You’ve probably noticed how the media gets stuck on a word, or a phrase, and in no time at all, it is hovering on the lip of every pontificating pundit on the Sunday morning chitter chatter shows.

I first noticed this phenomenon when David Stockton, former Secretary of the Treasury, denounced Ronald Reagan’s economic policy by declaring. “If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it probably is a duck.”

Clearly, without coming right out and saying so, he was implying the proposed budget was a dead duck. Stockton was fired soon after delivering his shockingly disloyal opinion.

Dead ducks are not what any one wants — even as economic indicators. Sitting ducks are something else again. (A variation on this duck business lately has become, “If it looks like a duck and talks like a duck — shoot it.”)

Some time ago a terrible controversy about apples erupted. There was furious suspicion of behind-the-scenes hanky panky. Yet another scandal had surfaced.

Washington State Fuji Apple

It had been revealed on the Sunday evening program, 60 Minutes that apple growers in Washington State were using Alar to promote the growth of their fruit.

A representative of the US Food & Drug Administration was invited to cower before star correspondent and unofficial finger wagger Mike Wallace, who more or less accused the government of planning to poison all the innocent little children throughout the land.

The first words that tumbled from the lips of the hapless scientist were: This is a par-a-dox…” He got out not one word further. He had aroused the ire of the nation that thought, (incorrectly as it turned out), he was belittling the problem by describing the impending disaster as simply “a pair of ducks.”

In so doing he cooked his goose. Apple pie, the salt of the earth, was clearly endangered. The nation howled.

As voters’ confidence in Congress continues to unravel, it is reassuring to learn there are still a few (food) visionaries in the world…

Create Jobs for USA

Starbucks is planning to do something inspirational to restore our faith in our institutions.

Here’s the idea: Starbucks Coffee Co. next month (November 1) is planning to ask customers to pay $5 or more toward a national fund for community business lending in a move aimed at creating jobs.

The Seattle-based coffee chain is partnering with the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), to launch the “Create Jobs for USA program.

And, starting Nov. 1, Create Jobs for USA will begin accepting donations online or at Starbucks’ nearly 6,800 locations throughout the U.S.

Donors who give $5 or more will receive a red-white-and-blue wristband with the word “indivisible” inscribed.

Starbucks said all of the proceeds will go to the OFN to help fund loans to businesses. The coffee company also will contribute $5 million in seed money from its Starbucks Foundation.

“Small businesses are the backbone of America, employing more than half of all private sector workers — but this critical jobs engine has stalled,” said Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks. “We’ve got to thaw the channels of credit so that community businesses can start hiring again.”

I’m sending in my contribution right now. How about you?

Read more:

• http://nrn.com/article/starbucks-partners-job-creation-program?ad=policy&utm_source=MagnetMail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=ichalmers@earthlink.net&utm_content=NRN-News-NRNam-10-04-11&utm_campaign=A%20look%20at%20Chili%27s%20new%20ads#ixzz1ZoaDR6rs

Courtesy of www.amerheritage.com

Imagine being able to earn a living by testing recipes in your own kitchen on your own time. You can embark on a recipe testing career if you have a passion for food, an obsession for accuracy and a curiosity about the way things work.

A recipe is a scientific formula. There are science-based reasons why a cake may sink in the middle, why a popover fails to pop or why the meat is tough. It is important to know why some recipes work and others fail. Maybe the quantities of the ingredients are incorrect, the directions are not followed properly or the timing is wrong.

Many recipe testers have a degree in food science or nutrition or journalism. They may have attended a professional culinary school yet such formal qualifications are not absolutely essential. It is very important, though, to be reliable and trustworthy and to have the ability to write clearly for a specific target audience as expertly explained in The Recipe Writer’s Handbook by Jane L. Baker and Barbara Gibbs Ostmann. For example, the material produced for an inexperienced cook will be explained differently from a recipe produced for a food professional.

How do you find recipe-testing work? Many food magazines, such as Cook’s Illustrated, Cooking Light, Better Homes and Gardens, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Gourmet, Good Housekeeping and Sunset Magazine employ recipe testers. But cookbook publishers occasionally hire testers to double check their authors’ work.

Many large food processors such as Land 0’ Lakes, Kraft and Nestlé are potential full-time or part-time employers. They offer a fixed salary. You can also explore companies such as Starbucks and Panera Bread which develop new recipes for their stores.

Every commodity board–the apple growers, onion growers or strawberry growers or the pork, beef and chicken producers for instance–employs recipe developers and testers.

Television stations and newspapers that post guest chef recipes must make sure the recipes are accurately written.

Before accepting an assignment as a recipe tester you must think carefully about the fee you are offered. Customarily recipe testers are offered a flat fee. So, the cost of the ingredients comes out of your pocket. Remember too you will have to pay taxes on the amount of money you receive. so make a realistic estimate of your out-of-pocket costs, and the time involved before accepting a flat fee for a project.

Ask yourself if you can shop for the ingredients, carry them home, test each recipe perhaps as many as three, four or more times until you are absolutely, positively sure it works well every time — and think about all the dishes you will have to wash. Factor in the amount of time it will take to write the recipe, submit it to the client, and often be asked to make changes in what you had thought would be the final version.

It also is helpful to the client if you are familiar with all the new products in the supermarket. Many high-quality convenience foods simplify the recipe for the home cook and speed the process of getting dinner on the table. Look how successful Rachael Ray has been with the use of packaged foods.

As long as there are recipes published in books and magazines, online or the back of a box, there will be a need for ‘Recipe Tester’ jobs. You may find your first by simply checking online and searching for “Recipe Tester” jobs on your favorite recipe blogs or by exploring your community to see who could benefit from having their recipes tested prior to publication. This is also a time to use your network channels to spread the word that this is what you want to do. You never know what might appear, so it’s good to have your resume and samples of your work ready for respond immediately.

I arrived in the United States from London as an Alien immigrant 2nd Class Citizen with a temporary visa.  I came to teach neuroanatomy and neurophysiology at the Neurological Institute at Columbia Presbyterian in New York City. It was the year John F. Kennedy was the presidential nominee of the Democratic party and I wanted so much to vote for him.

It was not until a few years later that I became a real U.S. citizen and was able to cast my vote for the first time.  I’ve voted in every election ever since, proud to perform my civic responsibility; each time believing everyone’s vote counts, that my vote counts.

I’ve never voted because of the inducement of a cup of coffee to do so, but when I saw this from Starbucks, I thought it the best reasoned advertisement I’ve ever seen.

Tomorrow (November 4th), I’m voting for my favorite candidate. And for Starbucks! Congratulations to both winners!