Ilaine

Edited. I agree with what Choirgirl said.

OK, sorry, I may be conflating "people" pre-something or other, maybe 10,000 years ago, with hunter-gatherers. Not sure how, perhaps you can make this transparent. As I understand it, hunter-gatherers exist even as we speak, and are precious resources for research. No? My understanding, which may be faulty, is that the consensus is that the Paleolithic ended about 10,000 years ago, and then, we had the mesolithic, and then, the neolithic. If that's wrong, sorry, my bad. Whichever dates are the correct dates, please substitute the correct dates, if you are able to do so. As for "empirically superior" or "healthier" -- if that does nor work for you, then so be it.

Hi Linda, we can agree to disagree, but let me say this: I am NOT invested in believing that "the Paleo diet" is "scientifically valid". What Paleo humans ate is not a belief system for me, it's interesting to learn about, and it's readily apparent that little is known. We do know that what was eaten varied from place to place, from season to season, and along the process of evolution, and invention, so, no, there is no "Paleo diet" -- it's short hand for some concepts. Because we know so little and because what we do know has so many variables, what could be meant by "scientific validity"? To me, eating food that is "solar powered," plants and animals, not made by machines in a factory, is empirically superior. Eating what people ate 10,000 years ago, eating the way hunter-gatherers ate until they adapted modern culture, was probably healthier for them. I doubt that you disagree.

I am not sure why you think I "agree with what is said in the video." She set up a straw man, and knocked it down. The facts she stated in knocking down her straw man were correct, but the straw man she was demolishing was one of her own creation, perhaps based on reading, as you put it, pop-culture. No serious scholar or layperson interested in the issues stops with pop-culture. So, I will be kind and say it was a pop-culture debunking of a pop-culture stereotype of what we think about when we think about Paleo diets. Please take a look at the Ancestral Health Foundation list of presenters at their next symposium. A nice mix of experts and laypersons. http://www.ancestryfoundation.org/program.html Their Facebook page has nice links to good research from all over the world. Today, Earliest Archaeological Evidence of Persistent Hominin Carnivory http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0062174

Yes, I did. And found it excruciating, sorry. No actual "debunking" of what I consider to be "the Paleo diet". Very nice woman, very sincere, very enthusiastic. No idea which "Paleo diet" she is debunking. Eat fresh, whole foods, check. Eat marrow and organ meats, check. Vegetables are good for you, check. How does that debunk "the Paleo diet"? Don't get it, sorry.

Point four. Did I mention confirmation bias? Edited to say, I'm an academic, so I know sometimes I can come across as being harsh while arguing my point. That's really not my intention. I study ancient diet, and I find it frustrating that the public would rather believe a pop-culture diet book than the actual scientific data. Maybe I can start a support group with the climate scientists. This is a subject that can be approached on many levels. Pop-culture is certainly what it is, popular culture, Dr. Oz or a supermarket magazine you can pick up at the check-out stand in your grocery store. There are specialized scientists who analyze fossiled feces and pollen and bones. Some of them blog. Many layers of comprehension between the two. One of these days I will wander back across the blog of an archeologist (Israeli, maybe?) who studies coprolites (fossilized feces) to determine the diet of early man -- but this topic is too political to find on a quick Google search -- the vegan vs. carnivore wars muddy the waters too much. At any rate, he said, early man ate mostly animals. My thought is that early man ate anything he could get his hands on that would not kill him. But of course any grains would have been wild. But I think we are digressing, maybe? The point of "Debunking the Paleo diet" is not "what did early man eat?", but, "we don't have to eat what early man ate because we have evolved beyond that"? Example being, humans recently evolved a gene to remain lactose tolerant in adulthood, which many Westerners carry. Which is, of course, a digression on its own. The point isn't what our ancestors ate, really, the point is what diet works best for us. Which may well (probably does) (almost surely does) vary from person to person.

With respect to survival of the genes, someone has to live long enough to take care of the baby until it can fend for itself. Doesn't need to be the parents, true, but most of the time, a close family member, so survival of the genes requires some longevity in the rearers. With respect to caries, what I meant was the acid etching of the teech caused by bacteria which live on carbohydrates. Blunt trauma and wearing away tooth enamel by chewing rough matter is not the same thing. Mesolithic hunter-gatherers who did not eat grain did not get plaque, periodontal disease, or cavities. http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/02/18/3691558.htm

I use Paleo as shorthand for saying "I want to eat food that is solar powered." Not made in factories, not from CAFO feedlots. I don't eat wheat, it makes me sick, and very low carb is part of the way I keep my diabetes under control, but when you study the history of food it is amazing how people thrive all over the world on different diets. I was interested to learn, recently, that Owsley "the Bear" Stanley, of Grateful Dead and LSD fame, ate a zero carb diet beginning when he was 23. He would not have been considered Paleo because he ate cheese and drank cream, as well as meat, but he did not drink milk, too many carbs. No alcohol, either, although he did have other recreational drugs. Of course there is no such thing as zero carb, but he never ate any plant food except herbs and spices and some oils (macadamia, coconut, palm) for 43 years. Lived to 76, when he died in a car accident. His theory, that early man had no problems with insulin because they never had enough dietary carbs to stimulate excess insulin production, makes sense to me, although, I admit, I am not a biologist, and don't really understand the fine points of insulin production. At any rate, I doubt early man had diabetes, or caries.

Thistle says she is bringing me an Isphahan rose bush, and I have offered her some excess kefir grains in recompense, but, in the event that she does not want kefir grains, will offer them to someone else. Thistle gets first dibs, but if she does not want them, who wants second dibs? These grains make amazing kefir. Two days on the kitchen counter with organic grass fed whole milk makes the most amazing kefir. Could not be easier. For the picnic, DH wants to make caprese. I told him it would be scarfed up. He said, that's the point.

Cool. I am planning on bringin excess kefir grains to the picnic. If you want them, you can have first call.

Dang. I wanted the Ispahan. Oh, well, more room for milkweed. You can never have too much milkweed, in case the monarchs drop by.

I like the Omega juicer, and what I make is green juice. Celery, kale, collards, cabbage, parsley and other herbs. Celery works well as a cleaner and pusher for softer vegetables like kale, put them in alternately and the celery fibers will push out the softer fibers. Green juice is good for blood pressure. Chard has too much oxalic acid for me, I like it but just a few leaves, otherwise, yow! Teeth on edge. I really, really like beet juice, which is supposed to be incredibly heart-healthy. but I am very carb sensitive, so tend to focus on beet greens and not so much on beets. I use the horizontal one, and really like that I can dash home on my lunch break and make fresh juice. 15 minutes to home, 15 minutes to wash veggies and make juice, 15 minutes to clean the machine and drink the juice, 15 minutes back to the office. Turmeric root is very healthy, full of anti-oxidants and also juices well, and ginger is lovely, and so is garlic. No peeling required. Haven't tried coconut, my problem is with lack of physical strength in my hands and arms to crack and peel the coconut. It does sound enticing. I wonder if I could get one of my big, strong sons to break down coconuts for me? I use half a can of coconut milk every day in my smoothie, unfortunately full of preservatives. Fresh would be wonderful.

I will be there +1 but no idea what to bring, yet. Will be giving younger son the Suburu and taking back the much-battered and much-abused and now-thoroughly-disreputable Sienna, looks like it's been in a mosh pit, perhaps a brief window of opportunity to once again bring the grill for more grilled veggies before selling it (for a pittance) and getting a newer-or-maybe-even-new Toyota something-or-other. Don't have to decide today, it's almost a month away.

I love oysters, and have eaten oysters at many a fine DC area restaurant, but nothing compares to the oysters at Clyde's and Old Ebbitt. Husband and I have two dozen each, at Happy Hour, about once a month. We usually wind up getting dinner afterwards, the pickings are slim for me because I eat gluten free, but they do take gluten free seriously, which is nice. The waiter will warn me that the equipment is also used for dishes containing gluten, but I am not going to go into anaphylactic shock from a little cross-contamination, so that's OK. I would not go there just for the rest of the menu.

WTF? How do you mess that one up? OK, staying in Fairfax, and hoping that Ms. Porcupine drives in MoCo or other points outward.

Not a problem, darkstar! I am just happy that OPM shut down the feds today. I bet the receptionist at work fifty cents that we would not have work today, so she will have to pay up. She was convinced we would just have rain. Meanwhile, out in Front Royal, over a foot. I have a client who works for the feds who commutes from Front Royal to DC every day, and one who commutes from Winchester. Sure glad they were able to stay home today. Sorry if I sound sanctimonious. I don't mean to. My husband is from Chicago and he's always ragging on snow pussies ("Oh no! It's a flake!"), but he stays home when there's a lot of snow.

Where I come from, South Louisiana, there are two kinds of people when it comes to hurricanes, the ones who see the forecast, and get the hell out of Dodge, and the ones who say, "oh, those people are weenies." Those are the ones who drown.* I'd rather be safe than sorry. There was a lot of precipitation out my way, between Fairfax City and Burke, but the ground is warm, and the air was warm, and the March sun was strong, and it compacted down to four inches. You guys living inside the Beltway know you live in a heat island. I am finishing up a big batch of chicken and pork broth, husband is shoveling the sidewalks and freeing the cars before it freezes, and if he's still up for it, he's planning on making a batch of chili. *Some people don't leave because they don't have a way to do it. Not blaming the victims, just the ones who brag about not being a weenie. It will freeze tonight. There will be black ice. Be a weenie. Stay safe.

C'mon guys, time to revive this thread for Snowquester? This time we have an embarrassment of riches, Paleo meals for three from DC Power Supply, about whom I shall post soon. May I just say, nom nom Paleo? We have milk and toilet paper, no bread, we are gluten free. And lots of booze. Enquiring minds want to know, how about you? More important, what are you doing Wednesday? Since you will be home, and all. I AM an optimist.

I think I got it, and hope you are wrong about 2014, and the rest of 2013. You are incredibly versatile and resourceful, and very much admired. Tomorrow is another day! Memo to self, eat at Ray's more often.

I loved everything that I ate, and licked my lips longingly for the things I could not eat (wheat), which looked and smelled so good! Favorites: bo ssam, cod soup, miso stew, croaker, kalbi, banchan. Hmm, that's what I ate! Full to the brim with yummy chow for $20! Husband scarfed down the leftovers. Nice restaurant, sweet ladies working the tables, excellent company. Much appreciation for Escoffier and Grover as ambassadors to this event. Thank you. I will go back often.

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/02/15/popular-d-c-burger-joint-forced-to-shut-down/ I searched the Arlington General District Court website and it appears that Colonial Village Shopping Center got a default judgment against both 1713 WILSON BLVD LLC and 1725 WILSON BLVD LLC on February 8, 2013, with damages of $39,271.88 and $31,028.94, respectively, attorney's fees to be submitted later, and a writ of immediate possession for both. They are not likely to have a better tenant. It's not uncommon in a landlord-tenant dispute for the tenant to stop paying rent during the dispute, and the smart advice is to put it into escrow in case you lose and have to pay up. It's highly possible that they did not contest the case in General District Court as a tactic, planning on appealing to Circuit Court, where they can get a trial de novo with a jury, albeit having to post bond in the full amount of the judgment in the General District Court. Ten days to appeal from General District Court to Circuit Court. I assume that, because the tenants were LLCs which probably have no assets, it would be hard to collect unless Michael Landrum was a personal guarantor, which, just surmising, he probably was. I hesitated to post this because I really admire Landrum as a person, and also, his restaurants are some of my favorites, but news is news, and I am a lawyer, so it's even newsier to me. So this is in part public record, and the rest, just speculation on my part, albeit educated speculation. Memo to everybody: eat at Ray's!

The article says that the new downtown restaurant will be in the Hilton Garden Inn, which is right in the middle of downtown Richmond, just a block or two from the Federal Courthouse on Broad Street, and a block or two from the Convention Center. Should do well. --- Edit: apparently the WashPost got the story wrong, but I can't find where it's going to be. My source, a Richmond lawyer, said his wife is Chinese and her parents have a restaurant so she knows about Chinese restaurants and was explaining why going into a kitchen already set up for a Chinese restaurant is helpful. So, that's all I know. I will keep looking, as I go to Richmond on business every month.

I do not think the pork belly was Chairman Mao/Hunan style. That is soft, unctuous, melting, not crispy. Peter Chang does a braised pork belly that is soft, but I do not believe that is Chairman Mao style, either. The only place I have ever had Chairman Mao style pork belly is at home, using Fuchsia Dunlop's recipe.

We had a wonderful time eating at Peter Chang's for Chinese New Year. 4 p.m. was a good time for the party, they were not crowded at all, and the wait staff was very attentive. Sixteen people was a good number, we were able to put two big tables together and everybody could sit together. The food was, of course, spectacular. My favorites were the shrimp, the fish balls, and the fish in bamboo basket. Kudos to koolpaw for excellent organization and a good time. I talked about the dinner last week with someone I know who lives in Richmond, who told me that Peter Chang is opening up another restaurant in downtown Richmond. It's going in to a site that already had a Chinese restaurant, which means it won't take long to open once he gets the permits, as the kitchen won't have to be rebuilt for the gas lines, hoods, etc. My thought after visiting the restaurant in Short Pump is that surely they are adding a spot, rather than moving, as the existing restaurant had lines out the door when we left.

Question since you have a Korean speaker handy, would those noodles be made of rice or wheat? I am gluten intolerant. I work very close to the restaurant and would like to go if there's room and there's stuff I can eat safely. Date doesn't matter, I am free both days.