Poultry was Top Cause of Outbreak in '06

In general, I'm not a fan of 2006. In fact, it's probably one of my least favorite years thus far. I shouldn't complain that much, though. It could've been a lot worse, had I also gotten food poisoning.

The CDC just put out a report tracking the top causes of food borne illnesses in 2006. Of the 17 foods tracked, poultry was number one. Surprise, surprise.

But before I go all smug quasi-vegetarian on you, it's worth noting that salmonella found in peanut butter, spinach, and tomatoes ranked second on the list.

I can't tell if this is good or bad, but apparently two-thirds of all food-related illnesses that can be traced back to a single ingredient are actually caused by viruses that usually come from restaurant workers who don't wash their hands.

Lovely.

While none of this is comforting or anything, it's good to see that some thorough research is being put into food attribution. Hopefully it will help lead to better food safety.

Beer Butt Chicken

Wednesday's randomness: Check. 

While reading one of my favorite blogs this afternoon, I clicked on a link to an article the author recently posted on DadCentric.com about making Beer Butt Chicken at the home of his wife's Midwife. The pictures he posted say it all. Here are a couple gems. 

If Chris ate meat and if either one of us drank beer (or owned a grill besides our George Forman, for that matter), I'd try this. Maybe. I don't know, though I can be kind of squeamish about handling raw meat. Either way, I don't think I'd slaughter my own chicken. 

I'm trying to think of any vegetarian equivalent to this, but I can't think of any, barring ToFurkey...