weekend link love

My first Link Love feature! I won't do this more than once or twice a month, but the weekend seems like a good time to point out some interesting reads.

First, I just want to make the briefest of comments on the Paula Deen hullabaloo. If you haven't heard, celebrity chef Paula Deen has gone public about her diagnosis of Type II diabetes. And people are pissed. I'm more disgusted by Deen's opportunistic corporate partnership, but that's just me. I think it's all very silly, but if you take a step back this situation is illustrative of where we are in terms of politically-correct nutrition.

I checked out The Southern Cooking Bible from the library just last month, after hearing her interview on NPR. I’ve never seen her show (does she have a show?), but I love cookbooks of all stripes. Butter and meat could be found in her book, but what dominated were the desserts. Holy shit, the desserts! They comprised half of the book in several different chapters -- candies, cakes, cookies, pies, and so forth. Her cakes were almost invariably triple-layered and the frosting would contain many CUPS of sugar.

I counted up the sugar for one cake, and between the cakes themselves, the frosting, and the filling, there were seven cups of sugar. In one recipe.

Even though I eat lots of meat, lots of eggs, and lots of fat overall, I couldn't find many recipes in her book that would fit within my diet. That says something, I think. Despite her reputation as "the Butter Queen" (one article said she might as well have announced her diagnosis with a "fried stick of butter in her mouth"), most of Paula Deen's recipes are grain-based. Even meats are often coated in flour and fried in refined unsaturated oils. One of her fudge recipes includes "processed cheese product" and two pounds of sugar.

So to say that she has diabetes now because of the occasional tablespoon of butter that she uses for her collard greens is to blatantly ignore what truly comprises the vast majority of her recipes, and indeed the diet of most U.S. Americans. It ain't butter, friends.

(That wasn't such a brief comment, I guess.)

In related news, maybe you should be eating more cholesterol, not less. And forget dieting while you're at it. If you want to do something good for your health, why not take your exercise routine outside courtesy of the biophilia hypothesis?

I love all things NorCal-themed, especially if they contain tequila. And I was happy to find this tutorial for pressure-canning homemade broth, since I have no room in my freezer and plan to acquire a pressure-canner soon.

For inspiration, check out these teachers who decided to work for free post-budget cut, this campaign against rape, and this town that aims to be entirely food-sufficient in seven years. (This might help!)

And remember that yoga shouldn't hurt.

Music and books are not things I get to share very much 'round these parts, but this seems like as good a place as any. Right now I'm reading The Fat Studies Reader, The Abstinence Teacher, and Wisdom of the Bees: Principles for Biodynamic Beekeeping, and listening to Ray LaMontagne, Metric, The Crux, and Junip. Any suggestions?

Have a wonderful weekend!