Batch of links

- For this once-in-a-lifetime Thanksgivukkah, I really wish I had the energy to make these latke-crusted turkey stuffing fritters with liquid cranberry core and turkey schmaltz gravy. Yum!

- You know how some cities have fruit trees on public property? It isn’t always legal to pick the fruit, but if it otherwise goes to waste, I say go for it (discretely). Here’s an article on a website called Falling Fruit, which catalogs plants with edible parts (mostly fruit trees, but also nuts, herbs, roses, maples, etc.). A great initiative!

- I’ve been making green smoothies with my Vitamix lately. Did you know that you can avoid bitterness by adding acidity, like with lime or lemon juice?

- Crowd-sourced advice about how to opt out of certain birthday party foods without offending the host. I think I keep posting stuff like this because I’m more aware of food sensitivities and restrictions in general. Granted, this column was not about allergies, but as always, people seem to fall in one of two camps: either suck it up and eat the food otherwise you’re weird; or politely make your host aware of your restrictions and offer to bring your own food. I prefer the second camp, personally.

- The FDA will ban trans fats. This is a major step in the slow process of public health policies, and I have to say I’m pretty happy about it.

- Another article about foods sold in the US that are banned elsewhere. In related news, Kraft will be removing the yellow dye from its kid-oriented mac and cheese in Canada and the US, like it does in the UK.

- How not to die from botulism. I’m not canning yet, but this is a great reference!

- Did you know that you can use a Mason jar on some blenders?

- Quirky product: the Nibble Pan. It’s a cute idea, but I think a ramekin would work just as well, no?

- Someone is just as pissed as I am about the fact that people still use the words ”gluten allergy”.

- Watch this 14-year-old girl crush an arrogant interviewer. I’d be proud to raise someone like her.

- A TED Talk about coming out of the closet. I love Ash Beckham’s answer to being asked whether she’s a boy!

- Switzerland is considering “maximum wage” legislation so that a CEO wouldn’t make an outrageous amount of money when compared to his employees. We’ve talked about this idea in our household and we think it’s brilliant. It would even be incentive for raising the minimum wage. Did you know that McDonald’s is costing the US taxpayers $1.2 billion annually because it only pays most of its employees minimum wage? Related: how to feed your family from a food bank, a growing problem.

- A bunch of medical news: a Finnish team has made a diabetes vaccine breakthrough, high blood sugar is tied to memory problems, hot dogs are tied to cancer risk, and certain pesticides are linked to endometriosis. I feel I should follow this up with a really interesting article about how kale is destroying your health, which you have to read to the very end to understand how sometimes, the easy conclusion is erroneous. (Although I still don’t trust pesticides.)

- In the weird law category, some Texas lawmakers want to introduce a bill that would outlaw abortions once a heartbeat can be detected, knowing that with modern technology, this is so early in pregnancy that many women simply could not get abortions. And it was just announced that SCOTUS would not intervene to lift the current restrictions that have closed the majority of the state’s abortion clinics. I occasionally feel like I’m living in medieval times.

- And oral sex could have become illegal in Virginia, to protect the children. Yeah, I wonder why the population voted for another governor…

- A very interesting blog post about white privilege and an article about the need for African Americans to dress more formally than Caucasians to receive equal treatment, both written after the Zimmerman verdict.

- Remember Quebec’s Bill 14 project? I’m very pleased to see that it shall not pass. (And here’s some background information for those who weren’t following the issue.)

- My posthumous advice for my daughter – I’m a sucker for these essays.

- Have you heard about the “invisible” bike helmet? “Inflatable” would be a more accurate term. I’m definitely thinking of getting some of these when we start biking as a family! (I can’t believe that Texas law even allows motorcyclists to ride without helmets, but that’s another matter entirely.)

- A chat with Breaking Bad’s science advisor. The Engineer and I thoroughly enjoyed the series, and this interview was great.

- Any Doctor Who fans in the house? Because this is absolutely awesome.

- Incredible colorized photos, which actually show how color can alter our perception. Don’t these look so much more… real?

- Children’s drawings painted realistically. Some of these are fantastic!

- And finally, have you heard about Dinovember? I think that parents who participate must also be the ones who are doing the whole Elf-on-a-shelf thing. Maybe someday I’ll do that.