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Food and Dining Briefs for March 18
McDonald's debuts Frappes: San Diego McDonald's locations have begun selling Frappes, an expansion of the McCafe beverage line. The ice-blended coffee drinks are topped with whipped cream and a chocolate or caramel drizzle (Caramel Frappe has caramel flavor and drizzle, and Mocha Frappe has mocha flavor and chocolate drizzle). The drinks come in 12-, 16- or 20-ounce sizes. Participating McDonald's will hand out free samples from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; go to sdmcdonalds.com.
Souplantation to open in Encinitas: Rancho Bernardo-based Garden Fresh Inc. will open a location Monday in the Encinitas Village Shopping Center, 109 N. El Camino Real in Encinitas. In honor of the event, the company will host a pre-opening "funraiser" for the Boys & Girls Club of San Dieguito this week. From 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Friday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, diners can visit the all-you-can-eat restaurant for just $5. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekends. Call 760-634-2500 or visit souplantation.com.
At-home cooking: A new at-home cooking school is available at chefztable.com, which allows visitors to find professional and certified chefs in their area based on a ZIP Code search. Visitors can cook one-on-one with chefs or host a cooking class party; chefs arrive with groceries and utensils, and they clean up after themselves. Go to chefztable.com.
Babycakes introduces new flavors: Babycakes in Temecula adds two flavors to its cupcake lineup: Lemon Zinger and 14 Carrot. Lemon Zinger is a lemon poppyseed cupcake with tart lemon filling and buttercream frosting. 14 Carrot is a carrot cake cupcake with golden raisins and chopped walnuts, topped with cream cheese frosting. Go to www.baby-cakes-cupcakes.com.
Coco's adds menu items: Coco's Bakery Restaurants are expanding their menus with new appetizers, each paired with a California wine. New appetizers include macadamia-crusted Brie, country-style pork pate flavored with brandy and more; wine selections include merlot, white zinfandel, cabernet sauvignons made with organic grapes, and signature Sangria Frescas in tropical flavors. Go to www.cocosbakery.com.
Also, Coco's has opened a location at Camp Pendleton, making it the first sit-down family restaurant chain on any military base in the nation.
P.F. Chang's expands gluten-free menu: P.F. Chang's China Bistro restaurants, which recently opened a location in Carlsbad, have expanded their gluten-free menu to include beef entrees. The menu already includes Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Flourless Chocolate Dome dessert. Other items include Shrimp With Lobster Sauce, Mongolian Beef, Hong Kong Beef With Snow Peas, Philip's Better Lemon Chicken, Fried Rice, Singapore Street Noodles and more; go to pfchangs.com.
Barona champagne brunch: Barona Resort & Casino is offering a champagne brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays in the Italian Cucina. The all-you-can-eat brunch includes smoked salmon and bagels, king crab legs, an omelet station, hazelnut French toast, baked rigatoni, a dessert station and more. The brunch is $25.99, or $30.99 with champagne (21 and over), but Club Barona discounts apply. Barona is at 1932 Wildcat Canyon Road in Lakeside; go to www.barona.com or call 619-443-2300.
Vista market extends hours: The Vista Farmers Market, held Saturdays at the Vista courthouse, will expand its hours from 8 a.m. to noon beginning April 3. The market offers local, certified and organic growers with vegetables and fruits, eggs and cheese and more; it also has baked goods, fresh bread, sweets and live music. The market takes place at 325 S. Melrose Drive in Vista.
Jamba Juice, PTA team up: Jamba Juice and the National PTA have partnered to promote Jamba's Five Fruit Frenzy smoothie, which blends blueberries, strawberries, bananas, peaches and mangoes. The idea is to encourage young people to get their recommended servings of fruit. Go to jambajuice.com or 866-473-7848.
El Pollo Loco expands menu: El Pollo Loco restaurants have debuted a Grilled Carne Asada Steak Tostada Salad, expanding on its recently launched sirloin steak menu. The salad includes lettuce, pinto beans, Spanish rice, Jack and cheddar cheeses, and citrus-marinated, flame-grilled sirloin steak. Also, El Pollo Loco has introduced Loco Cash Cards; through May 9, guests who purchase a family meal or chicken-only order of eight pieces of more will receive a $5 Loco Cash Card to redeem on any 10-, 12- or 14-piece family meal. Go to elpolloloco.com.
Tango offers express lunch: Tango Restaurant & Lounge in Escondido is serving express lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday in the lounge; each item is $7. Menu items include Chicken Caesar Salad, Cheeseburger & Fries, Pasta of the Day and Short Rib; go to www.tangoongrand.com or call 760-747-5000.
Barona classic combo: Barona Resort & Casino is now offering a casino classic all day Mondays through Thursdays ---- a Steak & Eggs Special for $1.99 between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., and $3.99 between 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. The dish will be served 24 hours a day at Sage Cafe and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the new El Rancho Grande Mexican restaurant; the dish will also be served at slot machines or game tables via the gameside dining service. The dish features USDA choice New York Strip steak and eggs; go to barona.com.
Mosaic announces new VP: Mosaic Catering of San Diego has announced Rod Coon as its new vice president; Coon has more than 20 years of special event, business and personal catering experience, including with his own company, Contemporary Catering of La Jolla. Coon has been responsible for events such as the Gaslamp Festival, the liquor service management at Street Scene, and the beer garden service at Super Bowl XXXII. Go to mosaic-catering.com or call 858-551-4862.
Voyeur adds brunch: This Gaslamp Quarter nightclub is offering Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Executive chef Keri Rich's menu includes sweet corn tamales, eggs Benedict, a soy-rizo burrito, churros and pain au chocolate. Opened last June at 755 Fifth Ave. by owners Charles Davenport and Johnny Shockey, Voyeur hosts international DJs, dancing, a full bar and an upstairs lounge "bites" menu. Visit www.voyeursd.com.
Healthy menus unveiled: Susan's Healthy Gourmet, a low-calorie-meal home-delivery service, has announced its 2010 menu. Items in the twice-weekly deliveries include pineapple zucchini bread, Chilean garlic shrimp with zesty tomatillo sauce, Singapore beef wrap with basil and mint, and more. Go to www.susanshealthygourmet.com or call 888-EZ-MEALS.
RA adds menu items: RA Sushi Bar Restaurant in San Diego has added menu items from executive chef Tai Obata, including Grilled Short Ribs (Kalbi beef short ribs basted in sweet and tangy yakiniku sauce, served with wasabi mashed potatoes; $7.25), Kaisen Ceviche (Japanese-style ceviche with cooked shrimp, scallops and squid, chilled and mixed with fresh tomato, avocado and salsa, served in a spring roll shell; $9.25), a "RA"llipop (tuna, salmon, yellowtail, spicy tuna mix, lettuce, asparagus and cucumber, wrapped in Asian radish, with a garlic ponzu sauce; $14.50), Hot Mess (crispy rice balls topped with a spicy king crab mix, baked with jalapeno and cilantro; $13.50) and more. RA also added lunch specials, and tapas such as Sweet Onion Salmon ($7.25), Sesame Lemon Whitefish ($7.25) and Seared Tuna ($7.25). Happy hour is from 3 to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; go to www.rasushi.com or call 619-321-0021.
URBN to open in North Park: URBN Coal Fired Pizza, an offshoot of BASIC Urban Kitchen + Bar, will open in North Park in April. Owner Jon Mangini opened his first URBN location in Vista in November 2008, and he plans 10 to 15 more locations in San Diego County. Go to urbnpizza.com.
Lorimar Winery opens tasting room: Lorimar Winery, which is being built in Wine Country, has opened a tasting room in Old Town Temecula at Old Town Front and Main streets. The storefront offers wine specials, tasting events, music and classes; go to lorimarwinery.com or call 951-270-5177.
Farm seeks CSA customers: The Ray M. Dickenson Wellness Center in Escondido is looking for customers to participate in a Community Supported Agricultural subscriptions program with Morning Song Farm. Starting in February, the center will be the drop-off site for weekly produce deliveries. Call 949-310-4870.
Berry delicious: The California Strawberry Commission has launched its free "Strawberries" iPhone application, which includes more than 50 recipes from chefs and food bloggers. Go to www.calstrawberry.com.
Cookbook author to speak: Woodrow Wilson, the North County-based author of "The Champagne Taste/Beer Budget Cookbook," will give an author talk at 11 a.m. April 8 at the Rancho Santa Fe Library, 17040 Avenida de Acacias, Rancho Santa Fe. Call 858-756-2612.
Lobster at King's: Maine lobster season will bring specials to King's Fish House restaurants in May through July. In those months, King's will offer Lobster Bisque, Lobster Pot Pie, New England Lobster Roll and whole live lobsters in nine sizes (and three preparations ---- steamed, stuffed and clam baked). King's has a location in Carlsbad; go to www.kingsfishhouse.com.
Dining events
Temecula wine dinner: Temecula Creek Inn and Leonesse Cellars will present "White vs. Red ---- The Grape Debate (An Untraditional Wine Dinner)" at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The dinner is the first in a series of artisan wine events at the inn; the four-course meal is $85 per person. Menu highlights include Loch Duart Salmon Crudo; A Trio Of Cracked Tellicherry Pepper, Cocoa Nib and Espresso Bean Crusted Certified Angus Beef Ribeye Medallion; and Chocolate Fondant and Passion Fruit Creme Brulee. Each course will be paired with a regional red and white wine, and guests can select the better match. Go to temeculacreekinn.com or call 877-517-1823.
Wild Horse wine dinner: La Bastide Bistro in Scripps Ranch and winemaker Clay Brock host a four-course French dinner paired with wines from Wild Horse Winery from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday at La Bastide, 10006 Scripps Ranch Blvd., San Diego. Cost is $53 (includes wine pairings). Call 858-577-0033.
Maki Madness: RA Sushi in San Diego will host a Maki Madness sushi-eating contest from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at 474 Broadway. The competition will be organized by a bracket, much like the NCAA basketball tournament, so eaters will compete in rounds. In the first three rounds, the competitor who eats two uncut Tootsy Maki (kani kama crab mix, shrimp and cucumber rolled and topped with crunchy tempura bits) the fastest will move on. Then, the "final four" will eat as many Tootsy Maki rolls as they can in three minutes. First place wins 12 $50 RA gift certificates; second wins $100 in certificates; third gets a $50 certificate; and fourth wins a $25 certificate. The first 25 people to sign up receive a RA Sushi sweatband, and those who don't make the "final four" will receive Penny Drink Cards and/or Complimentary Appetizer Cards to use another time (the competition is limited to 40 people). Registration is $10, which will be donated to Embrace. During the event, spectators can eat their own Tootsy Maki rolls for $5, and drink specials include $2 Bud Light Golden Wheat and more. Go to rasushi.com or call 619-321-0021.
Tesoro benefit: Tesoro Winery in Old Town Temecula will host a benefit for prevention of homelessness at noon Sunday. Special $8 tastings will be offered, and all proceeds, as well as 10 percent of wine sales for the day, will be donated to Catholic Charities San Bernardino/Riverside Homeless Prevention Services. Go to www.tesorowines.com or call 951-308-0000.
Firefly winemaker dinner: Firefly Grill and Wine Bar in Encinitas will host a Whitehall Lane Winery Dinner at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at 251 N. El Camino Real. The dinner is $75, and menu items include Chilled Maine Lobster, Applewood Smoked Bacon Wrapped Quail, Duo of Lamb and Carlsbad Strawberry & Meyer Lemon Panna Cotta; all courses are paired with wine. Go to fireflygrillandwinebar.com or call 760-635-1066.
BICE winemaker dinner: BICE San Diego will host a four-course winemaker dinner at 7 p.m. Tuesday with wine professionals from four wineries. The dinner is $80 per person and will include menu items such as Fresh Herb Risotto, Lamb Chops in a Pistachio and Parmesan Cheese Crust, and Dark Chocolate Truffles With Candied Orange. E-mail firstname.lastname@example.com or call 619-239-2423.
Taste Napa Valley: Southern California: A quartet of Napa Valley winemakers will offer samples of their wines at a public tasting event from 6 to 8:30 p.m. March 25 at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse, 380 K St., San Diego. Appetizers will be served. Participating vineyards are Hall, Rombauer, ZD Wines and Burgess Cellars. Tickets are $35 and advance reservations are recommended to 619-237-1155.
Beer brewer dinner: Canapes in San Marcos will host a beer brewer dinner with master brewer John Sebastani at 6 p.m. March 30. The dinner includes garden salad, prime rib with green peppercorn sauce, served over garlic mashed potatoes, bread pudding and more; courses will be paired with three beers. Tickets are $45; go to canapesgrill.com or call 760-510-2088.
Shuck & Swallow: Jsix restaurant in San Diego will host its annual Shuck & Shallow event at 6 p.m. March 31. The competition features 10 teams of two (one shucker, one swallower) from local restaurants and kitchens to see who can open and eat the most oysters in 10 minutes. The free event will include competitors from Jsix, Pacifica Del Mar, 1500 Ocean, Oceanaire, Quarter Kitchen, Waters Fine Catering and more; the event is at LOUNGEsix at the top of Hotel Solamar, 436 Sixth Ave. in San Diego.
Urban Solace hosts Passover dinner: At sundown March 29, Urban Solace in North Park will host its second annual ecumenical Urban Seder wine dinner for Passover. Sam "The Cooking Guy" Zien and restaurant critic Steve Silverman will co-host the four-course dinner paired with West Coast wines. Dishes include chicken liver pate, charoset and house-made gefilte fish. Tickets are $75 ($90 with wine pairings) and proceeds benefit Project Sarah. Visit www.urbansolace.net.
Rhythm & Vine Music & Wine Festival: Tickets for the second annual festival benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego, are now on sale. The April 17 event will feature 60 wineries, 35 local chefs, gourmet food and live music by John Torres, Atomic Groove and Crossroads. Rhythm & Vine will be at Westfield North County, and tickets are $75 for general admission in advance ($100 at the door) and $125 for VIP tickets ($150 at the door). Designated driver tickets are $40 in advance and $90 at the door; go to www.rhythmandvine.org or call 858-578-9463.
Bratwurst & Beer Fest: The Olivenhain Town Council's annual festival returns from noon to 4 p.m. April 27 at Olivenhain Town Hall, Rancho Santa Fe Road and Seventh Street. Admission is $10 ($5 for children 6 to 12) for all-you-can-eat bratwurst and hot dogs, sauerkraut, potato salad, rolls, pickles, chips and brownies. Karl Strauss beer and wine is available for $12. Bring your own picnic blankets and folding chairs. Call 858-756-5121.
Tower After Hours: The Museum of Man in Balboa Park will host "Tower After Hours: India" from 6 to 8 p.m. April 29. After the museum closes, it will host the event to celebrate India, featuring curries, dancing and music from Apurna Pie. Tickets are $20, or $15 for military. Tower After Hours was started in 2004 to celebrate the cultures in San Diego; go to museumofman.org or call 619-239-2001.
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo: The Westgate Hotel in San Diego will host a Mexican Dinner Buffet, with champagne reception and a dinner show, starting at 6 p.m. May 5 to celebrate Cinco de Mayo at the Riviera Fountain Terrace. The buffet is $52; go to westgatehotel.com or call 619-557-3655.
Mama's Day 2010: The 19th annual tastings event returns from 6:30-9:30 p.m. May 7 at the La Jolla Aventine hotel. The event features food stations hosted by more than 70 San Diego County restaurants and chefs, a silent auction, prize drawings and live music. Proceeds benefit Mama's Kitchen, which delivers hot meals to adults and children with HIV/AIDS and cancer throughout San Diego County. Tickets are $125 in advance, $150 at the door ($250 VIP ticket includes pre-event reception and other privileges). Visit mamaskitchen.org.
Chocolate Festival: San Diego Botanic Garden hosts its annual chocolate celebration from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 8 at 230 Quail Gardens Drive in Encinitas. Chocolatiers will offer tastings, demonstrations and a chocolate fountain, and there will be activities for children. Festival is free with garden admission ($6-$12) plus tasting fees for chocolates. Call 760-436-3036.
SDCC dinner: The San Diego Center for Children will hold its annual dinner May 20 at the US Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego. The nonprofit agency helps children who have had issues keep them from success. E-mail Jessica Johnson at firstname.lastname@example.com, go to centerforchildren.org or call 858-569-2148.
RA fundraiser: RA Sushi Bar Restaurant will host its sixth annual "Nicky's Week" fundraiser from May 30 to June 5, benefiting the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. During that week, RA will donate 100 percent of the proceeds from a special "Nicky's Week" menu to the hospital. Go to rasushi.com or call 619-321-0021.
Dick's hosts strawberry fest: Dick's Sporting Goods hosts the 2010 Strawberry Festival 5K & Kids Run from 6:30 to 10 a.m. May 30 at 101 Wave Drive in Vista. The event includes a 5-kilometer race for adults, a 1-mile children's run, and strawberry sales, vendor booths, art displays, a health and fitness expo and more at the finish line. Cost to register is $20-$30. Visit www.kinanevents.com.
Encinitas Rotary Wine Festival: Rotary Club of Encinitas hosts its annual fundraising gala featuring international wines, local microbrews and cuisine from 5 to 8 p.m. June 5 at San Diego Botanic Garden, 230 Quail Gardens Drive in Encinitas. Tickets are $85 (tickets are $100 after May 15). Visit encinitaswinefestival.com.
Easter events
Falkner Winery: Pinnacle Restaurant at Falkner Winery will host an Easter champagne brunch from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 4; brunch is $49.95 for adults, $22.50 for children ages 6 to 12, and free for children under 6. The brunch will include egg/omelet and carving stations, lobster mac 'n' cheese, spinach stuffed chicken breast with sundried tomato cream sauce, mahi mahi with mango beurre blanc, salads and more. Go to falknerwinery.com or call 951-676-8231, ext. 1.
Loews Coronado Bay Resort: The hotel will host an Easter champagne brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 4 for $60 (adults) and $30 (children), The Market Cafe brunch will include custom omelets, eggs benedict, sushi, shellfish, grill and carving stations, crepes and waffles, and more. Go to www.loewshotels.com/coronadobay or call 619-424-4444.
Pala Casino Spa & Resort: Choices the Buffet will offer Easter fare from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. April 4 for $36 per person. In addition to its regular eight serving stations, Choices will offer Brandy Glazed Easter Ham, Crab Stuffed Tomatoes Lemon Cream, Lobster And Shrimp Santa Fe, Peppered Filet Tips, Garlic Mushroom Caps and more. Brunch items will be available until 1 p.m. Go to palacasino.com or call 760-510-2299.
Red Marlin: The restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina will host a bayside brunch buffet with children's activities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 4; brunch is $49 for adults, $25 for children ages 5 to 12 and free for children 4 and under. Brunch items include omelet and waffle stations, pastries, chilled seafood, salads, main dishes (such as Sumac Dusted New York Sirloin, Seafood Paella With Saffron Scented Rice and Brown Sugar Glazed Ham), desserts and more. Go to redmarlinrestaurant.com or call 619-221-4868.
Roppongi Restaurant & Sushi Bar: The La Jolla restaurant will serve Easter brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 4; brunch is $39 per adult and $25 per child 12 and under (beverages not included). The brunch will include action and carving stations with items such as Indonesian Beef Pineapple Beef Satay and Blue Fin Tuna Sliders; a chafing station with items such as Passion Fruit Banana Bread French Toast and Five Spiced Duck Confit Eggs Benedict With Tomato Thai Basil Hollandaise; and salad, soup, sushi and dessert stations. Go to www.roppongiusa.com or call 858-551-5252.
Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina: The hotel will host an Easter brunch buffet from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 4 for $44.95 for adults, $21.95 for children and complimentary for children 5 and under. The buffet will include a tableside Bloody Mary bar and $1 mimosas for the adults, and an egg hunt and appearance by the Easter bunny for the children; go to starwoodhotels.com or call 619-291-2900.
Tango Restaurant & Lounge: The Escondido restaurant will host a four-course Easter dinner from 2 to 8 p.m. April 4 for $45 per person. The menu will include Lobster Bisque, Goat Cheese Souffle Trio, Spring Pea Risotto And Grilled Shrimp, Spring Lamb Rack, Coconut Creme Brulee and more; go to tangoongrand.com or call 760-747-5000.
Terra Restaurant: The Hillcrest restaurant will offer farm-fresh a la carte brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and to-be-announced additions to its regular dinner menu from 5 p.m. to close April 4. Brunch items include fresh fruit parfait, grilled shrimp salad, smoked salmon scramble, bourbon glazed ham, breakfast quesadilla, lobster BLT, Terra's French toast and more. Brunch includes three glasses of champagne or mimosas; call 619-293-7088.
Twenty/20 Grill & Wine Bar: The restaurant at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa will host Easter brunch from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. April 4; brunch is $29.95 for adults, $48 for adults with endless Bloody Marys or champagne, $12 for children 12 and under, and free for children 3 and under. The brunch will include Belgian waffles, cracked king crab, rosemary roasted lamb, Easter day pastries and more. The hotel will also hold two egg hunts ---- one for kids 5 and under and one for kids 6 and older; the Easter bunny will appear as well. Go to www.twenty20grill.com or call 760-827-2500.
US Grant Hotel: The hotel will host an Easter Bonnet Tea from 1 to 3 p.m. April 3 in the Grand Lobby. The event will include loose-leaf teas, tea sandwiches, sweet treats, scones, pastries and a glass of Bellini or champagne; the tea is $44 for adults and $22 for children. Also, the Grant Grill will host an Easter Champagne Brunch Buffet with seatings at 11 a.m. noon and 1:30 p.m. April 4. The brunch will offer seafood and meat stations, soups, salads and vegetables, a dessert station and more, with specific items including New Potato Salad With Smoked Bacon And Parsley, Root Vegetable Gratin, Grilled Salmon Julienne With Asparagus And Sherry Shallot Sauce, Eggs Benedict and Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse Cake; the brunch is $70 for adults and $22 for children. Go to www.grantgrill.com or call 619-744-2077.
Valley View Casino: The Buffet will offer Easter menu items from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. April 4 for $22.99 per person. Buffet items will include Roasted Rack of Lamb, Baked Lasagna, Honey Glazed Ham, Steamed Lobster With Garlic Butter, King Crab Legs With Oyster Sauce, Red Bliss Potato Gratin, Chocolate Truffle Eggs With White Chocolate Sauce and more; go to valleyviewcasino.com or call 866-843-9946.
Westgate Hotel: The San Diego hotel will host Easter Bunny Teas from 2:30 to 5 p.m. April 2 and 3 with a visit from the Easter bunny, egg hunt and other children's activities; the teas are $39 for adults and $26 for children. It will also host an Easter champagne brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 4 for $59 for adults and $25 for children under 12. Menu items include fresh seafood, made-to-order omelets, carving stations and desserts. Go to westgatehotel.com or call 619-557-3655.
Whisknladle: The La Jolla restaurant will host a spring lamb tasting menu at during dinner hours April 4, as well as all month. The three-course meal is $75 and includes whole roasted baby lamb with asparagus and sweet potato gnocchi, a lamb-based appetizer, a cheese course and dessert. Go to whisknladle.com or call 858-551-7575.
Alchemy of the Hearth: Offers cooking classes at its new location, 960 Rancheros Drive, Suite L, San Marcos. Classes at 4 p.m. are geared toward children and teens. Alchemy of the Hearth is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Go to alchemyofthehearth.com or call 760-233-2433.
-- 10 a.m. Thursday: The Craft of Croissants
-- 4 p.m. Thursday: Cakes for Kids
-- 6 p.m. Thursday: The Ocean's Bounty ---- Fish & Shellfish (Cooking 101)
-- 10 a.m. Friday: Tiramisu
-- 4 p.m. Friday: Kids' Healthy Comfort Foods
-- 6 p.m. Friday: Spanish Wines & Tapas
-- 10 a.m. Saturday: The Mother Sauces (Cooking 101)
-- 1:30 p.m. Saturday: Scratch Cooking With Your Kids ---- Pasta Mania!
-- 5 p.m. Saturday: The Romeos
-- 10 a.m. Monday: Italian Cookies
-- 4 p.m. Monday: Little Napoleons
-- 6 p.m. Monday: Healthy Indian Cooking
-- 10 a.m. Tuesday: The Low Carb Kitchen
-- 4 p.m. Tuesday: Kids' Eclairs
-- 6 p.m. Tuesday: Healthy Baby Homemade Food Explorers (6 to 9 months)
-- 10 a.m. Wednesday: Kitchen Know-How (Cooking 101)
-- 4 p.m. Wednesday: Kids Who Cook
-- 6:30 p.m. Wednesday: Around the World in Six Weeks: Thailand
-- 10 a.m. March 25: Chocolate Lovers Velvet Tart
-- 4 p.m. March 25: Kids Cookie Club
-- 6 p.m. March 25: Where's the Beef (Cooking 101)
-- 10 a.m. March 26: The Women's Room
-- 4 p.m. March 26: Killer Brownies From Mars
-- 6:30 p.m. March 26: Family Fun Pizza Night
Alta Vista Gardens: Mary Dralle offers cooking classes monthly at Alta Vista Gardens, 1270 Vale Terrace Drive in Vista. Classes are $25 and include tastings and recipes; register to email@example.com. Bring a friend and pay half price (friend pays full).
-- 1:30 p.m. March 27: Hearty Healthy Dill Fish Stew, Springtime Salad, Wonderful Cobbler
Behind the Scenes Catering & Events: The catering company teaches customers to prepare not-so-typical foods on the grill ---- pizza, sliders, salad and pork loin ---- in its kitchen at 9888 Waples St., San Diego. Call 858-638-1400 or go to btscenes.com.
Blossoming Lotus: Blossoming Lotus chef Mark Reinfeld will host a vegan fusion cuisine workshop from noon to 5 p.m. April 10 and 11 in Leucadia. In the hands-on workshop, attendees will learn how to prepare meals including salads, soups, tofu and tempeh dishes, plant cheeses, raw desserts and more. The workshop is $285; e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com or call 808-822-0820.
Cafe Merlot: The restaurant in the Bernardo Winery holds wine and cooking classes at 13330 Paseo del Verano Norte in Rancho Bernardo; $50 per person; call 858-592-7785.
Captain Cook's: Captain Cook's Culinary Academy for Kids hosts children's classes with a new organic menu each week: "Lil Explorers" (ages 4-7) from 4-5:30 p.m. Tuesdays; "First Mates" (ages 7 to 13), 4-5:30 p.m. Wednesdays or Thursdays. Mommy and Me classes for children ages 3 to 5 meet from 10-11 a.m. Thursdays and occasionally from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Saturdays; classes are three for $75. Captain Cook's is at 6986 El Camino Real, Suite C. Call 760-431-2278 or go to www.captaincooksculinaryacademy.com.
Captain Cook's adult classes: Captain Cook's Culinary Academy for Kids offers adult classes at 7 p.m. Thursdays. Cost is $45 (or $120 for three). Captain Cook's is at 6986 El Camino Real, Suite C, Carlsbad. Call 760-431-2278 or go to www.captaincooksculinaryacademy.com.
Ciao Italia: Classes begin at 6:30 p.m. at Art & Accents, 7740 El Camino Real, at La Costa Avenue, in Carlsbad. Classes are $29; e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com or call 760-943-8221.
Cooking@Home: Phillis Carey will teach simple meals to cook at home at the Center for a Healthy Lifestyle, 533 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach. Classes are $45 and start at 6 p.m. E-mail email@example.com.
Cooking With Love: Chef Philippe Verpiand of Cavallion Restaurant will host a Cooking With Love class at 3 p.m. Sunday to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of San Diego. The event, sponsored by Bristol Farms of La Jolla, will be held at the kitchen at the new Ronald McDonald House, 2929 Children's Way. Hands-on cooking is $75, and observation is $50; Verpiand will prepare butternut squash soup, and asparagus and mushroom risotto. E-mail firstname.lastname@example.com or call 858-598-2445.
Great News! Discount Cookware & Cooking School: The San Diego school hosts cooking classes at 1788 Garnet Ave. (in the Pacific Plaza at Garnet Avenue and Jewell Street); reserve to 858-270-1582, ext. 3, or go to www.great-news.com. Reserve early; classes fill quickly.
-- 6 p.m. Thursday: Cooking in France; $49
-- 11 a.m. Sunday: Everything's Better With Bacon Part II; $49
-- 6 p.m. Monday: Vegetarian Indian Delight; $49
-- 10:30 a.m. Tuesday: Spring Time Tea; $49
-- 6 p.m. Tuesday: Gluten-Free Baking; $49
-- 10:30 a.m. March 25: Vegetarian Goes Greek; $49
-- 6 p.m. March 25: Springtime Martinis and Small Bites; $59
Inspired Gourmet: Inspired Gourmet offers cooking classes for $40 each at 29373 Broken Arrow Way in Murrieta. Go to hstrial-inspiredgourmet.intuitwebsites.com or call 951-894-7551.
-- 11 a.m. Saturday: Tuscany with a Twist
-- 11 a.m. April 10: Greece
-- 6 p.m. April 15: Awesome Brunch
-- 11 a.m. April 24: Elegant and Easy Dinner
-- 6 p.m. May 6: Fast, Fabulous and French Countryside Spring Dinner
-- 11 a.m. May 22: Wrap It Up ---- Easy and Elegant Filled Puff Pastry Dinner
-- 11 a.m. June 19: Quick and Elegant Summer Dinner on the Patio
-- 11 a.m. July 24: Tropical Summer Fun ---- A "Do Ahead" Caribbean Flare Dinner
The Kitchen Witch: The Encinitas school hosts cooking classes at 127 N. El Camino Real; call 760-942-3288 or go to www.kitchenwitchonline.com.
-- 11 a.m. Saturday: '50s Diner (kids only); $34
-- 6 p.m. Monday: An Evening With Firefly; $59
-- 11 a.m. Tuesday: Make It Special!; $59
-- 6 p.m. Tuesday: Cooking in France; $59
-- Noon March 26: Learn-a-Lunch ---- Easter Brunch; $34
-- 6 p.m. March 26: Hawaiian Luau; $59
-- 11 a.m. March 27: Knife Skills; $59
-- 6 p.m. March 30: Entertaining at Home With Friends; $59
-- 6 p.m. March 31: Pork Possibilities; $59
Macy's School of Cooking: The school is in the Macy's Mission Valley Home Store, 1555 Camino de la Reina, San Diego. Call 888-424-FOOD or go to macys.com/events and type 92108 in the ZIP code field.
RB Classic Cooking: Charles Heineke teaches cooking classes in his commercial kitchen at 1291 Simpson Way, Escondido. Go to www.rbclassiccooking.com or call 858-442-5252. RB Classic Cooking has several monthly cooking clubs: a cooking co-op at 9:30 a.m. the first Thursday and 6 p.m. the first Friday; an international cooking club at 6:30 p.m. the third Saturday; a singles cooking club at 7 p.m. the fourth Friday; and a kids cooking club at 9 a.m. the second Saturday.
RB Classic Cooking also offers meals plans: light and healthy meals plans are $75 for seven dinners and $185 for weekly meals (21 meals), delivered to your door twice weekly in 1,200, 1,500 or 1,800 calorie counts. Family meal plans are $150 for four dinners, with four servings each.
-- 6:30 p.m. Tuesday: Pastas & Sauces; $45
-- 6:30 p.m. Wednesday: Soups & Stocks; $45
-- 6:30 p.m. March 30: Special Italian Dishes; $45
-- 6:30 p.m. March 31: Sautee & Pan Fry; $45
-- 6:30 p.m. April 6: Timpano
-- 6:30 p.m. April 7: Roasting & Stewing; $45
-- 6:30 p.m. April 21: Baking Pies & Quick Breads; $45
-- 6:30 p.m. April 28: Eggs & Brunch Dishes; $45
-- 6:30 p.m. May 5: Salads & Side Dishes; $45
-- 6:30 p.m. May 6: Enchiladas, beef chili, Spanish rice and more; $45
-- 6:30 p.m. May 12: Desserts; $45
-- 6:30 p.m. May 13: Carne & pollo asada, guacamole, salsas; $45
-- 6:30 p.m. May 19: Graduation Dinner; $35
-- 6:30 p.m. May 20: Fresh corn tortillas, beef & chicken tacos, tortas; $45
-- 6:30 p.m. May 26: Traditional French Favorites; $45
-- 6:30 p.m. June 2: Flavors from France's Provencal region; $45
-- 6:30 p.m. June 9: Boeuf bourguignon, French onion soup, crepes Suzette; $45
-- 6:30 p.m. June 16: Cheese fondue, roasted chicken, Lyonnaise potatoes, chocolate souffle; $45
Ro Z's Sweet Art Studio: Rosanne Zinniger's cake decorating shop and studio at 277 S. Rancho Santa Fe Road, San Marcos, offers classes in cake decorating. Call 760-744-0447 or visit rozsweetartstudio.com.
San Diego Botanic Garden: Chef Elizabeth Podsiadlo, the "Opera Singing Chef," holds cooking classes at San Diego Botanic Garden (different teacher as noted); classes are $25 for members and $30 for nonmembers and include recipes and tastings. Call 760-436-3036, ext. 206, or go to sdbgarden.org.
San Diego Natural History Museum: The museum will hold a series of lectures on sustainable food (lectures are $5), as well as food and gardening programs. Go to www.sdnhm.org/sustainableplanet:
-- 6:30 p.m. Thursday: Introduction to Sustainable Gardening Techniques; $25 members, $33 nonmembers
-- 6:30 p.m. April 15: Gardening to Save, Conserve and Harvest Rain Water; $25 members, $33 nonmembers
-- 6:30 p.m. May 4: Developing Sustainable Foodsheds: The Next Steps in Eating Local; $5
-- 6:30 p.m. May 20: Growing Food Not Grass ---- Workshop and Lunch (field trip 11 a.m. May 22); $35 members, $43 nonmembers
-- 8 a.m. May 22: Flavors of Guadalupe Valley (field trip); $85 members, $95 nonmembers
Sur la Table: The Carlsbad location offers cooking classes at 1915 Calle Barcelona (in The Forum shops). Call 800-243-0851 or e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com.
-- 6:30 p.m. Thursday: French Bistro Menu; $69
-- 6:30 p.m. Friday: Dinner Party 101; $69
-- 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday: Two-Day Intensive Baking Workshop; $140
-- 6:30 p.m. Monday: Choosing the Right Cut: Chicken; $69
-- 6:30 p.m. Tuesday: A SoCal Girls View on a Modern Passover; $69
-- 6:30 p.m. Wednesday: Mediterranean Flair; $69
-- 6:30 p.m. March 25: Southeast Asian Street Food Favorites; $69
-- 6:30 p.m. March 26: Date Night: Chef's Table; $79
-- 5 p.m. March 27: Bon Appetit: Easter Dinner; $69
-- 6:30 p.m. March 30: Mastering Risotto; $69
Tea service classes: Barbara Barker of Memories English Tea Garden in Vista offers themed classes and afternoon teas in a private Vista garden. For directions, call 760-945-0476.
The Whole Journey: The Whole Journey, a holistic counseling and product awareness company, will offer free grocery tours at Seaside Market at 2087 San Elijo Road, 760-753-5445 in Cardiff, free health and nutrition seminars at Whole Foods at 8825 Villa La Jolla Drive in La Jolla 858-642-6700, and cooking classes at Sur La Table at 1915 Calle Barcelona in Carlsbad 760-635-1316. Call to reserve; go to thewholejourney.net.
In the spirits
Acqua Al 2: The Gaslamp Quarter restaurant hosts wine tastings during "Uncorked" the first Wednesday of every month at 322 Fifth Ave. in San Diego. For $20, guests taste four wine/spirit selections paired with four appetizers. Reservations are required; call 619-230-0382 or go to acquaal2.com.
Carlsbad Wine Merchants: Hosts tastings at 5 p.m. Fridays and 4 to 7 p.m. Saturdays for a fee at 5814 Van Allen Way, Suite 155, Carlsbad. Call 888-750-WINE or visit www.CarlsbadWineMerchants.com.
The Collective: Tasting lounge features one-of-a-kind, handmade boutique wines at 28544 Front Street in Old Town Temecula. Hours are 3 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, noon to midnight Fridays and Saturdays, and noon to 10 p.m. Sundays. Call 951-693-4567 or go to tvwinecollective.com.
ENO-Versity at the Hotel Del: ENO, the wine, cheese and chocolate tasting room at the Hotel del Coronado, has announced its 2009 classes for ENO-Versity. Classes are $35 per person and start at 4 p.m.; call 619-522-8546 or go to hoteldel.com/ENO-wine. The Hotel Del is at 1500 Orange Ave. in Coronado. ENO is also offering "Tasting Tuesdays" from 5 to 8 p.m., offering 10 wine samples for $10; "Say Cheese" Wednesdays from 5 to 10 p.m. with half-off cheese flights; "Bubbly Thursdays" from 5 to 10 p.m. with half-off sparkling wine by the glass or bottle; and $5 Fridays from 5 to 7 p.m. with $5 glasses of wine.
Fifty Barrels Winery and Tasting Room: Hosts tastings from 5 to 8 p.m. Fridays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays at 3800 Oceanic Drive, Suite 106, Oceanside. Call 760-696-2998 or go to carlsbadcoastal.com.
Harvest Ranch Market Del Mar: Wine tastings from 5-7:30 p.m. plus appetizers for $10-$20. The store is at 1555 Camino Del Mar, Suite 203, Del Mar. Call 858-847-0555.
Holiday Wine Cellar: Daily tastings from 5:30-7 p.m. at 302 W. Mission Ave., Escondido. Wine Down Mondays feature five wine tastes for $5 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Mondays, and "Hop Over the Hump Wednesdays" are weekly beer-tasting events for $5. Holiday Wine Cellar also hosts "Dollar Mondays" from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Mondays twice a month, with $1 beer and wine tastings for $1 each. Call 760-745-1200.
-- 5:30 p.m. Monday: Selected wines from Pacific Wine & Spirits; $5
-- 5:30 p.m. Wednesday: Chronic Cellars wines; $10 advance, $15 day-of
-- 5:30 p.m. March 27: Beer Night with Ballast Point Brewery; $20 in advance, $25 day-of
-- 5:30 p.m. March 29: Sparkling Roses for Easter; $5
The North County Wine Company: Tastings daily at 1099 San Marcos Blvd., San Marcos, plus special events from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and noon-6 p.m. Sundays. Call 760-744-2119 or visit www.NorthCountyWineCompany.com.
T&H Prime Meats & Sausage: The shop now offers tastings from 10 San Diego wineries from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays for $5, which includes four tastes and a San Diego Vintners Association souvenir wine glass, at 735 E. Mission Road, San Marcos. Call 760-471-9192.
Vine to Glass: The Oceanside wine bar holds tastings six days a week and has biweekly events for $10 to $15; small-production boutique wines are available by the glass or bottle. Beer tastings are $6; antipasto platters are $15. The bar is open 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; 1 to 9 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; and 12 to 6 p.m. Sunday. Vine to Glass is at 210-A N. Coast Highway in Oceanside; call 760-757-2254 or go to vinetoglass.com.
Vino100: Wine tasting events are offered at 5 p.m. at 133 S. Las Posas Road in San Marcos. Call 760-591-9113 or go to vino100sanmarcos.com.
Vinz Wine Bar: Full restaurant menu with wide wine menu by the glass or bottle. Tastings are from $5-$10 from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and 3 to 5 p.m. Saturdays, and come with charcuterie and cheese. Live music on Saturdays. Vinz is at 201 E. Grand Ave., Escondido. Call 760-743-8466 or visit vinzwinebar.net.
The Wine Spot: Tastings at its new location, 2917 State St., Carlsbad. House tastings are offered any time; call for the tasting of the week. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday; call 760-434-9463 or visit the-wine-spot.com.
Wine Street Inc.: Weekly tastings from 3-7 p.m. Fridays, with appetizers. Wine Street is at 6986 El Camino Real, Suite D, Carlsbad. Call 760-431-8455 or visit www.winestreet.com.
Wine Styles: The Encinitas wine store hosts tastings from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 1-6 p.m. Saturdays. Cost is $15 or $10 for WineClub members and includes six to eight wines and snacks. The shop also hosts WineDown Fridays, where guests enjoy wine and live music and can bring in food to socialize. Call 760-633-0057.
Send information about local food products, food events or classes to Food Editor Pam Kragen, North County Times, 207 E. Pennsylvania Ave., Escondido, CA 92025; fax to 760-745-3769, or e-mail to email@example.com.


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Men's Unk Oklahoma City Thunder NBA Beatz T-Shirt
Represent the Thunder in style in the Unk Oklahoma City Thunder NBA Beatz Tee Shirt. This comfortable men's tee shirt features a bold team screen print. Short sleeves help you to keep your cool as you get hyped for your favorite team, while soft cotton ensures you stay comfortable.
- FABRIC: Soft cotton
- FIT: Relaxed
- CARE: Machine wash

subset: commoncrawl


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FLIGBY (Flow is Good Business): Using Serious Gaming for Leadership Development
Presented by the The Creative Life Research Center
Presented by the The Creative Life Research Center
Take Back the Night will include a kick-off rally and a march through campus and College Hill and is in solidarity with survirors of abuse and as a protest against sexual assault.
Bentlee Birchhansky and Grace Gudenkauf, two students from IowaBIG in Cedar Rapids, will deliver a talk about their experience as students at Iowa's only initiative-based high school.
Taylor Morris, vice president of the Cedar Valley Makerspace, will talk about the rise of maker spaces and his work as a maker. This talk is free and open to the public.
Students, faculty and staff can learn how to respond appropriately to reports of sexual assault.
Dionne P. Stephens will present "1 in 5: An Empowered Approach to Addressing Campus Sexual Assault" as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Stephens is the director of the developmental psychology program at Florida International University. The presention is free and open to the public.
The annual CSBS Student Research Conference provides undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to present research through poster and oral presentations, exchange ideas and learn about the developments in the social sciences. Christopher Chapp, Department of Political Science, St. Olaf College, will deliver the keynote address, "Mixed Signals: Why Some Candidates Use Ambiguity to Obscure Policy Positions and Why It Matters."
Elizabeth Becker, an award-winning author and journalist, will speak about the history of Cambodia, the Cambodian civil war and genocide under the Pol Pot regime, and the aftermath of that war. She will also address the broader topic of unintended consequences of American intervention around the world. Becker has covered national and international affairs as a Washington correspondent at The New York Times and Washington Post.
Johnathan Williams, winner of the 2016 Outstanding UNI Graduate History Paper Award, will present his paper "The Recline of Midwestern Civilization: Punk Rock, Midwest Culture, and Economic Restructuring in the 1980s." The lecture is free and open to the public.
Spring award ceremony for UNI-ROTC cadets.


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BackpackItem #
- Currently Unavailable
Features a huge main compartment with separate internal compartments for your helmet, gloves and pads. Also includes stick pocket for two sticks and side shoe pockets. Includes padded shoulder and waist straps, rubberized top handle, and a rubberized waterproof bottom.
Size: 15"L x 19"W x 24"H


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We asked our students, faculty and alumni what is so special about DSPT?Watch Video
Pursuing the truth as a community and dialoguing with the culture are essential elements of our education.Explore DSPT
We study the questions that matter in the tradition of Saint Thomas Aquinas.Explore DSPT
What makes DSPT unique?Read what our students think!
Our programs integrate philosophy and theology to apply the wisdom of these traditions today.Explore DSPT
What do our students value about our education?watch video
The Master of the Order, Bruno Cadoré, OP, has asked Fr. Thompson to work on a special project.
This award is granted to a member of the GTU faculty who exemplifies the values of interreligious sensitivity and commitment, interdisciplinary approach and content in teaching.
In his role as Coordinator of the North American region of Regents of Studies, Fr. Bryan, along with the Commission, advises the Master of the Order.
For students wishing to focus their Master of Arts studies more on coursework, our theology department has developed this program to culminate in an exam rather than a thesis.
We asked our students, faculty and alumni what makes DSPT so special. Hear what they had to say.
We hold that philosophy and theology are two facets of a single conversation, taking into account both the insights that are discovered by human reason and those that are only accessible to us as they are revealed in Scripture and tradition.
Take a look at the classes we are offering this spring: Aristotle's Commentators, Theology of Angels and Demons, Christian Iconography and more.
We host a variety of speakers and events - The Convocation of the College of Fellows, Aquinas Lecture and more. Please join us!!
Meet our professors and learn about our classes, concentrations and programs to see what makes us unique. Do you have questions? Would you like to sit in on a class? Contact us to get more information or plan a visit.
I hope to instill in my students an appreciation of the shared existential concerns of Hellenistic Christians, Jews and Pagans. I encourage my students to put their energy into reading primary texts & to learn the important skill of transcultural interpretation. I will say what every teacher says: I learn from my students. That is why teaching is a joy for me.
I have long had a penchant for the really core questions of human and Christian life, such as those concerned with basic moral principles (freedom, responsibility, intentionality, and the relation between who we are and what we do), as well as the fundamental principles of Christology: just who really is Jesus Christ in relation to God and to us.
We hold that philosophy and theology are two facets of a single conversation, taking into account both the insights that are discovered by human reason and those that are only accessible to us as they are revealed in Scripture and tradition.
Our programs allow you to integrate the fine arts with philosophy and theology in three areas of concentration: Religion and the Arts, Sacred Arts and Aesthetics.
Our Faculty value the necessary and fruitful partnership between philosophy and theology, creating a communal learning environment suffuse with this interdisciplinary approach.
This class is designed to present a survey of some of the twentieth-century Thomists, and examine the development of the thought of St. Thomas in dialogue with the challenges of modernity and the problems of contemporary society.


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- Oct 8:
- Alameda County will hire more workers to handle the influx of calls for the new health care law
- California health insurance exchange reports nearly 1 million visitors in first week; 16,311 households sign up
- Oct 5:
- South Bay residents get answers to Obamacare questions
- Obamacare's winners and losers in Bay Area
- Oct 4:
- Why do Obamacare costs vary across the country?
- Oct 2:
- 3 measures of health exchanges may take years to assess
- 5 key arguments in the shutdown fight
- Sep 30:
- Young adults have 3 health care options to consider
- Sep 30:
- Obamacare and insurance exchange: 10 essential things to know
- Sep 28:
- Obamacare 101: Frequently asked questions
- Obamacare's effect: The long-term uninsured
- Obamacare's effect: Small-business owners
- Obamacare: Piecing together the puzzle
- Obamacare's effect: The 'young invincibles'
- Obamacare's effect: The new Medi-Cal recipient
- Obamacare's effect: The chronically ill
- Aug 21:
- Field Poll: Most low-income Californians still uninformed about Obamacare eligibility
The federal government's biggest foray into online commerce has left millions of tech-savvy Americans thoroughly bewildered.
But the insurance industry and others experienced with rolling out new programs say there's still enough time to fix the glitches with President Barack Obama's health care law before uninsured people start getting coverage on Jan. 1.
The online enrollment system at healthcare.gov was down again for upgrades in the wee hours Tuesday. It made its debut just a week ago and technical experts already have been called in to fix problems several times.
Consumers in different parts of the country Monday continued to report delays, as well as problems setting up security questions for their accounts. However, the administration says the site's crowded electronic "waiting room" is thinning out.
Despite the confusion, the insurance industry has held off public criticism. Alarmed that only a trickle of customers got through initially, insurers now say enrollments are starting to come in and they expect things to improve.
The last major federal health care launch -- the Medicare prescription drug program in 2006 -- also had big startup problems. Government leaders who oversaw it say things could look very different in a couple of months for Obama's law if the administration manages to get a grip on the situation.
"There wasn't enough time for testing, so the dress rehearsal became opening night," said Michael Leavitt, who as President George W. Bush's top health official was responsible for the Medicare drug plan debut.
"They do have an incentive in the next couple of weeks to get this right," added Leavitt, who currently heads a consulting firm that advises states on the health overhaul. "The real crunch is going to be coming Nov. 15 through Jan. 1. That's when the system really has to function smoothly."
The insurance industry is calling for patience. "This is a marathon and not a sprint," Karen Ignagni, head of the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans, said in a statement. "We anticipate enrollments will continue to increase in the days and weeks ahead."
Obama's law -- the Affordable Care Act -- was designed to provide insurance for people who don't have access to coverage on the job. Middle-class uninsured people can buy a government-subsidized private plan, while the poor and near-poor will be steered to Medicaid in states that agree to expand the safety net program. The online insurance markets were envisioned as the 21st century portal to an overhauled system.
But when the health care markets went live last week, millions of curious Americans overwhelmed federal and state insurance websites. The level of interest could be read as a good sign, since polls just prior to the launch found most uninsured people unaware it was coming. Yet for many, the consumer experience was like a Saturday morning spent twiddling thumbs at the local motor vehicle department.
Some prospective customers got a screen that told them to wait -- and nothing happened, for hours. Others started to sign up and got trapped by a recurring glitch when they tried to set up security questions to protect their personal accounts. Some who got through all the way to the end found their sessions had timed out, and they had to start over.
The federal website that serves 36 states wasn't the only problem; several states also had rough launches. As Republicans opposed to "Obamacare" showed they were willing to shut down the government in an effort to stop it, the administration seemed to be its own worst enemy.
Technology experts say the problems are probably due to a combination of factors: unexpectedly high demand, as well as possible software flaws and shortcomings in design. Sometimes a high volume of users can expose software problems that went undetected in testing, they said.
The administration has mainly blamed high volume. The Health and Human Services Department says it is adding servers -- workhorse computer equipment -- to the system to handle the volume of user requests.
Official media releases have hinted at software and system design problems, without providing detail. For example, one referred to procuring "dedicated hardware" for an unnamed "specific component of the system that became over-stressed."
Problems caused by website overload should ease as more equipment is added. Software and design flaws are trickier to fix, meaning more overnight repairs.
Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said officials would not release enrollment data on an "hourly or daily or weekly basis," although outside experts say the administration is certain to have those numbers. Officials regularly report the number of unique visitors to healthcare.gov -- they just don't say how many get to the end of the application. Those numbers will be released at "regular monthly intervals," Carney said.
Mark McClellan, who ran Medicare during the bumpy prescription program rollout in 2006, said during that time he had detailed daily tracking stats, and he's sure the Obama administration must have at least the same level of information.
"I would think they have a good handle not only on enrollment, but on each step of the process where the drop-offs are occurring," McClellan said. "If you aren't tracking those kinds of performance metrics for the system in close to real time, it's awfully hard to figure what's wrong in order to fix it."
Now a health policy expert with the nonpartisan Brookings Institution, McClellan says the message for consumers is: "Take a deep breath. If you are interested in this program, you do not need to make a decision this week, or even this month. You should make a decision by November. Given the issues a lot of people are having, that's probably a good reason to wait."


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Our voices carry; and though
Some few half awake…
Give tongue, proclaim their hidden name…
- W.B. Yeats
At one point in Quinn's Book, the fourth novel in William Kennedy's masterful "Albany Cycle," a trainload of Famine immigrants passes through Albany. Witnessing this sad procession, narrator Daniel Quinn is told by a companion, "Pay heed to these people and remember what you see." Yet it's quickly apparent that listening is as important as seeing:
"A man of middle years, his shirt in tatters, a half-eaten chicken leg in his hand, stood alone on the steps of the train and began a song in Gaelic, that strange tongue rendered brilliant by the man's plaintive voice. Silence came onto the crowd and we listened to the minstrel, I with a growing wonder in my heart at all the joy and misery that simultaneously commanded so many lives. The train whistle interrupted the sound of the song but not the singer, and as the cars moved out, his voice reached us in fragments, audible between the whistle blasts, a fervent melody struggling to be heard. And then it was gone."
On the evening of St. Patrick's Day 2008, at the State Museum in Albany, Danny Cassidy, author of How the Irish Invented Slang, began his presentation by reading that scene. It took the imaginative genius of a novelist like Kennedy, Cassidy said, to perceive what historians had so often overlooked: the intimate relationship between large numbers of the rural masses who fled the Famine and their language. (The same point might be made about two brilliant recent novels, Star of the Sea, by Joseph O'Connor, and Law of Dreams, by Peter Behrens.)
Whether they congregated in crossroad cities like New York, Albany, Boston, St. Louis, etc. or spread through the country laying track and digging canals, these immigrants took their music and language with them. For many, Irish was their primary or only tongue; many more had both Irish and English. In their struggle to survive and adjust to a frequently punishing, often hostile environment, they were quick to make English their priority. Yet the Irish didn't simply discard their language. Instead, they changed its clothes, slipping it into everyday American work duds.
In fact, Cassidy maintained, if you listened carefully to American slang, if you twigged to the sounds of Irish, you'd hear what Kennedy's character in Quinn's Book heard, a "voice reach[ing] us in fragments, audible between the whistle blasts, a fervent melody struggling to be heard."
A professional musician who'd played Carnegie Hall and worked as the opening act for George Carlin, Cassidy was a consummate performer. All his skills were on display that evening. He played the guitar, sang, lectured, read, mixed schtick and scholarship, intimate details of his own family's immigrant saga and the broad narratives of academic history, transforming what could have been a dry, if enlightening, discourse on an erudite topic into a riveting exploration of the dynamics of slang and its importance to the hybrid soul of our syncretic, kinetic nation.
I was lucky to hear Cassidy on several occasions. Each time he put everything he had into his talk—hard-won insights, artistic craftsmanship, long years of research and teaching, an innate comfort on stage, a Brooklyn-bred contempt for snobbery and pedantry, a love of mongrels, rebels and heretics. As he poured himself into explaining his fascination with the Irish-American experience and what led him to write How the Irish Invented Slang, speaker and subject, like dancer and dance, became one: Cassidy was the Irish-American experience.
His presentation at the State Museum brought him a standing ovation, which was not unusual—I'd seen it happen before—but the special intensity and vehemence of his eloquence suggested to me that Danny Cassidy felt a new urgency in what he was doing. Unfortunately, that urgency wasn't misplaced. His performance in Albany proved his nunc dimittis. Within three weeks, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died at home, in San Francisco, on October 11, 2008, with his beloved wife Clare at his bedside.
After his talk, Cassidy inadvertently left behind the notes he spoke from. When I offered to mail them, he said not to bother. He'd used the plane ride back to the West Coast to distill what he'd said in Albany and was happy with what he had. I not only kept his notes, I studied them, especially the finale, in which Cassidy analyzed the American folk song "Paddy Works the Railway."
Cassidy devotes several pages in How the Irish Invented Slang to a discussion of the song. The longer he'd thought about the song and the more he'd performed it, he told me, the more crucial he believed it was to grasping the subtlety with which Irish, in what was really a centuries long process, had seeped into English and stayed on the tongues of people who no longer spoke it.


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Definition of co-opt in English:
verb[with object]
1Appoint to membership of a committee or other body by invitation of the existing members: the committee may co-opt additional members for special purposes
More example sentences
- This Committee is authorised to co-opt more members, if necessary.
- The members will be considering their options and deciding whether or not to co-opt new members onto the committee at this stage.
- It was agreed that the officers would have the power to co-opt three members to act with them on the committee.
1.1Divert to or use in a role different from the usual or original one: [with object and infinitive]: social scientists were co-opted to work with the development agencies
More example sentences
- Instead of people putting energy into directly working for local and global change, voting diverts and co-opts people power.
- Are they variants of old genes that played quite different roles in the ancestors, and that have been co-opted and modified to play entirely new roles in the descendants?
- Chris Harman looks at its attempts to co-opt movements and how socialists should react
1.2Adopt (an idea or policy) for one's own use: the green parties have had most of their ideas co-opted by bigger parties
More example sentences
- My concern with doing so is that someone else might co-opt my thoughts, ideas, or turns of phrases for use in their own submissions.
- There is ample evidence of special educators co-opting ideas that in and of themselves may have some value for academic debate but that raise serious concerns about significant, negative real-world implications.
- Of course, at some point, the oil industry co-opted this brilliant idea and flooded the market with petroleum based diesel, which was a byproduct of gasoline production, as I understand it.
co-optation noun
- Example sentences
- As resistance movements have begun to reach out across national borders and pose a real threat, governments have developed their own strategies for dealing with them, ranging from co-optation to repression.
- When I first looked at these images beside each other, I was amazed by the speed of corporate co-optation.
- In the end, it probably doesn't matter, as the wave of co-optation and consolidation swings through the communities.
co-option noun
- Example sentences
- Mr Reid's disqualification as a councillor led to three candidates being nominated for co-option onto the council last week.
- Is the disgust directed here at design actually disgust at its co-option by consumerism, its low aspirations?
- It is expected that there will be two further co-options in September.
co-optive adjective
- Example sentences
- It is a call to 'transform the country's prevailing power into a co-optive hegemony - one in which leadership is exercised more through shared conviction with enduring allies than by assertive domination.'
- Maybe one reason he is getting away with blue murder on security and his co-optive version of nationalism is the connivance of the media.
- But someone must raise a voice against the abysmally low standards on view-a Protest (old-fashioned word) against the co-optive abuse of cinema by supposed experts in another field, who turn out to be incompetent in it.
Mid 17th century: from Latin cooptare, from co- 'together' + optare 'choose'.
Words that rhyme with co-optadopt, Copt, opt
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Definition of co-opt in:
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The Bacchus of the via del Babuino
This exceptional bronze was discovered in September 1880 in the via del Babuino, in the foundations of the English church.
In the absence of the tributes which he would have held, Bacchus is identifiable by the band decorated with corymbs fastening his hair.
The composition refers to a famous model for statuary influenced by the works of Praxiteles – the Woburn Abbey Dionysos crated circa 350 BC – depicting a young, naked Dionysos for the first time. The god holds a thyrsus (staff) in his left hand and a canthare (drinking vessel) in his right hand. There are some twenty known copies and variants. In some versions, the god is accompanied by a panther, as was thought to be the case with the Bacchus of the via del Babuino. However, in 1965, the statuette was reunited with its original base, which had found its way into the collections of the New York Metropolitan Museum, thus ruling out this hypothesis.


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|Tech Transfer Success Stories
ARS has a successful history of partnering with commercial firms to transfer the fruits of its labor to American farmers and consumers. We are a leader in the Federal government in transferring new technologies developed from our scientific research to the marketplace. Recent success stories can be found in the Annual Technology Transfer Reports.
Link to Recent Successes
Frozen Food Quality
Clarence Birdseye started the frozen food industry in 1925, when he quick-froze fish on a refrigerated moving belt. The frozen foods industry grew slowly but steadily until after World War II, when the renewed availability of home freezers boosted production to more than one billion pounds. But there were consumer complaints over loss in flavor and changes in color and texture. The industry had production problems, too, and turned to the USDA for help. The USDA's Western Regional Research Laboratory in Albany, California, began the project by building a freezer plant to conduct experiments with every step in food freezing. These included selection of the right crop variety, handling produce between field and plant, blanching and freezing, packaging and storing, and transport of the products to market. They also invented processing equipment to improve frozen products. What scientists learned--and passed along to processors--helped beyond measure to ensure the survival and growth of America's frozen food industry. Time-Temperature-Tolerance (TTT) was the name given to 8-year research project carried out in the 1950's. For today's consumer, TTT resulted in an almost unbelievable variety of quality frozen foods.
Some 50 years ago, orange juice concentrates were relatively flavorless--so insipid, in fact, that consumers opted instead for full-strength canned orange juice, which had a taste all its own. Meanwhile, Florida oranges were a surplus crop, with tons and tons going to waste every year. The Florida Citrus Commission and USDA researchers at Winter Haven, Florida, partnered together to improve frozen concentrated orange juice. They found that adding the fresh juice resulted in a vastly improved concentrate that could be easily frozen. USDA, as had been agreed in advance, took out a patent on the process and then licensed it nonexclusively to interested companies (USPN 2,453,109). So it was that the frozen concentrated orange juice industry was born--an industry today worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year in sales.
First Blueberry Hybrid
First Small Turkey
A milestone in turkey breeding was achieved in 1941 with the release of a new breed, the Beltsville Small White. It was the culmination of seven years of research at the USDA farm at Beltsville, Maryland--a project that made use of six breeds of turkey, including the native American wild turkey. Express aim of the project was to breed a small, meaty, full-breasted bird to meet the needs of the modern American family, which also was getting smaller. Before the Beltsville White, the average weight of an adult tom turkey was 33 pounds, with toms in some breeds reaching 40 pounds. Average weight of young hens was 14 pounds, with hens of one breed topping 25 pounds at nine months. A roast turkey of such formidable size meant endless rounds of leftovers, and some breeds were too big to fit in an apartment-size oven. A Beltsville White tom averaged only 15 pounds and young hens, 9 pounds. By the early 1960's, the Beltsville turkey accounted for more than 20 percent of domestic turkey production in the U.S., and the breed had spread worldwide. It helped make the turkey a year-round staple. The Beltsville turkey not only expanded the turkey market, it became the genetic foundation of practically every turkey sold today.
Instant Mashed Potatoes
At a 1954 press conference, ARS scientists at the USDA's Eastern Regional Research Laboratory in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, announced the development of the instant mashed potato flake. The press was shown how the potatoes were precooked, cooled, cooked again under carefully controlled conditions, mashed, and spread onto a heated drum. Starch granules were undamaged in the process, an important key to product quality. The dried potatoes came off the drum in a thin sheet and were broken into flakes.
Subsequent market tests of the flake form of instant mashed potatoes indicated that consumers would buy and use the new product, and the first commercial production began in just three years. And three years after that, in 1960, six processors converted more than four million bushels of fall potatoes into flakes. Explosion-puffed potatoes followed in 1960's. In the USDA-patented process (USPN 3,408,209) a partially dried piece of fruit or vegetable is subjected briefly to high temperature and pressure, then released into the atmosphere, where it expands instantly, or explodes. The result is a lightweight, porous piece of fruit or vegetable that can undergo further drying more quickly than an unexploded one. Researchers found that apples, celery, carrots, and potatoes so processed reconstitute in water quickly, fully, and evenly. Partly as a result of all these convenience foods, only one potato in three today is peeled at home.
Sourdough Bread
ARS scientists at the USDA's Western Regional Research Laboratory in Albany, California, found an unidentified bacterium in starter doughs from local San Francisoco bakeries. It worked cooperatively with a yeast to produce the bread's unusual crust, texture and slightly sour taste. Subsequently, researchers on the other side of the continent, at the USDA's Eastern Regional Research Laboratory in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, worked with industry to develop a simple new procedure for making the bread. It used sour whey and vinegar instead of bacteria as sources of acetic and lactic acid. When the acids are added to a French bread formula in the quantities and proportions found in the traditional product, the result is a bread with the resilient body, robust flavor, coarse structure, and crisp chewy crust of the native San Francisco product. As a result, supermarkets everywhere today feature, not only sourdough breads, but also rolls and English muffins.
Lactose–free Milk
Millions of people worldwide suffer from lactose intolerance caused by a deficiency of the enzyme lactase in their digestive tracts. As a result, they are unable to digest large amounts of lactose (milk sugar) present in cows' milk without suffering from abdominal discomfort. In the 1980's, ARS researchers used lactase from nonhuman sources to break down about 70 percent of milk sugar into simple sugars--glucose and galactose. Trials showed most lactose-intolerant people could drink this modified milk and digest it without problems. Scientists also used the treated milk to make other milk products, including ice cream and yogurt. A private firm, Lactaid, Inc., became the first company to commercialize the research.
Penicillin Production
In June 1941, two British scientists, Howard Florey and Norman Heatley, came to the United States to work with scientist at USDA's Northern Regional Research Laboratory in Peoria, Illinois, to develop a procedure to mass-produce the drug penicillin. One of the Peoria scientists, Andrew J. Moyer, grew the Penicillium notatum mold in a nutritious medium that included corn steep water, an inexpensive byproduct of the wet corn milling process. He kept adding nutrients to his medium until he had increased Penicillium yields by more than 10 times. Moyer's results encouraged four U.S. drug companies to try large-scale penicillin production. On the lookout for a more productive strain of Penicillium, a staff member found it on a moldy cantaloupe in a Peoria market. This new Penicillium (Penicillium chrysogenum) produced several hundred times more penicillin than Penicillium notatum. Moyer was able to grow Penicillium chrysogenum in quantity by deep vat fermentation in corn steep water and milk sugar. Results were so promising that the U.S. drug industry adopted the medium and the newly found mold and began to increase penicillin production. By the end of 1942, 17 companies were working to increase output still more. Thanks to the combined efforts of the public and private scientists, enough penicillin was available on June 6, 1944, to treat Allied troops wounded on D-day.
Reducing Nitrosamines in Food
It's no exaggeration that ARS scientists at the USDA's Eastern Regional Research Laboratory in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, helped save the bacon industry. In the mid-1960's, it had been reported that sodium nitrite, an inorganic compound used to cure bacon and frankfurters, could, under certain conditions, form cancer-causing chemicals called nitrosamines. After analysis with sensitive instruments, extremely small amounts of one nitrosamine were discovered in hot dogs. Another was found in minute amounts in bacon after frying it at high temperatures. It was the heat that did it; the chemical wasn't present in raw bacon at all. Consumer organizations promptly called for a ban on nitrites in foods and a similar ban on sales of bacon.
In an effort to save the nation's bacon, Eastern lab researchers first searched for substitutes for nitrites, testing some 500 compounds as curing agents. Unfortunately, none retarded the growth of microbes as well as sodium nitrite. But researchers also found that the addition of vitamins C and E reduced the levels of nitrosamines in fried bacon and in nitrite-cured products. The findings led to changes in Federal regulations and in industry processing to minimize consumer exposure to nitrosamines. The proposed ban on bacon was averted.
Insect Repellents & Insect-borne Human Diseases
During World War II, the USDA and military formed a team to develop methods for stopping transmission of insect-borne diseases. It was there that DDT—which had been discovered in Switzerland years before but never used—was demonstrated to kill lice that transmit epidemic typhus and fleas that transmit plague. Using this knowledge, USDA and military entomologists came up with a system for mass delousing that led to saving thousands of U.S. troops from deadly typhus—and ultimately about 25 million people worldwide. In addition, the World Health Organization estimated that widespread use of DDT prevented more than 25 million deaths from malaria following World War II.
The USDA military collaboration also resulted in the use of n-n-diethylnetatoluamide (DEET) as an insect repellent. USDA scientists in Orlando, Florida, and Beltsville, Maryland tried keeping pests away with literally thousands of substances, reporting their findings to chemists. Chemists observed that one particular group of chemicals had repellent action. In time, they came up with 33 new chemicals and sent them to the military for testing. One of the chemicals, DEET, proved superior to all others. Beginning in 1946, the military began using DEET as topical insect repellent. USDA registered DEET for public use and in 1957 it was marketed as 6-12 for civilian use. It is impossible to calculate how much illness, death, and misery has been prevented during the last 50 years by simple application of a bit of DEET. Today, DEET remains the most widely used active ingredient for mosquito and insect repellents.
Low-fat Cheese
ARS researchers developed reduced-fat mozzarella cheese--now used in the USDA National School Lunch Program. To date, more than $44 million worth has been purchased for the program. This all-natural cheese contains only 10 percent fat--full-fat mozzarella contains 23 percent fat. ARS's low-fat mozzarella has melting and texture properties similar to commercial full-fat Mozzarella. The cheese is manufactured using ordinary cheesemaking procedures, but at reduced temperatures. This novel treatment produces mozzarella that melts and strings freely when heated in a pizza oven. Reduced-fat mozzarella cheese allows school children to enjoy pizza--their favorite lunch--while reducing their dietary fat intake and lowering their risk of diet-related diseases as adults.
Soap for Hard Water
When water is cold or where it is hard--loaded with calcium or magnesium salts--soap washes poorly. In hard water, it forms a curd-like substance called lime soap, the culprit behind the bathtub ring.
ARS scientists at the USDA's Eastern Regional Research Laboratory in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, modified soap by blending it with other substances derived from tallow called "lime soap dispensing agents." The resulting detergents clean well in hard, soft, cold, and hot water. They biodegrade completely, contain no phosphates, and are nontoxic to humans and animals. They also make use of a surplus product: tallow. The research has been applied in several U.S. toilet soaps, including Zest and Lever 2000, and is being used for laundry soaps in several foreign countries.
Super Slurper
In 1973, scientists at the USDA's National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Illinois (formerly the USDA's Northern Regional Research Laboratory), created saponified starch-graft polyacrylonitrile copolymers in which synthetic polymers are attached to starch. The unique property of the patented copolymers (USPN 3,935,099; 3,981,100; 3,985,616; 3,997,484; and 4,116,899) is that they can absorb 2,000 times their own weight in water. Because the scientific name was too cumbersome to catch on with anyone outside the scientific community, the ARS Information Office coined a more appropriate name- 'Super Slurper'. The name change, coupled with publicity, stimulated thousands of inquiries. Super Slurper has been improved several times to create new and practical uses. Over the years, Super Slurper has found commercial life in products as varied as seed coatings, wound dressings, automobile fuel filters, and plastic mesh barriers used at construction sites.
Dwarf Easter Lilies
Because of disease problems with imported bulbs, USDA scientists working in 1903 on the National Mall in Washington, DC, began growing large numbers of Easter lilies (L. longiflorum) from seed and distributing disease-free stock to the industry. Differences in height among Easter lilies seedlings were noted and a breeding program was begun in 1918 to develop dwarf types. Each year "pounds" of selected dwarf seed were sent to Oregon growers for evaluation. In 1929, the first dwarf cultivar for potted-plant production was released. Prior to this release, lilies were tall plants and grown as a cut-flower crop. Besides developing the cultivars, beginning in 1935 systems for commercial propagation, production and disease control of Easter lily were developed. As a result of this research, the time of blooming could be controlled to make plants available in flower any day of the year. This ability to precisely control flowering was responsible for establishing the economically important Easter lily industry.


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Don't forget to check out my Aloo Paneer Bonda Recipe.The combo and aloo and paneer woul dbe a double treat for your kids :)
Aloo bonda recipe
Aloo bonda recipe/Potato bonda - South Indian style tea time snack recipe
Potatoes are a very popular food source. Unfortunately, most people eat potatoes in the form of greasy French fries or potato chips, and even baked potatoes are typically loaded down with fats such as butter, sour cream, melted cheese and bacon bits. Such treatment can make even baked potatoes a potential contributor to a heart attack. But take away the extra fat and deep frying, and a baked potato is an exceptionally healthful low calorie, high fiber food that offers significant protection against cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Our food ranking system qualified potatoes as a very good source of vitamin C, a good source of vitamin B6, copper, potassium, manganese, and dietary fiber.
Potatoes also contain a variety of phytonutrients that have antioxidant activity. Among these important health-promoting compounds are carotenoids, flavonoids, and caffeic acid, as well as unique tuber storage proteins, such as patatin, which exhibit activity against free radicals.
Potatoes' Phytochemicals Rival Those in Broccoli
Potatoes' reputation as a high-carb, white starch has removed them from the meals of many a weight-conscious eater, but this stereotype is due for a significant overhaul. A new analytical method developed by Agricultural Research Service plant geneticist Roy Navarre has identified 60 different kinds of phytochemicals and vitamins in the skins and flesh of 100 wild and commercially grown potatoes. Analysis of Red and Norkotah potatoes revealed that these spuds' phenolic content rivals that of broccoli, spinach and Brussels sprouts, and includes flavonoids with protective activity against cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems and certain cancers. Navarre's team also identified potatoes with high levels of vitamin C, folic acid, quercetin and kukoamines. These last compounds, which have blood pressure lowering potential, have only been found in one other plant, Lycium chinense (a.k.a., wolfberry/gogi berry). How much kukoamine is needed for a blood pressure lowering effect in humans must be assessed before it can be determined whether an average portion of potatoes delivers enough to impact cardiovascular health. Still, potatoes' phytochemical profiles show it's time to shed their starch-only image; spuds-baked, steamed or healthy sautéed but not fried-deserve a place in your healthy way of eating."Phytochemical Profilers Investigate Potato Benefits,"Agricultural Research, September 2007
Blood-Pressure Lowering Potential
UK scientists at the Institute for Food Research have identified blood pressure-lowering compounds called kukoamines in potatoes. Previously only found in Lycium chinense, an exotic herbal plant whose bark is used to make an infusion in Chinese herbal medicine, kukoamines were found in potatoes using a new type of research called metabolomics.
Until now, when analyzing a plant's composition, scientists had to know what they were seeking and could typically look for 30 or so known compounds. Now, metabolomic techniques enable researchers to find the unexpected by analyzing the 100s or even 1000s of small molecules produced by an organism.
"Potatoes have been cultivated for thousands of years, and we thought traditional crops were pretty well understood," said IFR food scientist Dr Fred Mellon, "but this surprise finding shows that even the most familiar of foods might conceal a hoard of health-promoting chemicals." Another good reason to center your diet around the World's Healthiest Foods!
In addition to potatoes, researchers looked at tomatoes since they belong to the same plant family-Solanaceae-as Lycium chinense. Metabolomic assays also detected kukoamine compounds in tomatoes.
The IFR scientists found higher levels of kukoamines and related compounds than some of the other compounds in potatoes that have a long history of scientific investigation. However, because they were previously only noted in Lycium chinense, kukoamines have been little studied. Researchers are now determining their stability during cooking and dose response (how much of these compounds are needed to impact health).
Vitamin B6-Building Your Cells
If only for its high concentration of vitamin B6-a cup of baked potato contains 21.0% of the daily value for this important nutrient-the potato earns high marks as a health-promoting food.
Vitamin B6 is involved in more than 100 enzymatic reactions. Enzymes are proteins that help chemical reactions take place, so vitamin B6 is active virtually everywhere in the body. Many of the building blocks of protein, amino acids, require B6 for their synthesis, as do the nucleic acids used in the creation of our DNA. Because amino and nucleic acids are such critical parts of new cell formation, vitamin B6 is essential for the formation of virtually all new cells in the body. Heme (the protein center of our red blood cells) and phospholipids (cell membrane components that enable messaging between cells) also depend on vitamin B6 for their creation.
Vitamin B6-Brain Cell and Nervous System Activity
Vitamin B6 plays numerous roles in our nervous system, many of which involve neurological (brain cell) activity. B6 is necessary for the creation of amines, a type of messaging molecule or neurotransmitter that the nervous system relies on to transmit messages from one nerve to the next. Some of the amine-derived neurotransmitters that require vitamin B6 for their production are serotonin, a lack of which is linked to depression;melatonin, the hormone needed for a good night's sleep;epinephrine and norepinephrine, hormones that help us respond to stress; and GABA, which is needed for normal brain function.
Vitamin B6-Cardiovascular Protection
Vitamin B6 plays another critically important role in methylation, a chemical process in which methyl groups are transferred from one molecule to another. Many essential chemical events in the body are made possible by methylation, for example, genes can be switched on and turned off in this way. This is particularly important in cancer prevention since one of the genes that can be switched on and off is the tumor suppressor gene, p53. Another way that methylation helps prevent cancer is by attaching methyl groups to toxic substances to make them less toxic and encourage their elimination from the body.
Methylation is also important to cardiovascular health. Methylation changes a potentially dangerous molecule called homocysteine into other, benign substances. Since homocysteine can directly damage blood vessel walls greatly increasing the progression of atherosclerosis, high homocysteine levels are associated with a significantly increased risk for heart attack and stroke. Eating foods rich in vitamin B6 can help keep homocysteine levels low. In addition, diets high in vitamin B6-rich foods are associated with overall lower rates of heart disease, even when homocysteine levels are normal, most likely because of all the other beneficial activities of this energetic B vitamin.
A single baked potato will also provide you with 11.7% of the daily value for fiber, but remember the fiber in potatoes is mostly in their skin. If you want the cholesterol-lowering, colon cancer preventing, and bowel supportive effects of fiber, be sure to eat the potato's flavorful skin as well as its creamy center.
Vitamin B6-Athletic Performance
Vitamin B6 is also necessary for the breakdown of glycogen, the form in which sugar is stored in our muscle cells and liver, so this vitamin is a key player in athletic performance and endurance.


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pitch 1
- She re-taught herself to feel the vibration of the sounds, registering pitch and tone through the buzz of her body, often playing barefoot.
- They have never heard sounds, so can't understand tones or pitches, or modulate their speech.
- Lao is a tonal language; therefore, the meaning of a word is determined by the tone or pitch at which it is spoken.
- Scrupulous about vocal production, she maintains classical standards of pitch and articulation in pop renditions.
- She had some problems keeping pitch and the tone of her voice did not suit her role.
- She had presence, faultless pitch and crystal clear tone.
- Keeping a steep roof pitch and adding dormers to the new second story are good options.
- He also varies roof pitch according to a region's latitude and climate.
- While bed and bathrooms are private, enclosed volumes, living and dining rooms have been opened up to the full extent of the roof pitch.
- We spent all day learning the basics, but it was still so much fun climbing those tree-filled pitches.
- She completed a one hundred mile run and climbed a five pitch route in the middle.
- Once you are caught on a course with a steep pitch, protruding roots and boulders, you will experience 'complete fear'.
- It has intensified to a higher pitch again recently.
- But now, with the Public Sphere growing increasingly irrelevant, it is reaching a critical pitch.
- It has grown to such a level and such a pitch that I'm sure it's a cause of many people's disquiet.
- The show maintained a pitch of incredible intensity from the opening number.
- He begins slowly, building to a pitch of excitement, like a preacher.
- Ballet reached a pitch of popularity during the first half of the 19th century.
- Sometimes five wild pitches in one inning aren't enough to keep a team from a win.
- He was determined to go after hitters rather than trying to make the perfect pitch.
- He has been criticized for using one pitch too often or failing to set up hitters.
- There is no easier pitch shot than the one from halfway up the bank.
- He smashed the ball up short of the green, his pitch ran 15 feet past and he missed the putt.
- On 14, Mark hit a lovely pitch just past the flag that skidded over the green.
- Having two teams play home games on the same pitch over an English winter would have done more damage to the surface than would a farmer with a plough.
- There are outdoor tennis and football pitches, jogging paths and spaces for barbecues.
- For the first time for many years, England fans booed the team off the pitch.
- Before he began hitting sixes he adjusted the bails of the stumps and analysed the pitch.
- The English camp was unhappy with the condition of the pitch at Melbourne for the Second Test match.
- The way to take wickets on these pitches is to force batsmen to make mistakes, and the South Africans did that.
- Half a dozen sales pitches are underway at any one time.
- The sales pitch was very convincing.
- They were criticised by analysts and fund managers for not making a stronger pitch for the US company.
- They have long been known for their function as flight stabilizers, like gyroscopes on airplanes that prevent excessive roll, pitch or yaw.
- The system is complemented by a set of midship stabilising fins and stern stabilising flaps to control the pitch and roll of the ship.
- It's the up-and-down motion of the airplane as it changes pitch due to disturbances that have the greatest effect on people.
- One of the belt's major design improvements is the pitch, or the distance between belt teeth.
- The keys are manufactured with 4 accurately positioned perforations corresponding to the pitch of the cogwheel.
- As a grader, you control the blade depth with auxiliary hydraulics and the blade pitch using the attachment hydraulic.
- That combination allows operators to adjust blade pitch quickly, on the fly, with very little effort.
- In the Weber system, one of the weights is keyed solid with constant pitch while the other weight is allowed to move 180 in pitch.
- A font may have a fixed pitch or a proportional one.
- The pitch of the font should be at least 10, with a pitch of 12 preferred.
- He threw the ball back to her and she gave the batter a whole two seconds before pitching the same ball.
- He was due to pitch the first ball of a crunch baseball match in New York between the Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
- Just as Billy pitched the ball, I made eye contact with him.
- He converted 19 of his first 20 chances despite pitching with a sore elbow.
- The best pitchers made more starts, pitched more innings and piled up more wins.
- He pitched to three more batters before collapsing on the mound.
- Once you become proficient at pitching the ball, you'll want to convert more putts for par - and cut down on three-putts.
- He pitched onto the green, where an evil eight-footer awaited him.
- He pitched back onto the green some 30 feet away, and then almost putted it off the green before gunning it long again.
- The ball pitched 15 feet from the hole, bounced three times and dropped in.
- Replays showed that the ball had pitched outside leg stump, but it was too late for recriminations.
- It is possible to plot where the ball pitched, and where the batsman's shot went, allowing all those graphs to be drawn.
- Their riders were pitched onto the road and then ploughed under the hooves of the other six steeds.
- As if in slow motion, the horse stumbled, rolling his front legs and pitching his rider over his head.
- She was suddenly pitched to the floor.
- The big ex-con pitches forward and falls behind the counter.
- I pitched forward and toppled over the rail.
- As she pitched forward, about to fall, someone caught her by her upper arms.
- She didn't need to pitch her voice lower, for the teeth-rattling music took care of the concept of being overheard.
- He called back, pitching his voice like a girl's.
- Was it just me or was he pitching his voice rather high?
- Some companies are actively pitching for business.
- We have gone out aggressively pitching for new business.
- You're pitching for business abroad and attending offshore meetings on a more regular basis.
- With temperatures plummeting, the council ordered winter camps to be pitched.
- Saturday night saw the Raise The Roof benefit pitch its tent at the Rosemount Hotel.
- Perhaps they'll end up pitching their tents somewhere on Romney Marsh.
- Swaying in the wind, they're concerned about the timing in getting on deck, with the ship pitching hard up and down.
- Although the sea washed the heads clean as the ship pitched, the heads still needed a regular scrub-down with a broom.
- Then we hit some turbulence, and both aircraft pitched and rolled a little bit.
- The car pitched and dodged through the turns.
- The truck accelerated as it pitched down the hill.
- The truck pitched through the snow as we made our way to the Refuge.
- The sod roof is pitched to match the angle of the adjacent weathered trees to further blend it with the dominant land form.
- The roof is pitched, making the north windows tall and generous, as you'd want them to be in a studio, while the south windows are squeezed a bit to control light.
- The gently pitched roof and wood joinery recall the Craftsman and Japanese influences that hold such significant places in Bay Area architecture.
- Its 17-foot ceiling pitches gently upward to the west, to let in additional light and capture all three views.
- The roof pitched down from the wall of the main house, too low to stand under at the far end.
- The stream pitches down over a solid rock about 40 feet.
make a pitch
- Make a bid to obtain a contract or other business.Example sentences
try to obtain, try to acquire, try to get, bid for, make a bid for
- The group pondered making a pitch for the 2016 Games.
- Sweeney is making a pitch for some of the contract work.
- They were about to make a pitch for a multi-million pound account.
Phrasal verbs
pitch in
- informal Vigorously join in to help with a task or activity.Example sentences
help (out), assist, lend a hand, join in, participate, contribute, do one's bit, chip in, cooperate, collaborate
- I woke reasonably early and pitched in to the task of cleaning up the old computer, and getting backups and transfer files ready for the new one.
- We now call upon our loyal readers to pitch in here and assist with the composing of this work.
- Her husband, son and son's girlfriend pitched in and voluntarily did many of the housekeeping tasks she could no longer do.
- 1.1Join in a fight or dispute.Example sentences
- They trying to influence the debate but there are so many other bodies pitching in with their own comments.
- We should pitch in to the fight rather than whinge.
- Damien pitched in angrily.
pitch into
- informal Vigorously tackle or begin to deal with.Example sentences
- So I pitched into the morning house clean routine, left all neat, tidy and sparkling clean, and took myself and the little silver Ford off to Boston.
- In spite of all my resolutions not to do so I pitched into a final code fix for my new web pages today.
- He prepares to roll up his sleeves and pitch into the parochial difficulties that await him.
- 2.1Forcefully assault.Example sentences
- The governor was up for re-election and the opposition papers were pitching into him.
- I despise him so I can't help pitching into him.
- He pitched into her recklessly, upbraiding her now for her shiftlessness.
pitch out
- Throw a pitchout.Example sentences
- On three occasions, he was thrown out because opponents pitched out and guessed right.
- They slide-step to the plate, throw to first base more often and pitch out frequently.
- The Rangers pitched out to Palmeiro, who had no chance to bunt, and tagged out Garret Anderson in a rundown.
Middle English (as a verb in the senses 'thrust (something pointed) into the ground' and 'fall headlong'): perhaps related to Old English picung 'stigmata', of unknown ultimate origin. The sense development is obscure.
Of the two pitch words in English, one is simple in its meaning and history and the other complex and obscure. The name of the sticky dark substance goes back to Latin pix. The other pitch has senses ranging from 'the quality of a sound' through 'an area of ground for a game' to 'to aim at a target'. The ultimate origin is unknown and historical development unclear. In the original military sense a pitched battle [M16th as 'pitched (battle) field']is one fought between large formations of troops which is more or less confined to one location, as contrasted with a chance skirmish or a running battle, and seems to be a development of the sense 'fixed' as in 'pitched tent'.
Words that rhyme with pitchbewitch, bitch, ditch, enrich, fitch, flitch, glitch, hitch, itch, kitsch, Mitch, quitch, rich, snitch, stitch, switch, titch, twitch, which, witch
For editors and proofreaders
Syllabification: pitch
Definition of pitch in:
pitch 2
- There was a small boat, an improvised currach-type constructed from hessian stretched over a wooden frame and doused with pitch to make it waterproof.
- The production of tar and pitch as well as potash and saltpeter is included in the category of proto-industry.
- All his exports for which we still have record were cloth; he imported herring and dried fish, ashes, iron, lumber, oil, pitch and tar.
- The heat was so intense that the pitch that held the deck together melted.
- Some bone would need to be cut before the pitch was applied.
verb[with object]
- He would pitch the seams so that they wouldn't leak.
- The tar from these springs is used by fur traders and others in the country for pitching boats and canoes.
- Near the bridge are several heaps of Babylonian pitch, to pitch ships.
Old English pic (noun), pician (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch pek and German Pech; based on Latin pix, pic-.
Of the two pitch words in English, one is simple in its meaning and history and the other complex and obscure. The name of the sticky dark substance goes back to Latin pix. The other pitch has senses ranging from 'the quality of a sound' through 'an area of ground for a game' to 'to aim at a target'. The ultimate origin is unknown and historical development unclear. In the original military sense a pitched battle [M16th as 'pitched (battle) field']is one fought between large formations of troops which is more or less confined to one location, as contrasted with a chance skirmish or a running battle, and seems to be a development of the sense 'fixed' as in 'pitched tent'.
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text: I finally picked up Nylon Angel today, I'm only about 60 pages in but I'm really enjoying it. I likje the fast, almost arrogant style, it reminds me somewhat of Michael Marshall Smith, except he doesn't have Parrish.... *swoon* And that is of course the point of this thread. She's an odd character, she seems a strange mix of competence, insecurity, arrogance and tenderness, I'd be interested to know how you created her, or if she just created herself... J


text:
Judge orders recount of N.O. bridge toll vote
Published: Thursday, January 3, 2013 at 5:18 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, January 3, 2013 at 5:18 p.m.
BATON ROUGE — An East Baton Rouge Parish judge has ordered a recount of Orleans Parish absentee and early votes in the election for another 20 years of tolls on the Crescent City Connection bridge.
Judge William Morvant's order today says those votes must be recounted by hand.
The measure passed by a margin of 16 votes out of 308,000 cast on Nov. 6 in Orleans, Jefferson and Plaquemines parishes.
The margin doubled from eight after officials counted 32 military and overseas ballots.
The tolls bring in more than $20 million a year.
Supporters say they're needed to keep the nation's fifth busiest bridge in condition to support economic development and reduce traffic and public safety problems.
Opponents call the tolls an unfair burden on residents who have little to show
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