Synesthesia

“Synesthesia,” a 2009 short film by Terri Timley (Ian Kibbey and Corey Creasey).

syn·es·the·sia syn·aes·the·sia (sĭn’ĭs-thē’zhə) n. 1)A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color. 2) A sensation felt in one part of the body as a result of stimulus applied to another, as in referred pain. 3) The description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another.
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Sugar: Threat or Menace?

Is a sugar a drug? A PBS Digital video by Joe Hanson.

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Hey Kids, Crappy School Lunches Are Back!

On Monday, new Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue got right behind the plow to solve America’s most pressing food problem, the deadly plague of healthy school lunches. The Trump administration has decided that kids should eat the traditional salty slop of their obese, constipated seniors. Chocolate milk is back! Veggies? Gone. Whole grains? Gone. Take that, Michelle Obama!

Official USDA press release: “Ag Secretary Perdue Moves to Make School Meals Great Again.”

More:

“The Trump administration’s tone deaf move on school lunches,” Julia Belluz, Vox

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Image (“Caution: School Lunch”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Mar-a-Lago Kitchens Cited for 13 Health Code Violations

In Florida this month, members of President Trump’s pricy Mar-a-Lago club got some extras in the dining room‘s kitchen: Fish parasites, unrefrigerated raw meats, and more. Mar-a-Lago was cited for a total of 13 health code violations.

But Palm Beach is no Las Vegas. The Trump steakhouse there, DJT,  was cited for 51 health code violations in 2012.

More:

“Undercooled meat. Dangerous fish. Health inspectors ding Trump’s Mar-a-Lago kitchen,” José Lambiet, Miami Herald

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Sichuan Spice

Older chefs and diners in Chengdu, capital of China’s Sichuan Province, are concerned that the popularity of their region’s distinctive cuisine is dragging down its quality. Video produced by Jonah M. Kessel.

More:

“Sichuan Cuisine, Imperiled by Success,” Chris Buckley, New York Times

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A Restaurant Kitchen of Grandmas

Enoteca Maria, a restaurant and wine bar in Staten Island, features two special dishes each day. One is by an Italian nonna, the other by a grandmother from another part of the world. Video by Jessica Leibowitz.

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Affordable Food Recipe

Mark Bittman cooks up some stew and chats with Ricardo Salvador about the recipe for a healthy U.S. food system. Read more about it here and here.

UCS Food & Agriculture website.

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Groundhog Day

It’s February 2nd, time to monitor Marmota monax and dream of winter’s end. Whether or not you believe in woodchuck weathermen, one thing is certain: you can’t have groundhogs if you want a backyard full of fresh garden veggies.

Groundhogs (aka woodchucks, whistlepigs, and marmots) are insecto-vegetarians and confirmed locavores. If you plan to plant this spring, harvest those hairy beasts now. Celebrate Groundhog Day with critter cuisine.

Serving suggestions:

Woodchuck au Vin

Canadian Fried Woodchuck

Groundhog Pie

Woodchuck Recipes from Michigan (Oriental Groundhog,Waco Groundhog in Sour Cream,Woodchuck Stew, Woodchuck Meat Loaf)

More groundhog lore and recipes here and here.

In his book Groundhog Day, Don Yoder reprints a classic groundhog recipe from Cooking with the Groundhog, published as a fundraiser by a hospital auxiliary in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, home of the “official” Groundhog’s Day Festival (there are more than a few others ). A Georgia groundhog is on Twitter.

Five years ago, whilst stalking the elusive picture book Geoffrey Groundhog Predicts the Weather, we espied an ad for the Range Kleen Preseasoned Cast Iron 10 Inch Fry Pan on the book’s Amazon.com page and cooked up today’s graphic. There’s obviously no “storybook ending” to this post if you’re a groundhog.

Related:

“Eight Things You Didn’t Know About Groundhogs,” Jason G. Goldman, Scientific American blog

“Groundhogs and Ground Squirrels: Winter Prognosticators,”  Sharol Nelson-Embry, Quest

“40 years of groundhog forecasts, mapped,” Kennedy Elliott and Shelly Tan, Washington Post

“Punxsutawney Phil: incompetent — or evil?” Phil Edwards, Vox

“Depressed Groundhog Sees Shadow Of Rodent He Once Was,”The Onion

“Where Did Groundhog Day Come From? ” Mental Floss

“A Short History of Groundhog Day,” Danny Lewis, Smithsonian.com

“Groundhog Day Explained,” CGP Grey (video)

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Image (“Marmot sauté, after John James Audubon”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Skillet Apple Crisp & Sustainable Food

Mark Bittman and Ricardo Salvador cook skillet apple crisp and talk about growing real, healthy food that doesn’t damage our soil, water, and climate.

UCS Food & Agriculture website
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Burgers USA

Burgers! That’s America’s food. But wait, the hamburger is named after some German city … what gives? Food historian George Motz and animator Jorge Corona explain: