Category: Garden

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It’s Not Just the Lettuce

The North Carolina cyclospora outbreak is linked to parsley and cilantro, as well as lettuce, according to an update by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDHHS). While parsley and cilantro have been mentioned as possible vectors in this huge outbreak, this is the first time they have been linked to illnesses. North Carolina Cyclospora Outbreak Linked to Parsley and Cilantro – https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2026/north-carolina-cyclospora-outbreak-linked-to-parsley-and-cilantro/

Cyclospora is different from other foodborne pathogens.  It comes from human waste and cannot be removed by washing (although that helps some) or killed by chlorine.  It can only be removed by microfiltration or killed by heat or, maybe, ultra-violet radiation.

It needs to prevented from getting into irrigation water.

Lettuce producers have known about the Cyclospora hazard for more than a decade.  They have not acted, and neither has the government. The Cyclospora outbreak: an everyone-is-at-fault system failure: “LettuceGate” https://www.foodpolitics.com/2026/07/the-cyclospora-outbreak-an-everyone-is-at-fault-system-failure/

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Diet and Dementia

Findings  In this cohort study of 1865 older adults without dementia followed up for up to 15 years, higher diet quality was associated with lower dementia risk. Among participants at higher risk, only a dietary pattern with lower inflammatory potential showed consistent inverse associations. Diet Quality and Dementia Risk in Older Adults With Alzheimer Pathology – https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2850780

This morning I lowered my risk for dementia with a bowl of berries, banana, and Greek yogurt.

Last Night

Smoked Pulled Pork, Mac & Cheese, Bacon, Cheddar-Jack, Sweet & Smokey BBQ Sauce and Green Onions.

At least the potato didn’t do any damage.

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Chili Peppers of the World

Capsaicin, the compound that makes chili peppers hot is an evolutionary filter designed to punish mammals and reward birds. Mammals feel it as pain because mammal digestion destroys seeds. Birds don’t have the receptor that detects it, so they eat the fruit, fly off, and deposit the seeds far from the plant from which they ate. The plant needed birds, and birds didn’t mind the heat, because to them there was no heat to mind.

Bell peppers have the right amount of heat for me.

Breeders selected the heat out entirely: what’s left is crunch, sweetness, and color. The breeding of large, capsaicin-free peppers predates the age of Columbus, probably by hundreds of years. Green bells are just unripe; red, orange, and yellow are the same fruit left on the plant longer, sweeter, higher in vitamin C. My wife spent years avoiding the green ones for exactly that reason, until one day she bit into a fresh one and something clicked: that raw, grassy crunch, that sharp brightness the ripe ones don’t have. The most widely planted pepper on earth, mild enough for everyone, and capable, apparently, of surprise. Chili Peppers of the World – https://www.notesfromtheroad.com/desertmexico/chili-peppers.html

Another electronic Sticky Note for times when I want to read up on the history of peppers.

HT – Barry Ritholtz – https://ritholtz.com/2026/06/10-friday-am-reads-503/

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Lessons Learned From a Lifetime of Cooking #13

Over the years when I invited friends over for dinner they got pretty excited. One day I asked a guest what’s with all the excitement?

Chinese food! They were expecting something I really sucked at making. To this day I don’t make much Chinese/Asian stuff. I’d rather go out and eat something someone actually knows how to make.

So Lesson #13 is this: technique. This is the how and why a dish, despite following the recipe exactly, tastes better than yours.

I found this video and I now know why my Chicken and Broccoli never tastes as good as the restaurant versions.

Who says you can’t teach an old trick new dogs?

Memo to Self – Don’t be discouraged to learn there are Chinese Americans out there more Chinese than you.

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Lessons Learned From a Lifetime of Cooking #11

  • You can be friends for over 20 years and never know there’s one person in the group who doesn’t like cabbage.
  • Everyone does not collect cookbooks (but they should).
  • When you enjoy cooking and get good at it people assume you know more than you do.
  • I was asked how to prepare turnips. I’ve never cooked a turnip in my entire life.
  • People don’t know who Jacques Pépin is. Seriously?
  • Fresh parsley is cheap. Fresh chives are not cheap (time to grow some at home).
  • Every now and then, take your dinner guests outside of their comfort zones. Make a chicken dish from a French chef who learned how to make the dish from his Mother. Make them drink something other than a massively fruit forward California red.

Memo to Self – For this dish one boneless chicken breast feeds two people. Jacques says this in the video but I didn’t believe him.

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Sauerkraut and Your Gut

Researchers tested whether sauerkraut’s nutrients could help protect intestinal cells from inflammation-related damage. The study compared raw cabbage, sauerkraut and the liquid brine left behind from the fermentation process. The sauerkraut samples included both store-bought products and fermented cabbage made in the lab.

They found that sauerkraut helped maintain the integrity of intestinal cells, while raw cabbage and brine did not. Marco said that there was also no noticeable difference between grocery store sauerkraut and the lab-made version. University of California – Davis. “The gut health benefits of sauerkraut.”The gut health benefits of sauerkraut https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250414162040.htm (accessed April 15, 2025).

I stopped eating sauerkraut a long time ago when I stopped eating hot dogs.

Tofu dogs anyone?

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Lessons Learned From a Lifetime of Cooking #10

I’ve always preferred baking sweet potatoes over boiling and mashing sweet potatoes because my boiled version always turned out watery.

I just learned you have to boil the peeled sweet potatoes whole. After about 45-50 minutes check to see if the potatoes are cooked through. Then drain and return to the cooking pot. Turn the heat on to low and start smashing, and mashing while constantly stirring to avoid burning (I use a wooden spoon). After about five minutes a good amount of moisture will have evaporated from the potatoes. This is why sweet potatoes made this way aren’t too loose and watery. Add a splash of milk or half and half, a bunch of butter, salt and pepper to taste.

Memo to Self – buy more sweet potatoes, eat more sweet potatoes.

Photo by wr heustis on Pexels.com
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Eat More Broccoli

In this new study, published in Nature Microbiology, Professor Anders Rosengren and colleagues have instead looked at prediabetes. This condition is a precursor to type 2 diabetes, with slowly rising blood sugar levels due to impaired insulin production.

The study encompassed 89 people with elevated fasting blood sugar, an indicator of prediabetes. Other criteria included the participants being overweight or obese and 35-75 years old.

The participants were randomly assigned sulforaphane or a placebo for twelve weeks. Neither the participants nor the researchers knew who was assigned which. A total of 74 participants completed all stages of the study.

The results show that participants taking the sulforaphane compound had a higher average reduction in fasting blood sugar than those taking the placebo. The difference between the two groups in the study was considerable.

University of Gothenburg. “Reduced prediabetes in people who ate broccoli compound.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250214003212.htm (accessed February 21, 2025).

Eat More Broccoli. Sauteed in extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Lots of garlic.

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