Tuesday Megalinks: U2esday (U-Tuesday?) Edition

U2’s new album, No Line on the Horizon, comes out today. To celebrate, we’re peppering our (mammoth) list of links with some of our favorite songs by Bono and the boys. Really, it’s like a national holiday. I can’t wait until Edgesgiving or LarryMullenJrmas.

Backwoods Home: Canning 101
If you go by personal finance blogs, libertarian-leaning Backwoods Home is the hottest magazine on the market right now. And this comprehensive, but eminently readable article on canning is a good example of why. (Thanks to Frugal Dad for the link.)

Casual Kitchen: How to Enjoy Wine on a Budget
Dan makes several greats point about the difference between frugal and expensive wines, but the best is undoubtedly: “it's highly likely that you can't tell.” True dat.

Consumerist: Sharing Restaurant Dishes is Becoming Slightly More Acceptable
It seems more and more folks are hitting eateries and splitting entrees. Part of it is explained by the economy. The other part, by commenter microcars: “My wife and I have always wanted to ‘split’ meals not because of thrift but because we are normally served double the amount we would ever eat!” In other words, it’s easy portion control.



Culinate: Kosher and Other Salts
Don’t know your kosher salt from your sea salt from your finishing salt? Me neither. But this helps.

The Digerati Life: Save On Groceries With Printable Online Grocery Coupons
Nice coupon site comp to go along with recent rundowns from Chow and Wise Bread. If you can’t find a certain coupon after perusing these three posts, it’s likely it doesn’t exist.

Epi-log: The Argument Against Organic Food
Organic foods may not be as safe, healthy, environmentally sound, abundant, or anti-corporate as you think. Bummer.

Jezebel: The Complicated Business Of Getting Women To Buy Crap
If this was a movie trailer, it would go like this:
“In a world…
Where it’s tough marketing junk food to weight-conscious ladies…
Ad companies…
Rely on rough stereotypes…
And our perceived neurosis…
To sell their wares…
Is it good?
Is it bad?
Only time – AND NICHOLAS CAGE - will tell…”

The Kitchn: Pantry Organization - Storing Many Half-Empty Bags in One Large Container
This … seems … so … intuitive … Yet … it never … occurred … to me … Am I … an idiot? … Probably … blerg.

The Kitchn: Put Down That Winter Tomato – It Was Picked By a Slave
“Slave” is a pretty potent word to throw around (especially since I just finished Beloved on Sunday), but it seems to fit here. The Kitchn follows up with good questions about the high cost of cheap produce.



Los Angeles Times: Grocers, name-brand food producers at odds over prices
A complex issue best summed by an article excerpt: “The nation's big grocery chains contend that food manufacturers have raised prices too fast and too far, considering large drops in prices for fuel, corn, wheat and other important commodities in recent months.” (Thanks to Serious Eats for the link.)

Los Angeles Times: Trim chefs share their fitness secrets
Wondering how Giada does it? These California chefs have some insight, and it mostly involves a lot of exercise. And maybe a little denial. (Thanks to Get Fit Slowly for the link.)

Mother Earth News: Cut Your Food Bills in Half
There’re a gazillion articles like this scattered across the ‘net, but rarely are the suggestions so concrete and well-considered. Excellent reading, and the best post I’ve seen of its kind.

New York Times: Brooklyn’s New Culinary Movement
Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta.

New York Times: Study Zeroes In on Calories, Not Diet, for Loss
Recently, the biggest-ever controlled study on weight loss concluded: “people lose weight if they lower calories, but it does not matter how.” In other words, whether it’s Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers, or whatever - as long as you’re monitoring your intake, you’re good to go.

New York Times: What’s Eating Our Kids? Fears About ‘Bad’ Foods
According to the NYT, we’re freaking our kids out with our overzealous damning of junk food. The prescription: moderation, moderation, moderation. (Very different from location, location, location.)



Pay Less for Food: Save Money Eating By Going Ethnic
The article’s got some good points, but I especially like the headline. It lets me imagine I can magically turn Indian or Mexican, like “Kris, you don’t have to be a pale white girl whose familial culinary legacy consists entirely of potatoes anymore! There’s spice out there! And peppers! AND HOPE!”

Real Simple: Reading Nutrition Facts Labels
Quick and dirty breakdown of nutrition labels, from the magazine industry’s foremost efficiency and sweater set experts.

Resolved Worship: Kitchen Makeover
What this woman does with $10, most people (self included) couldn’t do with $1,000. Is Trading Spaces hiring? Is Trading Spaces even on anymore? So many questions. (Thanks to Like Merchant Ships for the link.)

The Simple Dollar: A Walkthrough and Cost Breakdown of Brewing Your Own Beer
Verdict: if you’re a Pabst or Bud quaffer, no. If you prefer Dogfish Head and/or the refined flavors of upscale beer, yes.

Smart Spending: Devil’s advocate - Don’t brown-bag your lunch
Writer Jim Wang argues that buying your lunch gives you a mental break, gets you up and moving around, and lets you socialize with coworkers. And that could be more beneficial than the $6/day savings. Sometimes, I wonder if he’s right. My vision turns to pixels when I don’t leave my desk for awhile.

Smart Spending: She’s spending $1 a day on food
Wow. I’ve seen lots of $30/week challenges, and even a few $25/week challenges. But $1 per day? That’s rough. I couldn’t do it.



Thrifty Florida Mama: Thoughts on Frugal Food and Recipes
I love this post, because it illustrates the issue a lot of folks are having with food shopping lately. With grocery deals dwindling, they have to ask themselves if it’s easier to stockpile basics or go for cheaper, coupon-friendly processed meals. Thoughtful and relatable.

Time Magazine: How Consumers Shop Differently Today
American buying habits have changed drastically in the last year or so, and here, a retail expert explains the whys, hows, and whats. Most interesting? We’re purposely avoiding malls, since we don’t want to tempt fate. As an ex-Long Islander, this blows my mind.

Wise Bread: Cornmeal – Fresh Ideas for a Frugal Family Staple
Holy schmoly. Bazillions of recipe ideas for cornmeal, from fritters to bruschetta to hallacas to rolls to scones to spoonbread to cobbler to biscotti to … you get the idea.

And! To top everything off, CHG was included in two blog carnivals this week:

• Festival of Frugality #167: Green Panda Treehouse
• Make it From Scratch Carnival