https://www.foodpolitics.com/2026/10/mushrooms-a-collection-of-relatively-recent-items/
Eat real food. Don’t pop those pills.
The Illnesses Are Not in the Plant. They Are in the Water.
Cyclospora cayetanensis lives only in people. It reaches a lettuce field exactly one way, which is human waste getting into the irrigation water or onto the ground. That is not something lettuce does. It is something we do upstream of lettuce, and the record says so every time. FDA’s advisory changed this month from an onsite inspection at the processing plant to onsite inspections at iceberg lettuce growers in Mexico, which is the agency saying in public that the problem sits upstream of the plant. The 2018 romaine outbreak was traced to an irrigation canal in the Yuma growing region. In 2020 FDA found Cyclospora in a canal serving an Indiana farm that supplied a salad processor, though the agency said its genetic typing could not establish that the canal parasite caused the illnesses. The same Guanajuato facility sat at the center of a Cyclospora outbreak in 2013, and FDA’s environmental assessment then told the firm to determine whether the parasite was a reasonably likely hazard in that growing region and to re-evaluate the wash step. Stop eating lettuce tomorrow and every one of those water sources is still there, still running onto something somebody eats.
The Washington Post Says We Should Stop Eating Lettuce. I Have Sued Lettuce Companies Since 2000, and I Still Think That Is the Wrong Answer. The Illnesses Are Not in the Plant. They Are in the Water. https://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/the-washington-post-says-we-should-stop-eating-lettuce-i-have-sued-lettuce-companies-since-2000-and-i-still-think-that-is-the-wrong-answer-the-illnesses-are-not-in-the-plant-they-are-in-the-water/
Lettuce think about this.
Salmonella Jalapeños – YUM
A Salmonella Jalapeño outbreak has sickened at least 345 people in 27 states, according to the CDC. Half of those people ate at Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants and QDOBA locations in seven states. The peppers were imported from Sinaloa Mexico and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors. Salmonella Jalapeño Outbreak Sickens 345, Chipotle and QDOBA – https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2026/salmonella-jalapeno-outbreak-sickens-345-chipotle-and-qdoba/
Spicy !
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/
It’s the lettuce
Do not eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/outbreaks/07-26/investigation.html
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.
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/
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.
Lessons Learned From a Lifetime of Cooking #12
The 5 Ingredients You’ll Always Find in Jacques Pépin’s Kitchen
https://www.foodandwine.com/jacques-pepin-pantry-staples-11790988
Memo to Self – OK to use cheaper olive oil for cooking. Dried herbs essential, fresh is better.
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.
