CK Food Links--Friday June 19, 2009

Here's yet another selection of particularly interesting links from around the internet. As always, I welcome your thoughts and your feedback.

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Food Legislation (maybe) at Food Politics
Marion goes over a sampling of food bills currently working their way through Congress. Particularly interesting to see bipartisan support for requiring chain restaurants to list calories on their menus and menu boards.

50 Pasta Salads at Frantic Home Cook
Francie posts a mega-blogroll of excellent pasta dishes just in time for summer. While you're at it, try using Casual Kitchen's own Pasta Salad Permutator to compose your own original pasta salad recipes!

Food, Inc. Changed My Life at Cheap Healthy Good
Kris shares how, in 93 minutes, the movie Food, Inc. permanently changed her eating habits. While you're there, be sure to read her Three Essential Documentaries About Food.

Food, Inc. at Cooking For Engineers
Because we try to be fair and balanced here at CK, here's the contra case on Food, Inc. Michael Chu considers the film one-sided and says you're better off reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food.

Weight Loss Support at 344 Pounds
Tyler gives some great suggestions on how you can be supportive of a spouse or significant other who is trying to lose weight. One of the keys: compliments.

Caribbean Style Pork Loin at An Island Gourmet
I love recipes like this that are really easy, have just a few ingredients, and yet they are just a little bit.... different. A keeper from a blog I recently discovered.

Spatchcocking a Chicken at Banging on Pots and Pans
I discovered this blog a few days ago and I'm completely hooked. Kasie has a gift for carefully and clearly explaining interesting dinner ideas and cooking methods. And unlike most food bloggers, she freely talks about her mistakes. See also her Baja Fish Tacos, her Homemade Tortillas and her post on storing bakeware vertically.

Chicken Piccata at Food Alla Puttanesca
Kmays posts a laughably cheap and laughably easy recipe that seems like it's a lot more work than it really is. That's exactly the kind of meal we look for here at Casual Kitchen!

How to Be a Better Diner at 7x7 San Francisco
Table server Ella Lawrence writes up an intriguing series on restaurant behavior, including how to politely (and successfully) flirt with your server. Thanks to Food Woolf for the link.

The Truth About Grocery Store Flyers at The Simple Dollar
Those grocery store flyers that are supposed to contain great bargains? Sometimes those items advertised aren't on sale at all. I know I've ruthlessly beaten up on grocery stores before, both for boxed cereals and for overpriced spices. Now I don't feel quite so guilty for it.

Sufficiency at The Art of Nonconformity
Chris shares his thoughts on what is "enough" for him. Interesting thoughts on abundance, scarcity, money and having the ability to make choices in life.

Bankruptcy Epitaphs of 2009 at The Reformed Broker
Off topic, but funny. Tombstones of some of the most famous bankruptcies of the year. A sampling: "You Must Be This Tall to Mourn at This Grave" for Six Flags, and "Here Lies Circuit City: Best Buy's Stores Rule, Ours Were Sh*tty." Thanks to Abnormal Returns for the link.

The Road to Bankruptcy at The Atlantic
Off topic, and not funny. Remember a link I posted a couple of weeks ago about Edmund Andrews, the economics reporter for the New York Times who talked openly about his financial failing--and thereby compromised the credibility of the Times' economics coverage? Well, Edmunds may have blamed greedy mortgage brokers for lending him too much money, but Megan McArdle of The Atlantic says there's more, much more, to this story.

Do you have an interesting article or recipe that you'd like to see featured in Casual Kitchen's Food Links? Send me an email!

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