Archive for the ‘Reconstructed’ Category
Usually, since this is mostly a recipe blog, I don’t talk about politics. But, I feel this is a very important subject, and since it is about food, I feel it is appropriate. Normally, I make a “read more” link in my posts, but not this one. I want you to read the whole thing, right now.
- What is GMO?
- Is GMO Safe?
- GMO Corn Kills Bees
- Facebook Conspiracy
- Dr. Oz Censored on GMO
- Who is behind No on 37?
- Conclusion
If you live in California, and you are a registered voter, please remember to vote Yes on 37, the GMO Food labeling initiative. If you wish, you may read Prop 37′s text.
If you don’t live in California, then please take this matter up with your own representatives. Speak up on Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, tell your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers, people on the street. If you know someone who does live in California, please call them and urge them to vote on 37. What happens in California often cascades into other states, so we cannot afford to lose this one.
Update: November 7, 2012 – Prop 37 did not win, Monsanto did. However, you can still shop smart and not eat GMO foods by finding what crops have been affected. The GMO Database is not American, so I feel it may be a little more truthful.
What is GMO?
What is the big deal about GMO? GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. This does not mean something that would occur naturally, like two different plants making a new plant. This is about scientists taking DNA from one organism and putting it into another, so that host will acquire traits of the organism. Soybeans have been developed that express a crystalline insecticidal protein from Bacillus thuringiensis – got it? The soybean got a bacteria’s DNA – this would never happen in nature.
Is GMO Safe?
Which brings up the question, is this safe? What about allergens? What if you happen to be allergic to that bacteria? What happens when we consume a lot of it? Huh? The FDA considers GMO safe, but they thought Fen-Phen was safe, too, and a host of others we hear class action lawyer commercials about late at night. Sometimes, it takes a long time for side effects to appear. I don’t want my child to be a science experiment, do you want yours?
In Europe, GMO foods are labeled. As a matter of fact, some countries have even destroyed their Monsanto corn because it was invading non-GMO corn, and actually killing bees.
GMO Corn Kills Bees
Bees? Sure, bees make honey, but they are also responsible to most pollination of the plants on this planet. Without bees, there’s no pollination; without pollination, there’s no plants. We die. Read the Reuters article Mystery of Disappearing Bees. What is killing the bees? It’s GMO corn crops, made by who? Monsanto, of course.
Facebook Conspiracy
Today, November 1, 2012, I noticed that there was a No on 37 Like status on my Facebook news feed. It appeared as a new status. Researching it, I discovered that it was from October 22, 2012 – a full 10 days ago, but only 5 days before the election November 6, 2012. I did not notice any Yes on 37′s as “new” status on my news feed. Makes you wonder, huh?
Dr. Oz Censored
Dr. Mehmet Oz had a show about GMO foods on October 18, 2012. The show was censored in some parts of the country. These are actual posts on Facebook reporting it – I omitted names for privacy reasons.
Fox5 in San Diego pre-emptied the segment on GMOs with an old re-run of News Radio. Instead of important information vital to voters in California, we got to watch an actor (who is not longer alive, by the way) puffing away obsessively on a cigarette.
You should know that the Fox affiliate in San Diego that broadcasts your show broadcast a rerun of “News Radio” for the first half hour of your show. I’m assuming this is the part of the show that covered Gmo’s. The broadcast resumed to show your segments of 3 issues women should know about, BUT your usual wrap up at the end was replaced with blackness for about 1 minute. No sound. No picture. Did you say something else about GMO’S at the end? In light of Prop 37 on the ballot in California in November, it is pretty obvious you were censored by Fox.
Who is Behind No on 37?
Who is behind No on 37? The biggest contributor is Monsanto, who with $7,100,000.00 in contributions, brought us such horrors as DDT and Agent Orange. Monsanto said they were safe – obviously, they’re not. Who else is on the No bandwagon?
| Contributor | Amount |
|---|---|
| MONSANTO | $7,100,000.00 |
| E.I. DUPONT DE NEMOURS & CO. | $4,900,000.00 |
| PEPSICO, INC. | $2,145,400.00 |
| BASF PLANT SCIENCE | $2,000,000.00 |
| BAYER CROPSCIENCE | $2,000,000.00 |
| DOW AGROSCIENCES LLC | $2,000,000.00 |
| SYNGENTA CORPORATION | $2,000,000.00 |
| KRAFT FOODS GLOBAL, INC. | $1,646,000.00 |
| COCA-COLA NORTH AMERICA | $1,455,500.00 |
| NESTLE USA, INC. | $1,315,600.00 |
| CONAGRA FOODS | $1,176,700.00 |
| GENERAL MILLS, INC. | $1,135,300.00 |
| KELLOGG COMPANY | $790,700.00 |
| SMITHFIELD FOODS, INC. | $683,900.00 |
| DEL MONTE FOODS COMPANY | $674,100.00 |
Conclusion
I hope what I have written here is enough to get you to go to the polls on November 6, 2012 and vote YES on Prop 37. Even if you don’t vote for anything else, vote for this. Our children and our children’s children depend on you.
Did you just click on the link that said conclusion without reading the article? Well, here’s a second chance, with links to the various parts. Please be informed.
Posted in Fruit, News, Rants, Reconstructed, Reviews, Vegetarian | 
Tags: canola, corn, papaya, Rice, soy | 
8 Comments »
Recipes in this Post
Sometimes, you need a little Christmas, right this very minute. That’s why we love ham steaks, because you satisfy your craving for a good piece of ham, without having to cook a whole ham. If you’re lucky, you even get to have the bone with the luscious marrow.
When I make a whole ham, I usually make a glaze of Russian mustard and Sour Cherry preserves. It’s sweet and a little hot, and definitely wakes up the ham. One of the traditional gravies for ham steak is Red Eye gravy, which has, you guessed it, coffee in it. I wanted to incorporate both.
Since The Good Plate is all about deconstructing packaged foods, and one everyone likes a lot is Rice-a-Roni. Rice-a-Roni is rice pilaf, but with way too much salt and other preservatives. There’s no need to use the box, just get the ingredients together and make it from scratch – you know what’s going in it, and you can add whatever you want.
Over the weekend, I made a salad with a new dressing. It was fresh dill and lime, and Amber absolutely loved it. She asked for it again tonight, so I’m including the recipe for it here.
Remember, if you’re having a ham steak, and you don’t want your bone, just give it to me!
Posted in Comfort Food, Evening, Reconstructed, Salads, Sauces, Sides, Vegetarian |
Tags: almonds, Avocado, cinnamon, coffee, dill, dried cranberries, dried red onion, flour, green onions, ham steak, Mushrooms, Pasta, Persian cucumbers, Russian mustard, Sour Cherry Preserve, tomato, vegetable base |
4 Comments »
Recipes in this Post
I really like watching America’s Test Kitchen, and follow them on Facebook. So, when they announced a Kitchen Challenge to make Chicken à la King, I just had to take up the challenge. What makes my Chicken a la King different? Well, it’s barbecue season, and my Weber was sitting outside, crying that it couldn’t join in the fun. I thought to myself, why not? Pimentos are nothing more than very mild chili peppers. I had some lovely yellow, orange and red sweet peppers, and I had some mushrooms and shallots. I also had a chicken breast. All those could go on the grill, couldn’t they? Sure, they could get a lot of flavor to add to a dish that I already really like.
The America’s Test Kitchen challenge is to cook like it’s 1917. Charcoal was developed from waste wood scrap in the Ford Motor Company in 1920, and renamed Kingsford thereafter. Kingsford was a relative of Henry Ford. The Weber grill was not invented until the 1960s but I’m sure that people were barbecuing in some sort of fashion in 1917 – how else would Henry Ford have been able to sell charcoal? I think I’m okay with the time-line, don’t you?
Posted in Evening, Indulgences, Left Overs, Make Ahead, Reconstructed, Sauces, The Weber! |
Tags: butter, chicken, Chicken Base, cream, flour, green onions, Marsala, Mushrooms, shallots in oil, sweet peppers, True Lemon, white wine |
4 Comments »
Recipes in this Post
Raleigh Burger – Coleslaw Cheddar on a Kaiser Roll
Raleigh Burger – Coleslaw Cheddar on a Kaiser Roll
There used to be a wonderful coffee-shop in Santa Monica called Nick’s. One day, I went in there and ordered something called a Nick Burger. It had coleslaw and swiss cheese on it. It was so juicy you had to eat it over the plate. It became my favorite burger, and tonight, I decided to recreate it, with a little zip.
I’ve been becoming very brave of late with my Weber. First I started out with Match Light coals because they were pre-soaked, and easy to get started. Then, I graduated to using charcoal fluid and regular coals. Then today, I realized I had run out of fluid, and the corner store was closed. I knew that there are specially made charcoal chimney starters, and I thought I could make one from scratch. It wasn’t difficult at all making a homemade charcoal chimney starter. No more relying on charcoal fluid for me!
Posted in Methods, Reconstructed, The Weber! |
Tags: cabbage, charcoal, cheddar cheese, Chipotle Powder, coffee can, dried onions, ground sirloin, newspaper, olive oil, Red Wine vinegar, sugar, wheatgerm, worcestershire sauce |
6 Comments »
Dressed Lobster and Rose Petal Salad
Recipes in this Post
Dressed Lobster and Rose Petal Salad
When I was a little girl, my mother used to go on about how she loved going to her grandmother’s house when she would serve Lobster and Rose salad. I was always hoping that my mother would recreate the recipe, but she never did.
When my great-grandmother was making this salad, lobster was a lot less expensive. I decided that for my birthday, despite to cost, I would recreate Christine Jorgensen’s recipe myself.
I went to the market and bought a small lobster tail. I broiled it and put it on the table to cool before putting it in the refrigerator. All of a sudden, I heard a ker-plunk, looked up, and there was our Maine Coon cat, Miss Rolo Louise Knocker-Offer Boswell, looking guilty, with the end of the hot lobster tail in her mouth, trying to run off with it. I ran up to her and said “Hey, you can’t have that. That’s MY dinner!” I grabbed it, and washed it off. I don’t think she had gotten a chance to eat any of it.
Spane and I had the lobster and rose salad for my birthday dinner. When I tasted it, I could understand why my mother had gone on about how good it was. The combination of buttery lobster and astringently sweet rose was an incredible treat for my mouth. It was truly amazing!
Posted in Birthdays and Receptions, Easter, Friday Food, Holidays, Indulgences, Pescatarian, Reconstructed, Salads, Spring, Summer, Valentines Day |
Tags: boston lettuce, lemon, lobster, rose petals |
5 Comments »
Recipes in this Post
On rainy days, the first thing some people think of is a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. I thought of that, too, but since The Good Plate is all about reconstructing packaged foods, I decided to make tomato soup from scratch.
You will find that it is just as easy to make as opening the can. You probably have all the ingredients already on hand, and it’s very economical, too.
Posted in Lunch, Reconstructed, Soups |
Tags: cream, crushed tomato, fresh basil, vegetable base |
3 Comments »
