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Pittsburgh City Council Local animal activists applauded Pittsburgh City Council for banning foie gras, a controversial delicacy produced by force-feeding ducks and geese until their livers become fatty and diseased. In what one Humane Action Pittsburgh press release describes as a "groundbreaking move toward animal welfare and ethical consumption," the City Council passed, by a vote of 7-2, a bill to "ban the production and sale of foie gras within city limits." Restrictions on foie gras have already been placed in numerous countries around the world, including Australia, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, and Turkey, as well as in various...

Nov. 1 (UPI) -- An Ontario, Canada, man harvested an 8-foot, 4.79-inch zucchini from his garden that might be the longest on record. Henry D'Angela said he has applied to Guinness World Records to have his zucchini certified as the longest in the world. VIDEO AT LINK......... The current record zucchini of 8 feet, 3.3 inches was grown by John Giovanni Scozzafavain from Niagara Falls, Ontario, in 2014. "I didn't start out to grow the longest," D'Angela told ThoroldToday. "It just happened to be in a new area I had never grown before. The soil has done really well for...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

My husband got to reminiscing recently about a cake his mother used to make – a molasses flavored confection called ‘Shoo Fly Cake’, apparently a classic Pennsylvania recipe. (He remembers catching his grandmother sneaking into the kitchen and dragging a finger through the rich, gooey remains on the bottom of the pan after everyone had been served. And he insists that this MUST be made in a metal pan, never glass, so that those 'goodies' at the bottom are done to perfection ;-) I had heard of Shoo Fly Pie, but not cake; so I went looking. Here, from the...

Doctors are warning women to not take the 'irresponsible' advice of putting parsley in their vagina to kick-start their period. The bizarre suggestion was made by women's magazine Marie Claire alongside other recommendations using food, drink and exercise. Women may want to make their period come sooner as a means of controlling their cycle ahead of a holiday or special event. According to the article, parsley is an emmenagogue - a substance that increases menstrual flow - which can 'soften the cervix and level out hormonal imbalances'. ... Marie Clare has now apologised for the article and taken it down...

Police were alerted on Thursday when a man in a south German town called them and told them he had found a Second World War bomb in his garden. But when the police arrived at the 81-year-old man’s house in Betten, Baden-Württemberg, they did not find a bomb - explosive ordinance disposal services did not have to be called after all. After close inspection, officers deemed that what the man had found was not a bomb, but rather, a large courgette - much to the senior citizen’s relief. Approximately 40 centimetres in length with a weight of about five kilograms,...

I recently picked up a nasty ‘bug’ that threw me into a six-day fever. No idea what it was, but I’ve never been laid-out so badly, or so little interested in food - all I could taste was salt, and salt was revolting. I finally hit on vanilla ice cream as tolerable, and ate nothing else for days. There are still some ‘notes’ that I can’t taste, and I’m craving the weirdest things: “MacDonald’s Fish Sandwich???” - my husband must feel that he’s got a pregnant lady calling him at work and demanding this-or-that be picked up on the way...

About the Holiday Inspired by the "Submit an Entry" form in a copy of Chase's Calendar of Events, Roy and his wife, Ruth, have launched several creative holidays. A few suggestions from Tom Roy's "Top 20 List for successful sneaking of Zucchini or otherwise ridding yourself of unwanted surplus summer squash:" (Note: Allrecipes does not endorse any of these activities.) •Look for out-of-the-way places which have signs posted, "Clean Fill Wanted." •Under light of full moon, either stark naked or wearing full army camouflage, carrying a machete or any garden implement, run amuck in your zucchini patch, cutting and slashing....

Police say a Montana woman used an unlikely weapon to fend off a charging bear — a zucchini. Missoula County Sheriff's Lt. Rich Maricelli says a 200-pound black bear attacked the woman's 12-year-old collie just after midnight Wednesday on the back porch of her home about 15 miles west of Missoula. When the woman, whom police did not name, screamed to draw the bear's attention, it charged her and swiped at her leg. Maricelli says the woman jumped back into the doorway and reached for the nearest object on her kitchen counter — a 12-inch zucchini from her garden.

FRENCHTOWN, Mont. – Police say a Montana woman fended off a bear attack with an unlikely weapon — a zucchini. Missoula County Sheriff's Lt. Rich Maricelli says a 200-pound black bear attacked one of the woman's dogs just after midnight Wednesday on the back porch of her home about 15 miles west of Missoula. When the woman, whom police did not name, tried to separate the animals, the bear bit her in the leg. Maricelli says the woman reached for the nearest object at hand on the porch's railing — a large zucchini that she had harvested from her garden....

HELENA, Mont. – A Montana woman fended off a bear trying to muscle its way into her home Thursday by pelting the animal with a large piece of zucchini from her garden. The woman suffered minor scratches and one of her dogs was wounded after tussling with the 200-pound bear.

You want to show your patriotism this weekend? Take a tip from Jessica Simpson and Lady Gaga: Do it with a bikini! Here are 20 styles for sale online right now. Skirts, ruffles, string - you name it. Check 'em out and see if any of these patriotic styles are for you....

I even bake a bunch of these and freeze them individually in plastic wrap or foil and slip them in the kids' lunch bags right out of the freezer. Sneaks those veggies into an easy and yummy treat.

As the last weeks of August rolled around, my sister-in-law's vegetable garden used to be overrun with zucchinis (that was before she gave up growing vegetables). For mysterious reasons, Wendy's garden sprouted more zucchinis than a family of four could possibly consume, particularly since one of her sons didn't eat anything green. It didn't help that some of these specimens were the size of my forearm. In my grandmother's day, bumper crops like these would be blanched and stored in Mason jars for the winter. But by the dawn of this century, home preserving was history. This left Wendy wondering,...

Disfigured fruits and vegetables could be allowed in stores after most European Union members voted to loosen restrictions on produce, officials say. Misshapen bananas and cucumbers could be in stores by next year if reforms on produce rules are carried out, The Telegraph reported Thursday. The Telegraph said produce standards are so strict, many edible foods are discarded by farmers. European agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said she thinks some regulations should also be thrown out for onions, garlic, cauliflower and spinach. In this era of high prices and growing demand, it makes no sense to throw (misshapen fruit and...