Food Myths
courtesy of Alton Brown's Good Eats show on "Food Mythsmashers", which I thought was interesting.
(in no particular order, actually in the order which I remember it and think it's impt)

Myth #1: Mushrooms soak up water, so don't wash them.
Answer: wrong. Alton ran some very scientific experiments (as a future PhD student, I was quite impressed with his controls :) and found that even soaking mushrooms in water for 30 minutes showed no difference from washing them under running water for mere seconds. And even then, 4 oz. of mushrooms only absorbed about a tsp of water. And since mushrooms are grown in compost (albeit sanitized, but still, pretty gross), it's probably a good idea to wash your mushrooms and not brush them.

Myth #2: Non-stick pans can kill small birds.
Answer: TRUE. Heated to 500 degrees, a non stick pan gives off fumes that sensitive birds like parrots and canaries can breathe in and die from. Since this experiment has never been done on humans (not intentionally, altho it has been reported that non stick pans can give humans flu-like symptoms), Alton recommends using non stick for medium heat cooking (not for searing or even sauteeing) and never use a nonstick pan, dry, with no food in it.

It's so tough to avoid nonstick. My roomie only owns Le Creuset non-nonstick pans, and it's so hard to use and such a pain to clean. Definitely in terms of convenience, nonstick pans are great - but knowledge is always impt.

feeling a bit sick today. sniff. it's been a short week, but it's felt sooo long. not sure why.

Good luck to Sarah on her dance performance tomorrow!