Pood

Or, as it was formerly titled when Mama Liberty ran this at Sierra Times several years ago, The Great Tortilla–Making Caper. It is republished here at her request. It’s been lightly modified from that version.

Many people seem to be turning to gardening in anticipation of hard times and/or increasing state interference in what one is permitted to eat. Lila asked about good places to buy seeds the other day, and a friend’s answer was so good that it deserves more attention than it’s likely to get buried as a comment. So, Plug Nickel Outfit’s response is elevated to guest post, with some extra links and commentary added by yours truly. If you have good resources and/or ideas to add, please do.

A friend sent me a link to the Locallectual web site, along with a suggestion (or was that a hint?) that I blog about it. I’ll admit that upon seeing the term, I wasn’t very inclined to agree with my friend, but after poking around the site for a bit ... well, here I am.

It can be very tempting—especially for those just testing the waters of political resistance in support of freedom—after considering the tangle of laws and regulations, the penalties for violating them, and those who serve the state in administering and enforcing them, to rethink one’s course. I can understand the urge to back down, to some degree: trying to conceptualize all of that sprawling power is daunting; and between steady streams of bad news [thanks, Joel] and stories of thug brutality both neophytes and seasoned activists might find it hard to draw a deep breath, and summon the will for another round. I don’t mean to play Pollyanna here, nor to pretend that such treatment only happens in other places, and to other people—but it is vitally important to understand that when we adopt this perspective of the state and its agents, we are too often falling right into their hands.

Encouraged by Sunni, I thought I'd share some good memories and recipes for dumplings. Not many people make them anymore, that I've noticed anyway. They are definitely NOT diet food, but they can make a wonderful and nutrient filled meal for hungry children, hunters or anyone else who will likely work off the calories. And besides, they are just plain good.

It’s been a couple of days since the story first hit the news, so I imagine most folks who pay attention have seen at least a headline shouting that there’s a “death link” to red meat. As is typical, the headlines obscure the findings in order to be as fear-mongering as possible. WebMD’s article, disappointingly, is little better.

Similar to the last time I touched on this subject, sources one might reasonably expect to be more balanced in their reporting have fallen far short. Here’s the first paragraph from the second link above, to a site called eFitness Now [all emphasis mine]:

Research shows that a person who eats a quarter pound of red meat per day faces substantial chance of getting cancer, ulcers, Alzheimer’s disease and other medical illnesses that can cut a life span.

Whoa! How have humans survived this long, eating such a toxic substance? A quarter pound is just 4 ounces ... that paragraph makes it sound as though red meat is much more harmful than nutritious. But let’s look at the details of the study, shall we? The full study is available online. It is very disappointing that not even the EurekAlert article mentions the extensive efforts to control for convariates, as that is crucial to assessing any study like this.

This study, looking for an association between meat-eating habits and risk of death, is correlational research. I expect y’all know the warning on that: “Correlation does not mean causation!” And in general, that’s true; some unaddressed variable might be more responsible for the association than the variables under study. However, with sound methodology, sufficient statistical power, and appropriate statistical analyses, a researcher may be justified in speculating about a causative relationship ... but that is largely the stuff of dreams—a sort of Holy Grail statisticians talk about, but researchers rarely see.

So yeah, if you’re suspecting that I have issues with this study, you’re right. With over half a million participants, and an impressive covariate list, what can I gripe about? Let me roll up my sleeves ...

This is a fairly easy cake to make, especially if one is willing to invest some time into the mise en place; that really helps speed the mixing process. Oh, and this cake is not my idea. I spied the recipe at Simply Recipes, and have streamlined the process a bit and also made some substitutions that improved the cake—at least in the opinion of the cake’s fans here.

This is a bourbon cake; if you don’t like bourbon you may try substituting other alcohols for it, such as rum, coffee liqueur, or maybe a nice vanilla brandy. But alcohol is an essential component of this cake; if you want a regular chocolate cake, there are many splendiferous recipes out there for your discovery and enjoyment.

As we were, just the other day ... I never thought I’d say this, but I actually agree with something The Anointed One is credited with saying.

Just when you thought life could not POSSIBLY get any better... I just came from the grocery store wherein there was on display, for my and other potential consumer's consideration........ a Lindt Gourmet CHILI infused chocolate bar. Say WHAT??? Yes. You read that right, Chocolate AND Chili in one convenient package. Damn but it was good.

I claim no responsibility for what anyone may do with this information.

- NonE

There’s all kinds of good advice available on how to weather economic crises, including variants depending upon one’s circumstances (e.g., urban or rural). I realized yesterday, while conversing with someone regarding stockpiling supplies for oneself as well as possible barter, that I am not only flouting one very good bit of that advice, but I will continue to cheerfully do so for as long as I can.

You can blame or credit NonEntity for this ramble, as you will ... his post’s links triggered S.E.S.S. flashbacks, which Lila recently revived.

Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water again...

This article at Mercola is worth some consideration.

The bottom line is that if a processed food label includes “vegetable oil” as an ingredient, you can be absolutely sure you’re about to consume either interesterified fats, or trans fats.

And on another front, John McDougall has an article at Lew's Place which is of interest. The information I get from McDougall seems to be in contradiction to that I've found at Weston Price Foundation's site, and I'm not sure what to make of all of this. But for those who are seriously interested in healthy nutrition, I suggest that both of these places seem to have messages worthy of serious investigation.

After last year’s garden bust, one might think I’d be wary of trying again. Not so—it was a very important learning experience for me, and I think that even if we had the same sucky, erratic weather, I’d do better this year.

With the pewter skies of winter starting to lighten here at last, and the days lengthening pretty dramatically (if one pays attention, that is), gardenlust has risen in my blood, just like sap in the sugar maples. It isn’t helping that several people are posting their garden progress. Alas, my circumstances are too unsettled at present for me to embark on a full-scale garden this year. But my gardenlust must be sated. And I have found a way to sate it! Best of all, it’ll start producing in very short order.

I thought I’d already touched on all that was likely to be of interest to you eleven, but a few comments made in private have brought requests to expand upon fast-related subjects ... so here I am once again.

For anyone who’d like caramels and/or truffles from me, now’s the time to step up! I’ll be offering some new flavors, as well as a few favorites, and would be delighted to create a gift of sweets for you to give on that manufactured celebration of love day [not that I’m jaded or anything].