Consumer World and Mouse Print

The headline sounds like a superhero and the ever-loyal sidekick: Consumer World and Mouse Print.

That's not far wrong.

Consumer World is veteran consumer protection expert Edgar Dworsky's original site (no RSS field, but easy email newsletter subscription). Mouse Print is the Massachusetts-based writer's entertaining blog covering the tiny print on consumer packaging and advertising.

The blog has been having fun lately with package downsizing for food and beverage products. Here is the recent coverage for orange juice.

Spanish Paella: A tutorial. Step by Step with some tips.

Special dressing: Phil Collins with Paradise (turn player on).

Paella is probably one of our most famous dishes worldwide. It all started in Valencia, a beautiful Spanish region also known for its savory oranges.

This post pretends to be a guide for all of you who have never tried cooking this dish and would love to try it... I'm not saying this is the original way to cook it, even the gastronomes think that every Spanish region has adapted the dish to the ingredients they have in each region.

So, this is one of my interpretations of Seafood Paella. Feel free to use your own food regional ingredients, just be sure to follow these simple Basic Rules:

• Use a proper sauce pan. If you don't have a paella (name of the specific pan to do this dish) a new Teflon one would be ok, just make sure it's not deep.
• Always use fresh ingredients. The fresher the better results you will achieve.
• It's always preferable to cook your own stock and to cook your own sauces (a canned tomatoe fried sauce would be ok but if you have the time make your own).
• The rice should be Bomba or Bahía, their properties are perfect for the absorption of the dish juices.
• Be patient when cooking the sofrito! Sofrito is the soul of the paella, if you cook it properly half the way to success is done.
• The proportion rice/stock is very important! 2 water glasses of rice/5 water glasses of stock. Depending on your stove heat and type of rice this could vary. Just keep the stock boiling so that you can add a bit more if necessary.

I have made paella so many times that I do it by heart and never write down the exact measures but this time I made sure to write everything down so that you could follow all steps and get the best result!

Ingredients for 4 servings: 500 grs of fresh mussels, 4 fresh shrimps, 4 fresh prawns, 8 fresh small crabs, 1 fresh cuttlefish, 1 medium onion, 1 garlic clove, 5 ripe tomatoes, olive oil (0,4º), salt and fresh parsley. Also for the fish stock: another onion, 1 ripe tomatoe and 2 garlic cloves.

Purists insist that Paella shouldn't have onion in its sofrito... but I love it with onion! Feel free to change that.

First of all get the mussels and stock ready: Clean your mussels and have inside a pot with cold water (half centimeter), cover the pot. Turn heat on and when they open reserve. Keep their water too. The ones that don't open, discard.



Have your fresh ingredients clean and ready to be used: the cuttlefish (ask your fishmonger to clean it for you), take skin off , wash and dry, have the crabs in a place where they cannot scape (mine tried hard... poor little ones), wash the shrimps and keep fresh.





Start your fish stock with the following: Prepare a deep pot with 5 tablespoons of olive oil, turn heat on (low), add the ripe tomatoes cut in pieces, add the chopped onion and the minced garlics. Stir for 5 minutes, add a sprinkle of salt and let all flavours mix. Add the crabs and turn heat to medium. Sautee with the veggies. Keep on stirring until crabs turn red. Add 3 litters of water to the pot and boil for 20 to 30 minutes maximum.

There will probably be some stock left, use it to make a soup or just keep it for the next paella :D. This time I chose the crabs for the stock but feel free to use any white fish or just bones to do it. The crabs flavour is wonderful here though!

With the crabs stock and the mussels juices make a mixture that fits your palate. If you use the mussels water notice that is very salty and then you might not add more salt to your paella. Or just use the crabs' stock... or the mussels water... whatever you prefer. This time I used the crabs' stock mixed with a bit of mussels water.

Take your paella and add 4 to 5 tablespoons of olive oil. Turn heat to medium and place the cuttlefish cut in small pieces. Stir until golden. Add the onion to the paella finely chopped and stir until golden. Here is the beggining of the sofrito. A very important part of the Paella.

Then add the tomatoes you've grated into the pan and stir.
The heat should be medium/low and you will see that the tomatoe kind of disappears and the sauce becomes darker and more oily. This could take from 30 to 45 minutes, even 60, the lower the heat the more time it takes but the better results too.
It's time to add the shrimps to the paella, have for 1 minute maximum, keep on stirring and reserve aside.
This is a close up of how the sofrito should look like. When it gets to this point... it's done! Keep the heat the lowest possible and get your fish stock ready.
Back to the fish stock, safe 3 or 4 crabs away, put the rest in a mortar and smash so that they get all juices out. Pour a bit of the stock in the mortar, stir, strain and pour back to the fish stock big pot.
Stir the stock, strain and pour in a clean pot and boil. This should be a soft boil to have ready when it needs to be added to the rice.Back to the Paella, turn the heat to medium/high and add the rice to the paella (pan). Stir and make sure the rice gets all sofrito adhered to it. 4 people would be 400 grs. of rice (2 water glasses). Immediately after pour the fish stock into the pan - 5 glasses -(it should be boiling).
The heat should be high for the first 5 minutes. Stir only a bit. Then the following 10 minutes have at medium heat. When 10 minutes have gone through add the shrimps and prawns.

Keep your pot fish stock boiling just in case you need to add more.
Taste and add more salt if necessary. When the 15 minutes have passed decorate with the mussels and the crabs, turn heat off and pour the minced parsley on. Cover the paella outside the heat and wait for 5 minutes leaving it covered.
You could place it in the oven for the last 5 minutes instead, but again, that would be another interpretation, equally good and tasty... up to you!

Can you smell the sea in the dish? Viva Paella forever!!!

The rice grains should be loose, never a paste.

As I previously said, this is my interpretation for Seafood paella, I'm sure you can find many other ways of cooking it in internet... what I can assure you is that if you try mine... you'll love it... I bet my right hand!!!

This is my entry for Lore's event at Culinarty - Original Recipe. Hurry to present your original recipe before July the 13th. My paella is always original because I keep on changing ingredients to fit our taste :D

Artichokes Greek-Style

Γεια σε όλους! Hi everyone! Isn't google translator a crack? First words mean Hola a todos... Hi everyone in Greek... or that is what I expect them to say!

I found this recipe in a Spanish cooking magazine and the tittle immediately caught my attention - Artichokes Greek Style - all ingredients were so handy and you all know about my artichokes' adoration, so I thought, why not? Let's get some other Mediterranean breezes and flavours in my kitchen!!! This is a tribute to all my Greek foodie friends I made through this blog! Wonderful people with warm hearts and stoves; barbeque's and ovens ready to cook anytime!!!

Please visit their blogs if you still haven't done so... even though they are all Greek, some live in Greece and others don't and their styles are all so different that you will always learn something no matter which blog you visit:

Peter M. from Kalofagas is a smart cook living in Canada. You will find fully detailed Greek recipes in his blog, fantastic tips to achieve better results and a great sense of humour!

Ivy from Kopiaste is a wonderful cook, living in Athens and originally from Ciprus. Her recipes are so detailed and full of pictures showing all the cooking process! Sometimes you can also get some extra history lessons at her blog. Very instructive and more than a kind woman!

Peter G. from Souvlaki for the Soul is a fantastic cook, photographer and person, no matter the order of the words. This days he is working on his blog to make some changes, but keep this link to visit him. You won't be deceived!

Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has a beautiful blog, full of wonderful stories and recipes, her site looks kind of poetical to me, she puts her heart in every post!

Elly from Elly says Opa! Has a vigorous blog with delicious photographs, stories and recipes. You will also find recipes from other Mediterranean countries as well as the Greek. Her Eat to the Beat event will soon be showing!

I don't know if this is an authentic Greek recipe but the result was so flavourful that I felt transported to the middle of the Plakka neighbourhood in Athens :D

Ingredients for 4 servings: 800 grs of small artichokes (these were the last ones of the season), 3 ripe tomatoes, 4 olive oil tablespoons, 1 dl of dry white wine, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 10 coriander seeds (they can be substituted by cumin ones), a spring of thyme, 1 tablespoon of minced parsley, 1/2 lemon juice, 1 garlic clove, salt and black ground pepper.

• Discard the greener leaves of the artichokes. Cut them in half and their borders. Wash them and use half a lemon to rub them to avoid their quick oxidation and keep their colour.
• Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan, add the artichokes and golden them. Stir with a wooden spoon and be careful they don't get burned.
• Get some water boiling in a pot and add the tomatoes for 20 seconds, strain and take their peel of, cut them and take the seeds away. Chop in small dices. Reserve.
• Add some water drops to the saucepan used to golden the artichokes and caramelise the sugar lightly. Add the chopped tomatoe and stir. Keep cooking for 5 to 8 minutes at medium heat.
• Add the artichokes and the white wine, the garlic clove and the coriander seeds. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and let simmer for 35 to 45 minutes or until artichokes are tender.
• Present the artichokes with the minced parsley on and the sauce in a different recipient and when cool place in the fridge for 1 hour.
• Pour the lemon juice on top and serve cold.

Enjoy!

Noodles Paella with Duck

Special dressing's today: Dire Straits ==> Twisting by the Pool... Eating by the pool, Having fun by the pool, Resting by the pool, Drinking gin tonic in the evening by the Pool... Get the idea???? Haaaaahhhha... Isn't it great to be on holidays?

See? I didn't have a good Internet connection but I didn't loose my time! This is one of the wonderful dishes we had during this short vacation. We were very near the beach (500 meters). It wasn't that hot, just the perfect temperature to enjoy the beach and the pool. Hey!... you are so welcome :D

As you may have noticed already, Duck is one of my favourite meats, so tasty and flavourful. Without really knowing, my diet is following the advise of nutritionists and dietists. The duck stores its fat in the skin so if you discard it when cooking it, the cholesterol rate will be very low. However, in this case I roasted it with the skin to give more flavour to the dish, once cooked, I discarded the skin and ate the meat.

This same dish could be done with rice if you prefer, you just need to adjust the water or stock measurements and the cooking time.

Ingredients for 3 servings (notice that this time is for 3 instead of 4): 500 grs. of duck cut in small pieces, 1 medium onion, half red pepper, 10 to 12 green beans, 2 garlic cloves, 3 tablespoons of canned fried tomatoe sauce, 200 grs of noodles (nº 2), 3 glasses of chicken stock or duck stock or water, olive oil, salt and black ground pepper. All ingredients are fresh, this time I only used the tomatoes sauce canned.

Pour some olive oil to the paella (it means pan in Spanish) and when hot (not when burning) add the salted duck pieces. Roast for a while, stirring now and then and when golden reserve.
Meanwhile get the stock or water simmering in a pot at low heat so that you have it ready when you need it.Low down the heat to medium/low, and add the minced onion, when transparent add the green beans cut in pieces and the red pepper in small dices, also mince the garlics and add to the paella.
Stir for 3 to 4 minutes and add the fried tomatoe sauce. Stir and add the duck back to the paella.After 1 or two minutes, add the noodles and turn the heat high. Stir and immediately after pour the boiling stock in the paella.
Let the rest of the stock keep on boiling at low heat just in case you need more after. Taste and add salt and pepper to your convenience.Follow pasta package instructions (my noodles needed 6 minutes to get cooked).First 3 minutes have the heat at maximum temperature, the other 3 at medium low.
Finally turn heat off and leave the paella covered for one minute.

Set your table and... Tachan ♫ The dish is ready!!!


I'm sending this recipe over to Presto Pasta Nights hosted this time by Hillary from Chew on that. Originally the event is an idea of Ruth Daniels from Once upon a Feast. Please take a look at the recipes of the round up, I'm sure you will enjoy it :D

Hooray for summer

Hooray for the Waltham Fields Community Farm, and for a sunny weekend afternoon at the farm's fundraiser with the marvelous inter-generational Family Folk Chorale. Hooray for Captain Vegetable, who brought a smile to my children's faces. Hooray for the community and traditions of local farms and local food.

The real food stamp challenge

At Half Changed World, Elizabeth is doing a real food stamp challenge -- genuinely reflecting on the cost of food instead of seeking confirmation for an expected outcome. It gives her a lot to think about.

So why are we finding it relatively easy to stay within the Thrifty Food Plan, when by all accounts, people on Food Stamps are struggling badly to cope with rising food prices? My guess is that there are several things going on:

• First, most people on Food Stamps are working, and thus receive less than the maximum monthly benefit. In theory, Food Stamps aren't supposed to pay for all their food -- they're supposed to use some of their cash income for food as well. But low-income families have many other demands on their income (if I remember correctly, about half are spending 50 percent or more of their income just on housing). Food is the easiest part of the budget to squeeze, particularly if you're willing to invest the time in going to food pantries.
• Second, we have a car, and so can travel to low-cost supermarkets and warehouse stores. And we can have enough cash to buy large quantities when they're on sale.
• Third, we're eating very little meat, and relatively little processed food. We often make a big batch of pancakes or waffles on the weekend, and reheat them for breakfast all week, which is a lot cheaper than breakfast cereal.

I think nobody would find the Thrifty Food Plan to be a permissive food budget. Some would find it adequate, and some not even adequate.

But here is the hard policy question -- hard even to ask without seeming heartless. If the Thrifty Food Plan is adequate for many, but not all, then should the maximum food stamp budget be raised?

The Thrifty Food Plan, and hence the program benefit, are already indexed for food price inflation (though the adjustment lags during a particularly inflationary year, such as the current one). What makes the question difficult is that the Food Stamp Program does two things: (a) it provides resources to low-income people, and (b) it insists that by law the program participant may not spend those resources on anything other than grocery food, even if the participant's own judgment is that she needs to spend only part of those resources on food.

How much would a change in ethanol policy affect corn prices?

Here is the story from one of the most authoritative sources in agricultural economics, the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University.

In a working paper (.pdf) released this month, Lihong Lu McPhail and Bruce Babcock consider the impact of three policy changes: (1) removing the Renewable Fuel Standards, which mandate that a certain fraction of fuel comes from ethanol, (2) removing the blenders tax credit, a direct tax subsidy to blenders, and (3) removing the tariff on imported ethanol, which encourages the conversion of U.S. corn to ethanol by keeping domestic ethanol prices high.

They reach the following conclusion about short term effects:

Eliminating any one of the policies would reduce average corn prices by less than 4%. Removal of all three programs would decrease average corn prices by 14.5%. The reason why the changes are relatively modest is that existing U.S. ethanol plants will only shut down if their variable cost of production is not covered. Changes in ethanol policies would have large distributional impacts. Corn growers, ethanol producers, and fuel consumers have a large incentive to maintain high ethanol consumption. Gasoline producers have a large incentive to reduce ethanol production and imports. Livestock producers have a large short-run incentive to reduce domestic ethanol production.

The authors plan future work to consider the corn and soybean markets jointly, and to lengthen the time period focus.

I would add that 14.5% seems like too big a price reduction to dismiss lightly. Also, the authors explain that ethanol plants will keep operating even if they are failing to pay for themselves, so long as their sales cover at least their variable costs (such as purchases of inputs). But, the investments in the plants themselves were in many cases also subsidized by the federal government, so the impact of federal policies has almost certainly been to raise corn prices by more than 14.5%, and in the midst of an unusual price spike to boot.

For further reading, the Environmental Working Group has just released a blistering report on ethanol policies (see coverage at Mulch).

King Corn

In the engaging and insightful documentary King Corn (trailer from YouTube below), college friends Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis use their year of experience farming an acre of corn in Iowa as the frame on which to hang a wider exploration of the U.S. food system.

I finally watched King Corn last week after missing it in the theaters and waiting for it from Netflix. I should have seen it sooner. There's a lot to like.

• Cheney and Ellis are charming stand-ins for the film viewer, looking with astonishment on an industrial system few people understand.
• The film overcomes gimmickry in part through excellent interviews with Ken Cook, Michael Pollan, an agronomist, a corn syrup industry public relations person, and more. The interview with former Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz, prophet of the agriculture motto "get big or get out," is of considerable historical interest. This interview reminded me of Michael Moore's interview with Charlton Heston in Bowling for Columbine, but Cheney and Ellis are kinder to their host.
• A tour of urban neighborhoods, chaperoned by a fellow who grew up in the neighborhood and who lost a parent to diabetes, extends the film's scope beyond the heartland and increases its relevance to audiences anywhere in the country.
• The film is clever in its use of visuals to communicate complicated information, such as hand-drawn bar graphs that provide substantial quantitative detail without breaking the film's rustic tone, and funny animations using a toy farm to illustrate the agriculture system's interrelationships.

The Boston Globe's rave review points out that the film's gentle tone makes easier watching than Super Size Me or Michael Moore's work, but without subtracting from the film's motivational impact.

Rice Mint Balls with Pistachios and Shrimps

Good morning Starshines, good afternoon... good evening... or good night! It's finally sunny and hot here :D and I'm planning to go to the beach and to the swimming pool for this loooooong coming weekend! So I'm afraid I won't be seeing your beautiful faces until next Wednesday, he, he, he! I will be off line, disconected, gone, in paradise...

Tuesday the 24th, is a Holiday here: Sant Joan; Saint John. We celebrate the change of the season, from Spring to Summer. If you take a look through google earth the night of the 23rd you'll see lots of Bonfires all over Catalonia, Alicante and Galicia among other regions. This night it's a tradition to burn all the house's old furniture... all neighbours will gather around the old tables and chairs they have placed in the middle of the street and watch the fire while drinking sangria or other beverages and eating Coca.

Kids will play with firecrackers, a street orchestra will make your feet move and we'll all dance and have fun... that's why you need to have your dinner ready and waiting for you in the fridge so that you don't spend any time cooking and can join the party as soon as possible!

Get your apron on, wash your hands and let's cook this fresh beauties out!

Ingredients for 4 servings: 200 grs. of rice (I use Bahia), 350 grs. of shrimps, a garlic clove, 30 grs. of pistachios, 6 fresh mint leaves, olive oil, black ground pepper and salt.

• Get some water boiling and add some salt to it, when it starts boiling pour the rice in and cook for 20 minutes or what your package says, strain and let it cool.
• Pour some olive oil in a sauce pan and saute the shrimps, add some salt and a chopped garlic, have for 2 minutes, no more. Reserve. When cold, peel and cut in small pieces.
• Smash the pistachios and mint leaves in a mortar.
• In a big bowl put the rice, the shrimps and the pistachios and mint. Mix all ingredients and with your hands wet, make little balls and place in a recipient.
• Once the balls are done, place in the fridge for at least two hours.
• Serve with a sauce of your choice... Mint pesto? Soy sauce?

You can also make the dish changing the pistachios for peanuts or toasted almonds and the mint could be replaced by parsley too. Let's be creative!

Of course a Fiesta is not a Fiesta if there's no dish associated... Sant Joan has this special Coca... that's how we call it!













Maybe next year I'm able to bake it myself ;-). Meanwhile, this year, I will have a good portion!

Salud!

Flooding likely to contribute to high food prices

The Financial Times this morning described the impact of the flooding in Iowa and nearby states:

Agriculture officials and traders said the damage could push up worldwide corn and soyabean prices, which have spiralled in recent days as floods have swamped crops in parts of Iowa, the US's biggest cornproducing state. The warning comes at a time when high food prices are already sparking protests across the developing world.

Corn futures in Chicago this week rose to record highs of more than $8 a bushel on fears that up to 5m acres of the crop could be lost, while soyabean prices hit a record of $15.93 a bushel.

I spoke yesterday with Bob Burgdorfer at Reuters:

Torrential rains over the past week and the worst floods in 15 years have badly hit the U.S. Midwest, which directly or indirectly produces much of the nation's food.

The corn and soybeans grown there are used in processed foods and are fed in some form to the cattle, hogs, and chickens that produce the nation's meat.

"Given that grain supplies are already tight, this flood comes at a bad time and is going to push the major grain crop prices up rapidly. Over a longer time, that will have an effect on supermarket prices as well," said Parke Wilde, economist at Tufts University.

This week's weather news sent me back to last month's Farm Bill coverage, to remind myself whether the controversial "permanent disaster assistance provision" had made it into the final law. It appears to me it did, but I am not sure I understand the provision correctly. Perhaps its main impact is not so much to increase authorized eligibility or benefit amounts for disaster payments, but rather to establish a permanent funding source out of customs receipts, making supplemental appropriations less necessary? It is not clear to me whether it will have an impact already this year. Here is the Congressional Research Service's description (.pdf) of the crop insurance and disaster assistance provisions.

Summer Salad with Duck's Ham

PLEASE NOTICE THAT TASTESPOTTING IS NOT COMPLETELY DEAD!!! JUST HURT AND IN THE ICU... MEANWHILE GO AND HAVE A TOAST AT LIQURIOUS.

There's a saying here in Spain that goes: ¿Querías caldo? ¡Toma 2 tazas! The literal translation would be: Did you want a broth? Here you have 2 cups! It means that you were wishing for something and all of a sudden you are getting that "something" everyday or very often.

Here we wanted rain... and we DID HAVE RAIN!!!! See the difference between the pictures? This amount of water has been achieved during the month of May. So, pleaseeeee we have had enough water, could we have a little bit of sun now? I want to start eating salads!!!

Salads are one of my favourite dishes during hot summer days. Easy to prepare, no heat involved, fresh and healthy ingredients... in summary a great starter or a wonderful side dish, as you prefer!

You will have this salad fixed in no time and your guests will love it! The cured duck's ham will give it a nice twist.

Ingredients for 4 servings: 1 orange, different types of lettuce (you can use the ones you like better), 100 grs of duck's cured ham, some walnuts, 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, salt and black ground pepper.

• Get all ingredients clean and peeled: peel the orange, wash the lettuce and dry it, get the walnuts out of their shells and open the ducks' package.
• Prepare the dressing: in a small bowl, pour the vinegar, the salt, the olive and pepper and whisk until all ingredients get mixed. Reserve.
• Serve the salad in a bowl: first place the lettuce leaves, the orange cut in pieces, and the ducks' ham (I "showed" my ham to a hot sauce pan for some seconds, but you can have it as it comes too). Add the dressing on top. Mix carefully and add the walnuts.

Today the day started with a beautiful sun entering my kitchen's window :D

Salmon in Aromatic Pickle and a Meme

A year ago, or so, my friend Margo (a beautiful dutch woman living here in Spain for a good bunch of years now) cooked this dish for me and I found the flavours so well combined and amazing that I asked her for the recipe.... It took me nearly a year to cook it... Wow... but finally did! And I must say: this is a delicious way to prepare your salmon!

Beautiful Val from More than a Burnt Toast recently announced that a contest was being held at Marx Foods... guest Star: Salmon. Check the site and participate in the event with a Salmon recipe! Here is mine :D

Ingredients for 4 servings: 500 grs. of Salmon, 6 garlic cloves, 1 green onion, 1 spoontable of thyme, 100 grs of honey, 1 dl of balsamic vinegar, 35 ml of soy sauce, 2 dl of fish stock (or water if you don't have any), some parsley, olive oil and salt.

• Finely mince the garlics and the onion and make them sweat in a sauce pan with some olive oil (3 to 4 spoontable aprox) and the thyme. When the onion gets transparent, add the honey and caramelize.
• Add the vinegar and the soy sauce, let it reduce for one minute and add the fish stock. Cook at low/medium fire until the sauce thickens.
• Preheat the oven at 160ºC.
• Wash and dry the salmon pieces and sprinkle some salt on top.
• Take another sauce pan and pour a little bit of oil, when hot, add the salmon with the skin down first and golden it a bit.
• Put the salmon in a recipient and pour the aromatic sauce on top. Place in the oven (middle rack) for 10 minutes.
• Mince the fresh parsley and when the salmon is ready and out of the oven sprinkle some thick sea salt on it and the parsley.

Also, Want to know a little more about me? Time for another meme... Beautiful Ivy from Kopiaste has tagged me with this one:

1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE?
Dinosaurs in 3D.... I had their jaws 10 cmts away from my nose!!!

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING?
Quattrocento from Susana Fortes... about the Médicis family in Florencia.

3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?
Scrabble.

4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE?
CUINA (catalan food magazine)

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS?
A chicken and meat broth during winter, magnolia flower in spring, sea and salt on the skin during summer and humid forest during fall.

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS?
Shrieks of swallows, a baby's laughter, the splash of the sea waves and the thunderstorms.

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Feeling pain and feeling insecure

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?
Five more minutes, please!!!!

9) FAVOURITE FAST FOOD PLACE?
None

10) FUTURE CHILD'S NAME?
I have no future in that.

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D’
I Make as many people happy with my money as I could!

12) DO U DRIVE FAST?
My car only goes up to 50 Km per hour... snails and turtles go faster than me!

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
Nope!

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY?
I love them when I'm save at home :D

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
The one I have now... I had it for one year!

16) FAVOURITE DRINK?
Cold Beer... always!

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…
Blog more... He, he... just kidding!

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
Yes I do

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
I wouldn't change my colour.

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?
I have only lived in Barcelona for most of my life and now I live in a village nearby.

21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Car races.

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Ivy is a generous and warm hearted woman♥.

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?
My suitcases.

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??
Yes, I can't complain at all with the life I had and have :D.

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
Depending on the situation.

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
I don't understand this question.

27) FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX?
In the woods.

28) FAVOURITE PIE?
Chocolate and nuts.

29) FAVOURITE ICECREAM FLAVOUR?
Vanilla and macadamia nuts.

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
Who knows?

Now I have to tagg 5 more foodie bloggers and since I'm tagging the same people always, this time, I will pick new foodies I've just discovered and enjoy reading their blogs, this way you can also meet them :D

Josmans at Pass the Saffron, Please

Lore from Culinarty

Kittie from Kittens in the Kitchen

Swati from SugarCraft in India

Katie from The Summertree Caffee


Have fun!!!

Marginal Revolution covers food safety

Alex Tabarrok at Marginal Revolution gives Paul Krugman a hard rap on the knuckles for criticizing federal food safety regulators without noting the relevant data. Krugman's recent column describes a crisis of foodborne illness outbreaks, while Tabarrok points out CDC statistics showing that at least some kinds of outbreaks haven't increased. Still, the CDC data aren't the whole story. Here is my comment:

Interesting post and thread, Alex.

On food safety issues, I try to ignore the ideologues.

On the one hand, Grover Norquist and Milton Friedman have hopes for market incentives that are not only unrealistic, they are very far from the current state of good contemporary economic thought on food safety.

On the other hand, I give little weight to critics who hold out unrealistic expectations for government prevention of all food safety risks, not so much because they care about food safety, but because they just have large ambitions for government interventions in the economy.

Current economic thought draws on a fairly specific diagnosis of different kinds of imperfect information, each of which calls for a different policy response, which can range from laissez faire to labeling to testing to regulation.

A standard mainstream -- or even somewhat conservative -- text on the economics of food safety is John Antle's book on food safety. It acknowledges market failures in food safety, and particularly recognizes the need for strong government regulation of food-borne pathogens, because in many cases consumers cannot recognize the safety of the food even after purchase, and hence cannot defend their own interests in the marketplace. In my reading, Antle is a strong critic of food safety activists on other topics, such as pesticides (where he believes there is over regulation disproportionate to risk), but on foodborne disease he seems to me closer to Krugman than Friedman.

There are some exciting private market innovations in food safety recently. For example, the buyers for major supermarket chains are getting more sophisticated in demanding safety from their suppliers, which allows the market to achieve good outcomes that individual consumers could not command on their own.

At the same time, it is fair to say USDA and FDA oversight of food safety have fallen far short of a balanced position. The CDC stats on outbreaks have a number of shortcomings, and don't suffice to make me think otherwise. Take something like the USDA's refusal to let Creekstone beef voluntarily test its own product for BSE. It is so outrageous that the J. Thomas in his comments even presumes it to be untrue (it's true). The so-called "regulators" are way out of step with the public interest position of economists, even market economists who appreciate the market's accomplishments on its good days.

[Update 6/15/2008: Lively continuing discussion of this topic at the Economist's View, including comments from Mark Thoma, Tyler Cowen, and Alex Tabarrok.]

MELÓN CON JAMÓN. And how to become a Daring... Plumber!

My kitchen's sink tap just broke! A piece of it stayed screwed to the sink and the rest in my hand. You don't really know how much one thing is worth until you miss it, right? Lunch time is getting near and my parents will be here in 1 hour. Calling the insurance plumber might be a solution but they will get here in 1 or 2 hours and charge me for the service. Looking for a plumber in the yellow pages might take longer and it will surely be more expensive... Even if the work takes less than 1 hour they will charge for 1 hour plus transport!

... And I think... why not become a Daring Plumber? There I go to the nearest hardware store (5 minutes walking) and I find this kitchen tap for 45 Euros (the cheap one, there's still another one worth 75 Euros).

Back home, I empty the space under the sink. Do you also accumulate things that you forgot were there for years? I lay on my back and over the floor, insert my head in that space and look up where the tap is screwed to the sink. My arm is completely stretched and I hardly get there... somehow I manage to unscrew the tap.

First part successfully accomplished... he, he... who wants a plumber for?

The tap has two other pipes that supply the cold and hot water. Ok, that's easy, first I close the two little taps under the sink that connect to the water supply and unscrew the two nuts.

Done with the first one and when I'm half way with the second, a splash of water hits my face!!! The little bastard is half loose!!! Where is the main water tap in the house????? I can't remember... I call my husband who starts laughing at me and tells me where it is... meanwhile a little lake is growing under my sink... I run to the garage and turn the tap off. Uf, uf, uf.

Upstairs again and the rest is so easy :D... He, he! Standing up to see my work of art. It works!!! I made it! I'm a Daring Plumber!!! The crowd raises from their chairs and cheers and shouts and I bow and smile :D

Don't I deserve something delicious and easy to prepare? And the answer is YES! I may have saved 100 Euros... he, he. So happy about that.

So here you have my beloved readers, fellow bloggers and other Internet creatures...

Don't tell me you don't have Iberian Acorn Ham, you can always use a Cured one, but those of you who want the REAL thing, it's just a click away from you!!!! Go and check La Tienda for those of you living in the States, Canada and Puerto Rico. And for Europeans and Japanese Reserva Iberica has the best selection of Hams; it's where I bought mine :D. Become a Daring Plumber and you will have the perfect excuse to buy some Iberian acorn Ham with the money you saved!

This is my entry for Giz and Psychgrad's Tested Tried and True take two! Please head over their Equal Opportunity Kitchen blog and participate in the Event. There's still plenty of time ahead. There will be wonderful prizes and it's for such a good cause: Organ Donation.

The recipe is as easy as: Buy a ripe melon and place in the fridge. Buy 150 to 200 grs. of Iberian Acorn Ham finely sliced. When the melon is fresh, cut it, take the seeds away and serve with the Ham on. As easy as this!!!! Serves 4.

* 300 grs. of Melon is 1/3 of the fruits we should have daily and it's approximately only 80 calories.
* 50 grs. of Ham is half the quantity we can have of protein food during lunch or dinner and 1/5 of our daily amount. 50 grs. of Ham are aprox. 85 calories. The white grease that comes with the Ham is "good fat". There's absolutely no problem eating it and on top is good for your health :D

I'm sure my morning's exercise consumed more than 165 calories! More than a fair deal!

Pork Loin in Salt and Herbs. And a Spanish Transport Strike!

There's a big transport strike here in Spain since Monday and everything is getting directly affected; there's nearly no fish left in the big markets, the meat's shelves at supermarkets are starting to get empty, fresh fruits and veggies are hard to find... Can you imagine?

The main reason for this catastrophic situation is the high price of the gas. The transport sector will keep this attitude until they get an agreement with the government. Also some gas stations have run out of it and now our police has to escort gas cistern trucks to fill the empty tanks.

However, Catalan government has assured its citizens that basic products will be on place, such as medicines, food and gas. My first thought was to fill up my car's gas tank and my fridge (take a look) and pantry. Living in a village may have some advantages. Today I still could buy: fresh Salmon, fresh Swiss chard, avocados, bananas, ripe tomatoes, green onions and red peppers.

I had a beautiful piece of pork boneless' head's loin and needed free space in the fridge, so it was a good time to cook it in salt and herbs!
Some time ago, Ivy from Kopiaste, and I made a package exchange and she sent me some Gigantes which I used to cook a wonderful Caldo Gallego. The package also contained a bunch of fresh Oregano and now it was the perfect time to use it!

Ingredients for 4 servings: A piece of boneless head pork loin (1 kilo), 2 1/2 kilos of Thick salt (make sure is for this special use), 4 teaspoons of olive oil (0,4º), 1 teaspoon of oregano leaves and 1 teaspoon of thyme leaves. Some mushrooms finely sliced and a bit of diced cured ham to eat aside.
In a small bowl mix the olive oil and the herbs. Spread all over the pork loin and place on top of a 1 centimeter (aprox) salt height.
Cover with the rest of the salt. Preheat oven at 200ºC and place in a middle rack for 45 minutes. Now, this piece was so thick that when I took it off the oven the central part was a bit raw for my taste. So, after cutting the meat in slices, I had a hot pan in the heat and just cook it for a few seconds.

The result was spectacular! The combo of salt and herbs is highly recommendable!!!! So easy to prepare... and once in the oven... you can go back to your computer and blog for 45 - 60 more minutes until the meal is ready :D. If there's any leftovers, just put in a container with some extra virgin olive oil, some black pepper balls and a bay leaf. Place in the fridge and have it ready for a sandwich together with some lettuce and a good mayonnaise or allioli. I'm sending this recipe over to Weekend Herb Blogging. A fantastic event created by Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen and hosted this week by Astrid of Paulchen's Food Blog.

Also, sweet Ivy sent me the You Make my Day Award!!! Thanks so much Ivy :D. It means a lot to me♥ ♥ ♥
And I'm sending it to:

* Judy from No Fear Entertaining
* Jen from A2write
* Mallory from The Salty Cod
* Nikki from Canary Girl
* Courtney from Coco Cooks

The list could be soooooo long, but as always, we can only choose 5 blogs, so, enjoy the award, girls!!!!

Enjoy the alternatives to cars

Do something great for the environment that has nothing to do with pretzel-shaped light bulbs, new bushes on the South side of your home, flip-flops made from recycled tires, or tabulating food miles.

In your next conversation with a friend or family member about the price of gasoline, mention in passing that you LOVE the new prices.

Really.

If we bike more, use trains more, avoid airplanes more, and walk more, we will enjoy life more.

What fun, you may ask, is there in riding a crowded subway train, as more and more people are reluctantly doing lately? Tons! The other day, I looked around for a strange human muttering or humming sound, barely audible above the screeching rails. "Person in need of medication?," I wondered. Not at all. It was a small man sitting squished against larger strangers, with his eyes peacefully closed, quietly singing some kind of chant, perhaps Tibetan or Central Asian. The small number of people within listening distance broke the silly urban taboo against making eye contact and enjoyed the rest of our ride communally, as our singer gently guided our thoughts out from the subway tumult and toward the divine.

Yesterday, after biking the mile and a half to Alewife station, I was told before boarding that the line was shut down altogether for a while, due to fire department activity at a later station, and everybody would have to wait in line for a bus shuttle. That's the worst thing about public transport, right? After getting back on my bike, instead of the shuttle, and riding along the Charles River in the morning sunlight to my office downtown, I wished I had time to keep riding. When was the last time you parked your car at your work in the morning and wished you could do the journey again?

My family of four, including children now aged six and seven, just finished about fifteen months of a low-car-use discipline (described in an earlier post and in the Boston Globe suburban edition last year), where we marked a calendar in red for each day that we didn't use our one beat up old Honda. We ended up using the car about 12 days a month, and even then mostly for short trips. The kids are accustomed to walking or biking to school, church, friends' houses, sports practice and games. We saved not just on gasoline and auto maintenance, but also got a 5% discount from our car insurer due to low mileage.

At a conference of activists this spring, I attended a session on the food system and global warming. As participants brainstormed a long list of things the sustainable food movement could do to address global warming, I suggested, "Speak well of high gasoline prices." The suggestion was a dud. Even organic farmers must pay for fuel, and it is hard to like high prices. It is challenging to shift our attention beyond the income effect of a price increase, and instead focus on the wise signal the new price sends to millions of resource decision makers throughout the economy. To take just one example, high fuel prices annoy the environmentally sustainable farmer, but they really sting for an industrial farmer. The high prices improve the competitive position of the sustainable farmer.

If the world's best scientists are right, the lifestyle changes that people are making this year, in the face of high gasoline prices, are essential to the future environment for our children and their children. But the scientists cannot say whether that low-fossil-fuels future is tolerable or bleak. That decision depends not so much on science, but on our attitude.

The trick to maintaining a constant gasoline budget, even in the face of new prices, is to reduce gasoline use. The fun challenge is to reduce gasoline use, and yet find yourself living more richly.