LifePundit

Why I Don't Eat Grouper Unless I Know Who Caught It

A few years ago a friend went to a seafood restaurant here in town and ordered grouper, which until that night, was my favorite fish.

A few hours later, she was ill. Not your normal food-poisoning. Something far worse. Hot was cold. Cold was hot. She hurt. She itched. I can't remember what else but she got put in the hospital. If it weren't for health experts in Florida, who were familiar with this toxin, I'm not sure that anyone would have figured out what was so seriously wrong with her. Others who had eaten the grouper were hospitalized, too.

The grouper she ate came from warm waters where it had consumed toxic algae. Here's an excerpt from the A.P. story linked above:

The FDA said that fish such as grouper, snapper, amberjack and barracuda represent the most significant threat to consumers. They feed on fish that have eaten toxic marine algae. The toxin is stable in the tissue of living fish and does them no harm. But larger carnivores have higher concentrations of the toxin in their tissues. As a result, the greatest risk of poisoning for humans comes from the largest fish.

Symptoms of ciguatera poisoning include nausea, vomiting, vertigo and joint pain. In the most serious cases, neurological problems can last for months or even years. Several outbreaks of the illness were confirmed in Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, the FDA said. Overall, there have been at least 28 reported cases across the country, with the first case being reported in late November.

That toxin is still in my friend's system. She can't eat chocolate or drink wine and has to be careful not to consume any fish that might add to the toxins still in her body.

The out-of-state seafood wholesaler that supplied the restaurant went under after this incident.

I've eaten grouper once since this happened. I bought it at Captain Pete's Seafood shop at Holden Beach, N.C. and cooked it myself. The fishmonger (first time I've ever gotten to use that word!) knew what boat he'd bought the grouper from, and also knew where they'd been fishing. North. Cooler waters.

My friend looks great and has learned to manage what she eats and drinks so that she doesn't have a flare up. The whole thing boggles my mind.

Those of us on the top of the food chain need to be mindful of those on the bottom.

Do You Want to Kiss Everyone in the Room?

I'd rather watch the ads than the SuperBowl. Paul and I discussed having a SuperBowl party this year, but after reading this from the New York Times about the germs you'll get from people double-dipping their chips (or carrot sticks) in the dip, well, we may as well be talking about throwing an orgy. Read this excerpt:

Professor Dawson said that Timmy (from Seinfeld) was essentially correct. “The way I would put it is, before you have some dip at a party, look around and ask yourself, would I be willing to kiss everyone here? Because you don’t know who might be double dipping, and those who do are sharing their saliva with you.”

Hat tip to Al Dente.

They'll be no such party at our house! (Translation: I found an excuse not to have to clean up and cook.)

How to Save Money on Cereal AND Decorate Your Home

You save money if you buy in quantity. But unless you bought your house in quantity, that is, you bought a big house with lots of closets, you may struggle with where to put that case of toilet paper, 300 plastic spoons and other bargains.

I spend a fortune on groceries, so when I saw that Amazon was running a special promotion on cereal products ($20 off your order of $50 or more), I jumped at the chance to stock up. It arrived today by second-day air in a great big box I could hardly carry. I don't have anywhere to put this stockpile of cereal. So I thought now would be a good time to exercise my creativity in interior design. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

First I added some romance to the bedroom by  supplementing our  over-abundance of pillows with Smart Start. Gives it a cozy-but-healthy, up-and-at-'em look, don't you think?

Then I decided to add some color to my neutral toned living room with some Product 19. The red's a nice touch and helps balance out the room's toss-pillow deficiencies.

And when you just don't think you can climb those stairs one more time, how about some Frosted Mini-Wheats to keep you going? Besides, the repetition makes a fine design element and is sure to get me a place in "The Anals of Home Design Magazine."

Addiction to LOLcats Raises Many Questions

Does everybody in the world let their cats get on their tables and countertops? I'm beginning to wonder.

I don't have high standards. But feet that have been in the litter box do not belong on the table or the kitchen counter. I don't care how cute those feet are. Keep them away from my food!

Yet, when Lily and I feed our LOLcat addiction by checking in with icanhascheezburger (and we do LOL at the cats, sometimes even ROFL at the cats -- some of you Internets are really funny), I'm beginning to notice a trend.

About half of those cats are on some kind of human eating surface. That would be a table or countertop. I love cats. I also love cat-hair-free food.

moar funny pictures

I disapprove. At least in my house.

I even have an electrified Scat Mat. It's a flat mat that when an animal jumps on the table, they get a shock. This didn't work for Tiger. He just jumped to the part of the table where there was no mat and kept eating. Tiger now lives outside, where I think he is happy snuggling up with Parker, the dog, to sleep and catching wildlife. And he comes inside for supervised visits. We do have an indoor cat, Izzie, who is polite and would never dream of hopping on the table, clawing the furniture (she is not declawed but uses her cardboard clawing thingy we bought her), turning over the trashcan or waking me up to feed her. If her food bowl is empty, she comes to get me instead of turning over the open bag of food next to the bowl. We call her polite, but perhaps she is just stupid.

Here's a photo of Tiger on the outside and Izzie on the inside. She was not fully grown at that time. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Losing Your Taste

When you get older, you lose your tastes. I'm already in Mom Jeans. A friend of mine said that we are in "that age," kind of like between childhood and adolescence, when we didn't quite know what to wear. There are stores, such as Chico's (this is not an ad), that cater to grown-up women who have not given up (I swear the Mom Jeans look better than the alternative).

My 95-year-old father's done something kind of funny. All by accident. All because he's never been one to notice fashion. He's lost so much weight his clothes don't fit, so he got Saint Ike to take him clothes shopping. (Taking a man on oxygen who's supposed to be in a wheelchair shopping is more difficult than going shopping with six toddlers. He could fall anytime in any direction.) Ike helped him find blue jeans, which are definitely not Mom Jeans. Or Dad Jeans. My father called to report. "You need to see these new jeans. I'm not quite sure what I think of them. They've got pockets and chains and things all over them -- I don't know what anybody needs with all these pockets and things -- I won't remember where I put stuff -- but they fit real good."

My 95-year-old father is wearing Gangsta Jeans. With a belt, though they might just fall down anyway he's so skinny.

So I'm in Mom Jeans and my father is in Gangsta Jeans. That ought to even out into something in the Great Jeans Cosmos.

But that's not the taste I meant to write about. Did you know that as you age you lose your ability to taste? (I don't recommend this link, because it's too depressing.) By age 70 it's possible that you've lost 30 percent of your taste buds. My father has lost his taste for chocolate. Nothing tastes right, and being the kind of guy he is, that means there's something wrong with the food.

His doctor told him that you lose I forget how many of your taste buds as you age, but the sweet ones are the last to go. His doctor said it's not the food that's the problem -- it's his ability to taste.

This may be the cruelest cut of all: outliving your taste buds.

When someone you love can't do the things they love, it's hard. You figure they ought to at least enjoy the little treats you cook up for them, or buy them (as is more likely in my case). But nothing tastes quite right. He asks me to buy him pickles, for instance. He's really into pickles (maybe the salt, which he's not supposed to have?). I bought him the kind Mama bought all those years. He told me there is something wrong with those now, and to get another kind. So I did. Those aren't right either.

He's nice about it, just disappointed. And the candy and goodies people bring him pile up until they topple over into the trash can.

I wonder if we can keep our taste buds tasting away by keeping them constantly stimulated? Like those brain exercises to keep you sharp, only these would be eating exercises? I have to have this brownie. My tongue is in training.

The other thing is that is seems that food tastes really unbalanced. He can't taste the pickles, so I get him stronger pickles. Those don't work because one flavor is shouting out and not balanced by the flavors that can't be tasted. Kind of like going to a symphony and only being able to hear the second violins. Just what kind of music are they playing? The main notes aren't sounding (or rather, can't be heard).

I'll keep buying pickles. He lives on hope, and there are still lots of pickle brands left to try.

Is it Really Cheaper to Eat at Home?

Maybe I need to take a class in how to shop. As much money as I spend at the grocery store, it has to be cheaper to eat out.

For instance, we love the restaurant The Melting Pot. (This is not an ad.) The trouble is, when you get the works it's expensive and you pig out. So I got this new electric fondue pot I've had my eye on (I had my mother-in-law's 1970s model where you need liquid fuel - harder to find than Sterno cans -- and though others might find it easy to use, I don't. Plus it was my mother-in-law's so I tend to have this uncontrollable twitch that comes over me when I use it, and that's a dangerous thing when you've got lots of long, pointy forks and liquid fuel.) Anyway, I've got this new fondue pot burning a hole in my pocket, so I've decided we're going to have a Melting Pot weekend at home.

The difference here is that I'll spread the courses out over a couple of meals, so it won't be so calorie-intensive. But I've just been to the grocery store to buy the ingredients for the Gruyere and emmenthaler cheese fondue (with fresh veggies and bread cubes and a salad), the filet mignon and veggies for the broth fondue (with fattening homemade dips that required more ingredients), and the chocolate fondue with fruits.

I paid a million dollars at the checkout. Admittedly, I don't usually buy gourmet cheeses and fancy meat, but I always spend a lot at the grocery store -- just for three people. (Even when I'm not buying cat litter.) Why is it that when I decide to cook a nice meal at home, it costs more than eating out? 

Well, at least we'll be spared the public spectacle of the three of us fighting over the last little bit of cheese in the pot. Or what we do to the chocolate.... I guess the privacy you get at home is worth the extra cost and effort.

If you're a Melting Pot fan, I found the recipe for their Green Goddess dip here. (I sort of wish I didn't know what was in it -- no wonder it's so good.)

Kids with Nut Allergies Eat This Soy-Nut Butter Up

If you've been craving peanut butter for years but can't have it because you have a nut allergy, and suddenly you discover soy-nut butter, you have landed in heaven. (If you have been eating regular PB&Js, you might turn your nose up at it.) Lily has eaten a soy-nut butter sandwich for almost every meal since I bought the stuff. You can't believe how exciting this product is to our household. We are out.

The chocolate-flavored soy-nut butter wasn't a big hit, FYI. In fact, I'm wondering if the word "nasty" shouldn't be used....

The specialty food shop is all the way in town, so I was glad and surprised to find a jar of soy-nut butter at Wal-Mart. Will let you know if it is as delicious as the brand linked above. (This is not an ad.)

Things I Don't Want to Drink

I guess I'm a toddler hiding in a grown-woman's body. I don't like stuff in my drinks. Then again, I can't be a toddler because I don't like blue food. Like blue Jello. Or any other Jello for that matter.

Oh, I can take a strawberry in my champagne. Or fruit bits in smoothies. Or whipped cream on top of just about anything.

But what's with these blooming tea ads I see everywhere? It's interesting and pretty, but I don't want to drink a liquid with a flower arrangement in it. Or seaweed, either. There are just some things that don't belong in what you're going to drink.

My father used to gross me out by drinking a glass of tomato juice, then pouring milk into that same glass. Bloody milk. I almost had to leave the table.

And now they're making drinks in flavors that I don't mind eating, but for goodness sake, ham is not a drink. From Fox News:

The Christmas pack will feature such flavors as Sugar Plum, Christmas Tree, Egg Nog and Christmas Ham. The Hanukkah pack will have Jelly Doughnut, Apple Sauce, Chocolate Coins and Latkes sodas.

Jones Soda Co., the Seattle-based purveyor of offbeat fizzy water, is selling holiday-themed limited-edition packs of flavored sodas.

"As always, both packs are kosher and contain zero caffeine," Jones said in a statement.

The story goes on to say that Jones Soda has also made drinks flavored to taste like dirt and perspiration, among other things. I guess it's not about taste or sales. It's about PR.

Makes me long for a glass of milk tainted with tomato juice.

"Peanut Butter" for Kids with Allergies

Great news for kids with nut allergies (like Lily). There's a soy-based "peanut butter" out there that tastes great. It's actually a soy-nut butter, manufactured in a nut-free environment. If you haven't had the real thing in five years, it's freedom and deliciousness in a jar.

Here's Lily's review:

Five years ago, I tested positive to all nuts on my allergy tests. I had always told my parents that I was allergic to nuts, but you know how little kids always say things like "I'm allergic to spinach" or some other food that they despise, so my parents didn't believe me. This theory of mine wasn't helped by the fact that, strangely,  I could eat peanut butter and still be fine. So when I was taken to the allergist after having one eye swollen shut when I got pecan dust in it, I was the only one who wasn't surprised.  I  got a little row of itchy red hives after the allergist's nurse dabbed peanut extract on the inside of my arm. Then when I was informed that I could no longer eat peanut butter, (which was the main food group for me) I was shocked. The allergist said that even though I had eaten peanut butter for a good 7 years or so with no reaction, I was pushing  it if I kept eating it. 

Just recently I met a girl who was allergic to nuts,egg, and milk. Wow. Not only was she allergic
to nuts, but she also couldn't eat most of the foods I wouldn't live without: chocolate, cheese, pasta,...
The list keeps going. One day at lunch, she brought what looked like a PB & J sandwich. I asked her what was the thing that looked like peanut butter, and she said "Soy-Nut Butter". I wondered for a while if something like that even existed, and found that yes, it did.                

I tried it last night. It was so similar to peanut butter, I re-checked the label to make sure that I didn't have to rush to the hospital. It was delicious!

Thank goodness for soybeans (and scientists concerned for kids with allergies)!

Sapelo Island Geechee-Gullah Festival

One Queens buddy whom I'll call Julie has connections just about everywhere, including the Sapelo Island (Georgia) Geechee-Gullah Festival. We'd stayed up so late talking the night before (Queens College friends reunion at St. Simon's) that a morning rush to catch the ferry to Sapelo Island was a stretch for some of us. Turns out nobody at Sapelo Island was rushing anyway, so it worked out all right.

Here's a photo of the ferry (small white thing) coming up the river to the landing. While we wait here a minute/hour for the ferry, I'll tell you a little about Sapelo Island. It's Georgia's fourth-largest barrier island and is accessible only by water. It's been settled for over 4,000 years and has a very interesting history. The people who live there, descendants of slaves, speak a dialect called Geechee in Georgia (and Gullah in S.C.). Actually, other than folks on stage, I didn't hear any Geechee, though I've heard Gullah in Charleston when I was a child. It's a disappearing culture and language, which is all the more reason/excuse to have a festival. Some people consider Sapelo Island one of the closest connections we have to Africa.

R. J. Reynolds had a mansion there (not the beach house I would have built), which we didn't get to see but I saw photos, and there's also a marine science research center, a lighthouse and other points of interest, especially in Hog Hammock, the center of the African-American community. I am really shortchanging the story here, so if you want to find out more, go visit the links while I talk about the food.

Once you get off the ferry, you catch a retired school bus to get to the Geechee Festival grounds. It was a fun ride through beautiful maritime forests. If there are still leaves in my hair, it's from the tree limbs sticking in through the bus windows as we bounced down the dirt roads. By the way, one of the owners of the island hired German engineers to lay out and build the island's few road. These roads are marked "Autobahn" on the maps, so that's what they call them. We went for a ride down the Autobahn like nobody in Germany has ever done.

Here are some photos of the festival:

                        

It was a great place to eat. Vendors under tents offered everything from shrimp and grits to fried sweet potatoes to blue crabs. I hear the smoked mullet is awesome, but it sounded scary to me -- too many bones. That's it on the plate pictured below.

The tours were sold out so we spent some time talking, eating, listening to performers, eating and walking around looking at the people and the wares. A beautiful day on one of America's prettiest islands with some of my dearest friends. For good pictures that I had nothing to do with, go here.