Free Republic

Granted, huitlacoche may look horrible. After all, it's a fungus that grows on corn. It's also known as Mexican truffles, corn mushrooms or “corn smut.” Wyoming chef Petrina Peart says the $50 per pound delicacy is hard to get but fun to try. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) Call them Mexican truffles, corn mushrooms or, if you’re a farmer, the much less appealing “corn smut.” Whatever you call this funky-looking fungus that grows on ears of corn, huitlacoche (pronounced wheat-la-KOH-chay) is a delicious, prized ingredient across Mexico that’s been catching on with gourmet chefs around the world. In Wyoming it’s much...

After days of intense flooding in Florida, that state and many others are bracing for an intense heat wave, while the Pacific Northwest will experience unseasonably cold weather and the potential for late-season snow in the Rocky Mountains early next week. The chaotic weather map includes the potential for severe thunderstorms developing in between the hot and cold fronts. Forecasters said the colliding fronts could lead to areas of flash flooding between eastern Nebraska and northern Wisconsin on Saturday night, as well as strong storms across parts of eastern Montana into North and South Dakota. Meanwhile, a plume of tropical...

Data released Wednesday by Weedmaps revealed that New York consumers spent more on their individual cannabis purchases than in other markets. The average order value for New Yorkers on orders placed through the platform outstripped than the national average by more than 50% during the first quarter of 2024 ($123.16 in New York vs. $80.78 nationally). In addition, New York has a 6% higher basket size through Weedmaps vs. the national average in the same period (2.35 items vs. 2.22 national). Another difference between New Yorkers and national cannabis shoppers: New Yorkers prefer in-store shopping versus delivery.

Excavation Represents an Unprecedented Discovery of Pre-Revolutionary War Artifacts and Biological Matter **************************************************************** Archaeologists at George Washington’s Mount Vernon have unearthed an astounding 35 glass bottles from the 18th century in five storage pits in the Mansion cellar of the nation’s first president. Of the 35 bottles, 29 are intact and contain perfectly preserved cherries and berries, likely gooseberries or currants. The contents of each bottle have been carefully extracted, are under refrigeration at Mount Vernon, and will undergo scientific analysis. The bottles are slowly drying in the Mount Vernon archaeology lab and will be sent off-site for conservation. This...

NATIONAL CUCUMBER DAY Today is June 14 and National Cucumber Day at National Day Calendar and we are enjoying fresh cucumbers all day long! Join us as we crunch on this crisp summer favorite and enjoy the fruits of summer. #NATIONALCUCUMBERDAY You can almost taste the crisp, watery goodness of a cucumber during the summer months. With fresh fruits and vegetables at our fingertips, we feel very little guilt indulging in this salad favorite. Whether we grow them in our garden or purchase them at a local farmers market, we love the freshness a cucumber adds to our diets. Most...

NATIONAL WEED YOUR GARDEN DAY National Weed Your Garden Day on June 13 serves as a reminder to all gardeners to take an extra 5 or 10 minutes to weed their gardens. This National Day is not only used as a reminder, it's also used to inspire people to keep their garden free of weeds to allow for a healthier crop. #NationalWeedYourGardenDay One of the best tips you will ever get is to stay in control of your garden, especially with weeds. Unfortunately, weeds grow fast, very fast. With inattention, they can soon become overwhelming. Giving daily attention to your...

Some bugs are eating on my son's pumpkin plants in the backyard. They are getting sun and some shade to cool part of the day. Temps here are about 90 but with shade and a little breeze it's been nice so far this season. Is there some chemical to spray on them that keeps bugs off but doesn't hurt the plants?

Idaho farmers are in danger of having their water shut off. The water shutoff order affects half a million acres of farmland and about 6,400 people who use the water. Without water, their farmland is worthless. The state of Idaho has put a water curtailment order, which is basically a water shutoff order on literally a half million acres of farmland. ‌ Many farming this land have already invested in thousands of acres, thousands of dollars per acre, to grow potatoes. It’s too late for them to survive without water. Why is the water being cut off? Essentially, this curtailment...

How to Tell the Difference Between Good Ladybugs and Bad Ladybugs Ladybugs, also known as lady beetles or ladybirds, are members of the Coccinellidae family of insects. And, like in many families, there are both good and bad members. The good lady beetles help maintain order in the garden by eating pesty insects that would make a short meal out of plants otherwise. The bad lady beetles also do that, but then they crash in your attic, make a huge mess if you try to remove them, and invite all their friends along. So, how can you tell the...

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...

Scientists hope the study of it and other giant genomes will shed light on species resilience. The New Caledonian fork fern (Tmesipteris oblanceolate) possesses the largest genome yet found. ORIANE HIDALGO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The human genome is made up of 3 billion base pairs of DNA. But that’s nothing compared with the New Caledonian fork fern (Tmesipteris oblanceolate), a leafy, tendrilled plant native to several Pacific islands. Its genome contains an astonishing 160 billion base pairs, making it the largest genome ever discovered, researchers report today in iScience. The finding could help scientists understand how genomes grow so large, and how...

May 30 (UPI) -- Traffic on a pair of California highways turned into a jam when a truck loaded with strawberries overturned, dropping barrels of the fruit into the road. The California Highway Patrol said the overturned truck, carrying about 40,000 pounds of fruit, blocked the northbound connector ramps to Highway 101 and Interstate 880 in San Jose on Wednesday morning and was leaning over a guardrail. The ramps were closed as crews worked to lift the truck upright and remove the fallen barrels of strawberries. No injuries were reported from the crash or ensuing traffic jams on both highways....

(Best USA Beef)—In mid-2022, we set up a news alert for terms like “cricket protein” and “cricket burgers.” Since then, there have been occasional peaks with a whole lot of valleys in interest as Americans generally aren’t excited about the prospects of getting their necessary protein from bugs. There was a spike that started shortly after news broke that bird flu was being transmitted to cattle. On the surface this makes sense, but it was conspicuously odd that there was no spike when bird flu was limited to poultry. Surely Americans would be concerned about their sources of protein whether...

NATIONAL COQ AU VIN DAY Each year on May 29th, National Coq Au Vin Day celebrates a delicious French dish. Coq au vin is French braise of chicken, cooked with wine, lardons (salt pork), mushrooms, and garlic. #NationalCoqAuVinDay A French staple, Coq au vin translates to “rooster with wine.” It’s a rustic, peasant-style dish that is easy to serve when entertaining because a lot of the work can be done in advance. And since we all celebrated National Wine Day just a few days ago, you might be prepared and have an extra bottle on hand just for this recipe....

The How Do Gardener, describes his moderately epic quest to keep squirrels from terrorizing his garden, and the ONE solution that is SO STUPID, that it just might work better than anything... WATCH THE VIDEO

Glenn told us we were going to eat bugs, and here we are... If you live anywhere between Texarkana and Chicago, you have likely already seen—or heard—about the 2024 cicada superbrood. This Biblical-scale insect invasion is the result of two cicada broods, Brood XIII and Brood XIX, emerging simultaneously. The last time something like this happened was in 1803. Trillions of cicadas will swarm out of the earth and fill the trees with a chorus of deafening buzzing. It didn't take long for the leftist elites to hop on this opportunity to push Klaus Schwab's dream: "eat the bugs." The...

How far would you go to avoid a rash from a common pest on hikes? Well, one reporter for The Wall Street Journal has gone as far as to blend poison oak into smoothies and mix them into his salad bowl — all in a bid to develop an immunity towards the chemical irritants found in the plant's leaves. Jeff Horwitz, who usually reports on technology, wrote about his slightly mad mission for a feature article in the Saturday newspaper. "I started eating poison oak in January, when the first buds began to swell on the hazardous plant’s bare stems,"...

NATIONAL STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM DAY | May 21 Each year on May 21st, we combine two favorites for a celebration on National Strawberries and Cream Day. Fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream is a must when strawberries are in season. They are the perfect, refreshing, light snack on a beautifully warm day! #StrawberriesAndCreamDay With these bright red berries in season, it should be no surprise that it's also National Strawberry Month. Strawberries are a very healthy snack as they are low-fat, low in calories, and an excellent source of vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, and potassium. Strawberries grow all over...

In mid-2022, we set up a news alert for terms like “cricket protein” and “cricket burgers.” Since then, there have been occasional peaks with a whole lot of valleys in interest as Americans generally aren’t excited about the prospects of getting their necessary protein from bugs. There was a spike that started shortly after news broke that bird flu was being transmitted to cattle. On the surface this makes sense, but it was conspicuously odd that there was no spike when bird flu was limited to poultry. Surely Americans would be concerned about their sources of protein whether it was...

NATIONAL APPLE PIE DAY National Apple Pie Day, America’s favorite dessert, is observed annually on May 13th. #NationalApplePieDay The first apple pie recipe printed was in England in 1381. The list of ingredients included good apples, good spices, figs, raisins, pears, saffron, and cofyn (a type of pastry crust). While the apple pie existed well before the Pilgrims landed on the eastern shores of what is now The United States, Americans wax poetic about how American apple pie is. The phrase "as American as apple pie" has been around for more than 100 years. During the turn of the 20th...