August 2010

Massive Egg Recall: It Didn't Have To Happen

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Much has been made of the massive egg recall, which last I heard had hit a billion eggs.  A billion eggs recalled!  The thought is simply staggering.  

While we're busy getting sick from contaminated eggs, chickens in the UK are being vaccinated against salmonella to prevent the infection in the first place. 

Eggs from vaccinated chickens bear a red lion stamp (pictured), and command a higher price.  Almost a decade ago, the British government announced that the vaccination program had reduced food poisoning cases by a whopping 50%.

Hakarl: The Dish Gordon Ramsay Couldn't Keep Down

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Earlier today I was researching information about the Greenland shark for a post about a rash of strange seal deaths.  Everything about that story is strange, including the Greenland shark itself.

For one thing, the Greenland shark is poisonous.  But if you let it rot, the poison breaks down, and you can eat it.  If you are really, really brave.  This traditional dish is called "hakarl," and is not for the faint of heart.

Bacon Popcorn

We had crispy bacon for breakfast. It's not something we do very often, so it was a bit of a treat. It was fabulous, in that way that only just cooked crisp bacon on a misty slightly chilly early fall morning is fabulous. But then late this afternoon, in a fit of bourgeoisie decadence, we had popcorn cooked in a little bacon grease, with South African Chardonnay.