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Just wanted to try something different, out of my comfort zone, been curious about tofu for a while :)

 

Tofu is fine! Prepared properly (Japanese style!) and not shaped into pretend meat! ;)

 

Try this, it's fantastic!  http://pixelatedcrumb.com/2011/08/02/hiyayakko-japanese-cold-tofu/

 

Japanese_Tofu-7-1024x682.jpg

  • Like 1

Tofu is fine! Prepared properly (Japanese style!) and not shaped into pretend meat! ;)

 

Try this, it's fantastic!  http://pixelatedcrumb.com/2011/08/02/hiyayakko-japanese-cold-tofu/

 

Japanese_Tofu-7-1024x682.jpg

Added it to favourites, I'll ask my wife if she can make it (because she's a chef, not because I'm a sexist pig who thinks a man's mistake when a woman who comes in from the kitchen to moan at them, is making the chain too long :p)

Added it to favourites, I'll ask my wife if she can make it (because she's a chef, not because I'm a sexist pig who thinks a man's mistake when a woman who comes in from the kitchen to moan at them, is making the chain too long :p)

 

It's no mutually exclusive :p

It's kinda sad how humanity went from eating EVERY part of an animal they killed, and what they couldn't eat they used. to modern humans who frown if it isn't pure meat and throw away half the animal. 

Yup, as I remember going to a museum not far from where I live, as a child, and exactly this ^ Nothing went to waste, not even the bones or skin

It's kinda sad how humanity went from eating EVERY part of an animal they killed, and what they couldn't eat they used. to modern humans who frown if it isn't pure meat and throw away half the animal. 

 

I'll happily eat offal.  I only object when something is presented as something else, when it's not.

 

Top tip. Braised lambs liver with onions, mashed potato (I mix in a little sweet potato into the mash), mixed veg and gravy.  Delicious!

 

Shallow fried liver is also scrummy. :p

  • Like 1

When has nuggets ever been advertised as pure slices of chicken breast ?

 

it's a by product product. though there are some luxury overpriced ones that are pure slices of breast, but kinda pointless. 

 

In the UK at least, McDonalds advertise their McNuggets as being 100% breast meat.  Our laws are pretty strict on that, so if they're not and they get caught, they're royally screwed.

  • Like 2

Considering how easy it is to make your own, I can't understand why anyone would buy those repulsive processed nuggets

 

Because they taste the same and you don't use expensive chicken breast file's for it... 

 

 

And actually I believe in Europe at least McD's nuggets are actually made from 100% breast. I live far away from any McD anyway and prefer BK if I'm in a city. bigger and better burgers. 

the pink slime is actually used for "beef" not chicken mostly at least although there may exist a similar process. still even with 100% breast meat doesn't mean it wasn't using food grade glue to make it one piece lol.

Tyson Crispy Chicken Breast Strips are made with 100% all natural* ingredients and are fully cooked for easy preparation.. note the * "natural" is not regulated by the USDA so i could contain pork and still be natural.

eXtermia, on 05 Oct 2013 - 10:28, said:eXtermia, on 05 Oct 2013 - 10:28, said:

Tyson Crispy Chicken Breast Strips are made with 100% all natural* ingredients and are fully cooked for easy preparation.. note the * "natural" is not regulated by the USDA so i could contain pork and still be natural.

I used to work at Tyson for a little while. It's definitely natural except how the chickens are treated and die. I'm not an animal extremist by any means but I have never been so disgusted by anything I have seen than what I did working at Tyson and that likely goes for any mass producer of meats. Anyway, there is all kinds of crap in Tyson products, I have seen employees urinate in large vats cause they were too lazy to walk to the bathroom. But urination is natural. Oh and the rats, dear god. But it's all heavily diluted and certainly falls within the 100% natural thing. I'll eat Tyson nuggets, their pretty good despite my experience.

It's kinda sad how humanity went from eating EVERY part of an animal they killed, and what they couldn't eat they used. to modern humans who frown if it isn't pure meat and throw away half the animal. 

Yes, but the quality of animals in the wild is very different to those raised in captivity. In the US animals are routinely fed growth hormones to rapidly bulk them up and antibiotics in order to survive the terrible conditions. Chicken carcasses contain more fecal bacteria than found in toilets and a lot of people have greater sensitivity to such bacteria, like children and the elderly. Humans didn't live to the age of 100 in the wild and certainly wouldn't have done so eating every part of raw animals. The issue is also complicated by businesses' desire for profits, with many employing questionable techniques (centrifuges, bone scrapers and ammonia gas, etc) to improve profitability for shareholders. Further, any parts not used for human food aren't simply thrown away but used for other products, like dog food.

 

I understand where you're coming from but I think your point is misguided.

This is what happens when customers demand cheaper and cheaper and cheaper and cheaper food. Do people think that prices can magically drop without any sort of corners being cut as to reduce the cost of the ingredients? once again this is why the need to have business and economics classes in schools.

  • Like 2

This is what happens when customers demand cheaper and cheaper and cheaper and cheaper food. Do people think that prices can magically drop without any sort of corners being cut as to reduce the cost of the ingredients? once again this is why the need to have business and economics classes in schools.

Exactly. I believe that we need to demand basic safety and quality standards; if products need to be sold at a higher price then so be it. At some point it likely won't be cost effective for the average family to eat meat, which is why we need to invest in alternatives.

Yes, but the quality of animals in the wild is very different to those raised in captivity. In the US animals are routinely fed growth hormones to rapidly bulk them up and antibiotics in order to survive the terrible conditions. Chicken carcasses contain more fecal bacteria than found in toilets and a lot of people have greater sensitivity to such bacteria, like children and the elderly. Humans didn't live to the age of 100 in the wild and certainly wouldn't have done so eating every part of raw animals. The issue is also complicated by businesses' desire for profits, with many employing questionable techniques (centrifuges, bone scrapers and ammonia gas, etc) to improve profitability for shareholders. Further, any parts not used for human food aren't simply thrown away but used for other products, like dog food.

 

I understand where you're coming from but I think your point is misguided.

What does animals in the wild have to do with it? I'm not talking about the Stone Age. As little as 50 years ago this was true, and not just with hunted animals, but animals slaughtered on farms and such as well.

And in Europe, we don't allow as much growth hormones and we don't allow the constant feeding of antibiotics to "prevent diseases, which has led to the US by far leading in having the most resistant bacteria today.

As for chicken and food, again, at least most of Europe are quite heavily regulated on how we treat animals, including chickens, so this isn't an issue. Speaking of that though, most things have a higher count of fecal bacteria than toilets. Toilets are regularly cleaned with special soaps that remove and prevent growth, in production the glaze and seat are also set with special materials that kill and prevent fecal bacteria growth. You'd be safer eating food from the toilet than your keyboard.

Mr Nom Nom's, on 05 Oct 2013 - 10:51, said:Mr Nom Nom's, on 05 Oct 2013 - 10:51, said:

This is what happens when customers demand cheaper and cheaper and cheaper and cheaper food. Do people think that prices can magically drop without any sort of corners being cut as to reduce the cost of the ingredients? once again this is why the need to have business and economics classes in schools.

I agree but I also think prices don't really need to be where they are. I don't know why back in 1984 I could get real food for the same % expense (inflation into account) that now I get processed, but I believe it's more about investors being greedy than anything else. Population has grown sure, but so has food grown production thanks to science and chemicals.

Then it's also politics. Sell an Apple to some other country for half the price that we pay them for an Apple just to remain political friends and allies (example). Which probably more deeply also goes into our unfair tax system where companies get a break if they sell one product to whatever country.

 

My question is, would our food be cheaper if we didn't sell/trade so much to other countries? In my example of 1984, why was real food cheaper as in percentage of outcome to a family, inflation is one way to view price difference of course but our financial output in terms of percentage is certainly different but now yields less real product...I don't see why that should be other than BS politics. Chickens are cheap to raise! I know some families who save tons on eggs and chicken meat just by raising them.

What does animals in the wild have to do with it? I'm not talking about the Stone Age. As little as 50 years ago this was true, and not just with hunted animals, but animals slaughtered on farms and such as well.

Yes, but look at how significantly mass production techniques have reduced quality - most of that has occurred within the past 50-100 years. The quality of most mass produced meat and crops bears little resemblance to that from just a century ago and not for the better. I appreciate that some of the issues with meat quality are US specific but even in Europe it was only recently that caged eggs had to be clearly labelled and restrictions were put in place to guarantee minimum amounts of space for chickens.

 

More importantly, just because those parts are used doesn't excuse the manner in which they are being sold currently. I mean we're looking at more non-meat than meat in these nuggets, which simply isn't want consumers believe they're buying. Sausages are a classic example, because if you don't watch out you can end up with as little as 32% meat - that's especially problematic in places where customers do not have access to the ingredients lists (school and workplace cafeterias, cafes, etc). I don't have a problem with such parts being used but I just think consumers should be aware of what they're eating and better standards put in place.

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    • 007 First Light review: Satisfying spy adventure that James Bond needed by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe I have fond memories of classic James Bond games from the Electronic Arts era. Using high-tech gadgets, sneaking into parties, and dispatching bad guys were wildly exciting activities for my younger self. In recent years, Bond games have entirely disappeared, alongside the super spy genre. Fast forward to 2020, imagine my surprise when IO Interactive announced it had secured the Bond IP to make a game. Considering the studio’s Hitman history, this project is one I keenly kept an eye on. Six years later, 007 First Light is finally here, and after spending time inside this globe-trotting adventure, I can safely say that my excitement for this developer’s take on this universe was not unfounded. IO has taken lessons it has learned from Hitman and combined them with what I would expect from a directed cinematic experience like James Bond. I have refrained from mentioning major plot points to save you from story spoilers in this review. This is an original story that doesn’t tie into any movies, so there isn’t an expectation of knowing the backstory or the decades of movies either. Bond, James Bond When 007 First Light begins, Bond is just Bond. There isn’t a spy angle, fancy gadgets, or even a secret mission. The introductory mission is framed to show how James Bond handled himself and how he does not care about the odds when it comes to saving lives. It’s a gorgeous level as well, showing off an island scattered with cliffs in the middle of a storm. Looking back, this is probably the best-looking level in the game, with IO showing off all its abilities with its custom engine, Glacier. But my favorite ended up being the follow-up to this level. Once the United Kingdom's foreign intelligence agency, MI6, recruits our daring youngster into its super-spy “00” program, training begins. However, instead of treading through the same tutorial missions where the game teaches you to run and jump and drive, IO opted for a montage, and it’s amazing. The scenes cut between Bond practicing and improving his marksmanship, parkour, hand-to-hand combat, and driving as weeks go by in his training. What impressed me here was the lack of any loading screens or stutters as scenes instantly switched to different locations entirely, as if I was watching a movie. This creativity is a trend I noticed in most levels, where there is some sort of gameplay or choreography mechanic being introduced to keep things interesting. Soon, the rest of the cast is introduced, bringing other agents that our favorite secret agent will be working with, the scientists and engineers that build MI6’s spy gadgets, as well as higher-ranking officers that either appreciate or (at best) tolerate Bond’s rebellious attitude. It’s a tight cast, all with incredibly good voice acting and personalities that quickly grew on me. The casting for Bond himself is also an excellent one. From showing his iconic soft spot for women to the condescending smiles that get a rise out of enemies, I had no issues getting immersed into this universe as this new face of James Bond. The missions take place in a wide range of locations as MI6 sends Bond to tackle dangers that are growing everywhere from the UK to Africa. These aren’t unrelated adventures where MI6 is sending secret agents, which is an angle I would love to see in another game, but a part of a bigger conspiracy affecting the entire world. Some of the twists and turns were all too predictable, and the character that Lenny Kravitz played made me cringe a little too much. But all in all, I enjoyed the campaign’s storyline that sets the stage for this new agent joining the illustrious “00” program. Plenty of Possibilities The third-person style of IO Interactive fits this role quite well. Bond is presented as a master at hand-to-hand combat as well as firearms, while also having a knack for being stealthy when required. Most sections of missions have a lot of freedom. This means I could beat up every goon and security guard on the way to an objective, slip past them without sounding a single alarm, or do a mix of both. My sessions usually end up with the third option because I tend to be impatient about waiting for a patrol to move. Drawing from its Hitman genes, the developer almost always gives multiple routes for going through missions. Levels can be massive, sometimes sporting hundreds of NPCs going their own ways and having conversations. If my objective is to break into a security room on the third floor, I could look around for roof access, eavesdrop on conversations to find out where someone lost a key, create a distraction and pickpocket a guard for a keycard, sneak in through the vents, or simply kick down the offending door. I enjoyed the variety on offer, especially because the same solutions didn’t usually show up in different missions. Before heading out into a secret MI6 escapade, the gadget specialist of the branch walks Bond through the organization's latest and greatest achievements. This can be cool little devices like a laser built into the watch, a phone that fires poison darts, or a camera that emits a powerful shockwave. The choice of what can be taken into the mission is up to the player. I could usually find fresh routes or get out of tough situations with a punch or two, so I never had the feeling of missing out by not choosing the right equipment. It’s still a fun practice. Choosing the armaments before a mission enhanced the super spy feeling quite a bit. As I mentioned, stealth comes in as a very viable option for most of the missions, letting Bond sneak past foes or knock them out silently. While it is satisfying to clear entire areas of goons and walk away without any alarms, the way of accomplishing this could have been done better. Bond can lure enemies, sneak up and knock them out, or use a gadget to disorient them before dealing a nasty blow. Bodies cannot be moved or hidden afterward either. It’s a very simple system, which I wish were more exciting to pull off. Perhaps more stealth-orientated gadgets, distraction options, or multi-takedowns could have helped here, I think. Getting caught while attempting to be in stealth does not mean a game over. Other than getting into a fist fight, an interesting twist of 007 First Light is the bluffing option. While an enemy is confused as to what you are doing in a restricted location, Bond has the option to improvise and persuade them that you are exactly where you’re supposed to be. These are fun little dynamic interactions with unique dialog depending on the mission and location, giving a few extra moments for Bond to go past suspicious guards smoothly. It’s the first time I’ve witnessed this system in a game, and I hope to see more. License to Kill Bond isn’t just dealing with security guards or civilians. From time to time, entire gangs of gun-toting mercenaries show up in levels looking to take down our protagonist. It is then that License to Kill mode is activated for Bond, letting him use firearms with no restrictions. I was surprised by just how tight gunplay is in 007 First Light. The weapons feel powerful and satisfying to fire, with single bullets capable of taking down an enemy with a headshot. Ammo is scarce, and enemies don’t drop weapons with full magazines most of the time. This forces a hectic kind of gameplay where I am always advancing towards enemies to take their weapons after they are downed. Things like shooting legs to immobilize, aiming at the hands to make their weapon go flying, blowing up nearby fire extinguishers for cover, and using gadgets to halt a goon in their tracks while I reload, make up enjoyable levels. I had to hold back my disappointment when the enemy count in these action sequences dropped to zero and I had to go non-lethal again. Speaking of action sequences, First Light isn’t just offering sandbox levels to complete at the player’s own leisure either. Each level comes with specific linear and directed scenes to move the story forward and put Bond in tight situations. These usually end up with high-octane chases or driving sections, offering the chance to witness chaining explosions, hails of gunfire, and scripted parkour scenes that remind me of Mission Impossible movies more than Bond. Elements like seeing James Bond jump out of a plane without a parachute or drive through buildings in London inside a trash truck were fantastic and always left me at a high point when finishing a mission. The classic James Bond theme is sprinkled in here too, which only happens a handful of times in the game, but at just the right moments. Visuals and Performance Compared to Unreal Engine 5 games we are seeing nowadays, 007 First Light isn’t flexing a huge amount of realism when it comes to graphics. The models, textures, and effects all feel a little dated, with the starting mission that I mentioned being the most visually striking. However, the complete lack of stutters, the hundreds of NPCs that can be on screen without a single hitch, massive sandbox levels, and smooth transitions between them all play a part in making this an immensely immersive and complex experience. The in-engine cutscenes are gorgeous as well, offering an upgraded visual style and model detail over the gameplay sections. Animations are one aspect that jumps out at me about any new game, and First Light has nailed what a third-person action game should feel like. Walking, sneaking, and running all have a heaviness to them that I appreciate. Whenever Bond moves past a wall or a ledge, his arms reach out to lightly hold those structures until he moves away. NPCs actually react to my character and move out of the way. Even during melee combat or takedown animations, the fists impacting a body or a head hitting a wall all have that same weight. Even the more frivolous animations, like catching a gun in midair or chucking an empty one at a goon (yes, you can do that), are satisfying to pull off. Of course, the in-engine cutscene animations are remarkably well done too, with facial animations and the upgraded model details improving my engagement with the characters. I have an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB paired with an eight-core Ryzen 7 3700X and 32GB of RAM, with the game running at 1440p resolution. Deciding to completely max out all the graphics options gave me a range of frame rates between 60 and 100 depending on the scene and level. While I did try to enable AMD FSR, which bumped up the frame rates by a good 20% at Quality mode, IO Interactive’s implementation of the technology wasn’t that great. Every corner and edge in levels began shimmering, and I was also seeing smearing issues in fast-moving sections. The title seemingly uses the older generation FSR 3.1 and not the machine learning-assisted FSR 4, leading to these artifacts. Unfortunately, there isn't a way to manually upgrade this right now either. I opted to turn off the upscaling and play the game in native 1440p to avoid problems. I would say the FPS range I was getting was an acceptable one for a single-player action game for my setup. I do wish there were an FOV slider option in the settings. While the camera is far enough back for my tastes in most situations in this third-person adventure, at times the perspective is far too close. When trying to look around quickly and spot targets, I realized I was getting a slight headache at times due to the use of an almost over-the-shoulder close-up camera. Conclusion Being James Bond in 007 First Light is a treat. Traveling around the world chasing conspiracies, using high-tech gadgets disguised as everyday accessories, and improvising on the spot to fool foes all give a fantastic feeling of being a super spy. For an origin story, IO Interactive has done a great job at introducing the character and his motives for doing what he does. The satisfying combat animation and fantastic voice acting are definitely high points, with the License to Kill moments being my favorite. Not being able to move bodies and the simplistic stealth of mechanics does hurt its presentation a little. The NPC logic and intelligence is easy to manipulate and trick, repeating the same actions over and over again if I keep making distractions. The lack of an FOV slider was also a pain (quite literally) at times, and the FSR implementation is quite poor. These are things I hope the studio will improve upon with updates. Even with its faults, IO Interactive and James Bond are a match made in heaven. The studio knows how to make a main character that oozes charm and competency while also leaning heavily into its Hitman experience to make gigantic levels with what looks like hundreds of NPCs roaming around. Being an origin story, IO’s Bond has a way to go before he becomes the highly effective agent we see in the movie world. I am hoping the studio will continue this series alongside its Hitman ventures going forward, just so we get to experience the journey for longer. 007 First Light is available on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, and Xbox PC), Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 for $69.99. This review was conducted on the PC version of the game provided by IO Interactive.
    • [Price Drop] PDF Expert for Mac v3 is still half off by Steven Parker Today's highlighted deal comes via our Apps + Software section of the Neowin Deals store, where for only a limited time you can save 42% on PDF Expert One-Time Purchase. PDFs remain the best way to transmit documents, but editing them isn't possible with standard Mac software. PDF Expert changes that, allowing you to edit PDF text, images, links, and outlines quickly and easily. Typo in a contract? Easy fix. Need to rework a complete section of a document? No problem. PDF Expert provides a series of essential functions that will transform the way you work with documents on your Mac. It recognizes text and OCR, makes edits, and fills out forms. And with the “Enhance” feature powered by AI, it will fix distortions, remove shadows and improve contrast so that even difficult-to-read documents look great. EDIT Change the text. Easily fix typos, update numbers, or add entire paragraphs Insert images. Update logos in a contract or add a new graph to a report Add links. Enrich your PDFs by linking to other pages or external websites ANNOTATE Highlight the important. Make the most valuable content stand out at a glance Comment on PDFs. Add text to PDFs, insert pop-up notes & write your thoughts in the margins Add stamps. Review documents with our set of stamps or create custom stamps for any workflow ORGANIZE Merge PDFs. Combine multiple files into one PDF document Manage pages. Add, delete, rearrange, or rotate PDF pages with ease Split PDFs. Extract pages from PDFs & save them as separate files CONVERT Convert to PDF. Turn JPG, PNG, Word, PPT, and Excel to PDF PDF to Word. Convert PDFs into editable Word documents PDF to image. Turn PDFs into JPG or PNG images PDF to Excel. Convert PDFs into Excel spreadsheets PDF to PPT. Save PDFs as PowerPoint presentations PDF to text. Convert PDFs into editable TXT files FILL OUT Fill out PDF forms. Easily fill out PDF forms by just clicking on them Sign documents. Add your signature to a PDF in a few clicks. Let customers sign documents with handy one-time signatures Redact PDFs. Blackout or erase confidential information from your documents RECOGNIZE TEXT OCR text in PDF. Recognize the text, so you can search, highlight & copy it Enhance scans. Fix distortions, remove shadows & improve contrast Crop & split pages. Split double-page scans into separate pages & remove undesired margins Good to know: Length of access: Lifetime Redemption deadline: redeem your code within 30 days of purchase Access options: Mac Max number of device(s): Unlimited usage on personal macOS devices Version: PDF Expert 3 for Mac (macOS) Updates: Get continuous support and bug fixes. Additional new features may come at an extra cost. PDF Expert One-Time Purchase normally costs $139.99, but you can pick it up for just $69.97 for a limited time, that represents a saving of $70 (50% off). For a full description, specs, and license info, click the link below. Deal Price One time cost now only $69.97 (was $139.99) Although priced in U.S. dollars, this deal is available for digital purchase worldwide. Support queries If you have queries or need support for any of the Neowin Deals, please use the contact form here. Neowin Deals are managed and sold by StackCommerce who represent Neowin on an affiliate basis. We post these because we earn commission on each sale so as not to rely solely on advertising, which many of our readers block. It all helps toward paying staff reporters, servers and hosting costs. Other ways to support Neowin Whitelist Neowin by not blocking our ads Create a free member account to see fewer ads Make a donation to support our day to day running costs Subscribe to Neowin - for $14 a year, or $28 a year for an ad-free experience Disclosure: Neowin benefits from revenue of each sale made through our branded deals site powered by StackCommerce.
    • Indeed - drives me mad - usually because Refresh is hidden in the full menu.
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