How to Test Puffball Mushrooms for Edibility

I was sure I’d found puffballs (Calvatia and Lycoperdon) on yesterday’s hike.

I followed my own rules for identification and edibility. Last night I matched features of the mushrooms with my field guides, notes and trusted sources. Finally, a couple of hours after dinner, I cooked and ate one small piece of what know is edible.

This morning, I ate two more tiny pieces and if I continue to feel fine, lunch will be a sautéed mushroom omelet.

Once again, I have “Wildman” Steve Brill to thank for personally encouraging me to apply my foraging skills to mushrooms – and for posting detailed information on his website.

In the field, I gathered little mushrooms growing out of buried, decaying logs. They were soft and when I broke them open their inner flesh remained white. That was enough to put them in paper bags and take them home. Once I got them out again, I matched their qualities and shapes with my field guides and “Wildman’s” website.

Continue reading “How to Test Puffball Mushrooms for Edibility”

Tips for Building a Predator-Proof Chicken Coop

We all want to protect our babies, building a predator-proof chicken coop is probably the most important aspect of protecting them. chicken predators come in all shapes and sizes. Cats, dogs, snakes, owls and hawks for instance. The list can be daunting. Here are a few quick tips to get you started with predator proofing your coop.

Motion sensor lighting is an obvious first choice. Nighttime predators such as coyotes fox and owls hunt during the night and are easily spooked just by the light turning on and off. Although this has worked in various situations for many people it’s not always the end it all solution your looking for. Eventually, the predator will be hungry enough to ignore the light or at least make a mad dash towards the food in hopes they will get away with it.

Continue reading “Tips for Building a Predator-Proof Chicken Coop”

Is Statistical Tournament Poker Gambling?

I’m a poker player, not a professional by any means, but not bad player either. This last month a new poker parlor opened in Portland, Oregon that got my interest. I had seen lots of tournament poker in bars around Portland but they didn’t appeal to me for a few reasons…

1. They were in a bar, which meant a smoke filled environment and I am not fond of cigarette smoke.

2. The nights of play varied, often it was like every Tuesday night but not every night, if I wanted to vary my nights of play I had to go to different locations.

3. There was no guarantee that I could play, if I made the trip to the bar and the seats at the tables were already assigned I was SOL, I made the trip for no reason, or I had to wait 2 hours for the next game to begin, which might already be all assigned. Continue reading “Is Statistical Tournament Poker Gambling?”

The Benefits of Switching to Organic Pet Supplies

We all love our pets and want nothing but the best for them. We must, otherwise the pet supplies industry wouldn’t be at $60 billion a year and growing. In an industry that large, however, most companies are just in it for the money and aren’t worried about Fido’s health. Here are a few reasons you should reconsider the food, toys, litter, and any other pet supplies you have for your furry family member.

It’s Much Healthier

Imagine for a second that you ate nothing but processed foods all day, every day. You’d develop all kinds of health problems – obesity, high cholesterol, allergies, etc. Now take a look at Fido’s bag of food. I bet it’s full of fillers like corn and grains. Open up your dog or cat’s mouth and look at those teeth; tell me those are teeth that have evolved to eat corn and grains. You can’t! Those are teeth that are used to eating meat. Choosing an organic diet for your pet usually means he or she will have more energy, fewer health problems, and be generally much healthier. Continue reading “The Benefits of Switching to Organic Pet Supplies”

The Secrets of Attracting Mockingbirds Using Bird Feeder Plans

If understanding what this bird likes to eat is the key to all things, then just what does a Mockingbird like to eat? Mockingbirds eat insects. Easy then, we invest in bird feeder plans for and create a suet feeder or we buy one. Don’t jump to conclusions because the Mockingbird likes sunflower seeds, raisins and fruit in addition to suet.

So then I guess we create a suet feeder with suet in the middle, sunflower seeds in the tray, and a piece of fruit put in for good measure. Small pieces of bread on the ground work too. My granddaddy and I did that when I was just a young girl.

My recommendation is to do exactly what was just proposed after which do these things too. This bird wants water as much as food, so you may have the best outcomes if you also place a bird bath nearby and safeguard it near some foliage. These birds aren’t as relaxed out in the open and choose dense bushes and trees for a feeling of safety. While they imitate other birds, Mockingbirds need their space and are easily scared by some other birds and animals who would eat their food or be a threat to them. See our post, “Keeping the Critters Out of Your Bird Feeders”, on our web site, Bird-feeder-plans.org. Continue reading “The Secrets of Attracting Mockingbirds Using Bird Feeder Plans”

Block Chain Technology Might Be the Next Big Thing in Food

When we plan our editorial calendar, we try to reference the timelines of big events in our industry, so that our coverage is timely.

So, upon planning the May 2018 issue and seeing that the FSMA’s Sanitary Transportation of Food (STF) rule would be going into effect for small and md-size businesses the month prior, it seemed to me that the STF would likely be something individuals in the industry would want to know more about.

What I didn’t plan for a year ago is how much the experts in this field would want to talk about blockchain technology. It seems that in the past few months I’ve received an e-mail with the word blockchain in it at least once a week. While not quite as ubiquitous as the phrase Internet of Things, it’s definitely the new buzzword.

I don’t have a pithy way of describing blockchain technology yet, as I did for IoT-I used to describe it as your toaster having a Facebook page and posting status updates to your fridge. The best I can do now is to quote other definitions, which describe it as a digital, distributed ledger. Continue reading “Block Chain Technology Might Be the Next Big Thing in Food”

Conversation Starters For Use With Russian Women For Marriage

I had a thought today: what if I was using an international online dating service and really liked a girl from, let’s say, Japan? I imagined that I would write to her “hi” and “how are you” and maybe “how’s your day going”, and then my imagination arrived at an impasse. Do I know anything about Japan or Japanese culture, literature or food (besides sushi, of course!) that can help keep a conversation going? Probably not! Being a native Russian, I assume all the time that people should just know some random facts about Russia; in the same vein, people from Japan are likely to be of the same opinion. However, if there’s a guy somewhere in Australia who has hardly ever traveled and who really likes a girl from Moscow, he might be somewhat anxious about how start a conversation or what she would love to talk about that wouldn’t be boring! Well, in this article I will give you some hints about how not only start a conversation with Russian women, but also make them think that you are a very intelligent person, who knows a lot about different countries – trust me, that’s always an attention-getter. Continue reading “Conversation Starters For Use With Russian Women For Marriage”

The True Hystory of Tiramisu’

Open an old Italian cookbook, browse through the index and… surprise! No Tiramisu’. My first encounter with Tiramisu’ was in 1985. I was in Italy at that time: A friend of mine told me about this new recipe she got. She was so enthusiastic about it that I felt compelled to try it immediately. The taste was unbelievably good, as never I had tasted before. Since then I fell in love with this dessert.

Everybody knows by now that Tiramisu’ means “pick-me-up” in Italian, for the high energetic content (eggs and sugar) and the caffeine of the strong espresso coffee. There are many different stories about the origin of Tiramisu’. It is a layered cake; therefore some place its origin in Tuscany, where another famous layered Italian dessert is very popular. It is called “Zuppa Inglese” (English Soup). It is not English and it is not a soup. Instead is a simple cake of ladyfingers or sponge cake, soaked in “alkermes” liquor, and alternated layers of chocolate and egg custard. Layered cakes have been around for long time. The brilliant idea in Tiramisu’ is not in the technique of layering, but in the components. The great invention of combining together coffee, zabaglione cream, and chocolate: This is the true innovation in Tiramisu’. Continue reading “The True Hystory of Tiramisu’”

Inspirational New Book Offers Practical Advice for Revolutionizing Your Eating Habits

Susan Teton Campbell has experienced quite a ride as she has sought answers to food-related health issues that plague millions of Americans, and now she offers those answers and loads of practical and inspirational advice in the pages of her new book Eating as a Spiritual Practice: Discover Your Purpose While Nourishing Your Body, Mind, and Soul.

Think of Eating as a Spiritual Practice as a two-for-one deal. First, you get the incredible story of Susan’s life journey, and then you get a plethora of delicious and healthy recipes. But perhaps most importantly, mixed throughout those two sections is tons of good advice and eye-opening information about the value of proper nutrition and the dangers of processed and junk foods. Continue reading “Inspirational New Book Offers Practical Advice for Revolutionizing Your Eating Habits”

Samsung RSH1DTMH Fridge Freezer – Review

Me and my family were in the market for a new fridge because our old one wasn’t doing a good job at keeping things cool and fresh anymore. We used to have a separate fridge and freezer that were both over a decade old. This day and age, one American style fridge freezer is all you need. You get two in one and it ends up saving a lot of space, even when you buy a big one! So we threw out our old fridge and our old freezer and we replaced it with a new one.

Samsung RSH1DTMH Fridge Freezer – Review Continue reading “Samsung RSH1DTMH Fridge Freezer – Review”