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Nothing beats the smell of Sunday sauce simmering on the stovetop. It was an all-too-familiar smell in my Italian American household when I was growing up, and an indication that a tasty family dinner was up ahead. Not familiar with Sunday sauce? This dish goes by other names like Sunday gravy or sugo and is a rich marinara-like sauce that has been cooked with meat — usually beef, pork, or lamb — for several hours on the stovetop, creating both a pasta sauce with lots of depth and braised pieces of meat in tow. How Do You Make Sunday Sauce?...

In the 1970s, Hamburger Helper became a staple on American dinner tables as families, strained by inflation and soaring beef prices, looked to turn a pound of ground beef into an entire meal. These days, those same pressures are why the flavored pasta mix is coming to the rescue again. While most food companies are seeing declines in consumer demand for their products, sales of Hamburger Helper are up 14.5 percent in the year through August, getting an extra bump from its appearance on an episode of “The Bear” in June, according to the company that owns the brand, Eagle...

Billions of people regularly eat insects. In the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, chapulines – toasted grasshoppers – stand out as a beloved seasonal treat that follows the start of the rainy season, a period that runs from late May through September. My new book, “Eating Grasshoppers: Chapulines and the Women who Sell Them,” dives into the history and cultural significance of entomophagy (eating insects) and this unique snack. Chapulineras – the women who sell chapulines – often learn their craft from their mothers and grandmothers. Most will use nets or mesh bags to capture grasshoppers in their “milpa” –...

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield has quit the ice cream brand he started in 1978 amid a dispute with its British owner Unilever, according to a post by the company’s other co-founder, Ben Cohen. Cohen shared a statement from Greenfield that said quitting was “one of the hardest and most painful decisions” he has made. He accused Unilever of curtailing Ben & Jerry’s ability to speak out on social and political causes – which became synonymous with the brand’s identity. “It’s with a broken heart that I’ve decided I can no longer, in good conscience, and after 47 years,...

Aldi has achieved cult status in the U.S., with fans creating their own online clubs devoted to the Aldi Finds aisles, and shoppers even naming the company among their most-loved grocery stores. Many house brand products have their own devotees as well, including its surprisingly wide variety of chocolate. While the stores do carry some name brands, like M&Ms, a good deal of the chocolate, especially the bars, are sold under the names Moser Roth and Choceur. Aldi is well-known as a German company, so do these house brand chocolates also come from Europe? It's challenging to find info about...

Certain brands of imported cookware are likely to leach “significant levels” of lead into food, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration said in a consumer warning Friday. Officials tested a number of cookware products made from aluminum, brass and aluminum alloys known as “Hindalium” and “Indalium” and determined that they may release lead into food during the cooking process, the FDA said. No level of lead is safe for human ingestion. Young children, women of childbearing age and mothers who are breastfeeding face the highest health risks in eating food tainted with the toxic metal, officials said. The FDA said...

Who Was Colonel Harland Sanders? At the age of 40, Harland Sanders was running a popular Kentucky service station that also served food—so popular, in fact, that the governor of Kentucky designated him a Kentucky colonel. Eventually, Sanders focused on franchising his fried chicken business around the country, collecting a payment for each chicken sold. The company went on to become the world's largest fast-food chicken chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken. Sanders died in Louisville, Kentucky, on December 16, 1980.

Billy Corben's TIFF-premiering documentary explores the rise and fall of the butter-loving Southern chef, revisiting her N-word scandal 12 years later.Bobby Deen, son of disgraced TV chef Paula Deen, has reservations as he sits down with Billy Corben, director of the new documentary, Canceled: The Paula Deen Story. “I don’t think it’s a great idea. Honestly. Why do you need a documentary?” Bobby asks with a pre-rueful chuckle, admitting that the only reason he’s there is because his mother and brother Jamie were doing interviews. Having seen the 103-minute final film, I can say that Bobby needn’t have worried. It’s...

CATO, N.Y. -- Federal agents forced open the doors of a snack bar manufacturer and took away dozens of workers in a surprise enforcement action that the plant's co-owner called “terrifying.” Video and photos taken at the Nutrition Bar Confectioners plant Thursday showed numerous law enforcement vehicles outside the plant and workers being escorted from the building to a Border Patrol van. Immigration agents ordered everyone to a lunchroom, where they asked for proof the workers were in the country legally, according to one 24-year-old worker who was briefly detained.

"We are the sickest country in the world. That's why we have to fire people at the CDC ... They did not do their job! This was their job to keep us healthy!" —Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. What a gruesome spectacle it was to see HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. take on a conclave of vicious grifters on the Senate Finance Committee straining to warp reality in defense of their mighty patron, the nation-wrecking pharmaceutical companies. Do you understand how deep, convoluted, and grave the political sickness is? Over the years, the public health agencies and “big pharma” had...

Surprising Study Shows Plant Protein Didn’t Extend Life — But Meat Might In A Nutshell * A study of nearly 16,000 U.S. adults found no link between animal protein intake and higher death risk from cancer, heart disease, or any cause. * Animal protein showed a modest protective effect against cancer deaths, with each gram linked to a 5% lower risk. * Plant protein showed no survival benefit in this dataset, despite previous studies suggesting advantages. * Results challenge a 2014 study that had claimed high animal protein dramatically increased cancer mortality. ============================================================================== HAMILTON, Ontario — Animal protein isn’t linked...

Two cultivated meat companies have filed a lawsuit against officials in Texas over the law that bans the sales of lab-grown meat in the state for two years. California-based companies UPSIDE Foods, which makes cultivated chicken, and Wildtype, which makes cultivated salmon are suing Attorney General Ken Paxton, Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Health and Human Services, and Travis County, accusing them of government overreach. “This law has nothing to do with protecting public health and safety and everything to do with protecting conventional agriculture from innovative out-of-state competition,” said Paul Sherman, a senior attorney at the Institute...

While the development of agriculture is often associated with the Fertile Crescent, past research has shown that farming actually developed independently at different times and places around the world, including Africa, the Americas, and eastern Asia. New evidence from a cave in southern Uzbekistan continues to show that the advent and spread of agricultural technology is more complicated than originally thought, according to a statement released by the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology. Recent archaeological work in Toda Cave uncovered evidence that the region's inhabitants were already engaging in sophisticated harvesting practices 9,200 years ago. Wear patterns on stone tools...

The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the...

@WallStreetApes Robert F Kennedy Jr announced US Taxpayers are spending $72,900,000 PER DAY for soda and candy for people on EBT Food Stamps That’s $26,608,500,000 per year just on CANDY AND SODA RFK Jr “We spend $405 million a day on food stamps. That's what the taxpayer is spending. 10% is going to sugary drinks. Another 8% is going to candies. So we are poisoning 60% of our kids who are getting food stamps.” “The poorest kids, the kids who can least afford to get sick, and we are poisoning them. We are deeming them diabetes, and then we're paying...

The Food and Drug Administration is expanding its shrimp recall to include two more products that may have been contaminated with cesium-137 (Cs-137). Both products recently added to the recall came from Seattle-based Aquastar Corp. Around 26,460 packages of cocktail shrimp and approximately 18,000 bags of Kroger Mercado Cooked Medium Peeled Tail-Off Shrimp are being pulled from shelves due to possible radioactive contamination. The affected cocktail shrimp was sold in Walmart stores across 27 states between July 31 and Aug. 16. Meanwhile, affected packages of the Kroger Mercado Cooked Medium Peeled Tail-Off Shrimp were sold in stores across 17 states....

As the primary cook in my house, I’m always looking for smart shortcuts that deliver delicious results. While I adore homemade cinnamon rolls, the time and effort involved means I reserve them for lazy weekend baking projects or holidays. For all other times, I reach for a tube of refrigerated cinnamon rolls. If you’ve been anywhere near TikTok or Instagram in the last few years, you’ve likely seen cascades of heavy cream poured over refrigerated rolls in kitchens across the country. I first saw this hack from MacKenzie Smith of @grilledcheesesocial. She credits @mississippi_kween and @manthacancook with the inspiration, but...

Explore the concept of fast food in ancient Rome, focusing on the thermopolia—small bars and eateries that catered to busy city dwellers. These establishments were especially important for those who didn’t have kitchens at home, offering pre-prepared food like grilled meats, vegetables, cheese, and even heated wine. The thermopolia were found near busy urban areas like the forum and the baths, providing a quick and affordable dining experience for Romans on the go. We visit Ostia Antica, the port city of Rome, where frescoes still depict typical menu items, such as olives, eggs, and cheese. These establishments also featured large...

After backlash from both the right and left, and even advice from President Trump following the recent decision to change its logo, Cracker Barrel announced Tuesday evening that it would keep Uncle Herschel along with the barrel, rather than move forward with the minimalist design that was unveiled last week. While it’s a good sign that the restaurant chain listened to customers, those on the right aren’t entirely satisfied. Responding to Cracker Barrel's post on X announcing the latest decision, activist Robby Starbuck, who's made bringing normalcy back to corporate America his mission, wondered if they have any plans to...

The first time I ate a raccoon was about 11 years ago. Some were raiding the chicken coop where we lived, so my roommate and I were charged with dispatching. We trapped one in a Hav-a-Hart, killed it, and being equal parts curious and broke, we cooked it. We braised the first raccoon with a bunch of chili peppers, aromatics, and stock. I was honestly conflicted about the whole ordeal. On the one hand, it smelled damn good as it was cooking. On the other hand, I had a mental block on raccoon as a food. I was brought up...