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Tinypliny's Journal

tinypliny
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06/10/2011 19:51 #54468

Wash your produce well!!
Category: science
A mass scale epidemiological investigation into the German e.coli outbreak spread over the past few weeks FINALLY identified organically grown bean sprouts as the source of the offending e.coli strain. People who ate these sprouts were nine times as likely to develop bloody diarrhoea when compared with people who didn't. From:

After wild allegations against the whole Spanish salad produce industry, the unmasking of the organically grown sprouts as the culprits comes as a bit of a eye-opener about the health risks of organic farming. Are we really sure that the human and animal refuse used as fertilizers in organic farms do not leave behind cysts and eggs of sundry virulent bacteria and parasites? Do we always make sure that we wash our produce well before eating it raw?

In the past, I have been guilty of trusting apparently fresh-looking greens and produce too much and eating them after a cursory wash. However it pays by the spadefuls to remember that cysts/eggs are hardy and can survive mild non-abrasive washing. It is up to us to make sure that our food sources are not contaminated.. and even if they are, that we do the utmost that we can to prevent superficial parasitic and bacterial cysts and eggs from entering our system.
metalpeter - 06/11/11 14:13
See this is why I eat Meat! HA... Why I leave those Vegies alone..HA.... Besides if you eat things well done it kills all the germs now when you put something down on the cutting board or counter you put the meat on then you get sick from cross contamination so again a good reason to eat only Meat! Kidding ..... I wish I was brave like you many of you as much as I would love to try alligator at the art festival there is no way I could.......
libertad - 06/11/11 08:59
I am only going to eat corn dogs for now on.
jbeatty - 06/11/11 07:29
I'm pretty sure using human waste isn't legal, At least in the U.S. I'm sure it's used worldwide and that scares the shit out of me. With that said I wash all produce before I cook with it. I'm more worried about my food supply these days than ever. I'm all about knowing where my food comes from. It's just such a pain to buy local when the growing season is about 4.5 months in WNY.

I have a feeling food irradiation will grow in its use to prevent contaminated food from being consumed in this country.
paul - 06/10/11 23:45
I tripple wash everything since you made fun of me. Maybe its really overkill though. Salad is the one thing that freaks me out really. Everything else gets cooked and fruit is kind of hard for stuff to get inside of.

06/09/2011 19:45 #54461

Raw Applesauce as butter substitute
Category: eating in
Do you think raw applesauce as in
1. Chop apples
2. Blend it like hell.

Will work as well as regular applesauce as a substitute for butter? I have successfully used store-bought applesauce almost completely as a butter substitute but I don't feel like buying those small sealed applesauce plastic cups. And I don't want to take all the time to make "authentic' boiled-in-a-saucepan applesauce.

What do you think? Has anyone tried just using raw applemash as a butter substitute?


EDIT:
The Original Recipe of the Speculoos for 6 biscuits contains:
8 oz Unbleached All-purpose Flour
5 oz Sugar Dark Brown
5 oz Butter
4 tbsp whole milk
1 tsp Baking Soda
2/5 tsp Cinnamon Ground
2/5 tsp Nutmeg, Ground
2/5 tsp Cloves, Ground
2/5 tsp Ginger, Ground
2/5 tsp Ground Black Pepper

with these crazy Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 speculoos
Amount per Serving
Calories..................324
Calories from Fat.....168.8
% Daily Value for a 2000 calorie diet
Total Fat..................18.76g (28%)
Saturated Fat...........11.93g (59%)
Cholesterol...............51.46mg (17%)
Sodium..................180.47mg (7%)
Total Carbohydrate...36.22g (12%)
Dietary Fiber..............0.18g (0%)
Sugars....................20.51g

Protein......................2.37g (4%)

Estimated Percent of Calories from:
Fat====52%
Carbs==44%
Protein==2%

That would be like eating 118% saturated fat in ONE biscuit.

Alternative ingredients to the Belgian Speculoos
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg

tinypliny - 06/11/11 19:39
KEWL! I am totally going to try out and post the results!
theecarey - 06/11/11 18:25
As an oil or butter substitute, applesauce or any fruit puree (pumpkin works really well) is best for muffins, cakes and breads such as banana, zucchini, pumpkin, etc. I have never noticed it alter the taste or texture when making those items.
For biscuits, if looking for a flaky texture, then cold butter is key, but it should otherwise work, albeit they may be more dense than expected.
heidi - 06/10/11 13:23
Authentic applesauce is a delight. I like it chunky with lots of cinnamon. My mom sometimes makes it with those little cinnamon heart candies.
heidi - 06/10/11 13:22
Oh, no, that would not work. You would lose all the yummy and the dough would be a weird texture/consistency.
paul - 06/10/11 09:48
I agree its good in something sweet and moist muffins but definitely not on things like mac and cheese.
libertad - 06/10/11 08:04
I have used applesauce in baking as a substitute for butter for a wholewheat banana bread recipe and I thought it was good. I don't think I would try it in that biscuit recipe though.

You could get applesauce in a jar if you don't like plastic cups.
jbeatty - 06/10/11 05:59
I don't know about an applesauce substitute for butter in that recipe. Your dough might be a sloppy consistency. I would bite the bullet and add the delicious calorie content. I think the butter component in baked goods is the second most important flavor after sugar!
tinypliny - 06/09/11 23:05
Ah, sorry. Tons of missing information here. As usual, I am trying to make my favourite type of biscuits - speculoos!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :::link:::
uncutsaniflush - 06/09/11 22:38
I've tasted apples and I've tasted butter. I'm not sure that one can be substituted for the other without people noticing the substitution.

Perhaps I should ask exactly what stuffs you want to substitute apple mash for butter in.

I don't think that using apple mash in mac and cheese (kraft dinner for all you canucks) instead of butter would work. And I certainly don't think that one could make a good ghee with apple mash. But it might make a wonderful apple sauce.

But that's just me. Your mileage may vary.

More seriously, I'm not a food scientist but some recipes need the fat content of butter (or its analogues) to work.

06/09/2011 12:05 #54457

What do IE tab extensions for Chrome do?
Category: i-tech
This is a question for (e:Paul). I wanted to view the full version of the RPCI Microsoft OWA email client in Chrome but it simply wouldn't allow me. I found these IE extensions for chrome:

1. IE Tab Classic:

2. Chrome IE Tab Multi:

The questions is how do these extensions manage to load the fully featured OWA while native Chrome cannot? Is using these extensions as risky as using IE? How are these extensions working?
tinypliny - 06/15/11 04:27
But I don't have IE on my machine at all! The thing is I ripped out the browser when I slipstreamed all of the latest security pathes and drivers into my winxp. I just have the "IE engine". Is the "IE engine", by itself insecure? I guess I don't understand the difference between the IE engine and the browser facade that I ripped out. Is the thing I ripped out just cosmetic?
paul - 06/15/11 02:27
Its no different I believe. It would be whatever IE is on your machine but it would still be executing the IE engine.
tinypliny - 06/13/11 07:59
So that tab is not protected by Chrome's security features then and has all the holes and flaws that the typical IE would have? Also, which version of IE is it? How do I find out? Is it chrome's implementation of the latest IE? Does that mean running this extension IE is safer than running the real IE (does that make sense?)
paul - 06/12/11 21:15
It literally just opens an IE browser in a chrome tab. IE can be embedded in any windows app. Firefox has the same extension.

06/09/2011 08:14 #54456

Guitar Google Doodle
Category: i-tech
Google doodles keep outdoing themselves all the time and today is the peak of overachieving. They have a FULLY functional guitar with a recording feature as their logo honouring Les Paul, a guitarist and an innovator in music.

image
Go ahead! Play it! And I can't believe someone (Zack Bernardin) created this masterpiece with a mouse... or a keyboard sequence!

I couldn't create a coherent tune even if I tried!


From:

tinypliny - 06/09/11 23:10
Who knew!!


(you did, of course... ;-)
heidi - 06/09/11 23:04
The tune is "Oh Susannah"
metalpeter - 06/09/11 17:19
saw that a bit ago it is pretty cool....

06/08/2011 23:29 #54453

In love
Category: the odes
with this desktop background:
image

I found it through colr.org and then through flickr but alas I can't locate the original page again. I usually change back to my solid black in around 3 days but this desktop feels so much more awesome than any I have ever had. The greens are so perfect and the yellow is just so happy!

EDIT: Located the original, after some crooked-logic searching:

tinypliny - 06/09/11 11:59
Does look like a dirty camera lens more than post processing...
paul - 06/09/11 09:45
That is really nice. I wonder if it was manipulated. How did they get that almost underwater effect, greasy lens or in post production?