Free Republic

On October 12th, the menu spotlights National Gumbo Day for food holidays. This heavily seasoned, stew-like dish fills us up on chilly fall days. #NationalGumboDay Originating in southern Louisiana during the 18th century, Gumbo typically consists of strongly-flavored stock with meat or shellfish, a thickener, and seasoned vegetables. The seasoned vegetables may include celery, bell peppers, and onions. In Cajun cuisine, the trio is known as the “holy trinity.” Most people serve Gumbo over rice. Gumbo also falls into different categories based on the following types of thickener used: African vegetable okra Choctaw spice filé powder (dried and ground sassafras...

Appearing on NBC’s Today show, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi bemoaned the “tumultuous” Trump presidency and slammed the administration’s immigration policy, accusing the Border Patrol of “tear-gassing children.” She also discussed the September New York Times op-ed she wrote attacking then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. After being touted as “a champion of women’s rights” and “ACLU Ambassador for Immigration,” Lakshmi lamented to co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb: “I mean, you know, obviously, the last two years have been tumultuous for a lot of us. And honestly, I wouldn’t even have even said I’m a very political person, but I...

The 2018 Billboard Music Awards hit a new low Sunday night in the coveted demographic of ages 18-49, dropping 10 percent from last year’s low in overnight numbers. According to Variety, the three-hour music award show broadcast from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas scored an average of 2.1/8 share in the key demographic with 7 million viewers. In comparison, the 2017 awards show, which aired on ABC, averaged a 2.3 in the 18-49 age group with 7.7 million people tuned in. Jennifer Lopez performs onstage during the 2018 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on...

Food scientists at Cornell University have produced a strain of broccoli that thrives in hot environments, which may make it possible for states with stiflingly hot summers to grow the vegetable. California, where cool coastal fog is perfect for growing standard broccoli, currently produces more than 90 percent of the broccoli grown in the United States. If California were to disappear, what would the American diet be like? Expensive and grainy. California produces a sizable majority of many American fruits, vegetables, and nuts: 99 percent of artichokes, 99 percent of walnuts, 97 percent of kiwis, 97 percent of plums, 95...

SAN ANTONIO -- Texas health officials have shut down a processing plant linked to contaminated celery that sickened at least six people this year, four of whom died, and ordered the recall of all of the produce that passed through the plant since January. SanGar Produce & Processing Co. issued the recall Wednesday after its plant in San Antonio was shuttered. The Texas Department of State Health Services traced six of 10 known cases of listeriosis in the state during an eight month period to celery processed there. The agency is investigating the origins of the other four cases, which...

Colorful, Crunchy Veggie To Debut In Stores In DecemberIs America ready for red celery? A Florida produce company thinks so and has bet consumers will bite on the colorful crunch of its new product. Red celery will hit selected supermarkets Dec. 1 - in time to add some eye-catching color to holiday tables, said Dan Duda, president of Duda Farm Fresh Foods, which was set to unveil the new celery at a produce industry trade show in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday. "It's bright, it's red, it's different, it's unique," said Duda, who added that it has the same flavor and...

CHAMPAIGN, lll. — A diet rich in the plant compound luteolin reduces age-related inflammation in the brain and related memory deficits by directly inhibiting the release of inflammatory molecules in the brain, researchers report. Luteolin (LOOT-ee-oh-lin) is found in many plants, including carrots, peppers, celery, olive oil, peppermint, rosemary and chamomile. The new study, which examined the effects of dietary luteolin in a mouse model of aging, appears in the Journal of Nutrition. The researchers focused on microglial cells, specialized immune cells that reside in the brain and spinal cord. Infections stimulate microglia to produce signaling molecules, called cytokines, which...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IDRSkBOuuc

Why Richard Hammond acquired a taste for celery after his crash By Roger Highfield, Science Editor Last Updated: 1:32AM BST 20/05/2008 The television presenter Richard Hammond, who professed to have developed a taste for celery after crashing a jet-powered car, may have good reason to like the vegetable. Richard Hammond, pictured with his wife Amanda The 36-year-old, who appears on the BBC show Top Gear, suffered a brain injury when he came off a runway in the vehicle at 280mph in 2006. Assuring viewers that he had not suffered long-term brain damage, Hammond said: "The only difference between me now,...

For students living on ramen noodles or people in low-wage, time-consuming jobs, folks who are down on their luck or living on fixed incomes, healthy eating may seem too expensive. Nutritionists say, however, that's a false perception. Healthy eating, in fact, is cheaper. The cost of expensive eating often isn't the food, it's the bells and whistles of trendy packaging. "You pay for convenience," says Amy Moore, a dietitian at St. Louis University. "What it takes is planning and sometimes a little investment." That means eating more fresh food from low-cost stores and farmers markets, watching store sales and using...