I wonder that about artichokes. Someone had to have been very hungry to realize that you can boil an oversized thistle, scrape out all the thistley parts and there is a tiny portion of extreme deliciousness in the center.

Yep, the material culture of food production is what I study. Academic 4 LYFE.

That book (a) spurred my interest in the material culture of the past, and (b) actually made me want headcheese.

Read "The Jungle," still eat hot dogs, but now am a socialist.

Rennet and isinglass are old-school — they have been traditional ingredients forever — and therefore don't bother me nearly as much as antibiotics in chicken or l-cysteine in bread.

My grandfather was a Navy pilot in the 1940s and 50s and he told us stories about weird things happening there. You can still see specials about it on History Channel and such, late at night on weekdays.

Ok, I have never liked Kirstie Alley as an actress and I have hated every word reported to come out of her mouth. BUT, I am starting to feel some empathy for her, because she clearly shares with me the affliction of Crazy Picture Mouth, where despite being a normal-looking person, you look insane in every picture…

I'm 35 and have nary a wrinkle on my face — but have recently noticed my chest/cleavage looking very wrinkled and sun-damaged lately. Reason? I ALWAYS cover my face in the sun, not always with sunscreen but always with big sunglasses and a hat, simply because I hate having sun on my face. But I never cover my upper…

Re: Taylor Swift: couldn't the designer have worked out a way to incorporate the nude bra-fastening thing into the straps or covered it with fabric in some way? It looks like a tag sticking up.

I wonder if you wore the elastic in the front, would it give you a Bert Stare look?

Yeah, me neither. Except the blonde woman giving the testimonial just looks weird because she has her hair hanging suspiciously over her face.

DO NOT click it; I've heard it gives you a virus or installs some kind of Trojan horse or something bad news bears.

Jesus Christ, is this the origin of that stupid "Local mom cheats Botox doctors with $25 wrinkle cure!" ad that has been running on my facebook forever? Now will we learn the "One weird old trick to lose belly fat"??

I have both a cardigan and a sweater that I bought in the 90s that have mysteriously continued to fit through pretty serious weight gains and losses and gains and losses (and pregnancy and breastfeeding). The magic is kind of scary.

It's a foreign problem to me because eating is always my first response to any situation. I NEVER forget to eat, but I know normal people do. :)

Lol, I totally don't care how they look but they crack and then little pieces of dead skin stick out and rub on the bedsheets and annoy me. :) I'm gonna get a pumice!

I wonder if you could make some kind of Asian sweet bean-type puree with it, like in a dim sum bun filling. But I am the biggest armchair Chopped champion ever and I talk a big game. :) The fenugreek would have put me off, though.

I'm watching Chopped and they have to use frozen peas in their dessert and it is so upsetting. One of them just blended peas with Japanese mayo and maple syrup. Peas are one of the few foods that will make me throw up if I taste even a little bit, so this is fucking traumatizing to watch.

Our first baby: told the grandparents immediately, also my sister and his brother. Told other family and friends closer to 12 weeks. Second time around, I told a few more friends before 12 weeks, because I would want their support in case I miscarried. And I ended up spilling the beans at work at like 10 weeks because…

Ok, this is the recipe. It's from the Joy of Cooking, which I have some issues with as a cookbook but this recipe turned out well.