McDonald’s Plans First Vegetarian Restaurants

McDonald’s Plans First Vegetarian Restaurants in India

By Malavika Sharma on September 05, 2012

McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) will swap its trademark burgers for potato sandwiches when it opens two vegetarian restaurants in India next year, the first such outlets globally for the world’s biggest restaurant chain.
The fast-food chain will open two new outlets in northern Indian cities that are pilgrimage sites for Hindus and Sikhs, according to Rajesh Kumar Maini, a spokesman for the company’s north and east Indian operations. McDonald’s already keeps beef and pork products off the menu in India where a majority of the

Drought intensifies in Kansas, Nebraska

 Drought intensifies in Kansas, Nebraska

JIM SUHR, AP Business Writer, By JIM SUHR,
Thursday, August 16, 2012
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A new report suggests that while recent rains stabilized the devastating drought gripping Iowa and other key farming states, the dry conditions intensified in Kansas and Nebraska.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map released Thursday shows the overall expanse of land across the contiguous U.S. states weathering some form of drought dropped less than 1 percent to 61.8 percent as of Tuesday.

In Iowa, the nation's leader in corn production, the amount of land mired in extreme or exceptional drought — the two worst classifications — dropped 7 percentage points to 62.05 percent over the past week.

Julia Child Gets Auto-Tuned to Celebrate Her 100th Birthday

http://sirifarm.com/index.html

Julia Child Gets Auto-Tuned to Celebrate Her 100th Birthday

08/15/2012 
 By people.com
We knew she could cook – but who knew she could sing?

In honor of the late Julia Child's birthday – she would have turned 100 on Aug. 15 – the folks at PBS have remixed and auto-tuned a series of clips of the celebrated cook roasting, basting and frosting.

The result? A delightful (and very musical) confection that may have you tapping your foot along as Child chops.

In the clip (watch it below), she "sings" about hot chocolate truffles, the key to a healthy and balanced diet and even shares a recipe or two.

Recently, another beloved PBS fixture – Mr. Rogers – got the auto-tune treatment in a funny video.

Child, who is recognized and celebrated for bringing French cooking to America in her debut cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and on

Corn prices surge to record high

http://sirifarm.com/index.html

August 10, 2012 1:49 pm

Corn prices surge to record high

By Jack Farchy in London and Gregory Meyer in New York
Corn futures surged to a new record high after the US government said that the drought ravaging the US farmbelt had destroyed a sixth of the country’s corn crop in just one month.
The US Department of Agriculture slashed its estimate for the US corn crop by 16.9 per cent from its previous estimate in July, to just 10.779bn bushels. The report sent benchmark corn futures up more than 3 per cent to an record peak of $8.4375 a bushel.

How to Make Perfect McDonald’s-style French Fries at Home
By Sarah B. Weir, Yahoo! blogger | Shine Food


Even food snobs who shun McDonald's have to admit that they serve the mother of all French fries. Ray Kroc, one of the chain's founders wrote in his autobiography that the fry was "almost sacrosanct for me. Its preparation a ritual to be followed religiously." The end result is a crispy golden-brown baton showered with just the right amount of salt. The exterior's initial crunch yields to a tender and steaming white center. More, please?
Related: The Best and Worst Burgers
"They are consistent," says David Myers, chef/owner of Comme Ca in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. "I can't imagine how many millions of dollars in research and development they have spent in order to achieve a perfect fry around the world." Myers is no stranger to fried potatoes. His restaurants, which serve classic French brasserie fare, cook hundreds of orders of "pommes frites" (French-fried potatoes) a week.
McDonald's French fries are shipped to outlets frozen. "We do all of ours fresh everyday," says Myers who uses the same recipe at his restaurants and at home. Myers also uses the best Idaho russet potatoes, French sea salt, and super fresh cooking oil.
He says the key to making a perfect, consistent, McDonald's-style fry is in the advance preparation. The cut potatoes need to be soaked for at least two hours before cooking which pulls out excess starch and