Tuesday Megalinks

Today, it’s recession-related weight gain, a provocative pet question from The Kitchn, and the premiere of the word “herpes” on CHG. There’s a first time for everything, folks.

Consumerist: Identical Fake Testimonial Diet Sites Spreading Like Herpes
You may have seen a certain ad lately, featuring a non-descript blonde woman alternately named Jenny, Sarah, or Amy. She claims to have lost 25 pounds on an Oprah-approved acai diet. It’s hooey. A scam. A boondoggle. Don’t click on it.

Consumerist: Is Local Food Safer Than Industrial Food?
I’m almost done with Omnivore’s Dilemma, so this is a good question. On a small scale, where you can depend on upstanding individual farmers – sure. Why not? But it’d be awfully tough to keep track of sanitary conditions and standards without some major funding. From somewhere. I’m not sure where.

Consumerist: Money-Conscious Boozers Fight Depression With Happy Hour
“People aren’t cutting back on their drinking, but they are consuming more at home and trying to extract more booze from their buck when they go out.” That … sounds … familiar. I’ll have to have a glass of Trader Joe’s-bought wine and think about where I’ve heard it before.

Frugal Dad: Help, the Recession is Making Me Fat
Since cheap food is often processed, calorie-laden, fat-packed food, some are predicting the obesity problem will get worse during the recession. Here, FD has some ways to combat the spread.

Frugal Upstate: Why Should I Plan a Weekly Menu?
Jen’s explanation is much better than my “‘cause it’s awesome” one.

Get Rich Slowly: 7 Tips for Starting Your Own Vegetable Garden
Seed orders are due soon, and JD and his wife Kris encourage y’all to get on the ball. They have other ideas, too, as well as a plethora of handy resources for getting started.

The Kitchn: Reader Survey – Do you let pets clean your dishes?
54 folks have commented on this already, and … uh … if you do, that’s great. I don’t want to know about it. Ever.

The Kitchn: Eight Ways to Perk Up Steamed Vegetables
I almost didn’t include this one, because the suggestions seemed sort of intuitive (herbs, garlic, olive oil, etc.). Then I remembered that three years ago, this would have been a discovery on par with the Rosetta Stone for me. So here you go.

The Kitchn: How to Stock a Vegetarian (or Vegan) Pantry
Potential Veg-heads! Need help getting a move on? This is the place to be, tempeh in hand.

The Kitchn: Summer CSAs – Sign Up Now!
Lots of freshman CSA-ers had issues with their hauls last year: strange vegetables, too much of one thing, waste at the end of the week. Apparently, though, practice makes perfect, and it's way easier in Year #2. So if you’re interested, get researchin’.

MSNBC: Pass the tofu - 1 in 200 kids is vegetarian
It’s by choice! Go kids!

New York Times: The Minimalist – Fresh Start for a New Year? Let’s Begin in the Kitchen
Mark Bittman kicks off 2009 by reorganizing your overstocked, under-serving pantry. I agree with almost everything he says, except for the dissing of canned beans and vanilla extract. Have you ever priced vanilla beans at a supermarket? I’ve seen used cars for less.

A Place of Quiet Rest: The Luscious Leftover Buffet
Heather sets out a dinner buffet every night for her family, using leftovers, cut vegetables, and various edibles laying around the fridge. The trick is doin’ it up fancy-like, so it seems like a treat. Cute idea, great execution. (Thanks to Like Merchant Ships for the link.)

Serious Eats: Absentminded Kitchen Disasters
Dozens of horrifying galley injuries for your reading pleasure. My worst: I worked at Wendy’s in high school and was operating the burger station one night, when my manager took a hot potato pan from a 500ºF oven and set it right next to me. Even though I JUST WATCHED HIM DO THIS, I leaned over to pick it up. BAD IDEA. The pan instantly burned six of my ten fingers and melted my rubber gloves to my hands. I spent the rest of the shift up to my elbows in the ice bin, praying for a quick death. (Of special interest: the next day was Easter, and my mom had to put my pants on for me. Mother's Day was very profitable for her that year.)

Serious Eats: Asian Markets Attract Budget-Minded Chefs
Looking to save a few bucks on food? Follow your friend Mr. Chin to his favorite supermarket. You’ll find a vast array of fun stuff you've never seen before, plus discounts on everyday eats.

Serious Eats: Diets Work – Way or No Way
Most commenters are saying, “Nuh-unh,” and they’ve got the personal experiences to back it up. Sometimes, it’s just nice to know that other people are going through the same thing you are.
Serious Eats: How Well Will the Obama Administration Handle Food Issues?
Sure, we were hoping for a Foodie-in-Chief, but it seems Barry has a few more pressing issues on his plate. (Pun intended.) We’ll let it go this term.

Slashfood: Americans Eat Out Despite Rough Times
“According to … a marketing research firm, Americans bought 1% more meals at a restaurant in November of 2008 than November 2007.” What? Huh? But I thought … I know nothing.

Slashfood: Fad Diets Dying out in 2009
Goodbye, Atkins! See you later, Master Cleanse! Don’t let the door hit your totally ineffective butt on the way out, Cabbage Soup Diet!

Treehugger: 9 Ways to Get Your Vegetables
A.k.a. Packing in the Produce the Vegetarian’s Way. The recipe links make it worth the visit. (Thanks to Slashfood for the link.)

Value for Your Life: My 25% Grocery Savings Rule in Action – Part 2, Planning and Resources
Whoa, nelly. Thorough, extensive explanation of VfYL’s shopping plan. You’ve seen it before, but not in this much detail. (Thanks to MSN Smart Spending for the link.)

Wise Bread: How to Avoid Putting on Recession Pounds
You know that post you read from Frugal Dad? There’s more here. It’s a little less practical and a little more behaviorally-based, but useful nonetheless.

(Photos courtesy of Campusi, Unique New Vegetarian Recipes, and Buffalo Rising.)

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