Free Republic

BERLIN - Some Germans are calling for a public roasting of the oracle octopus who correctly picked the winner of all six of their national soccer team's World Cup matches -- including a bitter defeat to Spain on Wednesday. Paul, a two-year-old octopus in a German aquarium, turned into a global celebrity for his uncanny ability to predict the winner of all Germany's matches -- even a group stage defeat to Serbia and an ousting by Spain in the semi-finals.... Not an ordinarily superstitious people, Germans became believers in Paul's possible psychic powers. The country was shocked and distraught when...

These are a great side dish served with barbeque, but could practically be a meal unto themselves. Ingredients: 1 lb. hamburger meat 1 medium onion, chopped fine 1 large can Country Style Bush's baked beans 2 cans pork 'n beans 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup barbeque sauce

Grill-meisters without big fat paychecks skip big juicy steaks but don't have to furlough flavor -- not if they're willing to prep less expensive alternatives, dress up burgers or present smaller serving sizes. Choose quality over quantity "The ribeyes are always my favorites," says Mark Jacobson, co-owner of the Jacobson Bros. Meats & Deli stores, which offer thick 16-ounce cuts and thinner 8-ounce cuts. "We're definitely seeing more people tend toward the 8-ounce cut in this economy." Waist, as well as wallet, thickness might have something to do with that choice, as that steak still would be twice the size...

WASHINGTON – No wasting time digging up the past? So much for that. President Barack Obama said Tuesday that his attorney general would determine whether anyone from the Bush administration broke the law by crafting a legal rationale for drastic, demeaning interrogations of terror suspects. On the surface, it was a pragmatic call: Let the Justice Department lawyers check it out. Trouble is, the White House had been sending the opposite signal for days. Obama tried last week to close a dark chapter, not open a messy one, as he made public the memos detailing the brutal interrogation methods. Nothing,...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama has told his crisis-weary nation he sees signs of economic progress but pleaded for time to navigate out of the worst financial maelstrom in decades. Obama used a prime-time news conference to tout his 3.6-trillion-dollar budget as the key to national recovery, during an intense week of economic and foreign policy rollouts ahead of his first big trip abroad next week. The president said his government, in its first two hectic months in office, had framed a comprehensive strategy to attack the crisis on "all fronts." "It's a strategy to create jobs, to...

The US House of Representatives will hold hearings on energy markets trying to determine who is causing oil prices to rise. The anti-market investigation will blame hedge funds and investment banks for manipulating the markets to make oil go to record levels. Oil is too global a commodity for speculators to determine its price. We know, for instance, that oil prices are high not only in spot markets but in futures markets, not only on the Nymex but in the UK (Brent), Dubai, Malaysia, and numerous smaller, less liquid markets not accessible to speculators. Are we to believe that the...

Since the dawn of time, fire has been an indication of civilization. It treated flint, steamed wood, cast bronze, smelted iron, burned out peasants for the obligatory sacking and looting, hosted leaders and their war bands before they engaged in the slaughter of squatters or savages, and cooked meat. Today, the call of the flame is strong. Entire industries exist so that pussified office bunnies may feel its comfort, usually imprisoned behind glass and possibly with some frou-frou scented sparkly wax. I'm here to tell you what should be obvious: That's not manly. A microwave is acceptable for warming a...

"Grilling is a low-fat method of cooking," says Elizabeth Schaub, registered and licensed dietitian on the medical staff at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. "But we have to be aware that it can increase our risk of cancer if we eat grilled meats too often." It's true those juicy burgers, especially the charred ones, can contain cancer-causing carcinogens. "When you grill meat some of the fat does drip down on to the charcoal and when fat meets that really high temperature it develops a carcinogen and the smoke carries the carcinogen back up to the meat which can be...

For me, I'll be doing up some clams (SHOCKER!) and the usual smoked turkey. Hey, Ben Franklin wanted it to be our national bird, ya know!

ALBANY, Ga. - For a quarter century, chefs at pricey steakhouses have been searing meat on burners that cook with infrared energy. Now the high-temperature technology may be coming to a backyard barbecue near you. With the expiration of a key patent, major gas grill manufacturers, including market leader Char-Broil, have scrambled to bring infrared cooking to the masses with models in the $500 to $1,000 range. Previously, such grills cost as much as $5,000. "Infrared is really hot," said Leslie Wheeler, a spokeswoman for the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, an industry group in Arlington, Va. "They're great for...

First: It pretty much just for hubby and I, thus these small grills. Second: Hubby HATES the taste of food grill via gas, thus the charcoal grill. Third: Neither of us know very much at all about grilling -- an understatement if there ever was one. (Though your's truly is a pretty darn good cook, if I do say so myself) Finally: a) We live in an empty-nester apt. and so be we'll be grilling from a patio.... into the clear sky. b) Yes, it has to be portable, and have a work surface. (Want to drag back and forth...

Did you ever notice that the gas grill is the man's domain? Even in homes where the man of the house has never prepared a single meal in the kitchen -- unless you count pulling a package of Pop Tarts out of the box -- as soon as it's decided that dinner will be cooked on the gas grill, the man of the house eagerly dons his "Born to Barbecue" apron and announces to no one in particular, "OK, let's do some grillin'!!" Of course, there are some men who enjoy all forms of cooking and know their way around...

Dear Antonio: Thank you for your recent email concerning a picture of a deer posted on my website ( www.DrAdams.org ). Your email asked how I could kill and eat such a beautiful creature with a clean conscience. Actually, that is a two-part question. The “how can I kill it” part would take too long to answer. I recommend the Outdoor Life Network (OLN) for tips on how to harvest a healthy buck. But the “how can I eat it” part is a little simpler. First, you need to decide whether venison is right for you. I would suggest starting...

What are FReepers fixing to eat during these hot August days? I try to have something substantial without heating up the kitchen. We have only a charcoal grill and concluded a few weeks back that it's too much work to use very often -- no doubt those w/ gas grills are using them regularly as they aren't as much trouble.