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The MONTHLY Victory Garden 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...

Red and green chile peppers are more than just ingredients in New Mexico; they’re a way of life. The question “Red or green?” is one you’ll hear at restaurants across the state. For the indecisive or adventurous, there’s always “Christmas,” a mix of both. Red chile comes from ripened New Mexican chile peppers that are left on the plant longer, allowing them to deepen in color and develop a rich, earthy flavor. As they mature, these peppers take on more natural sugars, which contribute to the velvety depth of red chile sauce. Green chile peppers are a cornerstone of New...

JD Vance, RFK Jr. and other officials swear by a diet of grass-fed meat and fermented foods, even when the sulfurous odors cause friction at homeA new diet is sweeping through President Trump’s cabinet—and it involves heaping portions of sauerkraut. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Vice President JD Vance have all embraced the diet, drawn by the promise of slimmer waistlines and glowing skin. They all apparently have determined the health benefits outweigh the slightly sulfurous odors that have been the cause of some domestic friction. “Within 30 days I...

An Arizona woman went on an unhinged rant against a taco restaurant because it is owned by two white brothers. Lily Kaplan torched Poolboy Taco in Phoenix after sampling the Mexican eatery's nachos and soft tacos. She shared a blistering review with her 21,000 TikTok followers earlier this month slamming the quality of the food and taking aim at owners Jared and Aaron Pool.

Pizza Hut, the 68-year-old chain that has long struggled with growing competition and outdated restaurants, will be sold for $2.7 billion by parent company Yum Brands. Yum said Tuesday that the private equity firm LongRange Capital will buy Pizza Hut, excluding the mainland China business, for about $1.5 billion. The mainland China Pizza Hut will be purchased by Yum China Holdings Inc. for approximately $1.2 billion, the company said. China is Pizza Hut’s second-largest market outside the U.S., accounting for 19% of sales. Yum Brands, which also owns KFC and Taco Bell, began to explore its options for Pizza Hut...

Researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center found that common dietary sugars fructose and glucose, despite having the same amount of calories, communicate with the brain through different gut-brain pathways, a difference that may help shape our food and beverage preferences. In mice, the team identified a dedicated gut-brain signaling pathway through which fructose communicates with the brain and found that it is much less effective than glucose in turning down the activity of hunger-related neurons. Their findings were published June 10 in Neuron. “This work adds to our growing understanding of how modern diets, especially those high in fructose...

Costco is pushing back hard against a proposed class-action lawsuit that accuses the retail giant of misleading shoppers about its popular $5 rotisserie chicken. In a motion filed last week in the US District Court for the Southern District of California, the warehouse club asked the court to dismiss the case, which was brought in January by two California customers. The plaintiffs claim Costco’s Kirkland Signature Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken contains carrageenan and sodium phosphate while still being marketed as having “no preservatives.” According to the lawsuit, that labeling misleads consumers and violates Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, California’s Consumers Legal Remedies...

Now that the race for U.S. Senate in Texas is solidified between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, there are photos emerging of Talarico, who had famously declared his campaign to be "non-meat," now packing all kinds of meat into his mouth. End Wokeness is highlighting some of the images on X, stating: "James Talarico's team is now forcing him to eat meat in front of reporters "proving he's Texas tough." "He looks like he wants to puke."

HelloFresh decided to get a little bold with its latest marketing for Pride Month, and it’s fair to say the reaction has been a mixed bag. On Friday, the meal kit company posted a statement on Instagram that read: We know eating isn’t always a top priority this month. We respect that. But for those of you who are... prepping... we have an extensive lineup of high-fiber recipes available. Happy Pride." On Instagram, many fans were all for the brand’s creative approach. The comment section was filled with praise, with one person writing, “This is what happens when a brand...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed a second case of a flesh-eating screwworm parasite in Texas on Friday, as it races to contain and eradicate the outbreak before it severely impacts the cattle population. A New World screwworm was detected in a one-month-old calf in Zavala County after testing a “number of suspected cases,” according to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). It was found less than six miles away from the ranch where the pest was reported in another young calf earlier this week. ( Snip ) The New World screwworm is a species of parasitic...

Consumers are being encouraged to check their freezers for a product that might contain harmful or potentially deadly bacteria. In the latest recall linked to salmonella risks associated with powdered milk, a popular frozen food sold by Costco and Walmart has been pulled from shelves. The Hill provided these details: The most recent recall was shared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday. Select batches of Motor City Pizza Co. 5 Cheese Bread were recalled because the dry milk powder was used in the five-cheese sauce blend. Other recalls linked to the powder impact frozen pizzas, pork rinds,...

TGI Fridays was a once a powerhouse in the casual dining scene known for its lively atmosphere, happy hours and fan favorite American comfort foods like loaded potato skins, burgers and chicken wings. With over 600 U.S. locations and hundreds more internationally at its peak, TGI Fridays was a globally recognized brand that combined strong operational scale with a fun guest experience. Now as the 61-year-old chain rebuilds in the wake of its November 2024 bankruptcy, leadership is working to recapture Fridays’ reputation as “the most celebratory, craveable brand in casual dining.” After years of media coverage about the chain’s...

Entering its 50th year stateside, Aldi is hitting the ground running by breaking ground this year on a host of new locations. The discount grocer today announced footprint expansion plans that could push it to become the nation’s second-largest supermarket in terms of store count. It also said it would improve its supply chain operations and ecommerce experience, reaching a total investment of $9 billion over five years by 2028. Aldi will open more than 180 new stores this year, bringing its footprint to ~2,800 amid its goal to reach 3,200 stores by 2028. It’ll debut in Portland, Maine—its 40th...

In A Nutshell A major review found no link between naturally occurring dairy trans fats and higher risk of heart disease or type 2 diabetes. Unlike artificial trans fats in processed foods, dairy trans fats appear to behave differently in the body. Some studies found that people with higher blood levels of a dairy-specific trans fat were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, though the evidence is not conclusive. Several of the study’s authors have ties to the dairy industry, a conflict of interest the researchers disclosed and that independent replication would help address. ============================================================================ For decades, “trans fat”...

The MONTHLY Victory Garden 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...

In A Nutshell Researchers found bacteria with probiotic potential in three British artisan cheeses. The hay-aged cheese had the biggest increase in bacterial diversity as it matured. Lactose was largely gone by maturity, which may matter for lactose-sensitive readers. The study is promising, but it does not prove these cheeses improve gut health in people. ========================================================================== For most people, cheese is a guilty pleasure: something delicious but probably not great for you. That assumption may be worth revisiting. A recent study took a close look at three traditional British artisan cheeses and tracked how their bacterial communities and chemical profiles...

the bill includes the proposed Save Our Bacon Act, which is designed to override state animal welfare requirements and potentially a host of other state and local regulations. The act aims to reverse California’s Proposition 12 and Massachusetts’s Question 3, which voters passed in 2018 and 2016, respectively, to prohibit the sale of food products derived from livestock raised in extreme confinement — that is, without enough space for animals to turn around and stretch their limbs. This hardly seems an unreasonable request for a modern, enlightened society. Besides, a majority of residents in those two states, among several others,...

Where’s the beef? Not in Texas — at least, not as much as it used to be. Texas barbecue joints are shutting their doors across the Lone Star State as sky-high beef prices turn brisket — once the centerpiece of a blue-collar meal — into a luxury item that many customers can no longer afford. From Houston suburbs to rural smokehouses, pitmasters say soaring wholesale beef costs, inflation and shrinking customer traffic are crushing margins and forcing some of the state’s most celebrated BBQ institutions out of business. SNIP “When brisket costs $36 a pound for the consumer and then...

In Lawrence, Massachusetts, a whistleblower revealed a welfare scam that the Dominican community has been running for over a decade. Here is how it works: Dominican immigrants buy food with EBT cards or take it for free from food banks. They then load it into shipping barrels and send it to the Dominican Republic, where it is sold for profit in local bodegas. We tracked the entire pipeline, from corner stores in Massachusetts to shipping hubs in New York to bodegas in Santo Domingo that are stocked with food paid for by the American taxpayer. We are prepared to share...

Straus Family Creamery announced a voluntary recall for some of their ice cream flavors because of the potential for metal fragments in the desserts. The recall, announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on May 15, said that Straus Family Creamery is “working with retailers to remove the potentially affected products from shelves.” Those products are in 17 states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.