Olive oil prices expected to nearly halve in coming months as drought ends in southern Europe

The Deoleo brands

 

Extra virgin olive oil prices in Spain’s Andalusia stood at 6 euros ($6.33) per kilogram as of Nov. 6, according to Expana, an agricultural and food-focused market intelligence firm. That’s down around 19% on a monthly basis and nearly 35% off a record high of 9.2 euros in January.

Spain accounts for more than 40% of the world’s olive oil production, making it a global reference for prices. ...

Deoleo said olive oil prices should fall to around 5 euros per liter, a steep drop from highs of 9 to 10 euros, which had become the norm in Spanish supermarkets this year. ...

Kyle Holland, senior market reporter for oilseeds and oils at Expana, said most industry players were “very, very bearish” regarding the price outlook.

“The production numbers are key. For Spain, we’re looking at probably 1.3 million metric tons, compared to last season’s 670,000 to 680,000 metric tons, depending on who you speak to, so not far from double basically.”

More.

You don't have to be rich to biddy biddy bum

 

Otherwise, I putz in my yard. I do a bit of writing. Once in a while, I have small get-togethers at my apartment. I’m kind of embarrassed by how deeply satisfying and comforting my simple routines are, and by how much I care for my cats. 

More.

Happiness is dark chocolate, despite the "heavy metals" brouhaha

 The Consumer Reports story has now made it to CNBC:

5 brands—including Trader Joe’s—whose dark chocolate tested high for lead, cadmium

When the story first came out I was alarmed because I regularly consume two or three small squares of the very worst chocolate bar in the original report.

Long story short, I calculate that I have consumed 0.72 micrograms lead per day for some time.

In 2022 the FDA fixed the lead limit for women of childbearing age at 8.8 micrograms per day:

The FDA lowered its IRLs for dietary lead to 2.2 μg/day for children and 8.8 μg/day for females of childbearing age.

Like everything else from California, its "maximum allowable dose level (MADL)" is hysterical.

 

I may change brands in the future, but I'm in no hurry.

What? Me worry?

 

Happiness is beans, beans the magical fruit

 A nutritionist shares the ‘underrated’ longevity food she eats every day to boost her immune system :

According to a 2022 study published in the journal PLOS Medicine, swapping out red meats and processed foods for legumes, whole grains, vegetables can increase life expectancy by more than a decade for people in their 20s or 30s. ...

In fact, the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association recommend eating legumes as an alternative to animal proteins to help lower the risk of cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Happiness is the five pillars of a longevity diet

Whole grains like corn, rice and oats (complex carb)

Greens

Tubers, including potatoes and yams (complex carb)

Nuts

Beans (complex carb)

 

More.

Happiness is the 5 magical superfoods an immunologist says boost the immune system the most

Here:

Mushrooms

Ginger

Broccoli sprouts

Garlic

Turmeric

Happiness is foods for brain health

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out:

added sugars such as high fructose corn syrup, baked goods, sodas; 

fried foods;

potatoes, white bread, white rice;

alcohol;

nitrates.

In:

dark chocolate 70% or higher, 45 grams a week;

strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, one half to one cup a day;

turmeric, black pepper, curry;

dark leafy greens;

fermented foods with live active cultures such as yogurt, kefir, kombucha, miso, sauerkraut, kimchi.

Properly stored, some pills retain their potency indefinitely

From the story here:

Numerous studies on expired, properly stored drugs, mostly pills, have found them fully potent or close, some many years after that date. In one case, unopened bottles of painkillers, antihistamines and other drugs from the 1960s were still very potent when tested a half-century later. ... The exceptions are aspirin and the antibiotic tetracycline, which can deteriorate soon after expiration dates. ... But experts say don't use expired liquid medicines, insulin and other injected drugs that must be refrigerated. They can break down faster than pills, especially if they aren't kept cold. Ditto for drugs not properly stored. Medicines kept in areas with high humidity or fluctuating temperatures — like a bathroom cabinet — or left in direct light degrade faster and can lose potency. Instead, keep them in a cool, dark place, advises Michael Gaino of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

Don Williams has passed away, but the songs never will

The story is here.

If I Needed You, here.

It's National Burger Day today, but we made stir-fry by mistake dontcha know

We use a Cantonese style wok with a lower base ring on a gas stove without difficulty

We grill burgers on Sunday evenings like clockwork, but not today!

And to think it was the National Day to celebrate our custom. Oops.

We made stir-fry in the wok because we had accumulated leftovers from . . . the grill!

But not beef! Pork and chicken, mostly.

Here's the basic ingredient list for our stovetop stir fry (you can get by without the celery if you have 1/4 tsp. celery seed):

2 cups leftover cooked meat, like pork and chicken, diced small without the skin or fat

1 cup fresh mushrooms, about 4 oz., diced and then sautéed in butter or oil

3/4 cup diced carrot, about 2

2/3 cup diced onion

1 green onion chopped

2/3 cup diced sweet bell pepper, orange or red

1 cup diced celery stalk, about 2

1 cup sweet baby peas or pea pods

1 can drained bamboo shoots

1 can drained sliced water chestnuts

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger root

3 slices bacon already cooked, chopped

1 cup prepared Jasmine rice in a pan, left covered off the heat (1 cup rice, 2 cups water, a little salt, brought to a boil in a heavy covered pan and then simmered on low for 20 minutes--easy peasy)

1/2 to 1 tsp. sugar

ground black pepper

San-Jay Tamari sauce

2-3 tablespoons Sesame or Canola oil

Here's the cooking order:

Heat oil in the wok OVER MEDIUM

Add carrots and stir

Add celery and stir

Add onion and stir

Add mushrooms and stir

Add garlic and stir

Add sweet pepper and stir

Add black pepper and stir

Add meats and stir

Add fresh peas or pea pods and stir,

And bamboo shoots and water chestnuts and stir,

and cover and steam 3 minutes ON MEDIUM LOW.

Then add ginger and more black pepper

Add 1/4 cup Tamari sauce and the sugar in a pool in the bottom, mix together and stir everything

Add the cooked rice and stir until well blended

Add more Tamari sauce as desired (but you want to keep the mixture on the dry side)

Stir in cooked bacon and green onion

Turn off and cover and prepare to serve immediately 

Samuel Johnson insisted "Taxation no tyranny", now Italians claim pasta not fattening

From the story here:

Researchers in Italy studied over 23,000 people in Italy and found that higher pasta intake was not associated with a raised body mass index (BMI) – widely used as a measurement of a person's body fat, based on a person's height and weight – and waist-to-hip ratio.

Homemakers Are Still Basically Worth $60K

scrubbin' for the very first time, like a . . .

Yeah right. Tell that to the banker on the mortgage refi application and see how far you get.

Story here, if you can believe it.

Grapes, Other Crops, Threatened By 2,4-D Herbicide Used On Engineered Corn

"David Simmons, an Indiana farmer who grows corn and soybeans but also runs a vineyard and winery, says his young grapevines have suffered significant damage from drifting 2,4-D applications at neighboring farms, forcing him to fight to recover damage claims from fellow farmers' insurance carriers."

Read the full story here at CNBC.com.