random bullets
Feeling frazzled, so you get some bullets tonight:
- The blog world is buzzing over the story of the family who got kicked off of an AirTran flight because the little girl wouldn’t sit in her seat and so the flight couldn’t take off. Assuming that the story is being reported more or less accurately, I basically agree with Mir. I can’t promise you that my kids won’t make noise, but I can get them in their seats. And most of the parents commenting at On Balance seemed to agree as well. But a few seemed to take it as an opportunity to vent their spleen about crying kids, which is a different story entirely. Yeah, I’d rather not be trapped in an airplane with a crying kid too, but you don’t always get what you want. Trust me, the parents are even less happy about it than you are.
- As it happens, we’re flying AirTran this weekend to attend a family event. My boys are both quite excited about flying, and I’m hopeful that they’ll be reasonably well behaved. D’s been on a 16 hour flight, so an hour and a half shouldn’t be a problem. But of the 4 times that N has flown in his life, he’s thrown up on two of them. We’re bringing a big box of wipes and extra clothes, but is there anything else we should be doing? Is there a nonprescription anti-airsickness drug that is safe for kids and actually works?
- I’ve learned about a local farm that sells grass-fed beef and lamb and makes deliveries nearby. After reading The Omnivore’s Dilemna, I want to give this a try. But I have no idea what to get that a) won’t bankrupt us and b) will give us a sense of why it’s worth the extra money and hassle. Here’s the price list — what should I get and how should I cook it?
- I’ve mostly stopped worrying about my stats, but I happened to take a look at them this afternoon and discovered that I got over 2,000 hits on Monday, which is about 4 times what I usually get and more than 2 times my previous high. I think it’s because of this article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. This is far more than the increase in hits I got last year when quoted in the NY Times. I think the difference is that the Post-Intelligencer used a hotlink to the post it referred to, which the Times never does.
February 1st, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Re: Mount Vernon – That price list looks reasonable to me, for what they are selling. Rather than buying the best cuts, I’d suggest buying a piece you have occasionally been disappointed by when purchased at your regular store (for me, this is likely to be a London broil or even sirloin). I love beef, so I generally like it no matter where it came from. I have found that the specialty chicken is where I notice the most difference in flavor.
February 2nd, 2007 at 7:39 am
I’d get whatever it is you’re most likely to cook for the first time–nothign to make you feel like you wasted your money than buying a nice cut that requires a fancy recipe that you don’t have time for and so never eat. We mostly get ground beef. We’ve also tried steak and roasts and chicken. All of it has been good–but the taste is not so radically different that it would be, on its own, a sufficient motivation or reward. In my opinion.
Grass-fed beef does require different cooking (less fat, so it’s easily overcooked). This isn’t a factor for something like ground beef, but it’s a big deal for a steak or a roast. If you google grass-fed beef cooking you should find a few links that give you time and temperature guidelines.
February 2nd, 2007 at 12:18 pm
I understand that flying is more expensive than riding the subway, but it is a form of public transportation, unless you are on a private jet. Children can be loud on a plane, but since when do adults have the right to act as if they are flying privately. They are on a mode of transportation with 50-a few hundred people; to me that is a form of public transport. Picking on children is easy, but adults tolerate other adults in a confined space. There should be some behavior standards, but people love to gripe about children. My child is extremely unruly in general and that is why I have refrained from flying with her, but even the most well-mannered child can have an off day.
February 3rd, 2007 at 9:43 am
I’ve been noodling and blogging on the whole organic food cost/benefit issue recently too. I found some answers to your grass fed beef question over at:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/312544#1778383
via
http://www.mindfulmomma.typepad.com/
Basically, Grass fed is tastier and higher in Omega 3 and lower in saturated fat.
I can never resist a research challenge…but I’ll leave the cooking advice to someone else; I’m in the “wave it over the BBQ and eat it blood red” camp.
BTW Elizabeth – Thanks for the discussion – I always visit your blog when I feel I need to read some well written posts; reading your posts improve mine.
February 3rd, 2007 at 9:24 pm
I get Mt. Vernon Farm’s ground beef, their stir fry meat and their kabob meat. I’ve recently started getting the New Zealand grass fed flank steak from Trader Joes. It’s not local but it is organic and grass fed and only $5.99 a pound. I use a great recipe from Epicurious on it, very kid friendly.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/731
We started eating primarily grass fed beef and chicken about a year ago and overall I haven’t found a huge increase in our grocery bills. We probably eat less meat overall but still have it with nearly all of our meals, just in smaller quantities.
You can check out Mt. Vernon in person at the Falls Church Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings. They were there all summer and I think should still be there now. It would also give you a chance to check out the grass fed buffalo from Cibola Farms, which is really tasty stuff. We get their preformed buffalo burger patties which are good to have in the freezer for a quick midweek dinner. They make amazing sausages with their buffalo meat as well.
February 5th, 2007 at 9:23 am
Give him something with fresh ginger in it first. Ginger ale has actually no ginger, but maybe there are ginger capsules at your local Whole Foods or Wild Oats or similar store. Ginger is terrific for motion sickness.