Rabu, 07 November 2018
Selasa, 06 November 2018
What's It Like to Run a Vegetable Farm?
A few weeks ago, I happened to be standing in a huge celery field in Salinas, California, right before the celery was about to be harvested. I tweeted a picture of the field and asked if people could identify the vegetable. Some guessed parsley. Others thought it might be cilantro or lovage. Although celery is one of the most commonly consumed vegetables, I'd never actually seen it growing in a field—where it looks a lot different than it does in those little plastic sleeves!
Despite the huge growth of farmer's markets, community gardens, and CSAs in recent years, the vast majority of the food we eat is produced by large-scale growers: the fruit and vegetable growers, cattle ranchers, dairy farmers, and others who fill up the bins and shelves at our local grocery stores with an unbelievable abundance and variety of fresh food, week after week, year round.
Over the past couple of years, I've had the opportunity to visit many of these operations and to meet the people who dedicate their lives to feeding us. And I want you to meet them too and to learn more about this vital link in our food chain. In the next several weeks leading up to the American Thanksgiving holiday, I'm going to be talking to some of the people who are helping to bring that feast (as well as every other day's meals) to our table.
This week, I spoke with Dale Huss, the VP of Artichoke Production for Ocean Mist Farms. Headquartered in Castroville, California, Ocean Mist Farms is the largest grower of fresh artichokes in the United States.
For many of us, fresh artichokes are a bit of a novelty—not something we buy and prepare on a weekly basis. But maybe we should be! One medium artichoke provides 3.5 grams of protein and almost 7 grams of fiber, all for just 60 calories. In particular, artichokes are high in inulin, a type of insoluble fiber that acts as a prebiotic, providing food for the beneficial bacteria in our gut. Artichokes are also high in antioxidant activity.
In addition to artichokes, Ocean Mist Farms grows beets, broccoli, lettuce, and many other vegetables (including celery!) in California, Arizona, and Mexico. Interestingly, Ocean Mist grows both organic and conventional produce.
In our conversation—which you can listen to in this article's audio player or read an excerpt from below—Dale explains what it takes to get all of those vegetables from the fields to our front door, some of the chemical-free techniques that they use to control pests in both their organic and conventional crops, and the challenges that our farmers are facing.
I hope you enjoy this opportunity to learn a bit more about the people who bring the food to our tables.
... Keep reading on Quick and Dirty TipsHoliday Bread in Five Minutes a Day
Pumpkin Pie Bread
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Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips38 Pro Tips for Every At-Home Chef
From keeping a hair dryer in the kitchen to stacking pots and pans, these clever hacks will have your food coming out better, all while being easier for you to make.
Maximize Your Ingredient
1. Spin-Dry for Best Results
You need to wash and dry fresh herbs (just like fruits and veggies) before using. But wet herbs can turn into a mess on your cutting board, and any lingering moisture can dilute their flavor. Of course, you can let herbs dry naturally on a paper towel. Or you can speed the process by tossing them in a salad spinner or giving them some help with a hair dryer.
2. Shake Up Your Garlic
It can be so simple to remove the skins from garlic! Just break the cloves off from the head and place them in a bowl or mug. Place another bowl on top and shake heartily. Even more fun: Use a cocktail shaker! With either approach, the skins will start to come off, making the garlic easy to peel.
3. Skip the Point
The pointy end of lemons can make them difficult to squeeze by hand or even with a press. Take just a second to trim that end and create a flat edge. The reward: More juice!
4. Better Butter Spread
To make your butter super spreadable for bread or corn on the cob, take a room-temperature stick of butter and whip it with a small amount of water. Not only does this trick make it light and spreadable, but it will also last longer because it expands in volume!
5. Never Leave Your List at Home Again
How many times have you jotted down the ingredients you need to purchase for a new recipe, only to leave the list at home? Next time, take a photo of the ingredient list with your smartphone. You’re much less likely to forget your phone than a random scrap of paper. And it’s eco-friendly.
Master Smart Techniques
6. Simple Step to Better Bacon
Pan-fried bacon never seems to cook evenly, because we try to cram in slices that don’t fit so well. The super-easy solution: Cut the slices in half. They’ll lay flatter to cook and fit into sandwiches better to gobble up.
7. Press Your Breakfast
Have a panini press tucked back in a cabinet? Pull it out to cook breakfast! Just a few minutes in the press cooks bacon crisp and delicious. Or create an omelet: Scatter some chopped veggies on the press, pour two beaten eggs over the top, and close the press to cook for about 2 minutes. Roll the result to serve and eat.
8. Sandwich Toast That’s Tops
When toasting bread for sandwiches, put two slices of bread in one wide toaster slot. That way, the bread gets toasty on the outside but stays soft on the inside. Great for BLTs!...
Does Your Heel Ache? 7 Ways to Treat Plantar Fasciitis
I spent the last year (or so) dealing with a type of foot pain that is referred to as Plantar Fasciitis (plan-tar fash-ee-eye-tus), or PF for short. During that time, I tried pretty much anything and everything. Here are a few things I learned that you can try if your plantar's fascia becomes inflamed.
What Is PF?
The ligament called the plantar fascia is a flat band of tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot and connects your heel bone to your toes. One of its most important duties is to support the arch of your foot. If you upset your plantar fascia, it can get swollen, irritated, and inflamed, which will make your heel hurt when you stand or walk. Most often the pain is stabbing and intense during your first few steps in the morning, and again after any time you spend sitting idly for a while. Other than that, it is mostly confined to an annoying ache.
Plantar fasciitis is defined as "an overuse syndrome characterized by localized inflammation or degeneration of the plantar fascia at its anatomical insertion on the calcaneus.” Simplified, that means that it is not the whole plantar fascia that is likely inflamed, it is just a particular point (the anatomical insertion) where the tissue attaches to the bone (the calcaneus) that experiences inflammation or degeneration.
Plantar fasciitis is common in middle-aged people and it can occur in one foot or both feet. Luckily, I only have it in one. #blessed
How to Treat It
Common treatments for Plantar Fasciitis include using a heel insert (which I tried—meh), night splints that keep your foot in a dorsal flexed position (I have enough trouble sleeping, thanks—meh), non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (masking the pain—meh), injection of a corticosteroid (maybe, if I get desperate enough, but until then—meh), and staying off your feet (be more sedentary—double meh). Let's look at some other treatments that feel a little more get-fit and quick and dirty.
1. Stretching
Stretching is very helpful for treating Plantar Fasciitis because it can help reduce inflammation and provide greater elasticity in and around the affected area. If you have PF you should stretch your calves and your hamstrings. You should also stop wearing shoes with heels (any size of heel) which is known to cause shortening of your Achilles tendons, hamstrings, and so much more.
While you are at it, it is a good idea to make sure your pelvis aligns where it belongs as well. Biomechanist Katy Bowman has a great page about pelvic alignment called Mind Your Pelvis. I have actually noticed that during my morning “wake-up &...
Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips3 Ways to Use Doorways (Yes, Doorways) as Learning Tools
Use doors (yes, doors) to unlock the power of your mind.
Through all of human history, one thing holds a special place in our hearts: doors. Yes, doors. We put them everywhere. We have front doors. Back doors. Side doors. Kitchen doors. Bathroom doors. What’s our most tasty snack food? DOOR-itos. Who liquidated the Wicked Witch of the West? DOOR-othy. And this happens everywhere. Who kills bulls in one-on-one combat? Mata-DOORs. Imagine how powerful you’ll be if you can learn to use Doors to become a master of the universe!
On the advice of a neuroscientist, I read an article about brains and doors. You might think it was about how zombies go through doors to find brains to eat (the zombie equivalent of DOOR-itos). But it wasn’t. It was about how our brains use doorways to create transitions.
Doors Change Brains
When you walk through a doorway, you tend to forget what you’re thinking about. Your mind gets cleared to make room for lots of great new stuff. Researcher Gabriel Radvansky explains that walking through a doorway creates an "event boundary" in the mind. Your mind separates episodes of activity and files them away.
The article doesn’t say how to use this. But maybe...just maybe...I’ve learned techniques in the past that worked, for no obvious reason. It may be that the doorway effect is why they worked. Here are some doorways. Use them and send along an email sharing your experience.
How to Become Confident Using Doors
Have you ever felt imposter syndrome? You’re invited to advise the United Nations on how to nullify the nefarious plans of Dr. Sinister. You think “They must have made a mistake. They can’t possibly mean to invite little ol' me.” But they did. You’re the only one who even knows Dr. Sinister exists, much less how to thwart the evil doctor. That makes you the most qualified. You just feel like an imposter.
Almost everyone has imposter syndrome. And if someone doesn’t? Be very careful. They’re probably way too confident with absolutely no competence to justify the confidence.
When you arrive at the United Nations, stop. Look for the doorway leading into the room where you’ll meet the assembled Forces of Good. Imagine the doorway has a shimmering energy curtain. This curtain activates the most confident, intelligent, good-looking, heroic version of yourself. (It looks amazingly like me! What an incredible coincidence.)
When you step...
Senin, 05 November 2018
The Science of Tipping Points: How 25% Can Create a Majority
Around 100 years ago, women were legally banned from wearing pants. In fact, women were not allowed to wear pants on the floor of the United States Senate until 1993. In the 17th century, men commonly wore high heels. In the '80s and '90s, you could expect to be greeted with a thick cloud of cigarette smoke when you entered public spaces, like restaurants and even offices. As a child, I rarely rode in a car seat and always slept on my stomach in a crib surrounded by soft, padded bumpers—all things that would get a parent ostracized if not arrested today.
Less than 10 years ago, marriage was not a privilege extended to everyone—and now we have viral videos of two grooms doing incredibly impressive lifts and mashup dances for their first dance. I can now get a care package of cookies delivered to my friend who just had surgery at her door in less than 48 hours and they’ll look better than any that I could make myself anyway. Public opinion is even turning on climate change. In the United States, the majority believes not only that global warming is real but that we should be doing more to combat it.
As much as we feel bounded by them, our societal norms are usually fluid. Sometimes that fluidity comes about because of advances in our knowledge about safety or public health or the irrefutable science behind a warming atmosphere. Sometimes our societal norms are adapting to new technologies. And sometimes we see changes in public perspective because we begin to allow ourselves to accept change and the associated risk.
But where does that tipping point happen? When does a minority opinion begin to become the majority? It turns out that you don’t have to wait for 50% of the group to be on board with an idea for that idea to have any hope of become the majority opinion.
A New Tipping Point Study
In a study recently published in the journal Science, Dr. Damon Centola of the University of Pennsylvania and his collaborators found that the tipping point comes at only 25%. In other words, once a minority view is held by at least one quarter of the group, that minority view will take over and eventually become the majority.
The fact that this so-called tipping point comes into play far below a 50% majority is not a new discovery. In a ground-breaking study from 1977 led by Dr. Rosabeth Kanter, the treatment of...
Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips