Safety first: General Mills' Gold Medal, other flours recalled

Gold Medal Flour has been recalled, various sized packages of all-purpose and unbleached flour, due to a multi-state breakout of E.coliO121, which is potentially deadly, according to a notice on General Mills' website. 

The recall also affects Wondra Quick-Mixing All Purpose Flour (often used for gravy) and Signature Kitchens' All Purpose Flour. 

This notice includes all relevant dates and packages. Check it out for the safety of your family and have a wonderful Fourth of July weekend! 

Beyond Meat offers new vegan burger

Whether you genuinely like vegan burgers or eat them due to necessity, you may be interested in this new product. 

After loads of research, the Beyond Burger, made by Beyond Meat, is the first burger that will be sold next to actual meat. It's also gluten-free and soy-free, with no GMOs.

Available now only at a Whole Foods Market in Boulder, CO, it will be making its way to other Whole Foods stores in the coming year. 

For more info, check out this link: 

http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=7875&catId=1

I actually enjoy veggie burgers, so I expect that I'll eventually be checking it out. 

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is Saturday, May 14

An annual event, Stamp Out Hunger is Saturday, May 14. 

You don't even have to haul your food donations to a remote location. 

Just collect and bag nonperishable food items and leave the bag at your mailbox by 9 a.m. for your letter carrier to collect; it will be delivered to your local food bank (such as Gleaners Community Food Bank). 

And if it's going to rain, well, tie the food up in white plastic grocery bags. 

For more information, or to make a donation if you're not going to be home, visit to www.gcfb.org/StampOutHunger.

Pepin retires, to the disappointment of many a PBS watcher

A legend has retired, and Public Broadcasting System watchers aren't likely to be happy with the result. 

Jacques Pepin will only appear on PBS in re-runs after this year. 

In addition to being a fantastic chef, Pepin, 80, is noted for his good humor, joie de vivre and his incredible teaching ability, including a cooking show he did with Julia Child.

I've seen this Frenchman late at night and found him able to break down things simply, so that anyone can follow along (even a large knife-phobic soul like me). 

Slate's tribute to him is here; an excellent article, it mentioned a PBS channel that had some of his shows online. 

Now I just have to find the episode that teaches you how to make mayonnaise, since, so far, I have found the process too hard to even think about trying. 

You too can become a sushi master ... if you hurry

You can become a sushi master ... close to (my) home. 

This public workshop is offered at Carls Family YMCA for a donation of $25. 

Your teacher? Food Network's Cutthroat Kitchen Champion and local restaurant owner Tom Lin. 

Hurry up; there are only 20 spaces available for the workshop. All proceeds go to Carls Family YMCA's annual campaign.