From Scratch

I’m still incredulous.
I saw this about a week ago and have been shaking my head ever since. A 6-quart KitchenAid stand mixer for $899. What’s special about it? The finish. You have your choice of a copper or nickel alloy.
To me, this is not a tool for a serious baker. It’s a prop to be […]

Now that tomatoes have been greenlighted by the Food and Drug Administration in the recent salmonella outbreak — after 1,251 people got sick and two died — federal health officials today announced finding a jalapeno pepper with the same strain. Takeaway: we should not eat fresh jalapenos but processed or pickled peppers are safe.
NBC’s crackerjack […]

The scope of the salmonella outbreak blamed on tomatoes has increased, with more than 800 confirmed cases in 36 states and the District of Columbia, while federal health officials now say tomatoes might not be the source, but they remain the primary suspect.
The Associated Press reports officials are looking into whether another ingredient, which they […]

I love trying new products and while I never hesitate to have a laugh over those I think are overpriced, useless or in the realm of more money than common sense, I’m also happy to share products that do what they promise and give me my money’s worth. That’s what we have today.
First up is […]

Federal health officials say the number of confirmed cases of tomato-related salmonella now stands at 383, and Dr. Robert Tauxe of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says, “We do not think the outbreak is over.”
Two states, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, have reported their first cases. The outbreak has now sickened people in 30 states […]

Cereal giant Kellogg has instituted de facto price hikes for five popular cereals by making the boxes smaller without changing their prices. The new boxes began shipping this month.
A spokeswoman says the boxes were reduced by an average of 2.4 ounces for 14 items sold under the Apple Jacks, Cocoa Krispies, Corn Pops, Froot Loops […]

I’m normal! At the very least, I’m not alone. Certain things in recipes make me put them down or turn the page, never to make them. They’re my recipe deal breakers and I hope you’ll share yours.
A week and a half ago Kim Severson wrote about this in The New York Times, a fun piece […]

The US Food and Drug Administration has expanded its warnings to consumers nationwide about the purchase and handling of tomatoes in the wake of a salmonella outbreak that has now sickened 145 people. The source of the outbreak is still undetermined. The FDA says the following are the only types of tomatoes consumers should buy […]

The federal Centers for Disease Control says an outbreak of salmonella, reported yesterday, has spread from Texas and New Mexico to 14 other states and authorities are trying to pin down the source of the raw tomatoes believed to be the cause. Texas now reports 56 cases of salmonella food poisoning and New Mexico 55. 
The […]

We have a long holiday weekend coming up in the US for Memorial Day and it’s the unofficial start of grilling season with millions of cookouts planned. But they’re going to cost more this year. My country, like many others, is enduring higher food prices and the government says it’s going to get worse.
Last year food […]

It’s not enough that millions of American freezers are stocked with tubs of that chemical cocktail called Cool Whip. Now, Kraft is about to introduce a less taxing variety at next week’s Food Marketing Institute show in Las Vegas.
As Emily Bryson York wrote in Ad Age, Kraft is only responding to its consumers:
Consumers didn’t want […]

I’ve been writing a couple pieces about supermarkets and the tricks of the their trade, which I’ve written about often over the years. But this is different, a concept Jacques Pépin calls cuisine d’oppportunité. He employs it and so do I, enjoying significant savings and little waste.
Only two things are required: the willingness to try something new with […]

This is just as ludicrous as the hotdogs sold already in the buns.

Yes, indeedy, just in case you don’t have any bowls in your kitchen — just in case you don’t know we’re probably in a recession — you can have this 10″ melamine gem by visiting your nearest Linens N Things or going to […]

Photo removed because an ill-bred, cheap boor chose to hotlink and use my bandwidth. Internet no-no #1. Cheap isn’t even an issue! This pig is with blogspot, which is free, and so is his bandwidth and storage space.
You couldn’t pay me to eat a hot dog but if I ate them, there’s no way I’d pay […]

You might have a kitchen cabinet like one of mine: under-counter, storing heavy things such as cast iron cookware, bulky things such as a lobster pot, and small things that don’t get used very often. My hand mixer fell into that latter category and it was tucked in the back, requiring me to move at […]