

“Lettuce is the Queen of Pinterest,” Homare assured them. “If it’s a craft, Lettuce can make it.”

“And these are super easy,” Lettuce added with a snip of her scissors. “We’ll be done before you know it.”

She carefully took her needle and gently pushed it through the base of the flower…

Only for it to fall apart in her hands, petals scattering.

There was quiet for a moment, then Lettuce said, “The first… the first one is always the worst, you know?” She picked up another flower. “Don’t worry, it’ll go much smoother from here on out…”

*****

“Can you hold onto these for me?” Jalapeno asked, holding out the velvet jewelry box holding the wedding bands to Tart. “Kirin keeps trying to steal them and add them to her hoard.”

“Sure,” Tart said, accepting the small box. “I’m good at playing keep-away from small fire-breathing monsters.”

Two hours later…

“Rozu!” Tart said, grabbing his younger sister by the shoulders. “I need your help as a small fire-breather.”

Rozu narrowed her eyes. “Did you lose the rings?”

“I didn’t lose them, Kirin stole them and has added them to her hoard!”

“So you need me to be the one to steal it back?”

“No, I need you to help me find the right hoard. Considering she has several decoys.”

Rozu heaved a sigh and glared at her older brother. “One, you owe me. Big time. And two, we’re going to need a lot more help.”

Twenty minutes later, their team was gathered, a plan was made, each and every one had their assignments.

“Everyone have a firm grasp on their searching territory?” Rozu asked as confirmation.

“Yep, na no da!” Pudding proclaimed.

“Got it,” Shinji said. Zen nodded in agreement.

“Great, then let’s—” Tart started to say, but was cut off by a knock on the door.

Pudding opened the door. To everyone’s horror, Jade stood there.

“Hey, guys,” She said with a wave. “Tart, the rings—”

“Are totally and completely, one hundred percent safe!” He told her, rushing to the door, barring her entry. “Don’t worry about a thing!”

Jade frowned. “But I—”

“Not. A. Thing. Totally under control. You know what’s not under control? Uh, the, uh…” Tart looked over his shoulder, silently asking for help.

“The… cake topper?” Zen suggested.

“Yes, that’s right, the cake topper. It’s not under control,” Tart told Jade. “You better go sort that out, good-bye and good luck!”

With that, he closed the door in Jade’s face, everyone breathing a sigh of relief.

Jade blinked and looked down at the slightly chewed on, slightly claw-marked, definitely drooled on jewelry box that she had pried out of Kirin’s hoard underneath her bed.

She shrugged and walked away.

She’d just put it in a place for them to find later.

That really should have been her first sign that everything was, in fact, not under control.

*****

“We’re getting married in two days. Two days. And everything is a disaster.” Jade bemoaned, throwing herself dramatically across her bed.

“At least the temple is all set up nice and neat,” Bell told her future sister-in-law comfortingly. “Nothing can happen to mess that up.”

“You know what can fix this?” Ichigo said cheerfully.

“Unplugging Lettuce’s hot glue gun before it burns someone, na no da?” Pudding suggested.

“Has Pie gotten her to stop burning pieces of thread and yarn as sacrifices to the crafting goddesses yet?” Riri asked.

“Nope.” Came the response from around the room.

“Anyways, I was going to say some nice, relaxing, rom-coms will be a nice pick-me-up and distraction,” Ichigo said, turning on the TV.

Right onto the weather station.

Which was saying that the next three days were going to be full of pouring rain.

“Well, that’s… That’s going to put a slight damper on the outdoor wedding…” Homare whispered.

“Heh,” Pepper said, smirking slightly. “Damper.”

Jade put her hands over her face and groaned.

*****

Topaz inhaled sharply then said through gritted teeth, “This. Was. Not. In. The. Binder.”

The wedding planning crew, plus the bride and groom to be, sat around Café Mew Mew in the middle of the disaster zone, rain already starting to pound down.

“What are we going to do?” Pepper asked softly.

“We could see what the weather is like on Cynnth?” Rin suggested.

“No,” Jade and Jalapeno both said together, but Jalapeno’s was a little more forceful with a grimace.

“Half the reason for having the wedding here on Earth,” Jade explained. “Is to prevent, uh, some certain people from attending.”

“The only people I actually care about seeing me get married are already here in this room,” Jalapeno added.

“Right, so, no Cynnth,” Homare said. “There’s got to be a solution, then.”

“Ooh, ooh!” Bell said, throwing her hand into the air. “I’ve got an idea! We block out the rain!”

“How do you suggest we go about doing that, exactly?” Pie asked, mostly suspicious.

“A Chimera,” Bell said, eyes glittering. She threw her arms wide, nearly whacking Chile in the face as she did so. “A big one! With huge wings!”

“Like… a bird?” Shinji asked.

“No, the rain might still get through the feathers,” Zen said.

“Depends on the species of bird,” Masaya corrected. “Like, a duck or a goose might work. Because they have watertight feathers.”

“Or do something with leathery-like wings,” Pudding suggested. “Like a bat, na no da.”

“Ooh, a pterodactyl!” Kish said, rubbing his hands together. “What combination makes a good pterodactyl?”

“Well,” Pepper said, glancing across the table at Kirin, a slow smile creeping across her face. “A dragon, to start with.”

Kirin simply lifted her upper-lip to snarl at Pepper.

“Why is your go-to solution to make a Chimera instead of, I don’t know, finding an indoor venue?” Ryou asked.

“This is easier,” Bell pointed out with a shrug.

“It’s not, it’s really not,” Lettuce said, shaking her head.

“No Chimeras!” Jade declared, hitting her hand on the table. “Just no. We have enough going wrong to add in terrorizing the city with alien-animal hybrid monsters!” She looked at Mint. “Are there any indoor venues we could find at the very last second?”

“None that I know of,” Mint said.

“Well, that’s not true at all,” Ichigo said, grinning suddenly, eyes twinkling. “We have one venue that we know is one-hundred percent available. Especially for the wedding a previous employee.”

*****

The Café was magically transformed overnight. Beautiful flowery garlands hung around the room, with beautiful tulle bows and chairs in rows. There was not a hint of the chaos that reigned in the main room the day before, and everything gleamed and sparkled.

Jade stood at the entry to the kitchen, surveying the room. Lettuce placed a hand on Jade’s shoulder.

“I know it’s not what you planned…” She started to say.

Jade chuckled. “You mean what Topaz planned.”

“Well, you liked what she had planned. So I assumed…”

Jade took her cousin’s hands in both of hers, smiling. “Lettuce, this is more than I ever imagined. Having so many people working hard to make this day special… It’s perfect.”

Lettuce smiled. “As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters.”

“I’m marrying Jalapeno, the love of my life. That’s all that matters. That’s why I’m so happy. The decorations, the food, that’s all wonderful, yeah, but that’s what I’m most excited about.”

The two embraced, grinning and giggling and wiping away tears.

“Come on,” Lettuce said. “Let’s go get you dressed.”

*****

The ceremony, surprisingly, went off without a hitch, and in a few short moments Jade and Jalapeno were declared husband and wife to the sound of cheers and deafening applause. The chairs were pushed aside in favor of dancing, food, and congratulating the happy couple.

“I want to take you somewhere,” Jalapeno whispered in Jade’s ear sometime later. Jade smiled, allowing him to tug her hand, leading her towards the kitchen.

But as soon as the doors swung behind her, they were no longer in the Café. Jade smiled as she looked around the grounds of the shrine her family had taken care of for generations, the sound of rain pattering on the umbrella above her head.

She glanced at Jalapeno, who smiled faintly. “I know things did not work out in our favor to get married here, but I wanted you to still be able to come here today. And…” His pale cheeks flushed pink as he said, “And I wanted you for myself. For just a moment or two.”

Jade stood on her toes, pressing a kiss to the corner of Jalapeno’s mouth, the corner upturned with the smile.

“Thank you,” She whispered, squeezing his hand. “Let’s go take a walk around the garden.”

“We can take our time,” Jalapeno told her, wrapping an arm around her. “Mylo, Cayenne and Chile have their orders to distract everyone else for as long as possible.”

Jade leaned against him. “We’ve got all the time in the universe. The rest of our lives.”

Together. Forever.

[livingcorner]

10 things that MUST be on a food label – Catherine Saxelby’s Foodwatch

Here’s a taste of what’s in my new eBook Cracking the Code – The Handy Foodwatch Guide to Food Labels. This short extract is designed to give you an idea of what is covered in more detail.

Why bother about the food label?

A food label carries useful information about a product but only if you know what you’re looking for. Food labels are handy as they:

You're reading: 10 things that MUST be on a food label – Catherine Saxelby’s Foodwatch

Help protect public health and safety by displaying information and warning statements.

Tell you if the food contains an additive or allergen that you want to avoid.

Allow you to compare similar products and choose the one that suits your needs.

Advise when to use it by, how to store and prepare it, what it is made of, its size and weight, and the manufacturer’s contacts.

A food label carries useful information about a product but only if you know what you��re looking for.

The 10 things that MUST be on every label

Here is the compulsory info that is required by law on every food pack in Australia and New Zealand:

Description or technical name of the food or drink (not the brand)

Net weight or volume – amount of food or drink without the weight of the packaging

Date mark

Ingredient List, including additives

Nutrition information panel

Allergy warning or Allergen declaration

Name and address of manufacturer, distributor or importer

Country of origin (Australia only)

Storage Instructions e.g. keep refrigerated at 4°C

Lot or batch number.

The 10 things in detail

1. Name and description of the product

If the name of the food doesn’t make it obvious what it actually is, there must be a description which is meaningful enough to portray the true nature of the food. For example:

You may recognise the brand when you spot a tetra pack of Up and Go, but its true technical name is “Formulated Milk Drink”.

A jar with 100% strawberry looks and functions like jam. Technically though it’s a “Fruit Spread” as it doesn’t have the sugar content to be classified as a jam.

2. Net weight

This is the actual weight or volume of the food without the extra weight of any packaging. For canned foods, it includes any liquid – it is not the drained weight.

3. Date mark

This tells you the time of best eating by means of a ‘Best-Before’ or ‘Use-By’ or for bread a ‘Baked-On’ date.

Read more: 37 Design for blank kitchen walls ideas | design, home, home decor

Use-By dates are generally found on perishables and short-shelf life foods such as fresh meat packed at the supermarket, chilled fish, milk and yoghurt. Products should be eaten or thrown away by the use-by date as after that date the food is not safe to eat, even though you may not see any signs of spoilage like mould or an off-smell.

Best-Before dates apply to most cereals, biscuits, snack foods, flour, eggs, canned and frozen foods and other long shelf-life foods. It tells you the time of best eating quality. The food is not spoiled immediately after the date and can be sold if stored properly and in good condition, but its quality has begun to decline.

4. Ingredient list

All ingredients must be stated in descending order by ingoing weight from most to least. The ingredient in the highest proportion is listed first, followed by the second, the third, and so on.

Additives are included here by their functional name, say PRESERVATIVE, followed by either their chemical name, say (SODIUM METABISULPHITE), or by their code number (223).

Small packs don’t have to carry ingredient lists e.g. individual confectionery items, sauces and condiments, sugars and sweeteners.

5. Nutrition information panel

This shows the energy in kilojoules (calories), protein, fat (total and saturated), carbohydrate (total and sugars) and sodium in an average serve and in 100 grams of the food. Some foods also show fibre, potassium, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and trans fat depending on whether they make a claim about these.

6. Allergy warning or Allergen declaration

For allergy sufferers, the presence of fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, peanut, tree nuts, sesame, wheat, soy and lupin must be declared. It is usually in or near the list of ingredients e.g. ‘Contains egg’. Sometimes the allergens are shown in bold in the Ingredient List e.g.‘ … milk solids …’.

7. Name and address

The name and street address of the manufacturer, packer, distributor or importer must be clearly identified for consumers (not a P.O. box).

8. Country of origin

This identifies the country or countries in which the food was grown, made or processed. In Australia, if the food is made from imported ingredients or from local plus imported ingredients, this must be listed. New Zealand does not require country of origin labelling.

Read more: 37 Design for blank kitchen walls ideas | design, home, home decor

If you like to buy Australian products, here’s what you need to know:

GROWN IN AUSTRALIA

This label is for foods which are 100% Australian grown e.g. lettuces, oranges.

PRODUCED IN AUSTRALIA

This label tells you that 100% of the ingredients and all major processing was performed in Australia e.g. cheese, yoghurt, cereals, breads.

MADE IN AUSTRALIA

This label is a little different in that it tells you that all major processing happened in Australia and it also tells you the percentage of Australian ingredients in the final product. Any imported products where only some minor processing such as slicing or canning has been done in Australia cannot use this label.

PACKED IN AUSTRALIA

This tells you that the produce (usually) has been packed in Australia but may have been grown elsewhere.

9. Storage instructions

For best quality and safe eating, follow all instructions e.g. for example, keep chilled at 4◦C or less before opening OR Refrigerate after opening.

10. Lot or batch number

There needs to be a lot or batch number (or the date if there’s only one batch made a day) so a product can be recalled in the event of a problem or accidental error.

The bottom line

These 10 things are required on almost all packed food items with a few exceptions such as a small packet or food prepared in front of you to your order. These things come from the Food Code which is set by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand. You can read all the detail here . All of this information and more is in my latest eBook, Cracking the Code – The Handy Foodwatch Guide to Food Labels. Grab your copy here.

Source: https://livingcorner.com.au Category: Kitchen

source https://livingcorner.com.au/10-things-that-must-be-on-a-food-label-catherine-saxelbys-foodwatch/

[oneweekoneband]

“Follow Your Arrow” - Kacey Musgraves

If you had heard of Kacey Musgraves before I started gushing over her this week, you probably know her from her song “Follow Your Arrow.” And if you hadn’t heard of her, then country radio was doing its (terrible) job.

When “Follow Your Arrow” first became popular in 2013, it caused a bit of a stir for its “controversial” (read: progressive) elements. Although the song begins “innocently” enough, with a realization that no matter what you do, you’ll always be judged for it. (Damned if you do / and you’re damned if you don’t / so you might as well just do whatever you want.) This is a fairly standard stance to take in country music, or any genre really; being true to yourself is not necessarily a progressive declaration anymore. But the chorus is where Musgraves drew the most ire:

Make lots of noise Kiss lots of boys Or kiss lots of girls If that’s what you’re into When the straight and narrow gets a little too straight Roll up a joint (Or don’t!) Just follow your arrow wherever it points.

To most of us, the chorus is fairly innocuous. Advocating marijuana use is really nothing new, especially if you’re into Willie Nelson, and same-sex relationships are widely accepted and legally recognized. But, at the time, the chorus was likened to a declaration of war on “traditional values.” The same small town America that Kacey tenderly writes about with equal parts criticism and love was not on board with the song. Well, not so much Small Town America so much as the Country Radio Establishment.

From that moment on, Kacey Musgraves’ success in the country music industry became an uphill battle. Suddenly, she was seen as a sales issue. Already working against her was the fact that she is a woman. It is extremely difficult to break into the industry as a woman. In 2015, radio consultant Keith Hill drew criticism after suggesting that women artists are meant as embellishments to male artists when it came to programming. “I play great female records and we've got some right now; they're just not the lettuce in our salad.The lettuce is Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton, Keith Urban and artists like that. The tomatoes of our salad are the females.” This statement sparked a movement called #tomatogate, which prompted many artists, including Musgraves, to open up a dialogue about the status of women in country music. While I believe that little has changed since #tomatogate as women still receive significantly less air time on the radio, an awareness of the issue prompted discussions of equality for female artists.

But, honestly, equality issues aside, the subject matter of the song is something that is completely standard in country music. Remaining true to yourself, making choices based on what works for you personally, is kind of a running theme. Country music proclaims to be the defender of authenticity, but only if your version of authenticity lines-up with the establishment’s version of authenticity. Which, obviously, is not authenticity at all.

The song even won the Country Music Association’s Song of the Year Award. In addition to her many other accolades, you’d think that Musgraves would be a beloved musician in the industry—on par with musicians like Taylor Swift (who country music just can’t quit despite her move to pop), Carrie Underwood, and Miranda Lambert. Even though she is a recognized entity, she is kind of the black sheep of the industry. (We’ll see her address this outsiderness in her sophomore album.)

In addition to the music video, which includes Musgraves in a cowgirl get-up, twirling around carefree as you like, I wanted to include my favorite live performance of “Follow Your Arrow.” One that just happens to take place at the Grand Ole Opry.

(Follow Your Arrow Live at the Grand Ole Opry)

The Grand Ole Opry is a venue in one of the most important country music cities in the United States, Nashville. In 1925, The Opry hosted a weekly radio show that featured the most famous acts in country music, including The Carter Family, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, The Dixie Chicks—anyone who is anyone in country music has performed here at one point or another.

Most importantly, The Opry stands as a living monument to country music. It is no accident that “Follow Your Arrow” was performed here, with hundreds of people in the audience and millions of listeners worldwide.Choosing a progressive song in a traditional setting was a bold move, significant because it conveyed to audiences everywhere that Kacey Musgraves is an artist that will continue to be outspoken—pushing boundaries and questioning the establishment that governs her “playability” as an artist.

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