Generally speaking, beer is not something prescribed by medical professionals. While delicious and refreshing, the health benefits of beer—aside from its ability to help you relax—would appear to be minimal. But this Alabama horse has to drink a beer a day for its health.
AL.com reports that ol’ Mac—a 20-something-year-old horse who lives at King’s Home in Chelsea, Alabama, a non-profit that provides help to women and children who have been abused—has something called Cushings disease, which inhibits his ability to naturally sweat. To help with this ailment, his vet told his keepers to give him a beer each day.
“Beer has ingredients that can open the pores and help them sweat,” King’s Home Development Director John Tidwell told AL.com.
Tidwell reached out to Jason Malone, the co-founder of a local brewery called Good People, to ask about beer donations. The offer was one Malone couldn’t refuse.
But what kind of beer does Mac prefer? “Apparently, he’s a big fan of IPAs,” Malone told AL.com. “He’ll be our biggest, literally and figuratively, IPA fan.”
While many horses love the taste of beer, possibly because it consists of ingredients such as barley and hops, which resemble the grains in horse feeds. The alcoholic content is not a concern, as horses do not get drunk easily, if at all. Their livers process alcohol extremely rapidly because they naturally produce large amounts of alcohol dehydrogenase. This is an enzyme that breaks down the products of fermentation, which occurs in the horse’s large intestine during normal digestion. It quickly converts all forms of alcohol to carbohydrates to be used for energy.
So despite this Alabama horse has to drink a beer a day for his health, you should not do for your horse, or pets. This is not an encouragement for people to provide horses or any other animal with alcoholic beverages. It is dangerous for pets.
If you take your pet to a park in South Dakota, you better put a leash on it…even it can’t technically run. Otherwise you might end up like Jerry Kimball, who was ticketed on April 1 for letting his four-month old Fire Bee Ball Python slither in the grass of park in Sioux Falls.
“It was April Fool’s Day, so I thought he was playing a joke,” Kimball told the Argus Leader. “They’re not fast creatures. They’re not going to run away.”
The $190 fine for “animals running at large” didn’t bother Kimball so much as the park Animal Control Officer’s proposal that he put a leash on the snake. “He was literally asking me to put a rope around my snake,” Kimball said. “I was like ‘dude, no.’ I was dumbfounded.”
While it obviously wasn’t “running,” a spokeswoman for Animal Control told the Argus Leader the snake was still technically “at large.”
“If it’s in public and it’s not on a leash, it’s at large,”Julie DeJong said. “The ordinance doesn’t really distinguish between animals.”
The incident was apparently prompted by a woman who saw another of Kimball’s snakes and called Animal Control. While DeJong suggested that Kimball should take people’s fear of snakes into consideration before taking his pets in public, he thinks that’s all the more reson to show the world his snakes.
“That’s my purpose in life: To let people know that snakes aren’t killers,” Kimball said. “What better way to give back than to help people understand these misunderstood creatures.”
Uber cars and subways are like magnets for your most precious objects. Leaving an important item behind is something that’s happened to most of us. If we think a little we can recall the moment vividly: stepping out of the car in the middle of a snowy day, saying your goodbyes to the driver, patting yourself down to check that you’ve got all your stuff with you, and then the dread when you realize that your Uber just drove off with your phone, wallet and scarf.
A couple of years ago, if you left something in a cab or a subway you could just start mourning that loss right away. There was no way in hell that you were ever going to get that back. Uber recently introduced a Lost & Found index that lists all the lost items people have forgotten about and the cities where it happened. There are a lot of phones and wallets on the list, you know the usual, but there’s also a lot of random shit.
The Uber Lost & Found index is divided into different categories that range from most forgettable items, which logically include phones, wallets and IDs, to the days where people are most forgetful, (Sundays obviously) to the weirdest items left behind. Which are very weird, check these out:
A lobster
Paintings
Laser
Hot Cheetos
Wedding Outfit
Violin
Potted Plant
Cape
Smoke Machine
Paycheck
Valuable Nordic walking poles
Thanks for that juicy information Uber! We have so many questions.
If you recognize any of these items, maybe you’re their original owner. Uber has thought of that too, prepping this video that lists the necessary steps you need to take so you can get your stuff back.
Since Massachusetts recently passing recreational marijuana usage laws, many questions still need solving in terms of the state’s cannabis infrastructure. One of those, as depicted in this recent Boston Globefeature, revolves around the marijuana crop itself. In other words, who’s going to grow the green?
One group in Massachusetts who wants in the game is local farmers. Unfortunately they’re finding a high barrier to entry thanks to state laws and local resistance. State medicinal marijuana laws were passed and instituted a high cost to enter the market: more than $30,000 in licensing fees and growers had to establish proof they had at least a quarter million in the bank.
In addition, all state medical marijuana businesses must be vertically integrated, so it’s easy to record from seed to sale. All grow operations must also be under “locked, limited-access areas,” which has led to an influx of electricity-dependent greenhouses and indoor facilities.
Worse still, the nascent medical marijuana industry, thanks to state rules, is dominated by a small number of well-financed companies. AmeriCann, a publicly traded Denver corporation, plans to build a million-square-foot growing facility in Freetown, near Fall River. When completed, it will be one of the largest of its kind in the country. And these existing companies will likely get first crack at recreational marijuana licenses. According to the ballot language, new cultivation operators like [local farmer Ted] Dobson will have to wait a full two years after the program starts to apply for a license.
According to the Globe, while Massachusetts has become hotbed for the tech scene, it’s also been fruitful land for agriculture. There has actually been a rise in the number of farms recently within the state. So it would make the Commonwealth a great area for small, artisanal farms growing cannabis outdoors.
After Colorado voters legalized cannabis in 2012, Pueblo County, a struggling rural region in the southern part of the state, allowed farmers to grow marijuana without complicated reviews or approvals. Now the county boasts a 36-acre field of cannabis behind high-security fencing, plus 21 other acres of marijuana being grown in greenhouses and indoor grow facilities. … [County Commissioner Sal] Pace says the county has enjoyed a boom—and collected enough tax revenue to award a scholarship to every Pueblo high school student who wishes to attend a local college.
As the inroads to recreational marijuana are being built in Massachusetts, the local agriculture community is a group worthy of inclusion. Now it’ sup to those in the state to do just that.
According to Lennon biographer Ray Coleman, Lennon recalled himself and Ono joining Peel to sing in the streets. “It was arranged for us to meet him, but it seemed like a happening,” Lennon said. “And he was suddenly there and we started singing with him in the street. And we got moved on by the police, and it was all very wonderful. That was it. He was such a great guy, you know. We loved his music and his spirit and everything. His whole philosophy of street and everything.”
Lennon would go on to sign Peel to The Beatles’ Apple Records label, where his Lower East Side drew resistance for their first record under the label, The Pope Smokes Dope. Lennon would also appear alongside Peel during a spot in 1971’s John Sinclair’s Freedom Rally and a couple performances on The David Frost Show.
Peel would continue his stance as a counterculture icon late into his life. He made appearances again as a street musician during the Occupy Wall Street movement and recorded a song titled “I Can’t Breathe,” as response to Eric Garner’s death.
“A lot of people come up to me and say, ‘Peel, I thought you were dead,'” he told the New York Times in 2012, adding that he would continue to perform in public “until the day I drop dead and go to rock & roll heaven.”
Chia seed is much more than a fad food and an ’80s gag gift. It was and is a major part of the indigenous food culture of South America, like potatoes and quinoa, they were born and bred there. The reasons why civilizations cultivated it for so long is that it’s a wonderful energy source that has lots of very good for you essential fatty acids.
Chia puddings and gels are a great way to start a hot summer morning, you make it once and have five days of cooling, refreshing breakfasts. Usually I stock up some different fruits to eat it with, especially fresh coconut meat (rare), Ataulfo mango (the best) and dragonfruit, all local favorites where I live. Ataulfo mangoes and dragonfruits are also from the same general sphere of influence, and they pair so wonderfully with a creamy and crunchy scoop of chia.
Adding small doses of cannabis to your morning meal or mid morning snack can be a great way to medicate without any effort, and if you use it for pain management or neurodivergent therapy, you’re starting your day on a healthy note.
Chia Pudding With Fruit
Danielle Guercio 2011
Makes five ¼ cup servings, 5mg THC per serving
3 Tbs Chia seeds
1 cup Coconut Milk
¼ tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp Honey
1 tsp Cannabis infused glycerin tincture*
Fruit of choice (dragonfruit pictured)
Coconut chips, turmeric, sesame seeds, and honey for garnish
Photos by Maria Penaloza
In a clean jar, dispense vanilla, glycerin and honey. Add a splash of warm water and stir until dissolved. Add chia seeds and coconut milk. You can use black or white chia seeds, and you can also use any non-dairy milk that you’d like.
Adding your own sweetener is best since the tincture has some sweetness to it, a pre-sweetened store bought product may come out a bit too sugary.
Photos by Maria Penaloza
Stir well and refrigerate overnight. The mixture will thicken and turn into a creamy gel. Spoon into a small bowl or to be fancy, the shell of the fruit you’re topping it with. Try not to have more than one serving the first few times you eat it, if you overdo it, you’ll have issues. Top with fruit, I like to use ⅔ the amount of fruit to chia. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, coconut chips, and honey for an extra tasty and gorgeous finish.
*Cannabis Infused Glycerin Tincture
In an oven safe container double sealed with foil, decarboxylate 3.5 grams finely ground cannabis at 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Put cannabis in a mason jar or vacuum sealed bag, pour over 2 oz vegetable Glycerin and seal tightly.Place in a water bath at just under boiling for 1 hour. Strain and keep contents in a sterilized container. Stores indefinitely in freezer.
Photos by Maria Penaloza
You’ll eat this as quickly as you prepare it, it’s very effortless and still looks impressive, exciting, and even a little inspiring. I can’t think of a better way to kick things off no matter what time you wake up.
Of all the wacky food trends from the past few years, this one might be our favorite: A company called Pop Pasta is debuting a spaghetti doughnut at a food market in Brooklyn this month.
Pop Pasta, the company behind the monstrous/brilliant creation, says the doughnut “is the perfect food to bring to picnics or to the beach, and it isn’t messy like pizza!” While we’re not sure we agree with it as a beach food, we are intrigued.
But how is it made? Pop Pasta says its similar to the Neapolitan tradition of spaghetti in which “spaghetti pie is a dish prepared with pasta leftovers combined with eggs and cheese and then fried.”
The company will sell several versions of the pasta doughnuts, including a red sauce pop, an aglio e olio pop, a zucchini pop, a bolognese pop, and a carbonara one.
Check out some photos of the tasty looking treat below.
Toasted grasshoppers aren’t replacing peanuts and Cracker Jacks anytime soon, and they certainly don’t come with a cool prize, but they are the hot new concession at Seattle’s Safeco Field.
The new stadium snack is courtesy of Seattle Mexican restaurant Poquitos, which will be offering concessions for the first time at Safeco, just in time for the Mariners home opener. The bugs (chapulines) have been a popular menu item at the restaurant for quite some time. And at the stadium, they’re only a buck more; $4 will buy you a cup of freshly cooked grasshoppers tossed in a chili lime seasoning.
Don’t like grasshoppers by the handfuls? You can use them to top your tacos, which Poquitos will also have on offer.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSkJfnJhznD
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSkVZxlgAFK
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSkIYrGlorn
According to Girl Meets Bug, 100 grams of grasshoppers contain upwards of 20 grams of protein and 6 grams of fat. And if it turns out you don’t like the taste of the crunchy little critters, you can always blow the rest of your budget washing them down with overpriced beer.
Not living within easy access of incredible world cuisine is a common complaint of those who flee urban locales. Living near incredible world cuisine in NYC sometimes gives me epic FOMO, watching people visit and share photos and stories from places around the corner from me. Can one eat out and want for nothing in a big city? Yes, but that person must also have the cash flow to pay for constant dining out.
Legendary Xian Famous Foods in my city is one of those places that pops up in my feed on the daily, and it’s both world class and affordable. Plate after plate of uncomplicated Chinese flavors shock your palette back into shape if you’ve been out of the pungent loop for awhile. Mission Chinese is another neighborhood staple that people are constantly putting on the gram, with intense Sichuan and eclectic flavors coming together to make food magic, it’s spicy enough to make you giddy, and when I eat there I’m always pumping with adrenaline.
They both have one incredible dish in common: Tiger Salad, the catch-all term for salads that use herbs as the main greenery, and it’s a real treat. Though I don’t think I’ll ever make a salad as good as the squad at Xian or Danny Bowien’s kitchen of dreams, I know I can reach for a pile of affordable herbs at the local shop and whip up something that reminds me of it. Putting my own twist on it with a cannabis infused soy-sesame vinaigrette turns it into party/study/Netflix/healing fuel, however you use cannabis in your life.
Photos by Maria Penaloza
Strong and Pungent Cannabis Tiger Salad
Inspired by Xian Famous Foods + Mission Chinese Food
Serves 2, 17mg THC estimated
4 stalks Chinese celery
1 bundle cilantro
4 basil leaves
2 scallions
1 birds eye chili
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
2 tsp superior soy sauce
1 Tbs sesame oil
1 Tbs cannabis infused olive oil*
For Garnish:
Fried shallot
Black sesame seeds
Photos by Maria Penaloza
Wash all of your veggies really well, celery and cilantro in particular can be gritty, so get in there good and let them dry. Remove the tops and root bulb from the celery stalks and chop into 1½” pieces. Put in a large bowl with room to toss.
With cilantro, you’ll do the opposite, removing most of the tougher stems. Leave the tender stems behind, they will be yummy in the mix. Instead of finely chopping cilantro like most applications, give it a rough chop so the leaves aren’t whole but also aren’t in small pieces. Do the same with the basil. Finely chop the scallion and add half to the bowl, reserve half for garnish. Chop the chili last, keep the seeds if you want them, but chop the pepper finely so it is evenly distributed through the salad.
Photos by Maria Penaloza
Mix up your vinaigrette in a bowl, giving it a good whip with a fork to make a loose emulsion. This will mix everything well enough to coat the veggies just right. Add to the bowl with your greens and toss thoroughly. Serve in a bowl topped with more scallions, fried shallots, and sprinkled with black sesame seeds.
*Cannabis infused oil
Decarboxylate 3.5g of finely ground cannabis at 225 degrees for 20 minutes in a tightly sealed, oven safe container. Put in lidded mason jar or vacuum sealed bag with cannabis and four ounces of olive oil. Heat in water bath just under boiling for at least 1 hour. Strain and chill to use in recipes.
Photos by Maria Penaloza
Even if you can’t always make it to the exciting and renowned shops and sit downs of your nearest magnet city, you can whip this up at home and have a small taste of something either familiar to you or new altogether. Either way, you’ll be making this salad to accompany noodles and stir fry regularly.
You don’t have to take your top off on South Padre Island to find that spring break feeling again. Here are five bartender-recommended cocktails paying homage to the mid-term academia tradition of fleeing to Mexico. Vive le youth.
Kevin Burke, Beverage Director, Colt & Gray and Ste. Ellie
Denver, CO
His favorite spring break or Mexico memory: “Recently, I’ve had lovely experiences getting lost in the corners of Guadalajara, drinking beers and tequila with the locals getting by on what could be best described as ‘pidgin Spanish.’”
The wildest thing he’s seen a patron do: “Doctors have patient confidentiality, priests maintain the sanctity of a confessional, bartenders don’t kiss and tell. I like to think that I have seen people as their best selves, and occasionally at their worst and it’s always a privilege to be both a host and confidant.”
His ideal location for imbibing this cocktail: “The beauty of these recipes is that they lend themselves toward whipping up a batch of them, throwing them on ice and heading down to the pool on a Sunday afternoon with friends.”
Pennies from Heaven
Photo by Erin James
Makes 1 cocktail
1 ½ ounces tequila
½ ounce lime juice
½ ounce pamplemousse liqueur
½ teaspoon granulated sugar, to taste
1-2 ounce of dry sparkling wine
Garnish: ½ salted rim, grapefruit chunk
Method: In a mixing tin combine tequila, lime, pamplemousse liqueur, sugar if necessary. Add ice and shake briskly for 15 seconds. Strain into a coupe glass and gently float 1-2 ounce of sparkling wine on the drink.
Mattie Beason, Owner, Black Twig Cider House & Mattie B’s Public House
Durham, NC
His favorite spring break or Mexico memory: “I’m going to be boring on this one and say when I was 8, my parents took me to Isla Mujeres and told me I was going to have twin sisters. A magical trip with some of the best news I have ever gotten. I wasn’t drinking but I’m sure my dad was!”
The wildest thing he’s seen a patron do: “Put a pitcher of margarita in a porron [a Spanish wine pitcher with a spout] and then attempt to consume it.”
His ideal location for imbibing this cocktail: “Anywhere with sand and saltwater.”
Sean Penn
Photo by Erin James
Makes 1 cocktail
1 ½ ounces blanco tequila
¾ ounce Cointreau
¾ ounce lime juice
1 ¼ ounces Blake’s Hard Cider El Chavo, or another pepper-infused cider
Garnish: lime strip
Method: Mix all but the cider and shake. Strain and serve in a wine glass. Garnish with lime swathe. Top with the El Chavo.
David Shenaut, Bar Manager, Raven & Rose
Portland, OR
His favorite spring break or Mexico memory: “Oaxaca is my favorite city in Mexico. The market there is absolutely amazing; visit shops and taste through mezcals, chocolates, chilies and fresh cheeses. This is a place to stay all day, just eating and drinking all of the foreign fare.”
The wildest thing he’s seen a patron do: “I once saw a young man snort salt and squeeze lime into his eye as part of a new ritual around drinking tequila. Stupid.”
His ideal location for imbibing this cocktail: “This is a Pacific Northwest rainy day sipper that should inspire you to book a trip to sunny Mexico so you can wear something besides a hoody. At first sip, you are forced remember to take your time and enjoy your surroundings and not to be in a hurry.”
Caroline’s Fancy
Photo by Raven & Rose PDX
Makes 1 cocktail
2 ounces reposado tequila
½ ounce dry curaçao
¼ ounce demerara syrup (2:1 sugar to water)
2 dashes Scrappy’s Bitters cardamom bitters
Garnish: large orange peel
Method: Stir all ingredients with ice then pour over fresh ice, one big cube is best here to slow things down. Garnish with a big peel of orange.
Casey Robison, Spirits Director, Heavy Restaurant Group
Seattle, WA
His favorite spring break or Mexico memory: “In 2014, my wife and I got married in Oaxaca [and] the night before, we held our welcome reception at a restaurant in downtown Oaxaca called Los Danzantes. After the reception, my wife and I, with 40 of our friends, went up to the rooftop bar… We ordered four cases of beer and four bottles of Mezcal to share. We stayed up until almost 5 a.m., and it was an amazing scene, watching a bunch of restaurant workers, lawyers, bankers and business people all party down until the sun came up.”
The wildest thing he’s seen a patron do: “After 14 years of bartending, I’ve seen a bit. Twenty person brawls, dancing on the bar top, projectile vomit. About 10-years-ago, I was asked to tend bar at a private residence. It turned out that I was tending bar at a swinger’s party. That was… eye-opening, to say the least.”
His ideal location for imbibing this cocktail: “The ideal place to drink this cocktail will, of course, be at our new taqueria in [Seattle] opening this summer! Other than that, go to Mexico and order a Paloma.”
The Modern Paloma
Photo by Casey Robison
Makes 1 cocktail
1 ½ ounces blanco tequila
½ ounce Campari
¾ ounce fresh lime juice
2-3 ounces Jarritos guava soda
Garish: lime wedge
Method: Add ingredients in a shaker tin, shake and strain over fresh ice into a Collins glass. Fill with Jarritos guava soda. Garnish with a lime wedge.
Still want more? Bartender Beth Herron of Rosebud American Kitchen + Bar in Somerville, Massachusetts, offers up this simple sipper to transport you to sunnier times.
La Casa Azul
Makes 1 cocktail
2 ounces grilled pineapple syrup
½ ounce Genepy des Alpes
½ ounce citric acid syrup
Garnish: large orange peel
Stir ingredients with ice, strain over a large ice cube in a rocks glass. Garnish with a large orange peel.
