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June 15, 2010 The time has come to wave bye-bye to two of my four websites. By that I mean that I’m going to quit paying rent for use of the domain names later this summer. One site is FOOD AND FICTION, the first one I ever put up. Back then I hadn’t yet figured out what I wanted to do online, so it’s got a dab of this and a dab of that. It’s been years since I posted anything on it, but there are some interesting stories and touching tributes in the “Nostalgia” section, if you are interested in taking a look at them. To pay a farewell visit, click on: http://foodandfiction.com/Entrance.html New website owners think their website will be like a store in a strip mall. People will “drive” by online and say, “Isn’t that a cute little store? I think I’ll go in and browse.” In reality, most new websites are like holes in the ground, and only the owner’s family and friends ever know where those holes are located. It’s true there’s a directory of all “holes,” called GOOGLE. But since there are more than a billion sites listed in that directory (yes, really!), and GOOGLE lists them mostly according to popularity, it’s a catch-22 situation. The owners of new sites may spend much energy trying to get a high listing in GOOGLE’s search results – I certainly did - but most fail to attract visitors unless they have a connection with a successful site, or, in my case, visitors that come through a newsletter. When I started DELIGHTFUL FOOD, the second site going bye-bye, I had a newsletter called “Nostalgia Notes,” with a mailing list supplied by Mike Hodapp. I decided to put up a directory of some of the best online food sites and publicize it in that newsletter. DELIGHTFUL FOOD led eventually to my TOUR THE SITES newsletter and the 1000 BEST SITES FOR FAMILIES AND SENIORS, which has its own listings of food sites. If you’d like to pay a farewell visit to DELIGHTFUL FOOD, find it here: http://delightfulfood.com/main.html I must warn you that I haven’t updated that site for about three years, and a lot of the links have disappeared or turned into advertising sites. I will be folding the best remaining links into my 1000 BEST SITES. I used a bunch of DELIGHTFUL FOOD sites in my June 1 newsletter, and you’ll find more of the extra-good ones in items 11 through 15 of this newsletter. Onward and upward! Janette ----Table Of Contents---- 1. A Yard Sale Near You 1. A YARD SALE NEAR YOU The YARD SALE TREASURE MAP simply takes the yard sales listed in the CRAIGSLIST for your area and sets up a map that enables you to take in as many as you’ve got the energy for. Very convenient. http://yardsaletreasuremap.com/ 2. JUNK FOOD TURNS RATS INTO ADDICTS Of course those are merely rats. We humans couldn’t possibly be addicted to junk food. Could we? 3. FOUR HABITS TO GIVE YOU ANOTHER 14 YEARS OF LIFE Bill has been a member of this REAL AGE site for several years. I just joined the other day – should have done it sooner. Bill exercises regularly at a gym (as suggested in this item), and has done so for about 20 years. I think that’s a big reason he seems years younger than his age. It’s also a reason he’s making such a good comeback from his hospitalization with pneumonia. He’s still going to the gym but taking it easy and gradually leading up to his full workout. http://www.realage.com/tips/ 4. SOME GOOD NEWS, SOME BAD NEWS We conscientious eaters have rejoiced in scientific research that says dark chocolate and nuts are good for us. Conscientious eater Janette has been enjoying the delicious yet virtuous combination of high-cacao dark chocolate and pistachios (pistachios selected because shelling them slows down the eating process). THE GOOD NEWS: A new scientific study, pooling data from 25 earlier studies, shows that eating nuts daily does lower cholesterol: http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/ THE BAD NEWS: Another new scientific study, pooling information from eight earlier studies, indicates that chocolate may cut cholesterol but “analysis showed that only people who ate small amounts of cocoa, an amount containing 260 milligrams of polyphenols or less, experienced cholesterol lowering effects. People who consumed more showed no effect.” THE PARTIALLY GOOD NEWS: “Researchers also found that healthy people didn't get any cholesterol-lowering benefits from cocoa, but people with risk factors for heart disease, such as diabetes, saw their LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol drop by around 8 mg/dL each.” http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6505MF20100602 5. WITH OMEGA-3s A LITTLE DAB’LL DO YA We conscientious eaters are also taking in omega-3 fatty acids by eating the right kind of fish and/or taking fish oil capsules. There’s a lot of scientific research out there showing omega-3s are good for our health. But, as happens so often in the nutrition area, more is not better: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64U2SD20100531 MORE ABOUT VIRTUE NOT BEING REWARDED: Click on DIETS, NUTRITION in the lefthand column, then scroll down to “Startling Dietary Research.” Disgusting, isn’t it? 6. WHY FACEBOOK KEEPS FILCHING YOUR PERSONAL DATA FACEBOOK has just done another number, taking customers’ personal information, then backing off – but not all the way off. And it will no doubt do the same again. And again. Find out why: http://www.newsweek.com/2010/05/24/ TOP 4 RISKS YOU FACE WHEN YOU USE FACEBOOK. Please overlook the bad language – these are important things to know, if you are in FACEBOOK or considering it. http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-top-4-risks-you-face-when-you-use-facebook/ 7. FREE SOFTWARE TO LIMIT YOUR KIDS’ ONLINE TIME Want the kids to play outdoors more this summer? ROMACO can help, and you won’t have to constantly play the heavy who’s destroying their online happiness. http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ 8. FIND RESTAURANTS WHERE YOUR KIDS EAT FOR FREE Whether it’s at home or traveling, it’s good to know where to find good deals for families with kids. Since the deals come and go, KIDS EAT FOR tries to keep its site up to date. 9. AMUSEMENT PARKS AND THEME PARKS GALORE If you’re planning a family trip, come here and find amusement and theme parks around the world: And then scroll down to TRAVEL in the lefthand column. Click on “Planning A Trip” and then, if kids are involved, on “Travel With Kids.” 10. SHARE YOUR TRIPS WHILE THEY’RE HAPPENING With EVERY TRAIL, you can instantly share your “whereabouts, detours, experiences, and some photos with family and friends.” http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-your-trips-with-everytrail/ 11. REAL CAJUN RECIPES FROM CAJUNS Among our American food treasures are these authentic Cajun recipes: CHUCK TAGGART’s GUMBO PAGES starts off with the basics: “In this section you'll find Creole seasoning blend, homemade stocks (you must do this!), and the essential New Orleans dishes: Gumbo, Jambalaya, Red Beans 'n Rice, and Shrimp Creole.” And then it moves gloriously onward to great conclusions: http://www.gumbopages.com/recipe-page.html#table CAJUN WITH CHAR has CHAR’s own special rendition of Cajun dishes: http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/3076/rmenu.html And the REAL CAJUN RECIPES site “is devoted to building the largest and most accurate collection of Cajun recipes handed down from one Cajun cook to another.” (When I last visited the site, there were more than 1300 of them!) http://www.realcajunrecipes.com/ 12. SOUTHERN COOKING BEFORE KFC THE CHITTERLING SITE asks “Do you love soul food, swapping great old-fashioned recipes, southern recipes, comfort foods, or soulfood cooking? Then you've come to the right place!” RECIPES FROM THE EASTERN SHORE OF VIRGINIA include: Christmas coconut cake, sweet potato biscuits, Hog Island snow cream, and what to do with Hayman potatoes if you're ever fortunate enough to have some. (They are GOOD!) http://www.esva.net/ghotes/ghotes50.htm CHEF RICK’S SOUTH CAROLINA LOW COUNTRY COOKING: http://www.chefrick.com/low-country-recipes/ 13. LUCILLE HELPS YOU FIND OLD RECIPES LUCILLE says, “If there is an old family recipe that has been lost, let me know. Send the name, decade and some of the ingredients, I might have it. If you have something you'd like to share, an old wives’ tale, a remedy, or an old recipe, please join in the fun.” http://www.recipesofyesteryear.com/Default.htm 14. A BEAUTIFUL LABOR OF LOVE A brother and sister are working “to record, test, and preserve the best of the Italian-American old family recipes, and translate them into repeatable techniques sized for today's family.” DO NOT COME HERE if you want to whip up something in a hurry, using kitchen shortcuts. These recipes include no shortcuts – they are the creators’ very best version of each dish. If you’re on their mailing list, they’ll send you new recipes as they are posted. http://www.parshift.com/ovens/home.htm 15. LOUSY RESTAURANT FOOD BACK WHEN The author brings back a past era, complete with music of that time. He deals in fads and fashions, the old TV programs, and much else to take us back to that world. It’s quite a site – if you have memories of that era, don’t miss it! A few years back Bill and I ate at an old-fashioned diner. I was delighted with all the old-timey stuff, including, of course, a waitress who called me “honey.” I ordered old-timey stuffed cabbage. Which was hardly even edible; in fact I couldn’t eat more than a few bites. And then I remembered: most restaurant food in the forties and fifties didn’t taste all that great. Some weary soul back in the kitchen simply slapped stuff together and dished it up. Now that so much restaurant food is cooked by people who consider themselves chefs, the food tastes much better. So re-live the memories and be thankful you’re not eating the restaurant food by going to: http://www.oldetimecooking.com/ © Copyright 2010 Janette G. Blackwell. All rights reserved. You may copy and use portions of this newsletter for noncommercial, personal use only. You may forward a copy to someone else as long as the copyright notice is included. Any other use of the materials in this newsletter without prior written permission is prohibited. |
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