01/16 TOM SKINNER, LARRY LIPSON, JOANNE CURRIE

TOM SKINNER - CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION

Influenza, commonly called the "flu," is a contagious viral infection that affects the respiratory system — your nose, throat and lungs. Symptoms of the flu can include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people may also have vomiting and diarrhea. Influenza is a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death. Every flu season is different, and influenza infection can affect people differently. CDC estimates that from the 1976-1977 flu season to the 2006-2007 season, flu-associated deaths each season ranged from a low of about 3,000 people to a high of about 49,000 people. The first and most important step is to get a flu vaccination each year. If you haven’t gotten vaccinated yet, you should still try to. With very few exceptions, everyone 6 months of age and older should get an annual flu vaccine as soon as vaccines are available. Vaccination is especially important for people at high risk to decrease their likelihood of getting sick and possibly having serious illness. People at high risk of serious flu complications include young children, pregnant women, people with chronic health conditions (like asthma, diabetes or heart and lung disease), and people 65 years and older At this point flu vaccine may be harder to find now than it was earlier in the season. You may need to contact more than one provider (pharmacy, health department, or doctor) to find available vaccine.


 
LARRY LIPSON  -  COSTA RICA


LARRY IS THE FORMER FOOD WRITER FOR THE DAILY NEWS AND REPORTS FROM HIS HOME IN COSTA RICA ON FOOD TRENDS AND GREAT WINE FINDS



JOANNE CURRIE - OWNER OF SPLASH CAFE IN PISMO BEACH/SAN LUIS OBISPO
                 

Splash Cafe has been a favorite destination in Pismo Beach, California since 1989, specifically for our award-winning clam chowder. We have received requests from Gourmet Magazine as well as Bon Appetit Magazine for our clam chowder recipe. We make our clam chowder fresh from scratch everyday in our cafes. Our customers drive from cities 145 miles away to come to our cafes for our fresh clam chowder. No wonder we serve more than 30,000 gallons of clam chowder per year between the two cafes! If you want to taste our chowder and don't live near one of our cafes, let not your heart be troubled. You can now enjoy our award-winning clam chowder by ordering it "fresh frozen" andwe'll ship it to you anywhere within the continental United States in 1-3 days. We are so confident that you will enjoy every bite of our clam chowder that we will offer you a 100% money back guarantee with your first order. So if you're not happy with our clam chowder for any reason, send it back to us and we' ll give you 100% of your money back, no questions asked. The word "chowder" comes from the French word “chaudiere,” which means caldron, referring to the container in which French sailors threw their catch of the day to make their stew. This custom was carried to Canada, and then later to New England in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Chowder became a popular dish in New England, especially among the sailors.  By the end of the century, each region of New England became known for its version of chowder: with cream in one region, with lobster in another, with potatoes in other regions. But by far, the most popular clam chowder version was the version with clams and butter in a creamy white soup, which is very similar to today’s version of “Clam Chowder.” Oldest chowder recipes were mostly water-based fish soups, sometimes flavored with wine, and featured some sort of vegetables such as onions, potatoes and carrots. The fish usually varied. Many of the recipes included some sort of bread product such as cracker or crouton to add bulk. Chowder versions with milk and cream grew out of regions where dairy was in abundance. Tomato based chowders became popular in warmer regions.