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An Australian publisher has had to pulp and reprint a cook-book after one recipe listed "salt and freshly ground black people" instead of black pepper. (snip) "We're mortified that this has become an issue of any kind, and why anyone would be offended, we don't know," head of publishing Bob Sessions is quoted as saying by the Sydney newspaper. Penguin said almost every one of the more than 150 recipes in the book listed salt and freshly ground black pepper, but a misprint occurred on just one page. (snip) If anyone complains about the "silly mistake", they will be given...

A fast-food outlet became the first in Britain to sell pizzas with an extra special topping — zebra, it emerged Sunday. Yummy Yummy Italia in Burnley, northern England, launched the controversial pizza after owner Arash Fard, 33, visited London and saw frogs’ legs pizzas on the menu, local newspaper the Lancashire Telegraph reported. The unusual meat toppings are bought from "alternative meats" supplier Kezie, which says the ingredients are ethically sourced from responsible farms. Fard's zebra creation is not his first time experimenting with ingredients. He told the Lancashire Telegraph that his range of buffalo, venison, kangaroo and crocodile pizzas...

Kidnapper testifies victim was 'cooked' in Mexico Associated Press McALLEN — A man who pleaded guilty to committing a series of kidnappings on behalf of the Mexican Gulf cartel's enforcers has testified at the trial of a co-defendant that the body of a Texas victim was "cooked" on a ranch in Mexico. Gerardo Zamora Espinoza testified Wednesday that Daniel Ramirez Jr. was kidnapped from the convenience store where he worked in 2008 because a high-ranking member of the cartel's enforcement arm was trying to expand his power in the area. Espinoza said he was told by his nephew who allegedly...

Man escapes charges for barbecuing pet dog By Saeed Ahmed CNN (CNN) -- A man who roasted his pet dog to enjoy as a meal with his family and friends escaped prosecution after authorities in New Zealand determined the animal was killed humanely. "We were in a dilemma at seeing something we were fairly upset about -- but being in a position of being able to do absolutely nothing about it," said Garth Halliday, of the Auckland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, on Monday. The SPCA -- which investigates acts of animal cruelty and presses charges --...

The Baby Boomers understand the title. It is the title of the Hugo Award winning short story written by Damon Knight that Rod Serling turned into an unforgettable episode of the original Twilight Zone. Some apparently very well-intentioned aliens land on earth promising to help mankind; they revolutionize technology and they end famine, pestilence, war, and nuclear threat (though, let it be noted, they did nothing about climate change). Most people were thrilled with the aliens, though, as always, there were some skeptics. American cryptographers got a hold of a book that seemed popular with the aliens and attempted to...

Nun becomes top-selling Polish cookbook writer By VANESSA GERA, Associated Press Writer Saturday, July 18, 2009 Emerging from the quiet of her convent, Sister Anastazja Pustelnik was confronted by a jarring image — her smiling face on posters plastered around town to hawk the cookbooks that have made the 59-year-old nun one of Poland's best-selling authors. It's fame Sister Anastazja never bargained for when she left the material world as a young woman, expecting to toil in obscurity for God. But her ability to create easy-to-follow recipes for delectable cakes and traditional home cooking has resulted in five cookbooks since...

Giant rabbits to return to Spanish menus Spaniards will soon be enjoying a diet of giant rabbit under plans to reintroduce the rare breed for human consumption. By Fiona Govan in Madrid The Valencia Agricultural Research Institute has launched a breeding programme of the rare Valenciano rabbit and predicts that it could be on supermarket shelves within three years. It is hoped that the animals, which can grow as big as a lamb and produce 7kgs (15lbs) of meat, will prove popular as a healthy and cheap alternative to red meat. The Valenciano breed was established in 1912 when farmers...

Lobster to regain his freedom at age 140 01/01/09 NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lobster thought to be about 140 years old will be returned to the ocean after briefly becoming the mascot for a New York City restaurant, an animal rights group said on Friday. The 20-pound (9-kg) lobster was caught off the coast of Canada about two weeks ago and bought for $100 (65 pounds) by City Crab and Seafood to become its mascot, said manager Keith Valenti. "We bought a big lobster, started taking pictures with kids and it worked out real well," said Valenti, adding it...

The ricin found in Las Vegas is almost certainly part of a deliberate plot of some kind; authorities continue to insist there was “no link to terrorist activity,” but now they’ve found firearms and an “anarchist cookbook.” LAS VEGAS - As police tried to piece together how a rare, deadly poison ended up in a motel for transients, the 57-year-old man who could hold the key lay unconscious in a hospital. Adding to the mystery, police said firearms and an “anarchist type textbook” were found in the same room where the ricin was discovered two days later. Capt. Joseph Lombardo...

Would You Eat Your Buddies in a Blizzard? Suppose you were stranded in a blizzard and were forced to cannibalize your friends. This short survey will tell you how likely you would be to eat your buddies. Note: Click onto the link provided to take this self survey. Bon appetit!

Peg Bracken, a Portland writer who taught a generation of homemakers how not to cook, died Saturday at age 89. Bracken was best known for "The I Hate to Cook Book," published in 1960. Bracken threw down the oven mitt to a generation of women who had been taught that their destiny was to be Suzy Homemaker. Her sharp wit and irreverent attitude made the book an immediate sensation. It sold more than 3 million copies. Bracken unashamedly embraced the then-new convenience foods, mixes and canned foods, with cans of mushroom soup a stalwart to many recipes. But most of...

Get Your Hunt On - It’s good for the animals. By John R. Lott Jr. October 19, 2007, Do vegetarians benefit from hunting? Well, let’s just say that all those vegetarians who have adopted their non-meat eating lifestyles because they abhor harming animals might be in for a real shock. Farms actually depend crucially on the ability to kill animals that eat their crops. So vegetarians might consider whether the fine print under their organic labels actually contains the words “no animals were harmed in the making of this food.” With hunting season starting in various parts of the country,...

Mexico City man suspected of being cannibal serial killer By Jeremy Schwartz COX NEWS SERVICE October 12, 2007 MEXICO CITY – On the stove, a frying pan with chunks of flesh. In the refrigerator, a leg and part of an arm, both deboned. The bones were stuffed into a cereal box. Mexico City police made the grisly discoveries this week as they arrested the man the Mexican media are calling a cannibalistic serial killer. Police said José Luis Calva Zepeda, 40, was arrested Monday and was being held on suspicion of homicide after an investigation into the disap-pearance of his...

Body Found In School Cafeteria Vent Phoenix Elementary School Shut Down After Adult Body Is Discovered On Roof 05/26/07 (CBS/AP) Children were evacuated from a Phoenix school Friday after a man's body was discovered in a vent on the roof of the school's cafeteria, officials said. The body was found as a plumber investigated a foul odor noticed by cafeteria staff earlier in the day, said Roosevelt School District Superintendent Mark Dowling. Police think the man tried to break into the Sierra Vista Elementary School, where he was discovered Friday in an air conditioning duct on the school's roof. Authorities...

A horde of decaying zombies invaded San Francisco's downtown Apple store on Friday evening, hunting for brains, terrifying the customers, and gnawing on iMacs. Zombie gnaws on iMac but prefers human brains (Credit: Declan McCullagh) I've placed some photos here. I'm pleased to report that the zombies ultimately decided human brains were tastier than plastic iMacs, although it wasn't for lack of effort in trying to vary what must be a monotonous diet. It was difficult to judge the exact number of zombies that shuffled through the city's shopping district, losing limbs, blood, and unmentionable body parts along the way,...

Muslim soldier ‘was fed pork sandwich’ By Elham Asaad Buaras Colchester’s Military Corrective Training Centre has been accused of trying to feed a Muslim with a pork sandwich. Saeed Akhtar is claiming that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) breached his rights under legislation covering discrimination because of religious beliefs while serving as a soldier. On April 30, employment tribunal Chairman at Bury St Edmunds permitted Akhtar to take his case to a full tribunal hearing. Akhtar is claiming the MoD had failed to provide him on a regular basis with suitable meat. He told tribunal Chairman, Brian Mitchell, that officials...

Murdered schoolgirl 'was put into kebab' By Paul Willis Last Updated: 3:49pm BST 24/05/2007 The owner of a fast food shop accused of murdering a 14-year-old schoolgirl joked that she had been chopped up and put into kebabs, a court heard today. Iyad Albattikhi, 29, is accused of killing Charlene Downes after having sex with her. The girl went missing in November 2003 in Blackpool after kissing her mother goodbye on a Saturday evening. No trace of her body has ever been found. A missing persons inquiry began but police later launched a murder investigation after a witness claimed to...

Congo Rebels Said to Kill, Eat Gorillas Jan 17 3:31 PM US/Eastern By TODD PITMAN Associated Press Writer DAKAR, Senegal (AP) -- Rebels in eastern Congo have killed and eaten two silverback mountain gorillas, conservationists said Wednesday, warning they fear more of the endangered animals may have been slaughtered in the lawless region. Only about 700 mountain gorillas remain in the world, 380 of them spread across a range of volcanic mountains straddling the borders of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda in Central Africa. One dismembered gorilla corpse was found Tuesday in a pit latrine in Congo's Virunga National Park, a...

  Christmas Memories, Cookies, Candies, and Desserts For me, it was the official start of the Christmas season, seeing the matriarchs gather in coffee klatches and recipes exchanges. As a little tike, anything that signaled the approach of Christmas was enough to cause excitement around our home. Watching my great-grandmother summon the elderly women of our family and neighborhood, was a sure sign that big things were heating up in our little kitchen. These beautiful women were dignified and almost aristocratic in their black mourning dresses, with clouded stockings, and clumpy shoes. I can still recall the gentle scent of...

It's known more for gulag than goulash, but now a cookery book aims to restore at least the culinary reputation of the American detention centre at Guantanamo Bay. Several hundred recipes prepared for the inmates at the camp are to be published next month in The Gitmo Cookbook, including such dishes as mustard and dill-baked fish, and honey and ginger chicken breast. The recipes - most of which use fewer than eight ingredients and were originally created to feed up to 100 people - were developed by the US Navy cooks who are in charge of the camp's kitchens. They...