FDA: Not such Breathable Foods

Following on NY Senator Charles Schumer’s request last December, the FDA has sent a Warning Letter to Breathable Foods, Inc. for its marketing of the AeroShot caffeine inhaler, which commits a multitude of violations against law and common sense. It’s kind of a long letter, and I hope I’m not the only one here who [...]

Whif? Whaf? The Wonka of breathable food faces FDA review

The French surprisingly enough didn’t mind the fact that many of the chocolate inhalers didn’t work well, or that they started coughing whenever the chocolate powder went the wrong way. Even more surprisingly, it didn’t really matter what kind or quality of chocolate was in the little gadgets, or how it actually tasted in comparison with actual chocolate. This was closer to participating in Modern Art, or at least in fashion’s idea of modern art.

Dressing (or not) for Dinner

Everyone interviewed seems to be worried about whether San Francisco’s nudists are going to observe decent etiquette in restaurants. Surely such a fashion faux pas as wearing an iPhone belt while roaming nude rules them out of being a big threat?

When life hands you sour cherries, pit them!

When my grandparents moved back out of New York City after retiring, my dad discovered an old Mott’s prune juice jug in a box in the garage. It was filled with a mysterious dark liquid with red lumpy stuff at the bottom. It turned out that forgetting the sour cherry vishniak he’d put up with vodka back in the 1950s was the best thing Grandpa could have done to it.

Pyrex and Anchor Hocking now both unsafe for cooking

A lot of my recipes suggest Pyrex glassware for microwaving, because I’ve been using my old Pyrex bowls for years without any problems. But the January Consumer Reports feature on exploding glass bakeware and the tests they ran on Pyrex and Anchor Hocking are scary. The new glassware is made using a cheaper, less stable formula and it’s more liable to shatter under hot-cold shifts even though it’s been tempered.

All Those Magazine Microwave Tips

A lot of big-name food writers are starting to incorporate microwave tips in their publishing repertoires, but some of them don’t really know how to use a microwave for much or else they don’t do the important legwork and test out their suggestions under varying conditions so that readers won’t get burned. Here’s why you shouldn’t microwave your dish sponges, microwave gel masks, or believe most of the ain’t-it-amazing microwave tips you see in the housekeeping magazines. Plus a few recommendations for microwave cookbooks that are actually worth checking out if you’re serious about real food.

Political Pancakes, or, Why is Borders flogging so much lard?

Borders has just sent me an offer I can smell from here–four ultraconservative books-to-be at deep, deep discount for preorder. What does it say (reading the tea leaves here) when Newt Gingrich looks like the most coherent and readable (and properly-dressed) selection? My response–a lard-free and much more appetizing breakfast of pancakes. With patriotic red and blue berries.

Excuses, excuses

I’ve been away from SlowFoodFast for 3 weeks moving, seeing the inside of the hospital when I didn’t expect to, and moving yet some more, because it’s not done and we can’t find anything in the garage, which is full of boxes. But back to business next week, just in time for Passover…

Play with your food…

In a season of too many boring holiday cookies, this take on playing with your food, from artist/New York Times blogger Christoff Niemann, caught my eye…

Why All the Mealy Peaches?

You’ve come to this site in desperate need of ways to redeem the disappointing peaches that are all they sell in the supermarkets these days. Even in peach season. My post on microwaving mealy peaches came out last summer, when I bought them so many times in a row I started wondering if it was just me. It wasn’t. They’re back, and there’s a reason. You can get good peaches if you buy local, your grocery store buys domestic, or you have your own fruit trees. But under the economic realities of supermarket produce today, we may not see good peaches again at any price in the stores unless something big changes. Maybe that “something” should be us.