I doubt we can have our cake & eat it also with regards to our food supply. Due to many reasons but including genetically modified food, pestisides, herbicides, fertilizers, & what we all agree are deplorable living conditions for chickens, hogs, & beef combined with antiobiotics & hormones food yields are higher today than 50 years ago. That results in lower food prices here in the US & across the world (yes, I know we also have the government subsidies but that's another topic). Also, many of our agricultural practices contribute to runoff that polutes rivers & streams making fish unhealthy for consumption. It's possible now to purchase food from growers that practice sustainable agriculture, free-graze their animals, do not use pesticides nor herbicides. Their animals are hormone free. Of course, their products are costlier because their yield is less. Are we all willing to pay more for our food to have the quality? DH & I purchase organic dairy & produce whenever available. In fact we go out of our way to seek it out (largely due to Annie's preaching - lol). We're now also buying 100% grass-fed beef, we don't buy poultry nor pork that's been injected with some type of "flavor enhancers". We're purchasing now organic produce & putting it up for winter consumption. Some products we've not switched to organic. For instance, I still buy KA regular flours. The organics are so expensive I've not yet pulled the trigger & made the switch. With the increased costs of what I hope are "healthier" foods we've had to substantially reduce the quantities & varieties of what we consume both in order to stay within our budget allowances & also because some products are just not available organically. We also maintain a food storage program. It's going to take some time to get that converted to more organics. We're doing that via new purchases & rotation of older items. Sometimes, it's not even about the food product itself being healthier grown via "organics". It's just about knowing we're buying from somebody who's doing something to reduce the amount of chemicals going into the soil annually. Or, fewer pesticide sprays. dcarch is right about feeding the world's population. There's no more large land areas to be converted to food production without seriously jeopardizing the ecosystem (cutting down rain forests) more than we've already destroyed. So, the only way to feed the ever increasing population is to increase yield per acre. Are we all willing to make the sacrifices necessary to, so to speak, put our money where our mouth is? Everybody complaining about current mass-agri business already buying all organics, free-range, etc.? Or, driving all over town trying to save $1.00/lb. for chops? Are you still feeding your family the cheapest butter available? Good quality, hormone/antibiotic free, etc., butter is between $5.99 - $8.00/lb. here. Obviously, we don't eat much butter anymore. That translates into much less baking. If you don't like mass-agri business there are lots of alternative choices available. You'll just have to seek them out...and be willing to pay the provider of those products a fair price for their labors & costs. It took us over 2 years to source many of the products we're eating today versus shopping at our local chain store. We're blessed. We can afford to buy organics still putting enough food on the table we're not going to bed with our stomachs growling. Most of the world cannot. Should they go hungry? I think it's a very valid question. We also can't ignore food preparation methods in looking at today's food health issues. Sure, chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, & gravy is good but it's not healthy. Pasta can be good, especially if it's whole wheat, but it's not healthy to eat pasta 10+ times/month...especially with today's serving sizes. IIRC, a serving is 1/2 cup cooked pasta. So, how many of us only eat 1/2 cup? What happens when the sauce is cooked with chicken, pork, & beef? Food & health is a large issue both in the US & around the world. There's no one single answer. And, there's no one single reason for the problems. /tricia

I'm back...I made the plain yogurt cake on The Kitchn blog...made it exactly as she said and only added the grated rind of a lemon. Baked it 50 min. Used EEVO as that is all I had...not just plain OO. It was WONDERFUL. LIght and tasty and no oily taste at all. We had it last night and again this AM with sliced strawberries. I will be making it often. I will link to a piece on Livestrong about palm oil . And here is part of an article about coconut oil : "According to Dr. Barry Sears, who is an expert in lipids (fats), holds a doctorate in biochemistry and does extensive research in the field, coconut oil does have some advantages over other types of saturated fat in that it is rich in tocotrienols (vitamin E, an antioxidant), and because of the high amounts of saturated fat, it is stable for cooking. (Note that the tocotrienols degrade during cooking so this benefit is lost if you use coconut oil for cooking.) All in all, coconut oil may not be as unhealthy as many animal-derived saturated fats (butter, meat), but until more research is done, especially looking at the impact on heart disease risk, it is better to limit your intake to less than 10% of total calories per day and make sure that it replaces less healthy foods such as refined carbohydrates, sugar and high fat animal proteins instead of adding to them. And I agree with Sears that for controlling inflammation and obtaining optimal health, extra virgin olive oil is unquestionably your best choice." Certainly a lot of info. The bottom line is , if you take in too many calories vs how many you burn you will gain weight and potentially be unhealthy. Moderation in ALL things is best. You can't leave out any food group without suffering consequences. If you leave out meat you have to make up the difference with the proper amino acids in complementary proteins. It is not easy being a human with good nutrition these days :) c Here is a link that might be useful: Palm fruit/palm seed oil...the difference

First find out what material the gaskets are made of. If they are natural rubber, they can age by ozone in the air. If they are silicone rubber, they will not need any grease. For natural rubber, mineral oil (food grade) can work. It depends, there are different kinds of mineral oil and different kinds of natural rubber. For old natural rubber that does not seal anymore, you can rejuvenate by soaking the rubber in mineral oil for a few weeks. I have even used motor oil to rejuvenate rubber pressure cooker gaskets, Motor oil smells. After soaking, I boil the gasket a few times in dishwasher water . dcarch This post was edited by dcarch on Sat, Nov 30, 13 at 17:31

I don't grill, so I'd probably just roast the chicken with some vegetables, Ann T's high heat roasting method is custom made for a fast chicken dinner and things like sweet potatoes and parsnips roast well at that high temperature too. Toss the carcass in the crockpot the next day with some water, onion, carrot and celery and make stock. Let it simmer all day, strain out the vegetables, add some leftover chicken back in along with noodles or rice and you have soup. The pork I'd probably brine in cider, rub with herbs and roast too. That way I could stick a couple of baked sweet potatoes in the oven with the pork roast, maybe even baked apples for dessert. All quick, easy and ready in the oven! Off in another direction, the pork would be good as pulled pork in the crockpot too, with some BBQ sauce and served on bun or you could slice the tenderloin and use this recipe from Lars' niece, Amanda: Caramelized Pork Slices 1 pound pork tenderloin (we usually use pork chops) 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 Tbsp packed brown sugar 1 Tbsp orange juice 1 Tbsp molasses or maple-flavored syrup 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper Cut pork into 1/2 inch slices. Spray 10-inch non-stick skillet w/ cooking spray; heat over med-high heat. Cook pork and garlic in skillet 6 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until pork is slightly pink in center. Drain if necessary. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook about 2 to 5 minutes, until mixture thickens and coats pork. (Amanda Maedgen) Annie