Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Grass fed pigs not a bad idea. In fact, some of the best pigs are raised eating grass, roots, acorns and roots. Ham from these pigs is delicious: one can taste the acorn. Did not eat the sausage from these pigs, but it exists.
If some meat guys don't know what I am talking about, Google Jamón ibérico, Iberian ham, also called pata negra. Or, simply Google Spanish Black Pig.
It is so good, someone stole, took, the 50 Euro black ham, (authorized and sealed for international travel), from me when returning from Spain.

Thank you for your column, this and your Part I were great reads and you should be commended for doing this.

@ jfitz: Neither grass-fed nor organic are mere marketing ploys, and it is that kind of dismissive attitude that makes those concepts seem like fads that the wealthy got duped into. That, of course, makes the average American feel like this isn't something they should know or care about, when in fact we all should. Please read more about food and its history before making such baseless statements.

Thank you for writing these columns! You have just inadvertently described the life of the food allergic, only the result of accidental consumption (or even cross contamination) can result in anaphylactic shock, possibly death.

If that sounds extreme, please imagine raising a child who is allergic to four of the the eight most common food allergens (peanut, shellfish, egg, milk) plus two others (beef and lamb.) We can't even walk into Chuck E. Cheese, which I don't miss, but my son sure does.

We have a label reading, EpiPen carrying lifestyle. For me cooking is no longer a hobby or a chore, but an avocation, since the only safe food is usually what I've prepared myself.

On the bright side, my son has a healthy diet, and walks right past displays of candy at check out lines, since he cannot eat any of it. He loves to cook and bake, and no child was ever prouder than he is when he makes "his" biscuits.

i am allergic to corn, soy and eggs and I can't figure out to avoid all of them so I just suffer with daily symptoms. I avoid the obvious soy and egg, but corn is super tricky.

Is there such a thing as ice cream which has the milk component from grass fed cows?

And, I would like to know why yogurt using fruit juice stopped being provided in America, (or, at least this part of America…the “Paradise” of Naples, Florida.)

While you are at it, explain to me why one cannot get an Apple Pie made with just apples: no sugar, no sweetener. I did it Thanksgiving 1982. Some tell me it is not a “pie” without sugar. Well, what did I make then? I think I used an Apple pie recipe, used red delicious apples, and just did not put in the sugar. I put in the cinnamon, and whatever else was called for. It was good!

I am presuming that fruit, (and fruit juice), are better than sugar. It goes without saying that the fruit juice in yogurt or ice cream would be 100 percent fruit juice. Also, common sense rules of simply enough fruit juice to give it some sweetness apply.

Indulge me further and give thought to French blueberry tarts, (the kind one gets when in France), using 100 percent fruit juice instead of sugar.

(All of these ideas which utilize fruit juice in combination with some milk product should ideally utilize milk from grass fed cows.)

If such things do not exist, they are progressive and good ideas, I think. Could someone hire me to give good ideas?

I've done a couple food experiments myself -- like eating 100% local in the winter -- and it's ALWAYS more expensive. Going extreme makes you more aware, but in the long run, moderation wins.

It's nearly impossible to get good foam out of soymilk; even worse, the soy curdles if the coffee is the least bit bitter. But with good quality coffee, you can definitely get a great soy latte.

I'm a little surprised that you didn't eat more beans, a super convenient corn-free staple.

Wondering if you have watched the documentary King Corn, I been looking at some video interviews with the guys who made the documentary, and they were attempting to go corn free for a month.

People corn is fine. If it wasn't Mexicans, and Indians would have been much worse off. The corn in our food supply isn't the same corn. Equally you reduce your chances of Prostate cancer by 70% by switching to Grass Fed beef.

@Carey Jones - Thanks for this. It's absolutely fascinating!

Grass fed pork sausages? I could believe grass fed beef, but a pig requires the same nutrients we do to survive. They are omnivores which will eat any living protein they can, be it worms and grubs, or a random chicken that wanders too close, as well as grains, roots, and vegetables. The pigs were grain fed with soy or wheat, or had animal supplements, or they would be suffering malnutrition, just as you would if you were grass fed. Vegetarian feed is unnatural for hogs.

Oh, but bourbon!

Toll House cookies here, which happens to be a very customizable recipe (my mother's tweaked the sugar content to accommodate my diabetic father).

Also the recipes on any package of dried pasta. Sometimes while boiling the pasta I read the box and wish I'd read it in the store so I could have gotten ingredients and made whatever-it-is instead of whatever I was planning to make. =)

My mom made that Hershey's cake for the first time a few years back, and we literally swooned when we ate it. So simple, yet so good.

Otherwise, just the Toll House cookies for me. Do Rice Krispie treats count as an actual recipe?