USDA refuses to ban meat from downer cows that collapse after initial inspection

Is this a success for the meat industry?

Current rules ban meat from "downer" cows, which are too weak or injured or ill to stand on their own when they arrive at the plant. In the recent Hallmark case, cows were apparently on their feet when they arrived at the plant, but collapsed before slaughter. They were supposed to be reinspected by a veterinarian, who would determine if they could be slaughtered, but this was apparently not done. Such cows may carry a heightened risk of "mad cow disease," and even if they are free from that affliction, their bodies may now be contaminated with other pathogens.

Public interest groups recommend that such cows simply be banned from the human food supply. USDA sided with the meat industry's lobbyists, who opposed this recommended ban.

Why would the meat industry even want a headline that says, "USDA Rejects 'Downer' Cow Ban"? Surely, only a small fraction of cows are healthy enough to walk through the plant gates but later collapse. In the midst of a crisis of public confidence in USDA oversight of the meat supply, this headline will confirm to most readers that USDA lacks the power and willpower to protect us and our schoolchildren. The headline strikes the same odd chord that readers will recall from earlier articles about USDA's action to prevent Creekstone Beef from voluntarily testing its own meat for the pathogen that causes "mad cow disease."

The meat industry's lobbyists and USDA officials do not serve the industry's hard-working cattle producers and meat processors well with this decision. Befuddled, I can only imagine there are perverse incentives for the lobbyists to take extreme positions that heighten their reputation as street fighters, even in situations where statesmen capable of crafting policy compromises and winning back consumer confidence would serve the industry's own interests better.

Trinxat - A Catalan Tale for Kids, El Patufet

Era una vegada... This is how catalan tales usually start, it's our "once upon a time". And this tale called El Patufet (The tinny boy) has something to do with my dish today : Trinxat de col i patata.

Once upon a time there was this little tinny boy, so small so small that nobody could see him at first. One day after begging his mom for weeks, he had permission to go to the field, where his dad worked the land, and take him his lunch. During the way Patufet sang a song so that nobody would step on him and the people run away frightened to see a basket full of food signing and rolling down the streets!

If you want to have a good laugh then have the Special dressing -The song went like this:
patufet1.mp3 Only for adults with a kids' heart!

On his way to dad's field, it started to rain so heavily that he had to look for shelter under a cabbage. The poor boy was so tired that he fell asleep and a big cow that was eating nearby saw the cabbage and swallowed it with Patufet and the basket food included!!!

At night, when his parents couldn't find him anywhere started to shout in the fields his name: Patufeeeeet, where are you? And he would answer from the cows' belly: I'm in the cows' belly, where it doesn't rain nor snow!!!! When they heart his voice they started to feed the cow and the belly grew bigger and bigger until the cow fartted so loud that Patufet came out as a bullet from the cows stomach.

And this is a happy ending for a cute kids' story... about a small tinny boy, a cow and a cabbage!


Ingredients for 4 servings: 1 medium winter cabbage, 1 1/4 kilos of potatoes, 8 slices of cured bacon, 3 garlic cloves, olive oil and salt.

* Clean the cabbage and boil the leaves in salty water. When they are half boiled add the potatoes cut in big dices. Let it cook until potatoes are done. Strain and reserve.

* In a big saucepan pour some olive oil and when hot add the bacon slices and fry until crunchy. Reserve over some kitchen paper so that the oil stays there.

* In the same saucepan with the same oil add the garlics cut in slices. When golden add the cabbage and potatoe. Stir and fry at medium heat and with the wooden spoon break the potatoes and cabbage. Taste and add some more salt if necessary. Stir and make sure they get all oil and flavours and turn off the heat.

* Make whatever shape you like with the veggies and present on a plate with the bacon flags on top. Once the shape is done, and before putting the bacon on top, you can also golden it a bit with some hot olive oil in another pan so that it gets a bit crusty.

Clams' Rice - Event

Today the special dressing for this Clams' Rice will be really special!!! Elly from Elly says Opa! has had this beautiful idea for an original Event... combine a dish with music!!! EAT TO THE BEAT! He, he, he, this is the house specialty! :D

Eventhough, it's hard to believe... there is a connection between this Clams' Rice and "Siete novias para siete hermanos" that in english would be "Seven brides for seven brothers". As I told in a previous post, when I was a kid, my mom used to follow the same pattern for lunches and dinners, and weekends were not different: we usually had Paella! We all loved paella and I could have two plates easily!!! I was lucky to have an incredible metabolism that would burn every single grain of rice.

Sundays were special because my mom wouldn't rush into our bedroom in the morning shouting: get up, it's late! Time to go to school!!! Instead, my father would put some Long plays in our old player and we would awake with the sound of Beatles songs, Jimmy Fontana latest hit, Julie Andrews signing the Sound of music, or some Henry Mancinni themes... He had a variated musical taste ;-). One of my favourites was the barn's sequence of Seven brides for seven brothers, not only the music but also seeing those young dancers and that energic dance in the new barn with the girls' coloured dresses and the boys' old fashioned bright shirts... I always wished I was one of the girls!!!

And after a good Paella and a full belly it was time for a movie session with the family. I remember seeing this movie for the first time when I was.... young... I LOVED IT ♥ And I've seen it a million times after that day and I'm not tired of it!

Here you have the Barn Scene for those of you who are nostalgic, who enjoy old movies, who wanted to be a dancer when were young, blablabla.



If you want the recipe for Paella follow the link. This Clams' Rice is not a Paella but it has some things in common and it's easier. Hope you enjoy both♥

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•Ingredients for 4 servings: ½ kilo of big clams, 1 green pepper, 5 garlic cloves, 3 artichokes, 1 glass and a half of bomba rice or bahia, 4 and a half glasses of fish stock, salt, parsley and olive oil.
•For the fish stock: Fish bones you have in the fridge, hake or monkfish heads, some crab legs (if you have), 1 onion, 1 leek, 3 garlic cloves, 1 onion and some salt.
•For the final dressing: smash in a morter 1 garlic clove, 4 springs of fresh parsley, 3 saffron strings and salt.

•First of all, get a pot with 2 litters of water and when it boils add some salt and all the ingredients of the stock. When it boils again, take the white foam away and keep it boiling for 15 to 20 minutes. Reserve.

•Meanwhile, have some olive oil in a big saucepan, when hot, add the artichoke in pieces, when golden add the garlic cloves, when their smell gets to your nose, add the green pepper finely minced and stir until done. Add some salt.

•The clams should be clean and washed in different watters before you add them to the pan. If you have them in water and salt, they will leave the sand they have inside. Have the heat low to medium and throw the clams in.
•Cover them for 3 minutes aprox and when they open

•Take them away. Reserve in a plate. Stir the veggies and add the rice. Have the heat medium/high and stir the rice so that it gets all juices.
•Watch that it doesn’t stick to the pan.

•Add the glasses of boiling fish stock and stir. Taste and add some salt if needed. Stir a bit and let cook at high/medium heat for 15 minutes.
•If you see it gets dry before that time, add some more stock (just a bit) and low down the heat.

•Meanwhile prepare a dressing with 4 springs of fresh parsley, 3 saffron strings, 1 garlic clove and salt.

•Add the clams to the rice and the final dressing. If the morter dressing is too thick use a bit of fish stock to get it into the pan and cook for 5 more minutes. Turn off the heat and cover for another 5 minutes.
•Here you have one delicious meal for a Sunday family celebration!

•Notice that depending on rice type you will need different measures of stock!

Home-made maple syrup

Here is some very local food, as local as the tree 10 yards from the second floor home office where I'm typing.

For fun, my wife and kids ordered equipment online and tapped the maple tree in our back yard this week. We think it might be a Norway maple, which isn't quite as good as a sugar maple, but still good enough. We boiled about five gallons of sap on our kitchen stove, to get about one cup of syrup, about half of which was heavy with sediment.

If we decide to do it better, we'd need a more precise candy thermometer and some straining cloth. Going further, my irrepressible partner asked the town if we could tap some sugar maples on public land nearby (no) and set up an open fire in our backyard (no).

Still, it's fun to participate in this ancient seasonal ritual. And the little I got sure was tasty over home-made ice cream.

For bedtime reading, the kids and I are enjoying The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth G. Speare. This excellent children's novel describes the cross-cultural friendship between two boys on the 18th century Maine frontier. My kids recognize many things in the story from their own experience: hiking, tracking, trying to identify edible plants, chewing spruce gum (which they didn't like), losing fishing hooks, and now making maple syrup. Next, we'll have to have them kill a bear on their own.

In The Mood For a Quickie!

Special dressing: Alanah Myles (she'll surely turn the heat of your kitchen on !)

Im in the mood for.... a "Quickie"... because there's only one hour left for lunch time and I don't know what to... cook... aaawwwwwhhhhhh!!!!! What were you thinking of? :D

Surely it has happened to you many times... you are so concentrated blogging (for example) that when you take a look back to your watch is sooooooo late and you don't have the time to go out and buy whatever you needed, you just have to "make it" with imagination and creativity... basic ingredients for a good quickie ;-)

Luckily, I had 4 pork cheeks, garlics (6 cloves), 2 thyme dried springs, olive oil (that's something I always have), salt and black ground pepper.

Turn the player on and by the time "Black Velvet" is finished, you have your dish inside the oven.


First of all turn on the oven heat at 200ºC. Take the 4 cheeks and wash them under tap water, dry and cut the greaseast parts away. Get an oven tray and drop some olive oil (1 spoontable for each cheek), salt and pepper the cheeks and place on the tray. Smash the garlics with the peel on and throw into the tray, add the thyme springs and drop some more olive oil on top.

1 Hour in a middle rack at 200ºC and the result is a miracle... your lunch is ready!. So easy, so tasty, so simple, so quick!!! The meat will be a bit crunchy ouside and so tender inside... lovely :D

While the cheeks are in the oven you can do some roasted potatoes or some rice or steamed veggies... or any other thing you are in the mood for... you've got one hour ;-) ... Just get inspired by the music and let yourself gooooooooo.... he, he, he, blame it on spring time!!!

A community of food policy scholars

Two national scholarly associations that cover U.S. food policy issues have greatly stepped up their level of collaboration and coordination.

The American Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA) and the American Council on Consumer Interests (ACCI) have merged their main annual meeting this year, in Orlando, July 27-29, 2008. They are exploring possible options for confederation in the longer run.

The AAEA has a subgroup or "section" for members with particular interests in Food Safety and Nutrition. If you have any suggestions for the best scholarly article published on food safety and nutrition topics, please send your nomination to be considered for the section's annual journal article award (.pdf). The section is jointly sponsoring with ACCI a couple promising conference sessions at the Orlando meeting. With colleagues at ACCI, I helped organize the one entitled "Hard Hitting and Well Informed: A Conversation Between Food Safety Policy Advocates and Researchers." It will bring together leading national policy advocates from Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America for a conversation with researchers on some of the same topics.

At the same conference, the ACCI's prestigious Colston Warne Lecture will be given by Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). The AAEA's keynote lecture has been combined with ACCI's prominent Esther Peterson Consumer Policy Forum, which will be given by UC San Diego economist James Hamilton, who offers insight into the interaction between petroleum markets and food markets.

It's All About the "E"

my friEnd bEn from what's cooking, thE bEst mExican food blog in thE blogosphErE has sEnt mE this award!!! bEn is such "buEna gEntE" as wE say hErE, it mEans hE is such a good pErson... I kEEp on finding good pEoplE among all of you foodiEs!!! :D. I'm rEally happy and proud to bE part of this bEautiful comunitty!!!

if you havEn't visitEd bEn's blog yEt, plEase do and you will gEt rEal mExican dishEs and nicE and kind words always!!! Thanks so much amigo bEn!

spEcial drEEsing: quEEn (turn playEr on)

i think wE all dEsErvE this award, at lEast all foodiE bloggErs i'vE mEt up to day! wE all put so much Effort in our blogs' dEsign, dishEs, picturEs, posts, words, commEnts... i won't chEck this timE who has thE award and who hasn't, i'vE just sEEn somE of you who uploadEd it last wEEk, but i want to givE it to all of the following, no mattEr you havE it alrEady or not. this is my rEcognition to your ExcEllEnt blog :D

jEnn from lEftovErquEEn - shE obviously has the "E"
pEtEr from kalofagas - hE's got it too!!!
ivy from kopiastE, to grEEk hospitality - morE "Es" for hEr
lEy from cilantro and limE - also thE "E" shows
hEathEr from Gild the Voodoolily - shE's got it too!
lauriE from mEditErranEan cooking in alaska - frEEzing "Es"
bEllini valli from morE than a burnt toast - canadian swEEt "Es"
pEtEr from souvlaki for thE soul - gEt thE "E" upsidE down and thErE you havE it!
EmilinE from sugar plum - sEE thE swEEtEst "Es"
mallory EllisE from thE salty cod - with a frEnch touch
katiE from thymE for cooking - shE has a good bunch
amy from wE arE nEvEr full - lots of "Es" thErE!!!
bEn from what's cooking - back to you quErido!
pixiE from you say tomatoE i say tomatoE - thrEE in a row!!
bEE and Jai from jugalbandi - ExcEllEnt picturEs
mEEta from what's for lunch honEy - thE bEauty and no bEast ;-)

and a gEnEral E to all foodiEs for thE good work!!! kEEp it up :D

Meme game - Food for Gossip

This time, Pixie from A Swee Tart has tagged me with another meme game. Today I'm not in a very good mood and maybe I shouldn't write the meme... or maybe I should and it would help me to see things brighter again.

You know, this month of February has 2 sides: the virtual one, that's where you take part, this couldn't be better! I'm having such a great time cooking and blogging, I'm having so much fun with your posts and comments... it's really becoming addictive... is it the same with you? First thing I do in the morning, after having my breakfast, is rush downstairs, turn my computer on and check the comments I have. Then I look for new posts or start a new one myself! It's amazing... I love it.

Also knowing about your life and your hidden little secrets and your recipes makes me feel so close to you... You are part of my life now!!! :D

And the other side is the real life one, this begining of the year has been the worst!!!

* My husband got really sick, now he has recovered.

* He got his money stolen, credit cards, house and car keys and a bunch of other things. The insurance company took care of that, but they didn't pay for all the headaches.

* My daughter has been sick for three times already. She is fine now (keep fingers crossed)

* Boleta, as you know, is under treatment, she seems to be ok for the moment.

* I got my coxis bone broken in my last horse ride's day I was learning how to gallop and obviously I didn't have the right position. Nothing to worry about, just do some rest and it will weld again.

* Today I had to go to the doctor because my face looks like Mars: all red and with a rash. Doctor said this looked like an allergy. I never had an allergy before!!!!! Well, it seems there's always a first time for everything ;-)

* The doctor made me feel as if I was 5, saying: open your mouth, say aaaaaaaaa, and drop down your trousers, lay down on that stretcher and relax.... RELAX! He injected me 2 antiallergic doses!!!!!!!!! Plus he gave me a topic cream... ok, done with that.

* Also this year, I've been breaking: 2 plates, 1 big bowl, 1 little glass plate, 1 cup, 3 glasses.... what's wrong with me?????? Am I a Sim and somebody outside my world is manipulating me?

Ok, that's it, I knew you would listen to me, as you always do, I'm through with my therapy session.... Thanks!!!

Meme Game. Here are the rules:
Select five people to tag. Send them an e-mail or let them know by commenting on their blog that they have been tagged. They are then encouraged to select 5 different bloggers and to tag them.

Time to play now:

What were you doing 10 years ago?

I was a brand new mom. My baby took all my day and night energy... she was soooooo sweet and cute and... didn't have personal opinions yet ;-)

What were you doing 1 year ago?

Same things I do now except for the blogging and taking pictures at our meals. Maybe I did some more ironing that now... because I don't remember having such a big pile as I do now!!!

Five snacks you enjoy

Patatas fritas (potatoe chips)
Salty peanuts
Olives (all kind)
Tinned cockles
Iberian acorn ham (of course!!!)


5 Things you would do if you were a millionaire

*First I would buy my parents a house by the sea with a garden for my mom and a vegetable garden for my dad. The house would be near a Spa and they would get free treatment always. Plus a good bunch of money so they could buy what they wanted!!! I would give a succulent check to the rest of my family and some friends.

* I liked Ivy's idea, so I would also invite all my foodie bloggers friends for a trip to Spain (all included) one month stay, at the best hotels and restaurants. Snap your fingers and the waiter, the hostess, the somelier, the massage therapist... will be there! First class!!!

* I would design a house, with the help of the professionals, of course, for me and my family, also by the sea and near a forest, if that is still possible in Spain. It would be such a beautiful house!!!

* I would buy a boat for my husband, a small one, but big enough for the three of us. And I would buy a horse for my dauther.

* I would invest money in the people who really needs it, no ONGs, no goverments, just the real people. The older I get the more distrustful I become.

5 bad habbits

I don't like talking about these ones either, but, here they go:

* Sometimes I snore at night... this is what my husband says, but he has got no proves, I think he says that because once I recorded him at night while he was snoring ;-)

* I can't throw things away. I always think that some day may be helpful to have that particular thing. Thank god my garage is big and I have all kind of items there: all of my daughter's little clothes, all my school books (and I mean all), toys, clothes, shoes, old ironing machines, a big and old swewing machine, old furniture...

* I'm scared of flying, so I invented a stupid rule to relax myself: when I'm on a plane I have to follow the safetty instructions (look at the hostess and the paper in front of the seat) If I don't loose a word, the plane will be ok... ;-) It's demonstrated that works... he, he, he I'm still here!

* I love changing my dining room's furniture's place. When seasons are about to change... I get this strange desire for changing my sofa and table and other furnitures from one place to another. For me, this is not a bad habbit, but my husband can not stand it!!!! I always tell him that this is cheaper than buying new ones :D

* I don't wear an apron while I cook!!! This is a bomb here, I know! Don't ask me why, but I still haven't get used to that... and I get soooooooo angry with myself when the oil or whatever I'm cooking splashes on my clothes!

5 things you like doing


* I like cooking, he, he, he. Ok this one doesn't count :D I like signing, a lot.

* I like going on a horse ride in the fields, and if possible during springtime.

* I like reading a good book, with a good glass of wine and in good company.

* I like doing my dishes!!! Noooooooooo, just kidding! :D I like being inside my bed warm and feeling protected while outside is storming and raining cats and dogs.

* I like to walk through the forest always, but after a rainy day... that's heaven.

5 things I would never wear again


* A short skirt.

* High heels.

* Short hair

* My old fashined sunglasses. I got a brand new ones.

* The sweater it's been on my wardrobe for 10 years and haven't had it on for 10 years.

5 favourite toys

* My computer

* My camera

* The book I'm reading

* My drill

* My terrace plants


And now I've chosen you to continue with the meme... it's up to you to follow it or not!


♥ Ley from Cilantro and Lime (I know you like these ones)
♥ Heather from Gild the Voodoolily (I'm not that sure you will like this one????)
♥ Amy from We are never full (Hope you go on with the game, would love to know more about you)
♥ Laurie from Mediterranean cooking in Alaska (pleaseeeee say yes and tell us about your frozen little secrets, je, je)
♥ Bee and Jai from Jugalbandi (will you play along? would love to know more about you).

THE END

Artichoke's Doughnuts - Event

Light as FLOUR

Healthy as an ARTICHOKE

Tasty as SALT

Shinny as an EGG

Rich as MILK

Special dressing: Righteous Brothers. Awwwwww I love this song so much!!!!♥♥♥

Mix these ingredients and you will get fantastic Artichocke's Doughnuts. This is my entry for Jugalbandi's Click Event. I deeply admire their posts' pictures and the design of the blog. Plus, Bee and Jai are great people, please take a look at Click Event, picture entries are beautiful!!!

This month the main character is FLOUR.

The picture I chose to present this doughnuts is the first one showing... that's my daughter blowing some flour in our terrace... you should have seen us after the experiment... two laughing ghosts!!! :D

*Ingredients for 4 servings: 6 -8 artichokes, 140 grs of flour, 1 baking powder teaspoon, 1 salt teaspoon, 1 whipped egg, 150 ml of milk, olive oil and parsley.

•Prepare the dough, have the flour first into a bowl, the baking powder and the salt. Mix it all well. Add the whipped egg and the milk. Stir until you get the texture you see in the picture. Clean your artichokes.

•Rub a lemon on them to avoid they become black. Place in the bowl.

•Heat some olive oil (3 cms aprox). It shouldn’t be too hot cause they would get burned and not too low. Aprox. 180-190ºC.
•Throw the artichokes doughnuts into the olive oil and let brown. When done, place over kitchen paper so they leave all oil there.

•Sprinkle with some minced parsley on top. Eat warm.
•I bet you can not eat only one!!!!!

I JUST NOTICED SOMETHING!!! SORRY!!! There's two steps missing in the recipe... I hate when these things happen!!! First: the artichockes should be previously boiled in salty water for 30 minutes, drained, dried and just then fried. Second: Once we have all ingredients in the bowl to make the dough, let if rest for 1 hour. I hope I didn't give you time to cook them :D yet!

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Borrowed eloquence

Until recently, I admired a contemporary politician for his eloquence. Now, in a news story that may have been encouraged by his political opponents, I am told that some of his greatest phrases were stolen.

It reminds me of another speech maker. During a speech in Memphis on April 3, in a year not too far past, the earlier speaker borrowed without attribution from Exodus and the nineteenth century poet Julia W. Howe.

In the closing words of that speech, he reflected hopefully on the progress we have made as a nation toward healing our most frightful divisions. Somewhat morbidly, he also spoke as if he expected soon to die.

I was moved by this wedding of hope and sober mortality.

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!

And so I'm happy, tonight.

I'm not worried about anything.

I'm not fearing any man!

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!

We no longer tolerate borrowing and reinterpreting the words of others. We now expect all eloquence to spring forth each morning anew and without history. This unrealistic expectation is unwise.

Martin Luther King was assassinated the next day, in Memphis, on April 4, 1968.

[Update: edited slightly Feb. 20 to remove sarcasm].

Meatballs with Squid

Special dressing: Fito y Fitipaldis (turn player on)

This is one of my favourite dishes... I love to mix meat and fish and if you have never tried it, give it a chance, take this one as an example! The flavours mix so well you will be surprised :D.

We had this for our lunch on Saturday, and since I like not to rush on weekends, by the time I got to my fishmonger it was 12:30 and she had no cuttlefish left. I'm telling you this because the original catalan recipe is done with... cuttlefish, yes! But since I was craving for it I took this fresh beach squid instead. The result it was as good as with the cuttlefish. Don't forget to have some crunchy bread for the sauce!!!

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Just want to see if this works! If you like it better I will keep it.

How to make meatballs.

In the crystal ball: a future headline about the meat recall

Jack from Fork & Bottle, a regular correspondent here, is not impressed with the recent meat recall. He points out a link at the daily green, reporting that Consumers Union has had difficulty finding out from USDA where the recalled meat was sold.

Jack writes:

So, how is that not a symbolic recall? And again, what is actually being recalled from 4-24 months ago? Out-of-your-stomach?

If consumers are unlikely to ever learn if meat they purchased (or ate a restaurant) is part of this recall, how can you even call it a recall?

So,

1) It can't be 147 million pounds or anything like it, as more than 4/5 of it has been consumed already (if not more).

2) For any other product recall, consumers are told what products they were (and if not obvious, where they were sold). So, doesn't this fall more into the category of a Fantasy Warning?

3) Is it ridiculous of me to await corrections, like, "Huge Beef Recall is Secretive and Much Smaller than USDA stated."? And how consumers are continuing to eat this meat, despite the "recall"?

My Kitchen's Window's View

Lynda from Lulu's Bay had the wonderful idea of showing the view she has from her kitchen's window in Cairo. She encourages us to do the same... and here is mine! Hey Lynda, why don't you make this event seasonal?

I must say I don't live in Barcelona city, I was born there and lived in the city for 33 years, but when our daughter showed in our lifes, we needed a larger space than the one we had in the flat we rented and so we started looking for a house outside the city. Prices were astonishing there and for the price we got a small and old appartment in town we could buy a house in a village nearby (17 Kms. away).

I didn't have a window in my old kitchen. There were 2 doors, one was the entrance and the other lead you into a dark, dusted downfloor space.... that was scary!

Now, I have this beautiful park in front!!! Tones of light get into my kitchen... when it's not cloudy, he, he.


This Sunday afternoon I went for a walk with Boleta and took some pictures so that I could show you how near Spring is.


Almond trees have bloomed already and fields look this green! These are like 300 mts. from my house. I love living in the country now!!!

For those of you interested in how Boleta is doing: I'm still trying to avoid surgery, so I found another vet for her, and she has a more conservative way of treating Boleta. She has prescribed a different antibiotic and also is giving her injections to get the amniotic sac water outside her body... I just hope this works! I've been taking her a bit far away from my house to follow the treatment and this is why I'm being late visiting your blogs, hopefully today I'll be there :D

Here you have some "nice to meet you" lickings from her!

Largest meat recall in history

USDA ordered the largest meat recall in history, after further investigation showed that the Hallmark meatpacking company sold meat from "downer" cattle that were too sick to stand, according to reports yesterday in the Washington Post and elsewhere. All of the meatpacker's products for the past two years, 143 million pounds of meat, were recalled. Most of it has already been eaten, including by school children served the beef as part of the National School Lunch Program.

U.S. Food Policy earlier discussed the Humane Society video, which first exposed the practice. A later post linked to the response from Hallmark officials, who seemed surprised at the public scrutiny of their record.

The meat was recalled because Hallmark failed to have all downer cattle evaluated by a veterinarian. This evaluation is important because of concern that the cattle might have bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or "mad cow disease."

Mad Cow Disease is a particularly distressing dilemma in food safety policy, because it combines a very low incidence with a devastating potential health outcome (in some cases in the earlier outbreak in the United Kingdom, death, perhaps years after exposure). I imagine that, if they could be compelled to release their own honest guess, most meat industry experts and government officials would put the probability of a BSE outbreak in the United States above zero but less than 5 percent. Honestly, my own guess for this probability is only a little higher. The place where reasonable people differ greatly is whether stronger safety measures should be taken in this deeply uncertain setting.

If the risk of an outbreak is fairly small, and the consequences devastating, why do industry organizations resist broader testing for BSE? Currently, only a sample of cattle is tested. It seems implausible that the cost of the tests themselves is really the hurdle, though that is what some claim. Perhaps, industry officials suspect that there really are a handful of living BSE prion carriers in the U.S. cattle population, and the cattlemen don't look forward to the news reports when they are uncovered by testing. Perhaps they prefer to hope that current practices suffice to let the exposed cattle die off.

You may be surprised that USDA reacted with a record-sized recall, given that officials do not really believe the meat is very dangerous. The Department was caught in a jam created by its own past positions on BSE. USDA says that universal testing of cattle for BSE is economically infeasible and unnecessary, because current practices such as the veterinarian inspection provide assurance that BSE-infected cattle cannot reach the human food supply.

USDA officials knew that, if they failed to handle the Hallmark recall by the book, the public would question their commitment to all of the handling practices required for BSE prevention. It was that bigger threat to public confidence in the national meat supply overall that forced the hands of the USDA officials this week.

Obesity Society's president protests menu labeling

Last month's second attempt by the New York City Board of Health to require menu labeling in chain restaurants with 15 or more locations is the subject of a suit by the New York Restaurant Association.

Okay- not surprising, you say. Of course a restaurant association would oppose the new rules--they stand to lose business if customers are actually aware of the number of calories in many of their popular menu items.

Except that the author of an affidavit in support of the restaurants' suit was filed by Dr. David B. Allison, the new president of the Obesity Society, an organization concerned with addressing obesity. The argument made by Dr. Allison is that customers may not actually reduce their calorie intake because of the information obtained via menu labeling. In fact, Allison says that they may actually increase their calorie intake with this knowledge--"by adding to the forbidden-fruit allure of high-calorie foods or by sending patrons away hungry enough that they will later gorge themselves even more," according to the NYTimes.

So if the concern is that the required menu labeling will not actually decrease business at the restaurants covered by the rules, why is the Restaurant Association suing to block the requirement? And why did they pay Dr. Allison to write the affidavit.

Obesity Society members have reacted in opposition to Allison's statement, releasing one of their own. According to the NYTimes, Allison's other industry ties have included advisory roles at Kraft, Coca-Cola and Frito-Lay.

Pinchos Morunos - Joust Event

Special dressing: Millie Jackson (one of the hotest women on scene... no need for spices)

These are called Pinchos Morunos, maybe you call them Kebabs? This is my first time doing the recipe... but, really, is so easy that anyone can do it... even me! :D

I'm offering it to Peter, Mr. Kalofagas, The Greek omnipresent foodieman. I'm sure you all know him. He is now getting a foodie affection for all countries surrounding mediterranean sea, not only Greece, but also the ones that belong to Africa. This is an Arab recipe, and nearby my house there is a small morocco's shop which sells all spices needed for Pinchos.

So, Chico, this one is for you, hope you enjoy it!!! Thanks for being there!

Also, this is my entry for The Leftover Queen's month's Joust! Where Jenn DiPiazza wears her crown and rules her blog beautifully!!! If you still haven't heard of her or the Joust please follow the link, it's worth, you'll have fun and find good foodiefriends there. Hip, hip, hurray for the Queen!!!!

This month's ingredients were: Pork, a citrus and pink or white pepper. Perfect for Pinchos! However, the original recipe is done with Lamb, you know that musulman arabs cannot eat pork. So it's up to you, choose the meat you like the best.

Ingredients for 4-6 servings: 900 grs. of pork loin cut in dices (2-3 cmts. each), 6 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 fresh lemon juices and part of their grated peels, 4 smashed garlic cloves, 4 tablespoons of fresh minced parsley, 2 tablespoons of spices mixture called Ras-el-Hanout, some salt and some white ground pepper.

Ras-el-Hanout: galanga, roses buds, black pepper, ginger, cardamom, niguela, chile, Jamaican pepper, lavender, cassia, coriander, nutmeg and clove.

The night before get a plain dish ready (no metal) and place the pork cut in dices. In a separate bowl mix the olive oil, the lemons, the garlics, the parsley and the spices mixture. Sprinkle with salt and white ground pepper. Drop on top of the pork meat, mix it and place in the fridge with a cover.


Next day, take out of the fridge one hour before so that it gets the room temperature. Mix it again.

To cook the meat you can either use metal or wooden large sticks. If you use wooden, have them in water half an hour before so that they don't burn when you cook the Pinchos. If you use metal, just grease them before you insert the meat.

Preheat the oven's grill and after 15 minutes place the pinchos in the oven in one of the upper positions. Grill for 10 to 15 minutes and keep them turning and dropping the rest of the sauce on top of them.

Eat them hot and decorate with some parsleyand white and pink peppers. Once done, you can add a bit of salt on top and some drops of olive oil. Buen provecho!!!

We have had these pinchos today for lunch and they were so tasty and hot... I'm not used to eat hot, so I though that we could have something to balance that strong flavour and we had a fresh green onion + avocado + tomatoe + olive oil and salt salad... I tell you, great combination!!! :D and also wanted to have a different dessert fresh and yummy that would get our tongues to their initial state. So, here you have Mango with Strawberries with a drop of Pacharán. Dare to try it, it's wonderful ♥♥♥


Just peel two mangos and mix with a food processor, add 3 tablespoons of Pacharán. On top place 6 to 8 pieces of strawberries. Put in the fridge and eat cold. Pacharán is a Basque- Navarre liquor made out of sloe berries among other things, lovely flavour. If you don't find it, just use a liquor you think it might go well with mango and strawberries... up to you :D

To prepare strawberries, please follow the recipe on the market post: 1/2 kilo strawberries, 2 -3 tablespoons of sugar, a spurt of good vinegar and some ground black pepper. Mix, place in the fridge and use after 4/5 hours.

Street Market and Season Veggies - Event

Special dressing: Fool's garden

Friday is my street market day. So today is a good day to post about markets and season veggies & fruits.I love to buy fresh products here because fresh, DOES MEAN FRESH! Here in Spain, probably due to the climate (see what a wonderful sunny ☼ day we have. Between 15 and 20ºC) people has an open and happy attitude towards life (not all of us, I'm just generally speaking), and the owners/farmers of the fruits&veggies stands sometimes sing outlout, or shout to the beautiful ladies some nice words, or just maintain a happy and very kind attitude with the customers.

This is my entry for Market to Market from A Scientist in the Kitchen. If you are curious about season products and market smells from all around the world, please take a look at his Blog! If you want to participate, please check the blog, posts are admitted until March 1st.

Meeta from What's for Lunch Honey is also hosting an event Eat Fresh with seasonal veggies and so. If you want to participate there's still time until 31st of March. I am using this post for both events since they have similar functions.


Valencia is a Spanish region famous world around for its citrics: oranges, tangerines and lemons. They have been exporting oranges for ages now! These are late season ones, but they are still good for juices and for preventing colds, full of C vitamin.


Lepe, an Andalucian village (Granada, Sevilla, Málaga also belong to Andalucía) bases its economy on the harvest of the large strawberry. Now you can find them anywhere, so rich in fiber, minerals and C and P vitamins. A nice way to eat them is: clean and wash, take the green little leaves, cut in pieces, put them in a bowl, add some good vinegar (a spurt), mix, add some sugar (3 tablespoons) and some fresh black ground pepper. Leave in the fridge and have after 4-5 hours.... delicious!


And the market backstage with lots of calçots waiting for a barbaque and romesco sauce!


I have always thought that eating good is soooooo important! This is one of the principles my mother has followed all her life, she is 73 and looks still so good!. I remember being a kid and having for lunch all kind of veggies and grilled meat/fish. Only few times we had stews or frieds or grease food. Dinners always consisted on a soup and again meat/fish/eggs. The better we eat the better we feel. I'm for a variated diet and always with fresh food, if I can afford it. But if you get used to buy season food, then it's usually the cheapest.


Today I bought artichokes... I love them, love them, love them! Just boiled with some salt and extra virgin olive oil on top are Yummy! They are good for your liver. Also bought some strawberries that I want to make with mango, a white couliflower and some tangerines. I'm crazy about legumes too and I've recently discovered how to cook them properly. So, for the moment, no more tinned ones. Here you see two different kind of beans: pinta on the right hand and fessolets on the left. Both need overnight water rest. Recipes on these will soon be posted. ☻

I'M STILL LOVING YOU!!!

Special dressing: The Scorpions (turn player on).

My husband and I have been together for 16 years now... wow, time flyes! We met in a mutual friend's barbaque Fiesta, on a Summer day with good wine, meat, charcoal and smoke. Up on a 10th flat floor's terrace, he conquered my brain from the very first second, and my heart fell after! Ever since, we've been together. We share our life, thoughts, feelings, hopes, good and bad moments, food... And I could not imagine life without him ♥

Here is a dish prepared with all my love and I didn't like the result oooohhhh! This things happens!!!: The foie heart broke, the mango didn't look like I wished and also the following things happened:

♥ It was the first time I did it.
♥ I was in a hurry.
♥ Didn't have the right kitchen tools.
♥ I didn't follow exactly the measures of the recipe.

However, since I quite like the picture and the recipe is from Iker Erauzkin (linked in the left side), a great cook and a great person, whom had the kindness to send me a couple of his recipes; here you have it:

Ingredients for 4 servings:500 grs. of Duck's liver, 20 cl. of Oporto wine, 20 cl. of Pedro Ximenez, 2 mangos, 5 grs. of sugar, some salt and some ground black pepper, 4 sandwich bread's slices, sea salt, some drops of balsamic caramel.

Leave the foie (duck's liver) outside the fridge for 1 hour. Clean it (take out the veins it could have) and place over a clean kitchen cloth and sprinkle the salt, pepper and sugar on it. Get the foie into the Thermomix with the oporto wine and the Pedro Ximenez Jerez and mix for 5 minutes at low speed. If the foie is too cold turn a bit the temperature so that it becomes a light mousse. If you don't have a thermomix (which is my case) mix it with a food processor. I had to use microwave to heat it for a second in order to get the texture.

Place the foie mousse in a kitchen tin and reserve in the fridge. I took it out of the fridge too early and this is why it broke and the texture doesn't look fine. I'll check the ones I keep in the fridge and see if the longer they stay the better they show.

Use a round metal tin to shape the bread and place the circumferences in the oven, which you have previously heated to 180 ºC. Toast it and reserve.

Cut a circumference of the mango too. I cuted in small pieces and assembled inside the metal tin, but in view of the result, try the first option better. Place the mango on top of the toasted bread and the foie that you reserved in the fridge over the mango, sprinkle the sea salt and use the balsamic caramel drops to decorate the plate.

The taste and mixture of flavours was amazing!!! Foie and Mango are explosive!!!! Thank you Iker for the recipe... I hope that the next time I do a better job.

♥ ENJOY YOUR VALENTINE'S DAY♥

Nice Matters Award

Bella Enchanted is Genevieve's blog and this is the first time I hear of her blog. It's not exactly that I heard of her... I looked for the person who designed the Nice Matters Award because... (and here imagine myself jumping and clapping and smiling like a kid) I've been nominated!!!! My very first Award!!!! I'm sooooo happy about it... and you might think I've gone nuts, but maybe is just that when I get good news my serotonin and endorfin hormones levels overfloow my brain and leave me in an ecstasy state!

Ha, ha, ha, Ok, now I get serious about it. I've received the Award from Sweetheart Bellini Valli, who's always been there, since the very begining with her comfort food and comfort words. Her love for Greece and also her love for Canada show in every post. Also the love for her daughter is always there and gives her blog this very sweet taste. Thanks Val!!!

I've also been nominated by BigHearted Ivy!!! I've known her for a month or two now and she is also a Wonderful person, always there for you. With delicious recipes that will transport you to Greece and Cyprus. Her wide hystory knowledge will take you to ancient times where greeks still praid to antique gods. Thanks Ivy!!!

As Genevieve said in the very first post back to August 2007 of the Nice Matters Award : This award will be awarded to those that are just nice people , good blog friends and those that inspire good feelings and inspiration! Those that care about others that are there to lend support or those that are just a positive influence in our blogging world!

So, eventhough I know some of them have been nominated already, I want to show my gratitude to the following foodie bloggers:

Jenn DiPiazza is like my Godmother in foodieblogger matters. She has been so nice to me (she is nice with everybody), she has helped me, answered my questions and doubts, encouraged me through her wise words and posts... She is a Wonderful and Generous woman! Thanks Jenn for beeing always there, eventhough I know you must be soooooo busy, you always have 5 minutes to comment on my blog. I appreciate that so much!!!

If Jenn is like my godmother, then Peter is like my Godfather! Peter is also a Wonderful person that's helped me a lot! He has huge knowledge on Greek food and living in Canada didn't freeze his sweet-charming-hot mediterranean temper! Thank you Peter for your words and good advise. I feel so honored to be among the ones you care for!!!

Katie from Thyme for Cooking is one of my favourites too. I feel so connected to her (maybe because she spent some time in Andorra and has visited Spain and knows us Spaniards a bit). Her sense of humour is hilarious, I always have a good laugh when I visit her blog and she cares so much for bloog relations, always has a kind word or a funny comment. Her recipes are a senses delight! Thanks so much Katie, guapa!!!

Emiline the sweetest Sugarplum on blogosphere. She is so wise and yet so young, so skilled and so daring/darling! She always has a kind word and a sweet treat for everyone. I hope that life treats her well and see her dreams come true... go to N.Y. and get her studies finished on what she likes! You deserve it Emiline and I'm sure you will accomplish it. A big Bravo for you!!!

Heather, the heavyduty spicyfoodblogger, the sharpest mind in the blogosphere, she has this big heart under her strong f&&&&&& words. A hot tempered woman that will show you how to cook great dishes and have a good laugh too! Thanks for being there Heather and adding some hot spices to our "dishes"!!!

Please, all nominees should carry and pass the torch to others if you wish. It's always nice to receive an award like this because it means that people care for you! Thanks again Val and Ivy!

There's so many other foodiebloggers I would love to mention here, please don't think I'm not with you... it's only that I had to choose 5, but all foodies that show in my "Foodiebloggers I'd share a coffee with" section are considered good friends and you all have something special that makes me go back to your blogs so frequently!

Fabada Asturiana

Special dressing: Isaac Albeniz

My husband's grandparents were both from Asturias. Back to the days when they were young, life was very hard in Spain but even harder in small villages and in certain Spanish regions. Asturias was one of these regions: people would leave their home and look for better job opportunities and conditions in Madrid or Barcelona. His grandparents tried to come to Barcelona during the Civil War with 4 small kids, one of them my husband's father. The grandfather was taken away by the national faction before he could leave Asturias and the grandmother could escape to Barcelona with the kids. After some years in prison his husband could join them in Barcelona. Eventhough, they worked so hard here in the city to raise the four children, my husband's grandmother used to say: Peor sería tener que trabajar - "It would be worse if we had to work". Meaning that the country jobs she used to have back in Asturias were really hard ones compared with the city's.

From their original land they took along with them their pride, their culture and their gastronomy. This is why today I'm posting about Fabada Asturiana, a really easy and basic asturian recipe, with all my respect and admiration for those who had to abandon their houses and lands to look for a better life!

Ingredients for 4 servings: 1/2 kilo of fabes (I used normal white beans, because I ran out of the big ones=fabes), 1 asturian morcilla, 1 asturian chorizo, 1 piece of pork belly, 1 iberian ham bone, 1/2 glass of olive oil, 1 big onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 bay leaf, 1 tea spoon of red sweet paprika and salt.

The day before, place the beans in a recipient and cover them (double height) with cold water. Leave them this way all night through.

Rinse the beans and place in a casserole, cover with cold water and place on the heat, when they start boiling, take the casserole and strain all water from it, pour cold water again in the casserole together with: the peeled and cut onion, the peeled garlic cloves, the olive oil and the ham bone. Shake the casserole to avoid breaking the beans and add the sweet paprika, the pork belly and the chorizo. Water must just cover the beans. Heat should be very low so that all ingredients simmer together, whenever you see it boiling, add some cold water to "frighten" the beans. Let it cook for 3 to 4 hours (depends on the beans quality and the heat).

When beans seem to be nearly done, add the morcilla and let cook for half an hour more. You are done!

If you do this the previous day, fabes will taste better. But if you cannot resist their smell and flavour, go ahead and enjoy them the same day. You should serve fabes in a plate and all pork ingredients in a separate one. Cut in small pieces and let your guests take some to their plates. This is a strong dish. Good for cold days. If you have a delicate stomach, don't eat much pork ingredients and have it for lunch, never for dinner.

Buen provecho!!!

Aphrodisiac Recipe - Potatoe & Avocado & Salmon Salad

Special dressing: The wonder boy... don't know who's signing, but I fell in love with that voice! (turn player on)

This could be a potatoe salad, or an avocado salad or even a salmon salad... but now that Valentine's Day is getting near, I want it to be an Aphrodisiac Salad! Maybe there's still a chance for us this February 14th! he, he, he.
I'm taking part in the Event Cucina d'Amore at Mele Cotte and I chose this ingredients because they are supposed "to get you high" sensualy and sexualy speaking!

Eve tried it with an apple and I will try it with this salad. Your man or your woman will follow his/her basic instincs when trying it because: first you will have something really really nice on, second there will be no kids around the house, third your favourite music will be playing, fourth you will have it ready in the fridge and the table will be set with candles and a good Rioja red wine and fifth (now comes the scientific and boring part) you'll be eating Omega3, a good bunch of vitamines (E and D among them), proteins and minerals... what else do you need, ugh?


I've read, although I never heard this before, that it is said that all aphrodisiac properties are concentrated in the avocado seed and that men eat it to improve their viril power... just in case anyone is interested, first the seed has to be immersed in milk to soften.

Ok, here you have the ingredients and procedure... soooooo easy! Servings for 2, of course

1 big potatoe
1 package of smoked salmon
1 avocado
1 small red onion
1 small tomatoe salad
some parsley
a good spurt of extra virgin olive oil
thick sea salt
black pepper

Boil the potatoe, when tender cool it down and when cold cut in thick slices. Place in the plate. Add some salmon on top of the potatoe and some avocado small dices on top of the salmon.
With the minced onion and tomatoe and another cut slice of salmon prepare a guacamole. Once you have all these ingredients in a bowl, add a good spurt of oil and some salt and pepper. Stir and reserve in the fridge.
Cut the rest of the avocado in small pieces and add to the bowl. Place in a heart's tin and add it to the plate.
Drop some oil on top of everything and the sea salt, decorate with some parsley and colored peppers.

HAVE FUN!!! And boys don't forget to chew the seed... it's too big to swallow it ;-)

Pa amb Tomàquet i Pernil

Toc, toc, toc!!! MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE?????? Thank you. :D

This is one of the things in life that one must try at least once! If you dare... because the first time won't be the last time, I swear!!!

I'm introducing you the simpliest, the tastiest, the itgoeswellwithanything... PA AMB TOMÀQUET, which would be Bread with Tomatoe. But this is just a simple translation... to do the right thing, please:

1.- Grab a ripe tomatoe and cut in half.
2.- Cut a nice slice of bread. You can either toast it or not.
3.- Take half tomatoe and rub it over the bread's surface. Make sure you squeeze it while you rub it. The bread slice will absorb the tomatoe juice.
4.- Sprinkle with some salt.
5.- Add a generous quantity of Extra Virgin olive oil on top.

Special dressing: James Brown - I feel Good!!!



You have it! You are done! You are half Catalan now! Congratulations! And now the best part, bite it, taste it, chew it, swallow it... Isn't it fantastic? Well, it is... but you can still improve it: have you got some canned tunna fish, yes? Ok, put it on top, eat it, lovely... uhhh? Have you got a strong desire for omelette? Take two slices of bread with the rubbed tomatoe, place the omelette in between and eat it as a sandwich... can you hear the bells? And even better, any chorizo, iberian acorn ham, just ham, or even cheese? Same procedure... bite, chew, swallow... there you are... in heaven!



This is not a difficult recipe, it doesn't have hard steps or exotic ingredients. Please try it! I want to have some feed back!!! You will be happy to taste it :D

Where can you find the best Iberian Acorn ham in town and in the whole world? Just a click away. Say you know me and get a discount or even a gift!!!
All Iberian Charcuturie: from chorizos to Acorn Ham, wines selection and a familiar and pleasant treaty.


I'm here waiting for your comments!!!

JUST ONE MORE THING: Teresa brought to my attention that I should mention the kind of bread you should use to get a perfect pa amb tomàquet, and she is completely right, sorry, I forgot. The best bread is the peasant one, don't use a loaf bread or sweetened sorts.
See a picture of our Pa de pagès.

Salamonie Farm

My two children and I enjoyed a number of evenings recently with Salamonie Farm, by Noah Hershberger, as our bedtime reading. It is a fictionalized account of a year in the life of a six-year-old boy and his Amish family in Ohio the 1950s.

The book carries its Amish themes with a perfect understatement. It had never occurred to me that, when one lives without electricity, ice cream must be a winter treat. By the time the boy visits a non-Amish neighbor couple in their kitchen, the reader shares the boy's interest in the refrigerator.

Somewhat from the same literature as the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, Salamonie Farm gently teaches about life on a farm and in a pious religious community, but also more roughly teaches about sibling rivalry, fear of strangers, bullying, and the hard economics of manual labor, including child labor.

I promised earlier to tell you about my five-year-old daughter's questions about vegetarianism. She has been hitting us with a patient steady inquisition for weeks now. In one chapter of Salamonie Farm, the family cooperates with neighbors to slaughter a hog and a cow. My kids were especially interested, because they had recently seen for themselves how sausages were made. The moral of the chapter was supposed to be that the wise father's respectful but practical attitude towards the slaughter compares favorably to that of a couple of neighbor boys, who mistreat animals. But my daughter wasn't buying it. Didn't the Dad laugh, she asked, when one of the workers pinned the pig's tail on another. It didn't seem to my daughter to meet the Dad's own standards of respectfulness.

In just partly related news, our family is giving up meat for lent. We will eat eggs and dairy products, and I think my son will still eat meat with his school lunch. I'll let you know how it goes. Today is Ash Wednesday in several Christian traditions.

AJAE review of Omnivore's Dilemma

My review of Michael Pollan's influential book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, appeared this month in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

Should a serious agricultural economist read this popular and entertaining book about food? The organizing frame—a "natural history" of four meals ranging from a McDonald's cheeseburger and fries in a moving car to a leisurely dinner of wild mushrooms and wild pork hunted by the author himself—could strike a reader as contrived. The supposed narrative climax, the forest hunting and gathering of the fourth meal, reads like a new-age testament: "For once, I was able to pay the full karmic price of a meal."

Food journalist Michael Pollan offers the modern efficiency-minded agricultural economist a sensible warning, right up front in the introduction, not to read this book: "Many people today seem perfectly content eating at the end of the industrial food chain, without a thought in the world; this book is probably not for them."

Does the warning just increase your interest? Then, read on. As it turns out, Omnivore's Dilemma provides a rewarding tour of the modern American food system from the perspective of a literate, observant, and curious consumer. For many agricultural economists, the book's most valuable contribution may be its insight into what thoughtful consumers want to know about food....

I read the book in the summer of 2006.

Now that's disclosure!

The Washington Post today followed up on the animal mistreatment story last week. Hallmark company officials had previously claimed this was an isolated incident, and that there had been no previous examples of such abuse under current management. It turns out, however, that the company "was cited in 2005 for several animal welfare violations, including 'too much electric prodding.'"

The most ridiculous sentence in today's article comes from the Hallmark official who had the unpleasant job of reconciling the company's earlier untrue claims with the facts:

"We certainly wouldn't have failed to disclose that if we knew it was in the public record," he said.

I'VE BEEN TAGGED!

I haven't played this game for a long long time now... It's not that I liked when a was a girl, there were some different aspects in it: when you received a letter, normally if you didn't do what you were asked you were threatened: bad luck would be all over you! and somebody in your family would die, and things like that!!! Also a one peseta coin was normally glued to the letter and the seven letters you were supposed to send also had to have 1 coin each.

I'm glad this Meme game has nearly nothing to do with the one I knew, so thank you Heather for tagging me, it's fun!!! For those of you who still don't know her, she is a great cook (my bet in the LeftoverQueen's Joust this month), she's got a strong fantastic character and she owns this superamusing food blog: Gild the Voodoolily

Ok, the game consists in: 1. Link to your tagger and post these rules. 2. Share 5 facts about yourself 3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them). 4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their Blogs.

Here you have my 5 life secret anecdotes:


1.- One of my best holiday trips ever was the 1992 summer's one. A friend of mine and I spent 15 days biking through Holland, we biked for nearly 300 kilometers, had wonderful weather, met beautiful people, slept in comfortable youth hostels, most of them were castles!!! Developed our leg muscles (nearly got Arnold Swatzenager's size) and discovered all fietspad possible: through Little Red Ridding Hood forests, city routes, wild and protected parks, enchanted little villages.... Super recommended holiday! A great experience!

2.- I don't have a car driving license... amazing uh? When I was a kid, my father had a big car accident, he had serious injuries. My aunt had another car accident, a heavy one too... I just thought that getting a car license meant that after one or two years you were supposed to have a car accident... it was something one had to go through! Like part of a test! In a corner of my mind I was scared. 9 months ago, more or less, I got one of this small cars that don't need driving license just a small test and you are done... I love driving!!!!!! But my car won't pass from 50 Km per hour... I feel like a snail in the road.

3.- When I was 26 more or less, on a sunday morning I was in a bank automatic cashier dispenser getting some money and somebody got close to me, put a knife in my back and asked for all my money! When this kind of thing has never happened to you before, you think, at least I did, that you will turn hit his balls with your knee and run to your house or somewhere crowed and dissapear... But when it happens... I could only say... please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me! And I gave him all my money!


4.- When I was a small girl, about 2 or 3, I had short hair and my only wish was to have it longer, so whenever I had the opportunity, I took a couple of cloth pegs and 2 kitchen cloths and clamp the pegs in my hair. I would go around the house shaking my head and showing everybody my "long hair". That's why when I grew up, I never wanted my mom to cut it.

5.- One of my biggest fears is going through my daughter's teenage years. Mine were kind of wild, and just thinking about all things she might encounter makes me so scared! I wish, I hope, I begg that all her experiences will be for good and that she takes the correct path.

Well, and now that you know a bit more about me, I have to tagg 5 more people, the ones I know more have already been tagged, so I've been forced to tagg some of you I'm not as close to as I would wish, but maybe this game helps and we end up being great foodie friends! If you feel like not getting into it... fine, it's your choice, don't feel obliged!

One.- Ley from Cilantro and Lime. Yes we do know each other, hope you like the game, if not... I'm sorry, but I felt like tagging you.

Two.- Mansi from Fun and Food. This would go to the first part of your blog's name: Fun... just if you wish.

Three.- D. from Wicked Good Dinner. I had to involve you... ups! Hope you like the game.

Four.- Mallory from The Salty Cod. Please Mallory, let us know more about you!

Five.- Meeta from What's for Lunch, Honey? I would love to hear about some more stories of yours!

And this is it!