I recently received a gift box of some of my favorite noshes, a fantastic collection of bar chocolates and a big bag of pistachios.  The chocolates now decorate my waistline, but the pistachios……………………..they sit on my counter, untouched.   I adore pistachios but they now fill me with terror.

There have been so many outbreaks of food poisoning that prudence demands that I dump them.  Food poisoning is a problem not only for the suffering consumer, but for the food service industry, too.

Produce-related illness incidents are on the rise, with cantaloupes, nuts, tomatoes, and hot peppers being cited as the most recent outbreaks.

An MSNBC article on food safety reports that 87 million cases of illness were reported last year.

The Mayo Clinic offers a chart on food poisoning causes and the time frame for the onset of symptoms.

eMedicine also has an extensive list in an article by  Roberto M Gamarra, MD. ( scroll down about half way).

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There doesn’t seem to be any consensus on the causality of the problem. Indeed, there is plenty of speculation and finger pointing.

The bottom line is that food service operators, and retail food suppliers, are on the front line in the battle against food-borne illness as the last stop before consumption and are responding to the problem with increased ServSafe(r) training for their staff.

The lead paragraph above sets the philosophy of Jack Black as he begins a four part series on bread at ChefTalk.com

I love everything about bread.  The smell of the yeast,  the feel of it while working it prior to baking,  the amazing aroma that escapes the oven, and the textural adventures on the tongue created by the myriad ingredients that lend substance and taste.

No bread machines and expensive mixes for me, thanks.  It takes so little time to put it together and slip into the oven and when it comes out it is a trophy attesting to creativity and love.  Check out this series, learn how to loaf, and join the upper crust .

Jack Black also offers this list of resources and books for bakers.

Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Bread Bible, The Cake Bible and Roses Heavenly Cakes, (and featured in my blogroll), offers a great bread primer in  Bread Basics,  on Epicurious.com including a look at ingredients and must-have tools.

Wikipedia has a great batch of information on bread and its attendent constituents, too.

For all the home baked wonders I have had the pleasure of ingesting I wish to thank, in particular, my mother Ruth, my grandmothers, Rose and Grace, and Billy, too, a patient mentor, and incredible basket maker and table tennis artist.